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Who is Rusty Shenkman?by Frontenac News StaffCharles "Rusty" Shenkman has caused quite a stir in Frontenac County this past week. But who exactly is he and what brought this forgotten corner of eastern Ontario to his attention?
The News has undertaken an investigation into these matters, in the public interest and not only in the interest of idle gossip. "He arrived in my office about a month ago and said he'd heard I had an idea and needed an investor," recalls County economic development officer Richard Byrons. "Naturally we checked out his credentials."
According to a source close to the Shenkman family "Rusty is a straight-shooter whose worth is comfortably in the seven figures."
Interestingly, given recent News events locally, Shenkman made his money in the Silver industry. He is the sole owner of Tex-Mex Silver Mines, based in Amarillo, Texas. Again, family sources assured us the Mex part of things only refers to the kind of cuisine served in the mines canteen, and most, if not all, of the mining operations take place on the US side of the border with Mexico.
Shenkman himself told the News he has no "global" connections. I am not a global guy, and I've never even been to Godfrey, although I'm sure it's a lovely place," he said.
Shenkman's cowboy hat and shock of orange hair notwithstanding, he was actually raised in New York City in a family of diamond merchants.
"I left New York and moved to Amarillo 30 years ago, lured by a woman I met in a coffee house in Greenwich Village. The romance didn't work out, but I've been a Texan ever since."
A restless soul, Shenkman is always on the lookout for exciting and interesting business opportunities. He found out about the Frontenac Centre by accident. "I am a notoriously bad typist," he recalls, and I was trying to find out about a castle in France, the Frontainbleu Castle, when I mistakenly typed in Frontenac on my internet search and up came the Frontenac Centre and Mr. Byrons. The rest, as they say is history."
