Document dump

The Star Tribune reports that the Wilfs have taken their shoebox of receipts and dumped it on the desk for sorting:

After a public dispute between the authority and the team last week over access to the Wilfs’ finances, the Wilfs turned over a “substantial amount” of personal information over the past two days dealing with their finances and legal affairs, Kelm-Helgen said. Representatives of both sides met into the night Tuesday and again Wednesday to comb through documents.

“They’ve got volumes of information there,” said Lester Bagley, a team spokesman.

“We’ve basically gotten all the financial information that we’ve requested,” Kelm-Helgen said. “We have complete financial information. Now we have to verify the accuracy and sort of follow the tracks.”

Kelm-Helgen is Michele Kelm-Helgen, majordomo of the Minnesota Sports Facility Authority, the nifty new bureaucracy created to oversee this dog's breakfast. A few comments:

• While the issue of the Wilf's ability meet their commitments is important, there's another question that no one really seems to want to ask. Why would you want to go forward with a deal with someone who has defrauded their business partners in the past?
• Elsewhere in the article, Kelm-Helgen avers that the NFL is "100% committed" to the deal. The league is prepared to pony up $200 million, or about a fifth of the current estimated cost of the new stadium. If we're doing the math correctly, they're 20% committed.
• While I'd like to assume there is what is known as a "Chinese Wall" in place, it's interesting that the politically connected Dorsey & Whitney law firm is involved in this audit. Dorsey is Walter Mondale's firm and Ted Mondale is in charge of getting the thing built. You have to wonder what will happen if something comes up in the course of the audit that might raise even more red flags about the Wilfs.