“…We Have No Affiliation…”
The more I dig, the worse it gets
The devil is in the details.
I survived Wayne Nance. So did my two brothers. And two others. We were children when our parents were murdered by the man known as the ‘Missoula Mauler.’ Decades later, that nickname was used for a youth hockey team—on public land, in the town where many of the murders took place. No one warned us. No one stopped it. This is not just wrong. It is a systemic failure of ethics, oversight, and public trust
📍 Context: The Full Scope of Harm
I submitted formal written requests to Michael Burks (owner of Missoula Maulers Inc.), Glacier Ice Rink, and both the City and County of Missoula. My goal was straightforward and entirely appropriate:
To acknowledge that this should not have happened—and to put a plan in place to ensure it never happens again.
I understood there might be legal concerns or hesitation around liability. As of this writing, I am still waiting for responses from some of the entities involved.
The most disappointing outcome so far has been the missed opportunity to implement trauma-informed policies that could prevent future harm.
This isn’t about blame. It’s about responsibility, public trust, and protecting the community moving forward.
The dots need to be connected for the full scope of the problem with the Missoula Maulers youth ice hockey team.
The team was branded, promoted, and played using the nickname of a known white male serial killer and rapist, Wayne Nance, in a male-dominated youth sport—on Missoula county-owned property leased to Missoula Area Youth Hockey Association (MAYHA) a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the same area where his crimes occurred. Because these crimes were sexually motivated and targeted women, the decision to allow a youth hockey team to operate under that name—within a youth male-dominated sport and on public property—raises serious Title IX concerns about gender discrimination, youth safety, civil rights and ADA compliance.
There are five direct surviving victims of Wayne Nance, meaning that an entire group of direct crime victims is affected by these business practices.
Would this have been allowed for a decade if the name was ‘The Columbines’ and the mascot was named ‘Shooter’? If the team’s name was “White Supremacists”? Absolutely not. The Missoula Maulers are no different.
Glacier Ice Rink is not a separate organization—it is the public name for MAYHA, the nonprofit that owns, operates, and leases from Missoula County.
In response to my outreach, Glacier Ice Rink’s Executive Director, Laura Henning, replied:
"Megan,
I was forwarded your email about the Missoula Maulers. They were a hockey team that rented ice from the rink from 2007 to 2016. They were not affiliated with Glacier Ice Rink or MAYHA otherwise, and we had nothing to do with their operations. Our teams are all branded under the name Missoula Bruins.
The team's owner was Michael Burks, who now owns the retail store Hockeywolf. He is listed on their website: https://www.hockeywolf.com/our-team.
I'm sorry about what happened to you and your family and hope you can find some peace."I appreciate her response and the expression of sympathy.
I have also followed up with additional written communication to Glacier Ice Rink and have requested that the matter be escalated to their Board of Directors. As of this writing, I am still waiting for a response.
My intent remains the same: to ensure that those in leadership roles are aware of the harm caused and are allowed to address it constructively.
However, this statement appears to conflict with remarks Henning made in 2016, when the Maulers left Glacier Ice Rink. At the time, she described the Missoula Maulers as significant contributors to youth hockey, acknowledged their financial investments in the rink, and referenced ongoing contract negotiations. These statements are publicly available through 406mtsports.com and other sources.
It’s important to clarify these discrepancies—not to assign blame, but because understanding the nature of this past relationship is central to evaluating oversight, community impact, and the responsibilities of nonprofit and public institutions that serve children and survivors.
Henning stated:
“We were in contract negotiations.”
“We put up a formal announcement just to tell everyone we're shocked by this news, we're sad and we hope we can continue the relationship.”
“The Maulers have put a significant investment into Glacier Ice Rink.”
“She credits a lot of the growth in the youth hockey community to the Maulers.”
“They have done such a good job in helping us with our Learn To Play program. It's been a great relationship.”
Henning further added:
“No one disputes the fact that Burks -- a successful businessman who owns Big Sky Specialized Carriers, Fuel Fitness, Garden of Read'n, Stitches, and Hockey World -- has made a positive impact on Missoula hockey by introducing the Maulers. Interest in youth hockey has skyrocketed, and kids love to watch the Junior A level of play.”
“We're sad to see the Maulers go,” Henning said. “Michael (Burks) has done a good job in creating a very strong hockey fan base so I think we will not have a problem attracting another Junior hockey team.”
