THE TREASURER'S REPORT

One Million Wisconsin Accounts are"Abandoned"
$300 Million Held by State Treasurer
By Michael Horne

“Mind Your Pennies, and the Dollars will Take Care of Themselves”

-- Proverb.

Jack C. Voight, the Wisconsin State Treasurer, received lots of ink in newspapers across the state on Sunday, March 19, 2006. His name appeared in capital letters in bold reverse type on the top of 28 pages of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel alone in a special paid section, published annually, consisting of the “legal notice of names of persons and businesses appearing to be owners of abandoned property.”

An estimated 25,000 such accounts exist in Milwaukee County alone; the entire searchable statewide list is available by clicking here .

The print edition lists names and addresses of those who have property lying about. The internet version allows the reader to find out where the money is from. In neither case is the sum involved mentioned, but the amounts can be prodigious: in 2005, a total of 27,000 claimants received $19 million in property. In addition, 248,000 shares of stock with a total value of $4 million were repatriated with owners and heirs.

Altogether, the treasurer says $300 million, belonging to 1 million Wisconsin residents and businesses, is being held by his office.

That’s an average of $300 per claim, so it is worthwhile to check your name and those of friends, neighbors and relatives to see if they have money coming.

Very often the money consists of insurance policies, refunds, dividend checks, etc. of recently-deceased individuals whose assets have not been completely identified. The treasurer’s list provides an inestimable service for personal representatives. Also the elderly, and those with mental and or medical conditions, often leave assets unclaimed, perhaps as contents of safety deposit boxes. These human events are understandable, and tragic in some instances.

However, it is amazing some money ever gets lost, since some of the biggest players in this town have a habit of abandoning their property – even individuals and firms that we expect to know how to deal with big bucks

A good place to begin looking is under the letter “U.”

Milwaukee’s Uihlein family has been loaded for generations. They’ve owned oil wells since before the automobile was invented. The family even operates its own office to handle the money that flows to the heirs of the former Schlitz brewing empire. Still, not everything makes its way to the proper Uihlein. J.C., for example, has some money coming from Milwaukee Pershing, LLC, which happens to be a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life, the region’s single largest pile of assets.

This leads us to NML itself, which has been dilatory about picking up a number of checks and securities, including those from American Greetings Corp., Tyco International [sure, the stock’s tanked, but it’s not worthless!], Gemstar/TV Guide and Travelers Insurance, which itself is owed money according to the treasurer’s list.

Folks from many walks of life are joined in the brotherhood of unclaimed property. There’s a fellow doing 5 years in Waupun for habitual criminality who might like the assistance of a jailhouse lawyer to claim four checks he’s got coming to him. On the other side of the spectrum, the entirely respectable Dr. Hermann Viets, the president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, has several surprises waiting for him from Unisys Corp.

St. Luke’s Medical Center has money awaiting it, which might balance its woes from patients who cannot afford their bills.

Some derelict property gives a hint of the interests and passions of its owner. Bruce D. Schrimpf, an assistant city attorney in the city of Milwaukee, is a railroad buff, and it is his miniature locomotive that circles the base of the Holiday Christmas tree in the rotunda of city hall. Wouldn’t you know it, he’s got some money coming from Burlington Northern / Santa Fe Railroad.

A family named Morrison has some thirty accounts overflowing with cash, apparently refunds of some sort from WE Energies.

Pabst Brewing Co., which has long since abandoned 807 W. Juneau Ave., has some money waiting for it. Amazing this ever got by the trustees of the Kalmanovitz estate!

Somebody should tell the folks at General Electric that Marquette Electronics, which it bought during the last century, has many accounts due it, including sums from Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., Sun Microsystems [5 separate checks] and an entity misspelled as “CE Capital Inforamtion Technology Solutions, Inc.”

Marquette University has some funds due it, too, but it’s not the only college in that position.

The Medical College of Wisconsin has ten accounts floating around out there. It has abandoned property due it from the University of Houston Health Science Center [great – hospitals sending money to each other!], Aetna Life, American Family, Employers Mutual – insurance companies all, and pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Astrazeneca. T. Michael Bolger – what do you do all day?

Restaurants appear to be cavalier about some of their receivables. Just ask “Chuck E. Cheese,” and Wilmer and Dolores Coerper.

Banks themselves are not immune to leaving money on the table, as unimaginable as that may seem – even those departments of banks whose function is specifically to see that checks get cashed. Just ask the folks at the Bank of New York Clearing Service, which moved out of 111 E. Kilbourn Ave. and apparently can’t be located at their New York City address, which just happens to be 1 Wall Street.

Finally, if you had to guess which Milwaukee – the City or the County – had unclaimed property, what would you venture?

If you said “Milwaukee County,” you’re right.

Fiscal watchdog Scott Walker should download a form right now to claim account 1053489 on behalf of “Milw Cnty Parks,” which has money coming to it from WE Energies.