SHOREWOOD TRUSTEE RESIGNS FOLLOWING CHILD PORN REVEALATIONS HERE

[Updated Monday, April 14th, 2008. Phinney Resigns. Shorewood Trustee Michael A. Phinney has resigned "for personal reasons."--Ed.]

FBI Seized File One Year Ago; No Charges Yet


Special to the Readers of www.Milwaukeeworld.com

(c) 2008

By Michael Horne

On Monday, April 2nd, 2007, FBI special agents executed a search warrant at the office of Shorewood Village Trustee Michael A. Phinney, then CEO and Co-owner of Phoenix Resource Group. They seized a computer along with various disks from the fifth floor corner office at 219 N. Milwaukee Street, in the Historic Third Ward. Analysis of the computer and its contents showed 28 files of sexually explicit photographs of preteen boys. The very next day, Phinney, of 4109 N. Ardmore Ave., was re-elected trustee of the lakeside village known for its excellent grade schools and public library children's room. He remains in office as of this writing, but probably not for much longer. [Phinney resigned Thursday, April 10th, 2008, citing "personal reasons" according to a press release from the Shorewood Village Manager which was not sent to Milwaukeeworld until requested. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which presumably did receive the release, briefly covered the resignation in a late evening web posting Sunday, April 13th, 2008, and in the print editions of Monday, April 14th, 2008.--Ed.]
A year later, Phinney, 56, has not yet been charged in connection with the seizure.
The "Application and Affidavit for Search Warrant Case Number 2007-M-433," signed at 11:05 a.m. on April 2nd, 2007 by the Honorable William E. Callahan, Jr., says the FBI was tipped off to the possibility that there might be boy pornography on Phinney's computer by a co-worker at the firm who "noticed Phinney sitting at his computer with images of a pornographic nature that appeared to be of men or boys." Later that same day (February 20th, 2007), after Phinney left the office, the worker and the company's co-owner logged on to Phinney's computer and "viewed his most recent documents which largely contained jpeg image files," including "two boys, approximately 8-9 years old, with one of the boys simulating anal sex (sodomy) on the other boy," ... "a young naked boy, approximately 7-8 years old, lying down on a bed with another clothed boy looking at him," and "a group shot of boys, approximately 11-12 years old, with other younger naked boys."
The worker and the co-owner brought their concerns to the attention of the FBI, and on March 1st, 2007 they were interviewed by a Special Agent who was given consent to take the company's computer from Phinney's office for forensic analysis.

FUN FACT!
Phinney made headlines in 2005 when an audit showed Phoenix Resource Group raised $895,000 for the Milwaukee Public Museum, with $865,000 retained by the company for its administrative fees, leaving a lousy $30,000 for the museum, which was bleeding red ink at the time. His wife Lisa Froemming was the director of fundraising for the museum at the time and is now president of the Columbia St. Mary's Foundation and a member of the Shorewood Library Board When approached by reporters about the apparent impropriety of the fundraising arrangement, Phinney said, "my conscience is completely clear on it." I guess we'll see soon enough if his jaunty self confidence remains intact after these juvenile pornography revelations. Milwaukeeworld sent him an e-mail to his village mailbox, and we'll get back to you as soon as he contacts us here. [That has not yet happened. Phinney also could not be reached for comment when the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called him. He did leave two messages with his former business associate that "some blogger" was writing about him, though.]

--Michael Horne
[Editorial Note: The original posting included the address Phinney used at the time of his election. Phinney's wife, Lisa Froemming, wrote to say that Phinney had not lived at the address "for more than a year" and that she is "in divorce proceedings." The Ardmore Avenue address for Phinney was provided by Chris Swartz, the capable manager of the Village of Shorewood. A neighbor reports Phinney removed his name from his mailbox the other day after things started heating up.]