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| Closed all spring for repairs to the grandstand, the New London-Waterford Speedbowl, racked by scandal involving its owner, is set to open in June. |
Doors at the Speedbowl, a major spring/summer/fall
attraction in Southeastern Connecticut, have been shut since the first racing
weekend, originally scheduled for early May, was cancelled—ostensibly for work
on the grandstands. Bad weather was also cited.
However, more apropos to the situation may be that the racetrack’s
owner, Bruce Bemer, has been arrested and implicated in a scandal charging him
with soliciting sex from young men—many afflicted with cognitive impairment
issues. A lawsuit by several of the victims has served to tie up the Bemer’s assets—including
the Speedbowl—as well as those of Westport businessman William Trefzger, who
was also implicated in the scandal.
Bemer, a Glastonbury-based businessman, has owned the
Speedbowl since purchasing the facility in an auction in 2014. If a motion that
was filed against the two men by several of their alleged victims goes through,
the court will assume the assets of Bemer and Trefzger, who face charges of “patronizing
a trafficked person” in Danbury Superior Court. Bemer is currently free on
$500,000 bail, while Trefzger remains in custody on a $250,000 bond. Another
Enfield man has filed a separate suit alleging that he was victimized by Bemer
when he was 15, and seeks to freeze $5 million in assets.
In reaction to the scandal, NASCAR terminated its sanction
of the Whelen All-American racing series that was to have begun on May 6. That
effectively ended the venue’s major racing event.
According to The Day,
Scott Gregory, the Speedbowl’s manager, could not be reached for comment.
—Staff Reports
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