Bel Rio employee reported missing

A missing persons report has been filed for Kristian Throckmorton, a 25-year-old who was employed at Bel Rio and appears to have last been seen around the same time as restaurant owner Jim Baldi, Charlottesville officials say.

City spokesman Ric Barrick said police had a conversation with Throckmortons mother on July 20, and, based on that concern, there was a missing persons report submitted and filed shortly after. It is active and has been assigned to an investigator.

Throckmortons mother could not be reached for comment Monday. Real estate agent Roger Voisinet, who is overseeing the sale of Baldis house on 900 Elliott Ave., said the two were in a relationship.

They were often seen at City Council meetings when Baldis Belmont restaurant was brought up during discussions about late-night noise.

Her car was left in La Tazas parking lot when they both disappeared, Voisinet said. La Taza, renamed Roast, is a coffee shop near Bel Rio on Monticello Road.

A sign was posted outside Bel Rio's door stating that the restaurant was closed for two weeks for vacation and renovations.
But two weeks have come and gone, the restaurant is unoccupied, and Baldi is still nowhere to be found.
Barrick said there is no missing person's report for Baldi.

"It was that Monday that he didn't show up," building landlord Jeff Easter said, referring to July 12. "He was gone."

Easter said Baldi's business partners took down the undated sign mentioning vacations and renovations.

"There's no work being done in there," Easter said.

The restaurant's outdoor sign was stolen, he added. "We don't know who took it."

Bel Rio has remained in the spotlight for months after spats about noise and raucous activity between the restaurant and its surrounding neighbors went public. For months, neighbors argued that Bel Rio's noise was intolerable, and Baldi said he had repeatedly tried to work with neighbors and had done everything possible to renovate the building to contain the noise.

But there are other concerns for the Belmont eatery and its owner. A lawsuit filed earlier this month in Charlottesville Circuit Court accuses Baldi of two types of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and conversion with regard to the restaurant's operations.

Gareth Weldon, a Bel Rio investor and the lawsuit's plaintiff, is seeking hundreds of thousands in damages. The lawsuit alleges that, for example, Baldi never made a startup investment of $50,000 into the restaurant as Weldon and fellow investor Dave Simpson had, and that Baldi used Bel Rio's funds for personal purposes or for purposes unrelated to the business.

The three started the business in September 2008, according to the lawsuit.

Additionally, on July 16, a Virginia Department of Taxation memorandum of lien against Bel Rio LLC was filed in the city's circuit court, saying that $5,111.88 in withholding and sales taxes had not been paid between Nov. 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009.

Circuit court records also show a notice of federal tax lien by the Internal Revenue Service against Bel Rio LLC in the amount of $12,989.93. The tax period was from March 31, 2009, to June 29, 2009, and the notice was filed March 15.

Meanwhile, Baldi's whereabouts are unknown. His Belmont home, at 900 Elliott Ave., has been on the market for months, Voisinet said.

The last time Voisinet heard from Baldi was weeks ago, he said. He attempted to contact Baldi via text message last week, but Baldi did not respond.

"I didn't think he would," Voisinet said.

Easter said he has received rent for Bel Rio until Aug. 1, and if Baldi doesn't pay it next month, the lease indicates that the other investors would have to take care of it. The current lease lasts until 2013.

He said has shown the restaurant space to three prospective clients, he said, though no one has made an official offer.

"Two are more of a family restaurant and one was an exercise place," Easter said.