County officials reclaim Buchanan Abbey

Authorities reclaimed control of the former Buchanan County Home Monday night, moving in after Ryan St. Anne Scott and his followers abandoned the property and their llama herd.

Federal bankruptcy trustee Renee Hanrahan of Cedar Rapids, who is charged with finding and liquidating Scott's personal belongings, orchestrated the transition.

"I had a conversation with Scott that he would voluntarily surrender all the business assets, and the people would move out as of 6 o'clock," Hanrahan said.

The Buchanan County Sheriff's Office went in first, inspecting each floor and room of the three-story building before County Attorney Shawn Harden and Hanrahan were allowed access.

Hanrahan's team included a person familiar with llamas, locksmiths and representatives from Bankers Bonded Services of Cedar Rapids. The company will be responsible for creating an inventory and then staging an auction to dispose of the items left behind by Scott's group.

Scott, a self-anointed monk pursuing what he describes as a "traditional" Catholic faith, filed for bankruptcy protection in December in Illinois for his Holy Rosary Abbey. That failed venture morphed into another corporate entity in Iowa, which Scott called the Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict, also known as the Buchanan Abbey.

He filed personal bankruptcy in Iowa a few weeks later in December.

Hanrahan said her discussion with Scott about 10 a.m. was brief and unremarkable.

"He provided a couple of details and assurances of what his plan was for getting his personal effects out," she said. "He did not give a forwarding address. I asked. He did not have one yet."

While the development resolves some issues, the situation is far from settled.

Scott agreed to pay $125,000 over two years to Buchanan County. He took possession of the property April 1 but failed to provide insurance as required. It was that issue that prompted Harden and county supervisors to terminate the real estate contract and move toward eviction.

A hearing on that issue is scheduled for Wednesday at the Buchanan County Courthouse. Though technically no longer necessary to remove Scott's group, Harden still will likely pursue the legal order.

"There's a benefit to following through with the process," he said.

Items scattered about the building gave the impression Scott's group simply drove away, Harden said, but The Courier was allowed access to only some parts of the building Monday night.

Containers of cereal and other food items were on shelves and countertops, and coolers still had full and half-empty bottles of juice. A large completed jigsaw puzzle of a colorful cat was on a table in the dining area.

"They literally walked out the door. (They've) still got rechargeable razors plugged in," Harden said.

Information about an elderly member of Scott's group, Roseanna Gevelinger, was not available. Her daughter, Bobbie Fleming, contacted Buchanan County officials last week concerned about Gevelinger's welfare and again Monday.

Hanrahan said she spoke to Scott and saw another man Monday morning. She did not see Gevelinger.

Harden said he had no information about which direction Scott's group was heading. Fleming could not be reached for comment this morning.

Inside the abbey

Much of the 16,950-square-foot building is largely empty and not heated, according to members of the team who surveyed the structure Monday night. Scott apparently was installing an office and a private chapel on the third floor, according to Harden.

A public chapel on the second floor appeared complete, with small pews and an altar. A bishop's crook was in its holder at the back of the room, and lights illuminated statues of saints.

The building had been previously used by the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office. Capt. Steve Hepke said the renovated chapel area once was used to store evidence.

During a creditors meeting Friday in Galesburg, Ill., where Scott appeared and testified under oath, part of the session focused on gold coins, chalices and other potentially valuable items. Court documents also refer to antique furniture and books. Some of the vehicles Scott and his group departed in are also likely involved in the bankruptcy cases.

Determining what items remain, what may be missing and who has rightful claim to ownership will be among Hanrahan's tasks in coming days.

"Part of my job is to find out what assets were in place at the time the bankruptcy is filed," she said.

Weeks could pass before the collection is ready for public auction, according to Dan Costello of Bankers Bonded Services.

"It could be a month," he said.

Though no decision has been made, the eventual sale could take place in Scott's failed Buchanan Abbey. Hanrahan said paying to move, store and insure the multitude of items could negate whatever revenue is generated for creditors.

That decision also will be made in days ahead.

"Things in the bankruptcy arena take time," Hanrahan said. "Until I know what I have I can't develop a plan."

Court documents, police records and Scott's own writings reviewed by The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier show a string of failed ventures, lawsuits and controversies involving Scott dating back three decades. Numerous church officials over the years have forcefully denounced Scott, a convicted felon whose trail leads through Wisconsin, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois, North Dakota, Arizona, Iowa and Canada.