A California coin dealer wants ANA Gov. Don Kagin expelled from ANA membership for his alleged role in an attempt to sell a California gold bar that was stolen from the dealer.
Attorneys for Dwight Manley filed a complaint dated March 9 with the ANA. The gold bar in question was made by Blake & Co. and was purchased in 2000 for $80,000.
The complaint alleges that ?in attempting to broker the sale of a gold bar with knowledge, or reasons to suspect, that the bar was stolen, Kagin has violated the ANA?s Board Member Code of Ethics in that he has failed to maintain the highest standard of personal conduct; failed to promote and encourage the highest level of ethics within the numismatic profession; and failed to maintain loyalty to the ANA and its members.?
The remedy sought is Kagin?s expulsion according to terms of Article 3 of the bylaws.
Kagin said of the complaint, ?Dwight Manley is a friend, colleague and major benefactor to the ANA. I?m certain that Dwight was very angry to learn that a person he had hired to work for him at his home had stolen a valuable gold ingot that Dwight had left in his garage. What I don?t understand is why Dwight?s anger at a thief would cause him to lash out at a friend who helped him recover the ingot and provided information leading to the thief?s incarceration.
?Of course my position as an ANA governor requires special scrutiny of the way I conduct my numismatic business. I have nothing to hide in this matter, and am confident that any objective person who looks at the facts will conclude that I acted with the highest degree of ethics in our profession. As this matter is presently the subject of an ANA hearing, I do not feel it appropriate to comment further at this time. That is why I have asked the ANA to hold the hearing in open session as soon as possible, which I believe will be at the Long Beach coin show the end of next month. I hope that any interested person will attend.?
An open hearing of the complaint by the ANA board on May 30 at the Long Beach, Calif., Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Expo will be the most likely result, said ANA Executive Director Christopher Cipoletti April 11. He said he was in contact with attorneys for both sides and he hoped a decision would be made by the end of the week.
Cipoletti said Kagin has expressed in a statement a preference for an open hearing and he expected Manley?s attorney would agree.
Christopher Pitet of Grobaty & Pitet LLP, Manley?s attorney, said April 11 that the ANA has ?gotten the complaint and they are processing it.? He expects a response from Kagin.
A hearing would be the next step, but Pitet said the time, location and format have yet to be determined.
When asked if he wants a public or private hearing, Pitet replied, ?We haven?t made a decision yet.?
The complaint alleges that the Blake & Co. bar, serial number 5183, that weighs 63.77 ounces and has a marked value of $1153.46, was purchased for $80,000 by Manley in a June 2000 Sotheby?s auction that Kagin also attended and where Kagin observed who the buyer was.
This bar was stolen from Manley?s residence in Irvine, Calif., on or around December 2005 by a contractor, according to the complaint. The contractor has been convicted of the theft.
The complaint states that the contractor sold the stolen bar to a dealer who then made inquiries about it through another dealer, who talked to Kagin. Kagin told this dealer ?the Blake bar had been purchased by an ?older gentleman? and that Kagin was the ?underbidder.? This statement was false as Kagin knew that Manley was the purchaser of the Blake bar,? the complaint states.
Kagin also told the dealer ?he had a buyer for the Blake bar and offered to broker the sale,? the complaint states.
Should the ANA board decide to remove Kagin from the board, the result would be the third vacancy during the present two-year term. Michael S. Turrini is in line to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Brian Fanton as next highest vote getter in the last election.
Anthony Tumonis would be in line by vote totals to fill the next vacancy.
