Firm tied to Comer seeks audit

A second audit is being conducted following the mysterious disappearance of former Glenmore Community Association Treasurer Michael Comer.

The association’s audit showed $666,446 missing from its coffers after Comer vanished July 1. Now, Glenmore Associates, which owns Glenmore Country Club — where Comer had been president — has also decided to review its finances.

Glenmore Associates, however, does not suspect that it is missing money, according to Jeff Gaffney, Comer’s brother-in-law and one of the heads of Glenmore Associates.

Instead, he said, the development firm is seeking to verify the amount owed the community association.

The firm announced Monday that it would repay the association the missing money. Gaffney said Thursday that by the end of Thursday evening, $255,000 would be repaid. Glenmore Associates plans to pay the remainder, with interest, within the next year.

“It’s sort of like getting a second opinion. ... This is a big number. We know we’re going to agree with the community association, but we have to do our due diligence and make sure,” Gaffney said. “Maybe the number will shrink.”

According to the association’s president, Trevor Joscelyne, unauthorized checks were issued from the association to Glenmore Associates — and though incoming payments from the Glenmore Country Club were recorded in its financial books, the money wasn’t actually received.

“We’re going to take a look at the numbers,” Gaffney said. “We’re going to do our own internal investigation, very quickly.”

Comer had been scheduled to meet with Glenmore Community Association heads about what appeared to be missing money on July 1. Instead, Comer never showed, prompting an unsuccessful manhunt. Investigators this week opened a criminal investigation into the disappearance of the funds.

“It’s a white collar crime type thing, and those take a lot of time,” Albemarle police Lt. Todd Hopwood said Tuesday. “I wouldn’t expect us to have a quick turnaround on this case.”

Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks, who has said he suspects Comer is alive and may not want to be found, said recently that he didn’t “have a clue” whether Comer is in the U.S. or another country. Brooks could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Though investigators, including FBI officials, are collecting evidence to determine what happened to the association’s money, Brooks has said that they can largely only speculate about Comer’s whereabouts.

If criminal charges were filed, investigators would have more ability to “start prying into [Comer’s] background and involve all of the agencies they would like in case he … left the country,” Brooks said.