The investigation is unlikely to be completedby the time of the Evening With Champions showthis fall. Already, however, the investigation hastaken a personal toll on Sword.
Sword resigned this summer from Serve Canada, aprivate youth service he had helped found inToronto, after news of the district attorney'sinvestigation broke. Hugh Silk '91, anotherfounder of the youth service, said staff membersdiscussed the matter with Sword, and the recentgraduate offered to resign.
In addition, a $1,000 grant from RadcliffeCollege to Sword to help fund Serve Canada hasbeen cut off, a Radcliffe official confirmed thisweek.
Sword's father, Rod Sword, told The Crimson hehad hired a Boston law firm to represent his son.Sword himself has not returned phone calls. Butafter resigning from Serve Canada, he told theToronto Star, "There's so many emotions rightnow--pride, excitement about a great pro-gram...anddeep frustration, deep disappointment."
Word that Lee and Sword were at the center ofthe investigation into Evening With Championsshocked friends. Both graduates were popular inEliot House and active in the College community.
Lee, known by the nickname "Chaz," comes fromTenafly, New Jersey, an upper-middle class suburbof New York City. He kept a high profile in EliotHouse. Financed by money he inherited from hisgrandfather, according to a close friend, Lee testdrove expensive sports cars, smoked Cuban cigarsand owned an extremely expensive, and loud, stereosystem.
He also worked extremely hard in Evening WithChampions, first as a committee chair and then asco-chair with Rachel Schultz '93 in his senioryear. Widely regarded as hard-working and caring,Lee spent some of his own money to put on the showand even drove a skater participating in the eventback to her home in Montreal after a death in theskater's family.
Sword was born in the Canadian province ofSaskatchewan, but his family has traveledfrequently, friends say. His father, Rod, is acolonel in the Canadian Air Force and serves asliason to the United States Air Force Command,according to a family friend.
In addition to the two years he spent astreasurer of Evening With Champions, Swordparticipated in the Institute of Politics andPhillips Brooks House, served as business managerfor the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and was aproducer for Citystep, a student-run dance programfor underprivileged children.
Sword spent much of his time at the Fox, one ofthe nine all-male final clubs where many of hisroommates were also members, according to afriend.
During his senior year, however, Sword had lesstime to socialize. Instead, he spent long hoursraising private money to support Serve Canada.
The program begins this month, with some twodozen people working on public service projects,according to Serve Canada co-founder Hugh Silk'91.
In Evening With Champions, Sword was the mainkeeper of books for the show, according to EveningWith Champions officials. Committees would bringmoney they made to the treasurer, who would takethe money and record it in a general ledger. Mostcommittees kept receipts, but some didn't.
A former Evening With Champions official,speaking on condition of anonymity, told TheCrimson last month that there are two ways moneycould be stolen from the show. A committee chairmight not give all proceeds over to the treasurer.Or the treasurer might record less in the generalledger than a committee had brought in.
"Committees didn't keep their own money--therewere no separate accounts," says the official."They handed over proceeds to the treasurer, whokept a general record.