Burks listed a number of other incidents in which he felt disrespected by the MAYHA, including one in which a Maulers championship banner was taken down at Glacier Ice Rink and "tossed into a corner like a used tissue."
Additionally, Henning confirmed that the Maulers "have put a significant investment" into the Glacier Ice Rink. Burks noted his 2005 investment exceeded $563,000 and funded upgrades to Glacier Ice Rinks facility including concessions, a locker room for the Missoula Maulers, upper deck, sound and lighting systems—improvements that remain in use today.
You can read the full details here and here
These do not reflect the statements of a venue landlord with no affiliation. Instead, they are public acknowledgments of a working relationship that included infrastructure improvements, shared investment, and collaboration in youth programming.
This is critical. Glacier Ice Rink and the Missoula Area Youth Hockey Association (MAYHA) operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located on Missoula County–owned land. Missoula County has a lease agreement with MAYHA. Both nonprofit and government entities are subject to strict regulatory standards and community trust obligations.
📌 What Was Violated?
Public records and direct statements from Glacier Ice Rink’s leadership make it clear that Glacier Ice Rink, Missoula Maulers, Inc., and Missoula County maintained a mutually beneficial and materially supported relationship. The licensed professionals involved with these entities had a professional duty to recognize that the Missoula Maulers, Inc. was operating in a nonprofit, youth-serving environment on county-owned land. Associating a team identity rooted in violence against women with a youth-serving venue should have triggered internal reviews, disclosures, or due diligence flags. This financial and operational entanglement implicates:
Victims’ Rights under 18 U.S.C. § 3771 and MCA § 46-24-103
ADA protections under 42 U.S.C. § 12132 for trauma survivors
IRS § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(1) and § 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(1)(ii)
Montana Charitable Solicitation Act
Title IX, Title VI, and 14th Amendment civil rights standards
Lanham Act standards at time of operation
Montana Code Annotated § 7-8-2501 – Public lease and fiduciary responsibility
IRS Rev. Rul. 71-447 – Nonprofits must conform to public policy
Misleading Community by Omission (Material Misrepresentation)
Possible failure to report by licensed professionals, including:
Bankers and financial institutions under BSA/AML and KYC regulations
Accountants and auditors involved in reporting or certifying nonprofit finances
City and county governance officials who oversaw licenses, leases, and fiduciary duties
These violations are not theoretical. If substantiated, they represent real failures that affected real people—children, families, survivors, and the Missoula community at large.
⚠️ Deceptive Business Practices and Professional Failures
1. Misleading Community by Omission (Material Misrepresentation)
Missoula Maulers Inc. operated under a name publicly tied to serial killer Wayne Nance—the “Missoula Mauler”—without disclosing that origin to the public, despite promoting themselves to youth, families, and the Missoula community as a whole.
Why this matters: Under consumer protection and nonprofit-adjacent standards, failure to disclose material information—like the violent and traumatic origin of the name—is considered deceptive by omission.
The public had a right to know that the name they were chanting at games referenced a local predator. This lack of transparency denied parents and community members the ability to make informed decisions about involvement or support.
2. False Impression of Public Legitimacy and Affiliation
By embedding operations within Glacier Ice Rink—a nonprofit on county land—and investing over $500,000 into facility upgrades, Missoula Maulers Inc. blurred the line between private business and public trust.
This gave the appearance of endorsement, legitimacy, and community alignment, which was not formally granted or disclosed.
Businesses that co-brand or operate inside public or nonprofit venues have a higher obligation to avoid misleading associations.
3. Target Market Was Youth and Families
Because they operated in a youth sports environment and marketed directly to families and kids, Maulers Inc. had an elevated duty of care.
Branding linked to violent crime—even indirectly—is unethical and arguably reckless in a youth-serving context.
This could violate unfair and deceptive trade practices under state consumer laws (and potentially civil rights standards via disparate impact).
Further compounding this:
Accountants, bankers, and legal advisors involved with Missoula Maulers Inc. had a professional duty to recognize that this business was operating in a nonprofit, youth-serving environment on county-owned land. The optics and implications of associating violent branding with such a venue should have triggered internal reviews, disclosures, or due diligence flags.
