State of Ohio's Money invested with Financial Felon

Article published Saturday, April 23, 2005

OHIO BUREAU OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Calls for coin-fund answers grow
3 GOP [Ohio state] senators question practices surrounding state investment
By JAMES DREW and MIKE WILKINSON
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITERS

COLUMBUS — For the first time, Republicans joined Democrats yesterday in asking tough questions about the state’s $50 million investment in rare coins.

A day after The Blade reported that one of the people hired by local coin dealer Tom Noe to manage a state-funded coin venture was convicted of a felony for faking a rare-coin transaction to cover up drug money, three GOP senators said they want answers to several questions.

The Blade reported yesterday that Mark Chrans, now 41, was convicted of fraud and perjury in federal court for his role in laundering cocaine profits in 1981. Chrans is the same manager who caused Mr. Noe’s Capital Coin to write off $850,000 over the last three years because of bad coin deals, an unpaid loan, and salary advances.

“That is disconcerting,” said Sen. Kirk Schuring (R., Canton)....