Ed Renehan Exposes TRA Secret

Former Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) Executive Director Ed Renehan, Jr., who is currently charged with three felony counts by Nassau County and still under investigation by federal authorities, revealed information to the public about a past scandal in the TRA that until now was kept secret.
A letter issued by Owen Kelley Publicity Services, a Manhattan based publicity company owned by Renehan and his cousin Owen Kelley, that was emailed to Renehan friends who were aware of the letter investigations, told about an employee’s embezzlement about 15 years ago.
When Bonnie Jean Gable was TRA office manager, during the time that her brother John Gable was the TRA president, she was accused of embezzling more than $100,000 to finance a theater group. Rather than run to the authorities and press charges, the Association decided confront her. Gable admitted the wrong and suggested that the TRA put a lien against trust funds she stood to inherit, since she had no real assets.
Current TRA President Jim Bruns acknowledged the information, “If you were my sister and I was the director of a company and I hired you why would you steal from your own brother? But she did.” However he continued, “Ms. Gable admitted everything, she made no demands on the TRA, and she came up with a credible way of reimbursing the Association for its loss. In doing so, the Association’s leadership at the time believed that she deserved leniency.” He confided that, “They tried to take of it quietly in part for John, but more because it was the right thing to do.”
Before making the Nassau County District Attorney’s office aware of the case surrounding Renehan, the TRA attempted to negotiate a solution with him. According to Bruns, “Mr. Renehan’s recent negotiations with the Association were primarily focused on his attempts to gain the best possible deal for himself, using the historical documents taken from the Association and sold by him to apparently maintain a lifestyle, as well as other Association items still in his possession, as bargaining chips.” Bruns cited, “One particular example of this was Mr. Renehan’s demand that the Association agree to pay for his future legal fees in order to gain his cooperation in recovering or returning what was taken from the Association. This would have caused the Association to be victimized twice. As a result, the Association was forced to pursue another option in addressing such gross misconduct.”
“Deeply Distrubed”
In light of Renehan’s recent disclosure about past TRA business, Bruns released a statement that said, “We are deeply disturbed that Mr. Renehan has misappropriated Theodore Roosevelt Association property and now has inappropriately disclosed confidential information involving a private TRA matter without permission. This was a private information between the Gable family and the Association that he was privy to because of his one-time membership on the Association’s Executive Committee. This is yet another example of his abuse of trust and continuing misconduct. We are deeply troubled by his apparent continuing pattern of misconduct and are exploring further legal options.”
Bruns believes that, “Mr. Renehan and Owen Kelley Publicity Services has grossly distorted the facts to serve Mr. Renehan’s interests.” Owen Kelley Publicity Services was formerly known as Konterra Publicity but had to change its name after Kingdom Goulds of Maryland threatened a lawsuit because they already have a registered trademark on the name.
Both Peter Brill, Renehan’s lawyer and Owen Kelley of Owen Kelley Publicity Services could not be reached for comment.
Renehan was supposed to appear at Nassau County Courthouse on April 21st but his case was adjourned and rescheduled June 13th.