Know Your Customer (KYC) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) standards require financial institutions to vet high-risk clients and evaluate reputational and civil liability exposure. Any financial institution that held accounts, issued loans or lines of credit for Missoula Maulers Inc. while the team operated under such branding in a sensitive, youth-centered context should have initiated additional scrutiny under both federal regulations and internal risk policies.
If accountants or tax preparers for Missoula Maulers Inc. failed to disclose or investigate the relationship with the 501(c)(3) Glacier Ice Rink—especially considering county lease payments, shared infrastructure, and the clear appearance of community legitimacy—this could constitute willful ignorance, negligence, or even aiding and abetting in deceptive filing or misrepresentation.
The IRS and state licensing boards hold CPAs and other professionals accountable to ethical codes. Continuing to process financials for a client actively operating in violation of public safety and civil standards opens those professionals to complaints and license review.
This was not simply a branding issue—it was a failure across multiple tiers of fiduciary duty and compliance oversight.
💥 Civil Rights Exposure and Reputational Risk in Lending
The decision by any financial institution to extend banking services or loans to Missoula Maulers Inc. carries serious implications:
Civil Rights Violations: Given the use of branding tied to a known white male serial killer and rapist who targeted women operating in a male-dominated sport, banks may have facilitated a program with disparate impact on women and girls, which could violate anti-discrimination principles and open them to reputational harm.
Public Perception and Trust: Financial institutions are expected to uphold public confidence. Aligning with or enabling organizations that glorify gender-based violence—even indirectly—erodes community trust and can result in public backlash and scrutiny.
Failure of Due Diligence: Banks that fail to assess the ethical and public impact of their nonprofit clients, especially those operating on government-owned land with county oversight, may face questions under BSA/AML requirements and reputational and regulatory consequences.
No financial institution should have allowed Missoula Maulers Inc. to operate accounts or receive loans without full awareness of the ethical and civil rights implications tied to the nature of the team’s representation and its integration into a county-leased venue.
🏦 Banking Oversight, BSA/AML, and Know Your Customer (KYC) Responsibilities
Banks and financial institutions involved in setting up accounts, issuing loans, or processing transactions for entities like Missoula Maulers Inc. and
Glacier Ice Rink also carry regulatory responsibilities under federal financial law:
📉 Bank Oversight Failures: A Missed Mandate for Due Diligence
Missoula Maulers Inc. and its association with Glacier Ice Rink—a nonprofit operating on government-leased property—should have triggered multiple layers of banking oversight. Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) rules (31 C.F.R. § 1010.230), financial institutions are required to assess risk exposure, particularly when clients operate in youth services, public spaces, or nonprofit sectors. In this case, nearly every indicator for Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) was present: government land usage, nonprofit affiliation, tax-exempt benefit, potential civil rights and ADA exposure, and clear reputational risk tied to the use of a name associated with a violent, gender-targeted serial predator. Moreover, the lack of community disclosure regarding the name’s origin may constitute material misrepresentation—a red flag under BSA/AML guidelines for unusual nonprofit behavior. Banks had an affirmative duty to identify these risks and report them under Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) standards. A failure to do so represents a breakdown not only of financial compliance but of basic public protection in a sensitive, trauma-affected setting.🏦 KYC Failures and the Appearance of Legitimacy
Under Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, banks are required to understand not only who their clients are, but also the nature, purpose, and operational context of the accounts they hold—especially when serving nonprofit organizations, youth programs, or businesses operating on public land. Missoula Maulers Inc., while structured as a private entity, was tightly associated with Glacier Ice Rink, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leasing county-owned property. That alone should have elevated KYC and reputational risk flags.But this wasn't just any account. Michael Burks, the owner of Missoula Maulers Inc., was a high-profile business operator in Missoula—owning multiple companies including Fuel Fitness, Garden of Read’n, and Big Sky Specialized Carriers. His public visibility, multimillion-dollar business presence, and large infrastructure investments—including more than $500,000 in upgrades to the Glacier Ice Rink—would have made him a high-touch client for any commercial bank, credit union, or lender involved. He likely had direct relationships with bank presidents, commercial loan officers, and possibly SBA-backed lenders.
