As bad as things appear for Gov. Bob McDonnell, prospects aren’t exactly rosy for Todd Schneider, the former Governor’s Mansion chef who is facing trial on embezzlement charges and whose legal team has been a source of some of the juicier stories to surface about the Governor and his family.
Just what sort of guy is Schneider? A reader sent me this story from a couple of months ago that paints him in rather shady colors:
Schneider had worked for decades in the catering and restaurant business in Virginia and his native Connecticut, but Schneider has been no stranger to courtrooms, according to records obtained by the AP. Many of those appearances signaled financial strains.
State and federal tax liens totaling nearly $400,000 were filed against Schneider in Richmond and Chesterfield courts from 2006 through this year. Court records in Chesterfield Circuit Court state he has not settled a nearly $54,000 lien, some of that assessed while he worked in the mansion.
Food purveyors, a home heating company, an attorney and others also went to small claims or circuit courts to press him for payments totaling thousands of dollars. The majority of the claims were settled, but the disposition of all the cases is not clear, based on available public records.
A felony embezzlement charge in May 2000 was brought in Richmond General District Court against Schneider, and incomplete court records indicate it was reduced to a misdemeanor in return for a guilty plea. He received a six-month suspended sentence. Specifics were not available at the courthouse, nor was another felony charge that was dropped.
It appears no one ever conducted a background investigation on this guy — for reasons unknown. He makes claims to friendships that don’t exist — including to the now infamous Paula Deen — and to have an educational background that, according to the article, looks a bit fictional, too.
So how does a guy like this get hired? I’ve no idea, except, perhaps, that despite all this other stuff, he’s very good at his trade. Having been to a couple of catered receptions in the Mansion, I can attest to the high quality nibblies.
Even so, this AP story raises more questions than it answers.
