Bankruptcy Hopes to Keep Claim Alive on Alleged Monk's Assets

By Dennis Magee
Wcf Courier
October 23, 2012

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/bankruptcy-hopes-to-keep-claim-alive-on-alleged-monk-s/article_06c492e6-462b-5ffc-9065-a940c31167a5.html

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa --- The trustee handling Ryan St. Anne Scott's personal bankruptcy case in Iowa wants to hold onto the possibility the alleged monk may receive settlement money from the Roman Catholic Church.

The funds may be available as part of a bankruptcy case involving the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which filed a Chapter 11 voluntary petition in January 2011.

Scott, also known as Ryan Patrich Scott Gevelinger and Randell Stocks, previously led a group of followers in the former Buchanan County home. Scott. however, abandoned the property in January just ahead of eviction forced by the county attorney's office.

In separate legal action, authorities in Knox County in Illinois charged Scott with three counts of financial abuse of an elderly person, three counts of theft and one count of deceptive practices. Each charge is a felony. Scott is free on bond but scheduled to face trial in November.

Scott filed a corporate bankruptcy petition in Illinois on behalf of his failed religious community in Galesburg and followed that with a personal bankruptcy petition in Iowa. Trustee Renee Hanrahan is handling the Iowa case and is charged with recovering Scott's assets for later distribution to his creditors.

Hanrahan is preparing to close Scott's case in Iowa. In her motion to retain future assets, however, Hanrahan notes Scott failed to include information about a potential financial settlement with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Objections to Hanrahan's motion can be filed until Nov. 2.

If a federal judge allows Hanrahan's request, officials could reopen Scott's personal bankruptcy.

Hanrahan previously auctioned Scott's herd of 19 llamas and the group's belongings left behind in the former Buchanan County home. She also successfully argued the federal bankruptcy court should seize funds from Scott's bank accounts.

Scott's history includes claims he suffered abuse by Catholic priests, including an account he was "brutally gang-raped in the rectory of St. John's Cathedral" in Milwaukee. Scott alleges church officials in October 1976 sent him to Tucson, Ariz., for treatment.

"At the time I was under a 'pontifical vow of silence' and was not able to talk about my abuse or what happened," Scott wrote earlier this year in an email to The Courier.

Catholic church officials in Wisconsin previously investigated Scott's claims of abuse. They found the allegation was without substance.

Contact: dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com