Very unfortunate to hear. As a member of an organization (not related to railroad preservation) that recently suffered an act of internal embezzlement, it forever makes you doubtful of who to trust.

It is great to hear that the SRI is very financially stable, and is able to get through this mess virtually unscathed. The SRI is a wonderful organization, with a lot of great employees, volunteers, and members. One bad apple WILL NOT ruin the whole bunch.

The organization I've been involved with for 25 years went through a similar sort of situation almost 20 years ago. It seems all too common in non-profit organizations.

Unfortunately, many volunteer organizations have lots to do and few that are willing to help. The criteria for filling a position involves picking anyone whose body temperature hasn't assumed room temperature.

This shows the importance of having an annual external professional audit for any 501c3 organization, not just rail preservation ones.

Bob H.

I think Heavenrich meant "internal", but "eternal" might actually be more appropriate.

Fred S.

I believe that the word should be external. Also it is suggested that every few years the outside professional audit firm should be changed.

An organization should also have an audit committee (generally from the BOD) that arranges for the audit and also reviews internal procedures of the organization.

Unfortunately, external audits or formal reviews (a less comprehensive level of external oversight) are fairly expensive and not affordable for many organizations. About the best that many organizations can do is for the board to be vigilant and knowledgeable of the finances and to ensure careful selection of staff and/or volunteers who have control over the funds.

Don't know many museums that can have $200K stolen in less than two years and not really notice it. SRI must be raking it in!

Pretty easy if the deed is being done by the person in charge of the finances; as well if was spread out in bits at a time.

$20 here, $40 there, etc etc can add up if a person is corrupt enough to try it...

Look up Dixon Illinois and see what one person can do when it comes to embezzling money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Crundwell

This one woman stole 53 million dollars from this small town in Illinois over 30 years enough to finance her Show Horse business and her lifestyle doing that.

Thanks for posting this link --- unfortunately it requires a subscription to open the article, but there are other news sites that now have some info.

See for example:

https://www.fox47news.com/news/local-ne ... rtbreaking

Bob H

We wanted to share this important development with you. Thank you to the Owosso Public Safety detectives as well as county law enforcement for their continued work on this unfortunate situation. We'll continue to keep you updated as next steps are determined.

City of Owosso

Steam Railroad Institute Investigation Update

This morning ,Mary Lombardo turned herself into the Shiawassee County Jail. The Shiawassee County Prosecutor's office issued a warrant for Embezzlement over $100,000 or more.


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Kimberly Springsdorf
Executive Director