Blade-Ohio has to go to Bermuda to sue for missing $215M

[slaveplanet]

COLUMBUS — Bermuda is where some American companies and foreign investors go to shield profits from taxes and to save money, but the state of Ohio did the reverse and lost $215 million in the inviting tax haven

Even so, the hedge fund, called the Active Duration Fund, is listed with a Bermuda address. And the contract signed by the bureau’s former chief financial officer, Terry Gasper, specifies that any disputes have to be decided in a Bermuda court. The wording of the contract also appears to hold MDL free from liability for losses.

Bureau officials yesterday said the Bermuda provisions were “extremely out of the ordinary” and that Mr. Gasper acted alone and without authority of the agency’s Oversight Commission.

“It was one of the first things that came to our attention,” said bureau spokesman Jeremy Jackson, referring to when the bureau said it learned about the losses in the fall. By that time, the fund was a year old and $215 million in the red.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050611/NEWS24/50611003

[POAS]

1. curiouser and curiouser

To me this implies an acknowledgement by the parties involved of intent to defraud.

[slaveplanet]

2. It's looking that way

There is no excuse for this type of investment, save that it was set-up to be blown out.

did you read the part about Gasper...how he did not carry a bond , the fund could not be insured...How the oversite committee is just custodial in nature and does not investigate who the BWC give money to, prior to investing it....all the excuses are way too convenient.

And now we have Taftco...providing almost a year worth of cover, so the mice can hide the cheese...

[Toucano]

3. Keep your eyes on the ball

The whitewash effort is in full swing. Don't let them get away with blaming Gasper.

Oversight Committee Chairman Sopko whose chief duty is, "Making recommendations on BWC policy, investments and premium rates..." ( http://www.ohiobwc.com/basics/guidedtour/generalinfo/aboutoc.asp ) has contributed (along with his son) $45,350 to Republican candidates and $600 to Democrats in the past 15 years. Another $12,000 to Republican federal candidates in 2004 alone.

This far exceeds the previous chairs' contributions which are a.) Rachel Longaberger: $18,600 Republicans, $5,000 Democrats and b.) Neal Schultz, $12,200 Republicans, $3,000 Democrats.

This is about pay to play when the player, by his own admission, can't hit the ball.

Petro needs to sieze the minutes of the commission's monthly meetings and find out exactly what Sopko said at the time about this investment that was clearly offshore and clearly unregulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Aggregate contributions by the 5 voting members of the commission break out as follows:

To Republicans: $67,940 (67% from Sopko and son)
To Democrats: $4,950

Mark Lay of MDL has contributed $5,000 to Ohio Republican candidates including Betty Montgomery. Interesting that a resident of Pennsylvania has such a concern about the Republicans staying in control in Ohio.

There is no record of Terry Gasper making a contribution to either party. What a surprise!

[slaveplanet]

4. Thanks for info

as i noted in my other reply. The commission(headed by sopko) claims it only had custodial powers over the investments...they're spin will be , just give us investigatory powers and this won't happen again...exact same MO as the 9/11 commission recommendations.

[Toucano]

5. Yes, "custodial".

The BWC calls it "advisory", however.

Let's look at the definition of "custodial" -- just for kicks.

Pronunciation: "k&s-'tO-dE-&l
Function: adjective
: relating to guardianship; specifically : marked by or given to watching and protecting rather than seeking to cure <custodial care>

Watching and protecting...Watching and protecting....hmmm.

Who was watching and protecting, Mr. Sopko?

If it's an advisory commission, as the BWC claims in the above link, what do you suppose was their ADVICE?

Are we to understand that one individual, Terry Gasper, is vested with the responsibility to invest hundreds of millions of dollars without anyone "watching and protecting"?

[slaveplanet]

6. Sopko told the Blade

the information was not "shared"..that could mean all kinds of things...

“It is truly shocking to me that it is now over eight months and counting and your office has not yet taken action to ensure that the state recovers the over $200 million that was lost,” he wrote.

Yesterday, the chairman of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Oversight Commission and one of its five voting members defended the commission’s oversight as more custodial than determining specific investments.

The chairman, William Sopko, owner of Stamco Industries in Cleveland, said reform of the oversight commission might be needed to make sure someone with investment expertise serves.

He said a Bermuda address for the hedge fund would have “raised a red flag” with him had the information been shared.