The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 42, October 21, 2007, Article 6

ANA FIRES FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CIPOLETTI

[It's old news by now, but because of our coverage of the
various goings-on surrounding the ANA, here is the complete
text of the organization's press release following the
recent Board of Governors meeting.  -Editor]

The American Numismatic Association Board of Governors,
on Tuesday, announced that Executive Director Chris Cipoletti
has been terminated with cause, effective 5:01 p.m. Oct. 16.

The Board, meeting at ANA headquarters, voted 8-0, with
Governor Edward C. Rochette abstaining, to end Cipoletti's
tenure as the Association's Executive Director and General
Counsel. The Board also voted 8-0, with Governor Chester
Krause absent, to terminate all financial and trustee
relationships including the position of corporate agent
held by Cipoletti by virtue of his employment as executive
director and general counsel. The action refers specifically
to removing Cipoletti's name as a signature authority on
all ANA credit card, investment, pension and banking accounts.

ANA President Barry Stuppler said he could not give specifics
about the decision because it was a personnel matter but
added, "We felt there was adequate cause to fire him."

The Board also authorized a search for a new executive
director. The Executive Review and Compensation Committee,
comprised of Stuppler, Vice President Patricia Jagger Finner,
Governor Clifford Mishler and General Counsel Ron Sirna,
were charged with setting up a procedure to implement the
search. Applications for the position will not be accepted
until the procedure is established.

Kenneth Hallenbeck will continue as acting executive director
until a new executive director is hired, with Kim Kiick
serving as chief operating officer. Sirna, an attorney from
Flint, Mich., was transferred from his appointment as
Counsel to the President to General Counsel.

Cipoletti, who replaced Rochette as executive director in
2003, was placed on administrative leave in August. He began
working for the ANA in 1997 and was named its general
counsel in 1998.

The ANA Board of Governors met in executive session on Oct.
15 and 16, and held an open session beginning at noon on
Oct. 16. An audio tape of the open session can be heard in
streaming audio on the ANA website at
ANA Board Meeting Tape .

[The Colorado Springs Gazette published an article about
the board's move.  Here are some excerpts.  -Editor]

Christopher Cipoletti has been fired as executive director
and legal counsel of the Colorado Springs-based American
Numismatic Association, the nation's largest coin collector
organization, effective 5 p.m. Tuesday.

"The association's nine-member board of governors voted to
'terminate with cause' Cipoletti's employment in a closed
executive session Monday evening and announced the decision
Tuesday during a public meeting broadcast to the organization's
35 staff members.

"The move by the board, voted in by the organization's
32,000 members a few months ago, caps years of turmoil for
the association, which was federally chartered by Congress
in 1891 as an educational, historical and scientific
nonprofit organization. Questions about finances, claims
of secrecy, staff turnover and a pending lawsuit have
plagued the organization.

"'It may be fall outside, but to us it's bright spring —
this board and staff are paving the way for the association
to move up and beyond where it's been,' said Ed Rochette
after Tuesday's announcements. Rochette served as association
executive director before Cipoletti's term and is now a
board member. The local money museum is named after him.

"An arbitrator will help settle Cipoletti's employment
contract with the association, which runs through Dec. 31,
2008, with an option for a five-year renewal, Stuppler said.
The organization's projected $800,000 operating budget
deficit for this fiscal year could be affected by the
outcome of the arbitration, he said.

"Cipoletti gave a presentation of an undisclosed nature
to the board for more than an hour during a working dinner
Monday, Stuppler said.

"'After his presentation, we decided to terminate him,'
Stuppler said.

"Board members also in August raised questions about
the organization's operating budget deficit, which for
the past five years under Cipoletti's leadership has
ranged annually from $266,000 to more than $1 million.

"The board hired an independent certified public accounting
firm to determine whether an audit is needed. Stuppler said
Tuesday that the board had not received the report.

"'We have a new management change, a new structure and a
new culture,' he said. 'In the past, there hasn't been an
open line of communication, and we're trying to remedy that.'"

Cipoletti

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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