That level of involvement demands scrutiny under KYC and Customer Due Diligence standards. The bank should have understood:
The origin and purpose of funds flowing into a youth sports team affiliated with a nonprofit
The nature of the entity’s public messaging and potential for reputational exposure
Whether this business created the appearance of legitimacy through public alignment with a nonprofit facility
Banks holding accounts tied to county operations or public land use (e.g., MAYHA’s lease payments to Missoula County) are required under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and FinCEN CDD Rule (31 CFR § 1010.230) to conduct risk-based due diligence, including verifying the source of funds, identifying beneficial owners, and assessing reputational and civil rights risks. When lease payments originate from a private team operating on county-owned property under branding linked to gender-based violence, banks have a fiduciary duty to flag potential misuse of public funds and ensure compliance with nonprofit finance laws and ethical standards.
Failing to evaluate the ethics, optics, and civil implications of this setup—especially given the name's link to a serial predator—represents a lapse in regulatory compliance and institutional ethics. Banks are not passive observers. When they finance or enable businesses operating in public, trauma-sensitive sectors, they carry shared responsibility for ensuring lawful, transparent, and socially accountable operations.
⚖️ Civil Rights Obligations Extend Beyond Federal Funding
Let’s be absolutely clear: the Missoula Maulers name invoked a white man who raped and murdered women in a male-dominated youth sport . This constitutes gender-based civil rights violations. This was not an abstract reference—it was a known trauma to local families, including mine.
MAYHA’s decision to allow this business to operate in their facility—even under the justification of being “just a renter”—represents a gross oversight failure. The psychological, social, and civil rights harm extended beyond me as a direct victim.
To allow that name to be broadcast, chanted, and worn on jerseys in a county-owned youth facility is a betrayal of every public and nonprofit duty outlined in:
IRS § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(1): a nonprofit must operate for the public good—not for the private gain of any individual or small group.
42 U.S.C. § 2000d (Title VI) and 20 U.S.C. § 1681 (Title IX): Apply to any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance directly or indirectly. Federal financial assistance has been interpreted broadly to include federal tax exemptions. 501(c)(3) nonprofits receive federal tax exemptions.
28 C.F.R. Part 35 (ADA Title II Regulations):
Public entities must ensure that programs, facilities, and contracts do not create hostile or retraumatizing environments for individuals with disabilities. This includes:
Trauma survivors (especially those with PTSD),
Individuals with disabilities rooted in gender-based violence, including domestic or sexual assault,
Women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by such trauma.
Permitting a youth sports program to operate under a name publicly associated with a known serial predator—on county-owned land—without any trauma-informed safeguards or victim notification, creates a foreseeable disparate impact. It aids or perpetuates discrimination against these protected groups and violates both the spirit and the legal requirements of ADA Title II (28 C.F.R. Part 35).
IRS Rev. Rul. 71-447:
a nonprofit organization may lose its tax-exempt status if it violates established public policy—even if it otherwise appears to serve a charitable or educational mission. This includes any activity that undermines civil rights protections, public health, or ethical standards clearly recognized in law.
Public policy includes trauma-informed practices, gender-based discrimination protections, youth safety standards, and victims’ rights and dignity.
These are not optional ideals for a nonprofit. They are fundamental public responsibilities—especially when operating on public property, serving children, or benefiting from tax exemption.
Montana’s Charitable Solicitation Act:
Deceptive Branding by Omission and Association
Even if MAYHA or Glacier Ice Rink did not personally choose the “Missoula Maulers” name, they hosted, partnered with, and materially benefited from a team branded with a nickname publicly linked to serial killer Wayne Nance, who murdered and targeted women.
By failing to disclose this connection to families and donors, they created the false impression of a safe, community-aligned program—a clear violation under nonprofit and charitable solicitation standards, where deception includes what is not said.
Therefore, both MAYHA and Missoula County had an affirmative duty to avoid practices that fostered a hostile environment or discriminated—intentionally or through disparate impact—against protected groups. Permitting a business tied to a known white male serial predator to rent and operate within a youth facility—one predominantly serving male athletes—without any trauma-informed or gender-sensitive review undermines both legal protections and public expectations.
These standards don’t just prohibit overt discrimination—they forbid complicity, negligence, or structural failures that perpetuate harm and exclusion, especially in youth-serving spaces.
🔹 Enurement and Private Benefit
The IRS strictly prohibits any part of a nonprofit’s net earnings from inuring to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. This is known as the prohibition against inurement, and it is a core tenet of 501(c)(3) law.
