The current Vulcanus Rex — the villain of the St. Paul Winter Carnival — has been removed from the organization after an investigation into a complaint of misconduct made by a woman against him.
The St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation said in a statement that they had received a complaint about the conduct of David W. Breen, this year’s Vulcanus Rex, the leader of the Winter Carnival’s Vulcans.
The foundation said in a written statement Wednesday that it had notified the Imperial Order of Fire and Brimstone Ltd. — the independent organization that runs the Vulcans — who then “conducted an investigation and has since removed Breen from any active role.”
The foundation declined to provide details of the incident, including when it was alleged to have taken place. They said only that it did not involve an employee of the foundation, and initially said Wednesday that they had been notified “in the last few days.” On Thursday, Mike Zipko, a public affairs consultant representing the Foundation, said there had been “confusion” about the timeline, and said that both the complaint and Breen’s subsequent ousting had actually occurred in October.
Breen, 46, of Shoreview, did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday.
The order’s president, Jerry Lanahan, said the Vulcans received word of the complaint from the Festival & Heritage Foundation, but no information on who made it.
Lanahan said that when the group received the complaint, they investigated and recommended to Breen that he “step away” from his role as Vulcanus Rex. Lanahan said Breen agreed.
“Trust me, we take this very, very seriously,” Lanahan said.
When asked about what the complaint may have entailed, Lanahan said to his knowledge, “It was not a grabbing thing. He didn’t touch her.
“It was down in La Crosse (Wisconsin). Dave says it’s wild down there … something may have happened.”
Lanahan added: “People down in Octoberfest were partying. There’s people doing all kinds of things. Everybody was standing around, other carnival people standing around, everybody’s having a party. It was out in the wide open.”
Lanahan declined to provide any additional details, saying, “It’s kind of an ongoing thing.”
Lanahan added, “We’re even going to do more sexual harassment classes.” He also pointed out that the Vulcans do charitable work like visits to hospitals and senior homes, and cancer benefits.
Breen has long been involved with the Vulcans. In 2007, he was the Vulcan Count of Ashes.
The Festival & Heritage Foundation issued a statement saying that it “takes pride in creating the St. Paul Winter Carnival and providing activities and events for the whole family. We take matters like this very seriously.
“Both organizations do a significant amount of mentoring and training for the people who fulfill the many character roles related to the legend of the Winter Carnival,” the statement added.
In Winter Carnival lore, Vulcanus Rex leads the Vulcan Krewe, who return each year to boot out the pompous winter king, Boreas, and hasten the coming of spring.
For decades, the group earned a notorious reputation — boozy, sexually charged antics that made them famous with some and infamous with others. Decades ago they were known for carousing in bars and chasing women through streets, stores and offices. The masked, red-caped Krewe members would grab women and kiss them — or more — smudging their black makeup on the women’s faces to reflect the women’s willingness to show their “allegiance.”
For years, it was condoned by the clubby, good ol’ boy elements of St. Paul, who took a boys-will-be-boys attitude.
But times changed. A complaint of unwanted kissing and “sexual intimacies” in 1975 prompted officials to outlaw kissing — even with willing women. Smudging disappeared later, leaving the Krewe to mark people with a black “V” only if they consented. The Vulcans also faced a lawsuit over conduct in 1985, and two former Vulcans were convicted of groping in 1998.
A major blow came in 2005 when the reigning Vulcan king, 50-year-old Thomas C. Trudeau, pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching three female bartenders while placing garters on them at Alary’s Bar downtown. That prompted a task force to outlaw the most problematic Vulcan practices — such as the gartering of women’s legs, heavy alcohol consumption and unscheduled appearances like the one at Alary’s.
Criminal background checks for Vulcans were mandated and they received extensive training on protocol, sexual harassment and cultural sensitivity.
Several years after the incident, the Vulcans said they had worked to tone down their act, and reached out to even more charities and neighborhoods, according to a 2008 Pioneer Press article.
“We want to be naughty and nice — not naughty and creepy,” Jeff Hunter, president of the Imperial Order of Fire & Brimstone, said at the time.
Correction: Breen was the Vulcan Count of Ashes in 2006. This story previously had the wrong year.
