Accused Coon Rapids swindler commits suicide

A Coon Rapids man accused of romancing a Wisconsin woman out of $112,000 in savings and money from the sale of her house has committed suicide, authorities said Monday.

Brian R. Pool, 46, was found Wednesday evening by his wife hanging in the family's garage at their home in the 10400 block of Crane Street Northwest, said Coon Rapids Police Capt. Brad Wise.

When a police officer answered the 911 call to the home from Pool's wife, family members were attempting to revive him, Wise said. Emergency responders took over resuscitation efforts before Pool was taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, according to the captain.

He was transferred to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where he died Sunday, according to the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.

Pool was charged in June with felony theft. By that time, the money of the 51-year-old alleged victim was gone, most of it used to fuel his gambling addiction, according to the Eau Claire County district attorney's office.

"Her life-blood's savings were completely sucked dry from this guy," Assistant District Attorney Gary Schuster said Monday. "She now has had to work 20 years longer."

The woman, who lived in Altoona, Wis., at the time, turned over her money after Pool made empty promises of marriage and lied about having cancer, according to the criminal complaint.

"But sometimes it wasn't just lonely hearts," Schuster said Monday. It also involved complaints about business dealings with Pool that did not involve romance, he said.

Altoona Officer Chuck Wysocky, the lead investigator on the case, said Monday that "several" women came to him, including two who worked at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake who said Pool had cheated them out of money.

Schuster said that although Pool is now dead, "we're not going to completely shut down the investigation, because we believe there are numerous victims ... and we want to try and give them some accounting" for what happened.

A court hearing in the case had been scheduled for Wednesday, when the prosecution and defense were expected to report on any progress on a potential plea agreement. Schuster said there was no indication of such an arrangement in the offing.

According to the charge filed in June, the woman and Pool started a romantic relationship in 2008, and it continued until she became suspicious about four months ago.

Pool, who has three children, told her he was divorced. However, Pool's first wife died in 2000. He also lied about having prostate cancer, losing his job, building a house on Lake Minnetonka and buying a home near the beach in Southern California, the charge said.

Also in 2000, he filed for bankruptcy, according to court records. Among his creditors was the IRS for more than $23,000 in back taxes, records indicate.