Investors May Be Out $350 Million
The unexplained disappearance of Sarasota investment manager,
philanthropist, and FBO owner Arthur G. Nadel has left authorities
puzzled and his investors wondering if they've lost a total of $350
million.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports Nadel, 75, was last seen on
Wednesday morning by his wife Peg, but there was no indication of
anything amiss until Nadel called his stepson, Geoff Quisenberry,
that afternoon with a strange request that he retrieve a note left
at the Nadel home.
The note "was enough to alarm the family and to show that Mr.
Nadel was distraught," said Sarasota County Sheriff's Department
spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato. Although the missing persons report
filed by the family lists Nadel's disappearance as a possible
suicide, Lesaltato was reluctant to characterize the note left
behind as a suicide note.
Authorities did find Nadel's car, parked at the
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), but as yet have not
determined his whereabouts.
Numerous investors with Nadel's Scoop Management, Inc. firm now
fear the worst... that their precious funds -- as much as $350
million altogether -- have vanished along with Nadel. Business
partner Neil V. Moody released a statement to investors on
Thursday, confirming the money is gone.
"Unfortunately, just yesterday afternoon we became aware of an
extremely serious situation suggesting that the funds may have
virtually no remaining value," Moody said in the statement.
In addition to apparent investment problems, Nadel has another
iron in the fire causing local controversy. The Nadels are owners
of the Venice Jet Center, an FBO located at nearby Venice Municipal
Airport (VNC).
Recent expansion plans by Venice Jet Center to build four new
hangars have heated up opposition from the Venice City Council,
fearing that more hangar space will invite more jet traffic and
noise, already a touchy subject in the Southwest Florida
community.
On Saturday, Quisenberry read a statement prepared by the
family:
"The employees of Scoop Management, which includes Peg Nadel,
the wife of Arthur Nadel, have just learned that they, along with
many others who have invested money with Art, have been victimized
by his unauthorized actions," he said.
Quisenberry also said the family is cooperating with authorities
and is still trying to piece together what happened.