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Jones hot topic at Royal Montreal Golf Club
Vanishing financial adviser being talked about on well-manicured grounds of Ile Bizard course
MONIQUE MUISE
The Gazette
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
View of ninth hole of the blue course at Royal Montreal Golf Club. (Gazette file photo)
If Earl Jones ever resurfaces in Montreal, it’s unlikely he’ll be taking in a round of golf.
The West Island investment adviser was a familiar and well-liked face in Montreal’s golfing circles, and he often held informal meetings or made new connections on the course.
That is, until last week, when he vanished with $50 million to $100 million of his clients’ money.
Both Jones and his wife, Maxine, belong to the prestigious Royal Montreal Golf Club on Île Bizard. Several members of the club were reportedly victims of Jones’s investment scheme, which has left dozens of formally secure investors dangling over the edge of a financial precipice.
The club’s management remained tight-lipped about the scandal yesterday.
“This is a private matter,” general manager Denzel Palmer said. “It has not been an issue at the club or a topic of conversation among members or at the board level.”
But several golfers and employees who spoke on condition that their names not be used said that Jones’s betrayal of his clients is a hot topic of conversation all over Royal Montreal’s well-manicured grounds, and many people are extremely angry.
“I’ve overheard his name quite a lot,” said one employee. “People are steamed.”
On Monday, a rumour began floating around the club that Jones’s private locker had been vandalized – a story that Palmer dismissed as “totally untrue.”
According to one member, most people are still trying to come to grips with the idea that such a popular and well-connected man could bilk his clients out of their life savings.
“The overwhelming reaction has just been shock,” the man said. “Like everyone, we’ve been reading all of the stories that (the media) are printing. It’s just like Bernie Madoff, only we didn’t know any of (Madoff’s) victims.”
When he wasn’t hitting the greens on his home course, Jones had also been spotted having lunch meetings or playing a few rounds at the Beaconsfield Golf Club in Pointe Claire.
“I heard he played golf here about a month ago,” said a member of the club who gave her name as Audrey. “I know a few people who were clients of his – it’s definitely being talked about around here, too.”
The management at Beaconsfield were quick to distance themselves from the black cloud hanging over Jones’s name, and denied ever seeing the financial adviser on the property.
“We were unaware of his presence at the club,” said a manager who spoke on condition that his name not be used. “He may have been here as a guest once, but he’s not a member.”