By Hart Van Denburg
City Pages
July 20, 2010
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/07/van_dusen_mansi.php
 |
| Jeffrey Anderson paid for the pile |
As if the Van Dusen Mansion in South Minneapolis already didn't have a colorful-enough past -- convicted Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook used it as home base to harvest ill-gotten gains until recently -- it's now in the possession of Jeff Anderson. He's the St. Paul attorney spearheading a global campaign against sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic church.
He and some family members kept their identity secret when they paid $1.55 million for the pile in April. Anderson tells the Strib that his son, Matt, will manage it as a venue for weddings, social events and business meetings.
The mansion was among a slew of lavish assets -- think: personal submarine -- that went into receivership after Cook pleaded guilty earlier this year to orchestrating a $190 million Ponzi scheme. Cook's outfit purchased the Van Dusen property for $2.8 million in 2007. The 23,000 square-foot property is was originally offered by Minneapolis real estate agent Jimmy Fogel for $2.2 million, but stunning mansions just haven't held their value in this crapped-out economy, evidently.
It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and by the Minneapolis Heritage and Preservation Commission, and was used by the Coen brothers as a backdrop in 2008 while filming their new movie, "A Serious Man."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.