Another Mainstream Grand Lodge Hit With Embezzlement

GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS

The Boston Herald reports on Saturday July 12, 2008 that up to $1.5 million has been embezzled from the coffers of The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Acording to the Boston Hearald:

Meanwhile, Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s Securities Division is launching its own separate probe of the Grand Lodge’s finances, sending a letter of inquiry yesterday to giant financial house UBS for information on its business dealings with the ancient fraternal order, according to a source.

A law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the Suffolk probe told the Herald yesterday that members of the lodge discovered the financial irregularities and took their findings to authorities, who have in turn launched a criminal probe that is zeroing in on two Mason officials.

I would like to make two points in regards to this reoccurring problem across Mainstream Masonry.

1) Masonic Lodges have for ad infinitum refused to bring in outside professionals to run their complicated programs and financial processes. Hence many Grand Lodges have amateurs running giant Masonic Charity Programs, amateurs running Masonic Retirement Communities and amateurs running a multi million dollar end of the businesss of Grand Lodge finances. What qualifies these amateurs? They are Masons and they work cheaply. Many Grand Lodges are very wary of taking chances entrusting outside professionals with private information and dealings of Grand Lodge. Therefore to keep all that they do secrative and to save money they will appoint a Grand Lodge Officer or in house "expert" to perform the duties which would be much better and more safely be performed by an outside professional or a professional agency.

2) As you can see the government - the state of Massachusetts - is now involved in the investigation. Although they were asked in this does not mean that with future problems of another nature the state government would also not intervene and demand to see the records of Grand Lodge and documents and records it would always keep private.

So if a Grand Lodge was charged with racial discrimination and a complaint filed with EEOC it is my bet that the feds would be all over the private records and dealings of the Grand Lodge in question, never mind the negative publicity that would ensue.

Finally the Boston Herald article leaves us with this pleasant information:

The Suffolk and Galvin probes could prove to be yet another blow for area Masons, who several years ago were hit with a scandal involving former money-manager and radio-station owner Brad Bleidt. He was convicted of swindling tens of millions of dollars from area investment victims, many of them Masons.

Bleidt, who used to be a Mason, is now serving time at the federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J.

Moral of the story. Find a better way to screen out dishonrable people. See previous post BALLOT REFORM.