In essence, in the context of accounting for non-profit organizations, enurement is about ensuring that the organization operates for the public good and not for the personal financial gain of those in positions of power. While enurement specifically focuses on benefits to insiders, "private benefit" is a broader term that encompasses any enrichment to individuals or entities, regardless of their relation to the non-profit. Both are considered unacceptable practices for tax-exempt organizations.
In this case, the Maulers' private owner, Michael Burks, invested heavily in Glacier Ice Rinks' infrastructure—a facility operated by a nonprofit—and received brand visibility, revenue opportunities, and local influence in return. When a nonprofit permits or facilitates significant personal gain for a private individual through shared programming or facility improvements, that may constitute inurement.
This creates legal risk for:
MAYHA, for accepting substantial investment from a private entity and creating a possible return benefit
Glacier Ice Rink, for promoting and normalizing a harmful brand tied to a private business
Missoula County, for leasing to a nonprofit that failed to prevent enurement or safeguard public interest
Failure to monitor and report these activities could result in IRS penalties, revocation of tax-exempt status, or state-level investigations. The IRS takes inurement seriously. Violation of these rules can lead to intermediate sanctions, which are financial penalties levied against the board members who allowed it to happen.
🏛️ What Does “Prioritize the Public Interest” Mean?
Under IRS and federal standards, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit:
Must operate exclusively for exempt public purposes—like charitable, educational, or youth development—not private gain, sensational branding, or controversial messaging.
Cannot engage in activities that undermine the public trust, erode community cohesion, or cause foreseeable harm to vulnerable groups (including crime victims).
Must be accountable to the community it serves—especially when operating on government-owned land or receiving any form of government support.
This is codified in:
IRS Treasury Regulation § 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(1)(ii): Requires an organization to serve a public rather than a private interest.
Montana Code Annotated (MCA) § 7-8-2501: Requires public lease arrangements to serve a clear public purpose.
Public Trust Doctrine & Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB): Local governments must ensure their actions protect and benefit the public good.
💥 Did MAYHA Violate These Standards?
During the time the Missoula Maulers operated under the name of a known white male serial killer and rapist (Wayne Nance), MAYHA allowed the team to rent and operate within their facility.
While MAYHA may argue the Maulers were "just renters," nonprofits are not excused from oversight when:
Activities on their premises conflict with public interest
They benefit financially from programs that cause psychological harm
They knowingly facilitate or ignore the promotion of violent or discriminatory messages
IRS and Montana law require MAYHA to:
Ensure that its operations—and the use of its facilities—do not cause foreseeable public harm
Maintain neutrality and reject any partnerships or leases that conflict with public ethics and nonprofit standards
Report and avoid any use of the facility that promotes private interests or sensationalism at the expense of community cohesion and youth safety
📊 Accounting Oversight Responsibilities – MAYHA
Nonprofits must maintain transparent and responsible financial records, particularly when using public assets. Under IRS Form 990 requirements and Treasury Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(2):
Revenues generated by facilities must serve the exempt mission and public benefit.
Any private benefit or inurement—where individual or organizational gain supersedes public interest—is grounds for IRS penalties or revocation of nonprofit status.
MAYHA had a fiduciary duty to ensure that lease revenue from the Missoula Maulers was not derived from partnerships or conduct that glorified violence, perpetuated gender-based harm, or created unsafe conditions for youth and survivors.
🏢 What Were Missoula County’s Responsibilities?
The County isn’t just a silent landlord. It is a steward of public resources with fiduciary and civil rights obligations.
Missoula County has a lease agreement with Glacier Ice Rink and MAYHA, located on county fairgrounds property. As landlord and public steward, the County holds ultimate responsibility for ensuring that:
All lease arrangements served a legitimate public purpose (MCA § 7-8-2501)
Public property is not used in a way that causes harm to the community
Nonprofits operating on county land comply with federal and state laws protecting victims, civil rights, and nonprofit integrity
Furthermore, the County’s duties extended beyond lease signing. Under the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and Montana Local Government Budget Act, the County has a fiduciary duty to:
Conduct ongoing oversight of how public land and resources are used
Ensure that revenue collected from nonprofit leases is not tied to unethical branding or discriminatory impact
Protect community trust by preventing the commercialization of violence, especially in youth-serving facilities
28 C.F.R. Part 35 (ADA Title II Regulations):
Public entities must ensure that programs, facilities, and contracts do not create hostile or retraumatizing environments for individuals with disabilities.
