WEST PALM BEACH, FL (HEDGECO.NET) – Terrence Gasper, the ex-state official, has pled guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to charges he traded investment opportunities for gifts. Prosecutors say Terrence Gasper is charged with a felony count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by using his high-ranking post to dole out opportunities in exchange for money.
He is the first official with the State’s insurance fund to be charged in a year long investigation into the fund’s investment practices. Mr Gasper aged 59, admited receiving $25,000 from rare-coin dealer Tom Noe as a bribe in return for receiving investment business from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Mr Gasper also pled guilty to state charges for failing to disclose the source of income, gifts, travel, meals and entertainment on mandatory financial disclosure forms from 1999 through 2005. He could face five years and six months in prison.
Mr Gasper had tried to keep mounting losses in a hedge fund managed by MDL Financial Management quiet. Those losses ultimately hit $215 million, he also played a central role in the state’s $50 million rare-coin investment and the loss of $216 million of bureau money in a Bermuda-based hedge fund. So far, prosecutors have not alleged any criminal wrongdoing relating to the hedge fund managed by Pittsburgh-based MDL Capital Management, even though the bureau’s own rules did not allow hedge funds.
Last year, the bureau’s interim administrator, Tina Kielmeyer, disclosed that Mr. Gasper was forced to resign in 2004 because of the hedge fund losses. In early 2005, bureau officials told The Blade that Mr. Gasper left for health reasons. It is unknown what impact Mr. Gasper’s cooperation will have on others who have been under scrutiny.
Alex Akesson
Contributing Writer
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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