By Scott Purvis for CoinLink

Christopher Cipoletti was fired yesterday as executive director and legal counsel of the American Numismatic Association, the nation’s largest coin collector organization based in Colorado Springs, Co.

In a closed executive session Monday evening, the ANA’s nine-member board of governors voted to “terminate with cause” Cipoletti’s employment and then announced that decision Tuesday, during a public meeting to the organization’s 35 staff members.

“Because it’s an employment issue, we don’t give specifics, but we felt there’s adequate cause to fire him,” Barry Stuppler, president of the board, said.

It was reported that Cipoletti, 46, did not return a call to his Colorado Springs home for comment. Cipoletti has been the ANA executive director since January 2003 and also served as the ANA’s legal counsel. His annual compensation has been reported to be $250,000.

The move by the board, comes after several years of turmoil within the organization. Questions about finances, claims of secrecy and staff turnover culminated during the last ANA general election, where most of the “old” board of governors was replaced by the ANA membership or more than 32,000.

One of the New Boards first actions was on August 12th when it decided to place Mr. Cipoletti on “administrative leave” and replace him with Ed Rochette. Rochette has served as the associations executive director before Cipoletti and is currently a board member. The local money museum is named after him.

After Tuesday’s announcements Ed Rochette commented “…this board and staff are paving the way for the association to move up and beyond where it’s been,” .

Cipoletti’s employment contract with the association runs through Dec. 31, 2008, however with his firing, now an arbitrator will be needed to settle any contract claims and severance issues. The ANA’s projected $800,000 operating budget deficit for the 2007 fiscal year most likely will be affected by any outcome from that arbitration.

In a private executive session during a working dinner Monday, Cipoletti reportedly gave a presentation to the board for more than an hour. “After his presentation, we decided to terminate him,” Stuppler said.

While the ANA looks for a new executive director, former association president Kenneth Hallenbeck of Colorado Springs will continue as the acting executive director.

Prior to Cipoletti’s removal yesterday the ANA announced on that a $1 million donation pledge made by Steve Contursi and Todd Griffins of Rare Coin Wholesalers for three ANA Museum projects had been cordially withdrawn.

The proposed Museum Projects have long been an issue on concern to many ANA members and critics since they were announced. The $40 million price tag for upgrades to the ANA museum in Colorado Springs, and two new museums (One in Washington DC and the other to be housed in the old San Francisco Mint building in California) had previously come under attack as being misguided and far too expensive.

The ANA previously announced on Oct 5th that it was canceling the Washington DC project, and many observers clearly saw this as a sign that the New board had no intention of moving forward with the new museums, part of Cipoletti’s vision for the future of the ANA.

It seems they were correct. On Monday Board members also voted to scrap both plans to build a money museum in the San Francisco Mint building and all plans to expand the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs were put on hold.

Adding to Cipoletti’s woes was the messy business of ongoing litigation. At the time Cipoletti was placed on Administrative Leave in August , Stuppler said the action was taken to give Cipoletti time to concentrate on a civil lawsuit Cipoletti and the American Numismatic Association filed more than two years ago against three former employees and an independent computer contractor. The lawsuit alleges civil theft of proprietary business information, harassment against Cipoletti, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, amoung other complaints.

This month, a jury trial in 4th Judicial District Court was rescheduled for the fourth time to Aug. 18, 2008.

To date, the ANA has paid about $400,000 in legal fees on the case, Stuppler said.

Further concerns remain as to what actually took place during Cipoletti’s tenure at the ANA.

Questions have been raised about the organization’s operating budget deficit, which for the past five years under Cipoletti’s leadership has ranged from $266,000 to more than $1 million annually. A Coin World article reported that Cipoletti and another ANA employee took a seminar on fundraising that cost over $100,000, and there have been numerous eye brows raised as to the personnel changes and competence of some employees in management positions, especially with respect to the museum.

However the New board seems committed to take the ANA in a new direction. Stuppler pledged an open, transparent atmosphere for the board, staff and members.

“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.”