Missoula County’s decision to allow MAYHA’s lease to continue—despite clear trauma associations—constituted a failure to uphold these responsibilities. The facility was not private. The harm was foreseeable. And the County had every opportunity to intervene.
📊 Accounting Oversight Responsibilities – Missoula County
Missoula County is obligated under GASB standards and state budget law to:
Maintain full transparency on the allocation of lease revenue received from MAYHA
Ensure that revenues contributed to lawful public purposes—such as facility maintenance, youth programming, or community wellness
Avoid using public enterprise funds derived from controversial or trauma-inducing business practices, which could compromise the integrity of county-managed resources
Even if Maulers Inc. was a separate legal entity, the county had an obligation to:
Review the name and branding of any long-term tenant or affiliate,
Ensure there were no conflicts with known violent events, historical trauma, or public safety concerns,
Deny or revoke access if deceptive or harmful practices were discovered.
Failure to trace and disclose the flow of funds associated with the Maulers' business practices may expose the County to ethical liability and reputational harm. The use of ARPA funds or any federal assistance to enhance this facility while these business practices remained in place further complicates the matter. They must ensure that businesses or teams operating on public land do not engage in deceptive, harmful, or offensive practices—especially ones that traumatize or endanger community members.
🛡️ Government Entity Risk Assessment and Ongoing Oversight
Missoula County had a legal and ethical responsibility to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment prior to entering into any lease agreement with MAYHA—especially given the youth-serving nature of the Glacier Ice Rink and its operation on county-owned property. This duty did not end at the signing of the lease. It required ongoing monitoring and reevaluation throughout the lease term.
According to:
GASB Standards—set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board—require municipalities and other public entities to establish and maintain transparent accounting systems that track and report financial activities, liabilities, and risk exposure. This includes not only the proper use of public funds but also the oversight of public assets such as land, facilities, and lease agreements with nonprofit organizations. When public property is leased to youth-serving or community-based nonprofits, municipalities must assess and document the operational, reputational, and civil risk associated with those relationships. This includes evaluating whether the activities conducted on public land align with community standards, public safety expectations, and nondiscrimination laws. Failure to monitor these risks can result in financial misstatements, legal liability, and a breach of fiduciary duty owed to the public.
Montana Code Annotated (MCA) § 2-7-503 and § 7-6-609 impose explicit obligations on local governments and public entities to maintain robust internal controls and conduct regular assessments of financial and operational risk—especially when managing public assets or entering into lease agreements. This requires each local government to establish a system of internal control designed to:
Assure compliance with laws, rules, and grant requirements.
This includes oversight of financial arrangements involving nonprofits operating on public land, such as lease agreements or facility use partnerships. These systems must not be passive or one-time reviews—they are expected to function continuously and adapt to emerging risks.MCA § 7-6-609 further mandates that governing bodies “adopt an annual budget for each fund maintained” and that they evaluate the use of public funds, property, and resources for lawful and beneficial public purposes. This includes assessing whether partnerships with outside entities (like MAYHA) are aligned with the public interest and do not expose the community to preventable harm.
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Best Practices are standards widely adopted across both public and private sectors to help organizations identify, assess, and mitigate risk across all areas of operation. When applied to municipalities or nonprofits operating on county-owned property—such as Glacier Ice Rink under MAYHA’s management—these principles impose a proactive responsibility to prevent foreseeable harm and safeguard public interest. Key ERM components include:
Regular Audits: Both financial and operational audits are necessary to ensure transparency, detect misuse of funds, and verify that organizational behavior aligns with stated missions and public expectations. In the case of a youth facility operated by a 501(c)(3) on public land, this includes auditing not just books, but also program content, affiliations, and public impact.
Reputational Risk Reviews: ERM standards call for evaluating whether an organization’s partnerships, branding, or external activities could damage the trust or confidence of stakeholders—including the general public. Hosting or aligning with a private team named after a serial predator should have triggered red flags under any basic reputational risk screen.
Risk Mapping and Risk Registers: Organizations must maintain an active inventory of potential risks—legal, operational, reputational, financial—and assign monitoring responsibility. This includes identifying high-risk third-party relationships, especially those involving controversial or trauma-linked entities in public-facing programs.
