$225,000 Embezzled by Banquet Hall Manager, Police Say

UPDATED: 8 P.M.

John D. Lindemuth’s recent admission that he stole about $225,000 from the Bethlehem Masonic Temple banquet facilities that he helped operate was not the first time his Masonic brothers found out about his alleged thievery.

Court records say that on two previous occasions – thanks to audits -- Masonic officials discovered Lindemuth, 48, was taking money.

Charges against Lindemuth say he falsified records, charged customers for larger banquets than those actually held and pocketed the difference, and later, collected money for banquets that were never held.

But he admitted to his actions both times, and both times his fellow Masons allowed him to keep his job and remain a “brother” in the Bethlehem lodge because he agreed to pay back the money he had taken.

In fact, after the second time, a lodge brother who is also a lawyer drafted a payback agreement between the lodge and Lindemuth, who blamed his problem on a lottery ticket habit that reached $500 a night.

Even with the agreement, the records say, Lindemuth did not stop stealing from the banquet operation inside the stately Masonic Temple, a historic city landmark on Wyandotte Street near the south end of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge.

But this time, in August 2012, instead of being found out by an audit, Lindemuth went to his lodge brothers and admitted he was still stealing, the records say.

There was no agreement this time. The officials immediately suspended him and commissioned an accountant to begin a “thorough audit” of all their records.

The accountant discovered that Lindemuth had stolen $225,037.31. It also was discovered he had paid back $49,302.11.

Five months after going to his lodge brothers, Lindemuth – accompanied by an attorney – went to city police headquarters to talk to Det. Christopher Beebe.

Lindemuth waived his Miranda rights and admitted to Beebe that he stole the money.

The case’s latest development came Monday, when Lindemuth was charged with theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking or disposition and receiving stolen property – all level-three felonies.

He was arraigned by on-duty District Judge John Capobianco and released on $150,000 unsecured bail.

A personal information sheet in Lindemuth’s file says the suspect “has been cooperative and has been in constant contact with police and the Masons while paying [money] back.”

In place of the word “money” is a dollar sign.

The information sheet also says Lindemuth is a Freedom High School graduate and has lived 46 of his 48 years in Bethlehem (he was born in the Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby). He resides on Holland Avenue in the city’s northeast section.

The banquet facilities are the focus of the Bethlehem Masonic Temple’s website. The homepage touts “Elegant & Memorable Banquets and Weddings.”

A history page says the Masons bought the temple – the former Elisha Packer Wilbur Mansion – in 1924 for $70,000. “The purchase was a real bargain,” the page says.

Beebe’s criminal complaint includes additional details of Lindemuth’s alleged actions:

• Since about 2008, Lindemuth had been working as a “primary assistant” in the kitchen and banquet facility of the Bethlehem Masonic Lodge Temple Association. Around 2009, he became supervisor for banquet facilities, working under Don Masters and the now-late Charlie Rush. His new duties included scheduling and billing and purchasing food and supplies.
• He had access to a “cash on hand” account reserved for purchases of the temple association. Lindemuth told Beebe he began to “take out a little at a time on multiple occasions” but “always put it back before anyone noticed it missing.”
• This pattern continued for about a year, when he began to “skim” money. For example, a customer needed a banquet for 40 people but Lindemuth charged the customer for 50 people and would keep the extra money.
• In an unscheduled audit, Rush found about $55,000 missing from the cash on hand and billing practices. Lindemuth admitted to Rush and Masters that he took the money and performed the “unethical” billing practices. But the temple association agreed Lindemuth could keep his job and standing as a Masonic “brother” if he paid back the money through sums taken from his paychecks.
• The salary paybacks continued through 2010. But during that year, Lindemuth developed the lottery habit. He resumed taking the cash on hand and the skimming. He also falsified records to show nothing was amiss.
• But he also began taking money at a greater rate than he could put it back. He had to “borrow” cash on hand to make the salary paybacks. And then he began to book banquets for 2011 and 2012, accept money from customers, keep the money and never schedule the banquets.
• An August 2011 audit found he had stolen $155,000, but again the association said he could stay on as long as he made the salary paybacks. An association member who is an attorney drew up a payback agreement.
• The paybacks continued, but so did Lindemuth’s taking of association money “to the point he believed he could no longer pay it back.” In August 2012 he went to association officials Masters and Rob Brink and admitted to taking more money. That led to the audit that found Lindemuth had stolen $225,037.31.

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