Scenario Planning & Harm Prevention: ERM involves anticipating worst-case outcomes—not waiting for them to materialize. Allowing a youth hockey team branded with a name linked to gender-based murder and assault to operate in a publicly leased facility without a trauma-informed review clearly failed the “foreseeable harm” test.
Crisis Management & Public Accountability Plans: If the public or media questions a partnership, facility use, or program choice, the organization must be able to demonstrate that a preexisting system was in place to detect and respond to harm. That’s a core ERM function—responding to harm is not enough if no system existed to prevent it—reinforce the County’s responsibility to exercise active, informed oversight in every public asset arrangement—including those involving nonprofits.
When Missoula County allowed a team associated with violent and discriminatory symbolism to operate in a youth-serving venue on county-owned land, it likely failed to uphold its duties. The County was required not only to monitor financial transactions but also to proactively assess whether these operations posed civil rights risks, reputational damage, or violated ethical public use standards.
Such failures increase the County’s exposure to civil litigation, potential claims of negligence, and public trust erosion. They also raise the possibility of broader state or federal oversight action for failing to maintain appropriate controls over public facilities and leased operations.
📣 County’s Responsibility to Notify Victims
The Maulers’ business practices directly referred to a federal-level violent crime. There are five surviving victims of Wayne Nance's crimes. Missoula County had a responsibility—both ethically and arguably legally—to notify direct surviving victims before entering or renewing lease agreements that enabled these business practices. As this occurred on county-owned property, with the foreseeable risk of retraumatization and reputational harm. Did the County fail to meet its duty of care?
Federal victim protections under 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (Crime Victims' Rights Act) include the right to dignity, to be protected from further harm, and to be reasonably informed. State protections under MCA § 46-24-103 reinforce those same standards.
The fact that no notice, outreach, or consideration was ever extended to the victims—particularly as the Mauler’s name became a community fixture—represents a severe breakdown in trauma-informed policy and public accountability.
🏛️ City of Missoula Business Licensing, Lanham Act, and Victim Notification Responsibilities
If the City of Missoula issued or renewed a business license to Missoula Maulers Inc., it did so with full knowledge that they were renting and operating within the Glacier Ice Rink a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leasing county-owned property. The city had an affirmative duty to:
Ensure that any license issued prioritizes the public interest
Consult applicable federal protections, including the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)), which, at the time, prohibited the registration of scandalous or immoral marks
Uphold trauma-informed, gender-sensitive standards when approving youth-facing business activities
Had a professional duty to recognize that this business was operating in a nonprofit, youth-serving environment on county-owned land.
Business registration should have been reviewed by a clerk, department, or commission,
Any business with a name connected to a violent criminal or public tragedy should have triggered a flag or follow-up inquiry.
City responsibility: To enforce business naming standards that don’t mislead the public or glorify known criminals—especially in youth contexts.
Failure: If they allowed a business to use deceptive branding tied to a known serial killer without informing or warning the public.
Government-issued business licenses are not neutral actions. They confer legitimacy and support.
Moreover, under 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (Crime Victims’ Rights Act) and MCA § 46-24-101 et seq., the City had a duty to notify surviving victims of any publicly sanctioned activity that could foreseeably cause harm, retraumatization, or public exposure of a crime-linked identity.
🏛️ The City’s Duty to Act—Even Without Land Ownership
While the Missoula Maulers operated out of a facility on county-owned land, the City of Missoula was far from uninvolved. As a public entity with oversight of youth safety, civil rights compliance, and public welfare, the City had independent responsibilities it cannot disclaim.
Public entities are bound by both federal and state standards to uphold the rights of their residents—especially when harm occurs in shared civic spaces.
Key responsibilities include:
Monitoring for foreseeable harm in publicly accessible venues, even if not city-owned
Investigating or escalating known risks involving youth programs, civil rights violations, or public trauma
Cooperating with county officials under state and intergovernmental standards when ethical, fiduciary, or civil harms are exposed
These duties are codified in:
28 C.F.R. Part 35 (ADA Title II Regulations): Requires public entities to ensure nondiscrimination, including when leasing or coordinating with third-party operators
Montana Code Annotated § 2-7-503 and § 7-6-609: Mandates adoption of internal controls and regular risk assessment in all public asset arrangements
GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) Standards: Calls for public entities to manage risk exposure when taxpayer-supported facilities are involved
Given the scope of harm caused by allowing a youth team to operate under a name tied to a known serial predator, the City had a clear duty to act. Even without direct control of the rink, it had every reason—and responsibility—to:
Ask hard questions
Raise concerns to the County or relevant agencies
Protect trauma survivors and uphold public trust
Its silence or inaction, in light of a name that glorified a serial killer whose crimes targeted women, represents a systemic failure, not just a missed opportunity
🧾 Final Statement: The Scope of Failure
Every licensed professional who touched these accounts—whether in banking, accounting, or city and county governance—had a duty to act in accordance with ethical, legal, and professional standards. Those duties included ensuring lawful nonprofit operation, lawful government operation, preventing public harm, protecting survivors’ rights, and upholding public interest.
Did they fail?
This is not an isolated oversight. It is a systemic breakdown across institutions and sectors. The reach is astronomical—from financial institutions to local government, from regulatory oversight to public trust. The fact that business practices tied to a white male serial killer whose crimes were sexually motivated against women were permitted to flourish in a county-leased, youth male-dominated sport venue—without trauma-informed review or public accountability—represents a stunning betrayal of victims, taxpayers, and the broader community.
I am still filing complaints. I have formally requested an in-person meeting with the Attorney General for the State of Montana. I will continue to pursue every avenue of accountability available to me, until this injustice is acknowledged and addressed—not just in policy, but in public trust restored.
📣 Call to Action: Help Me Build This
I’m looking for legislators, journalists, survivors, and advocacy groups who are ready to co-create a better standard.
If you’ve worked on getting legislation sponsored—I need your guidance.
Email me requesting a copy of the legislative bill draft.
If you believe in trauma-informed policy and ethical storytelling—I want to hear from you.
Whether you’re in Montana or across the country, your voice matters.
📩 Email me at the.shook.project@gmail.com
🔁 Share this post—with colleagues, communities, and on every platform.
🗣️ Talk about this in your advocacy work, your classrooms, your town halls.
I can’t do this alone.
I need all the help I can get.
This essay reflects my understanding, personal experience, and research. Allegations are based on publicly available information and cited legal standards. Any individual or institution is invited to respond or provide clarifying information. I welcome transparency and accountability.
📚 Legal & Regulatory Citations
Victims' Rights & Civil Protections
18 U.S.C. § 3771 – Crime Victims’ Rights Act
MCA § 46-24-103 – Montana Crime Victims' Rights
42 U.S.C. § 12132 – Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II)
42 U.S.C. § 2000d – Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs)
20 U.S.C. § 1681 – Title IX (prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and youth programs)
28 C.F.R. Part 35 – ADA Title II implementing regulations
Nonprofit Oversight & Tax-Exempt Standards
IRS Treasury Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(1) – Prohibits private or harmful interests
IRS Treasury Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(d)(1)(ii) – Requires serving public rather than private interests
IRS Rev. Rul. 71-447 – Tax-exempt organizations must adhere to established public policy
Montana Charitable Solicitation Act – MCA § 35-2-901 et seq.
Montana Code Annotated § 7-8-2501 – Public lease use must serve a legitimate public purpose
Financial & Fiduciary Responsibility
GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) Principles
MCA § 2-7-503 & § 7-6-609 – Internal controls and financial integrity for local government
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) & Anti-Money Laundering (AML) – 31 U.S.C. §§ 5311–5332
KYC (Know Your Customer) Requirements – Implemented under federal banking compliance regulations
Business Licensing & Trademark Law
15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) – Lanham Act: Prohibits registration of immoral, scandalous, or deceptive marks
MCA § 30-13-201 et seq. – Montana Business and Fictitious Name Registration standards
🔗 Relevant Oversight Agencies & Resources
IRS – Charities & Nonprofits Division
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profitsU.S. Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division
https://www.justice.gov/crtOffice for Victims of Crime (OVC)
https://ovc.ojp.gov/U.S. Department of Education – Title IX Enforcement
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.htmlOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – Bank and BSA Oversight
https://www.occ.gov/Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
https://www.gasb.org/Montana Secretary of State – Business & Nonprofit Services
https://sosmt.gov/business/Montana Department of Justice – Victim Services
https://dojmt.gov/victims/Montana Legislative Services Division – MCA Database
https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/index.html