Larry Shepherd in 2014
In June 2013, Shepherd filed a lawsuit claiming that the ANA violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) laws alleging that the ANA has committed are racketeering, theft, and fraud. Shepherd also alleged that a few employees of the ANA and members of the Board of Governors made up stories about Shepherd in order to find a way to relieve him of his duties for cause so they can invalidate his contract
Early in January, Mike Ellis resigned from the Board of Governors while the ANA continued to wrestle with this lawsuit. As part of the reporting, ANA President Walt Ostromecki was quoted as saying, “He realized he had made a mistake and chose to step down from the board.”
Mike Ellis
The source was not sure whether Ellis initiated this or it was initiated by the ANA employees involved, but it was alleged that Ellis was the ring-leader from the Board’s perspective. It was also alleged that while Ellis was the most active it was suspected that other members of the Board had knowledge of his actions.
The same source also alleged that Ellis participated in creating the environment that caused Shepherd’s successor, Jeff Shevlin, to be fired using the same approach.
According to the source, the crux of the issue is that there allegedly was a faction at the ANA Colorado Springs Headquarters who did not want to work. Both Shepherd and Shevlin tried to reorganize the headquarters staff in order to create efficiencies that were not met with positive reactions. While the list of allegations were pretty comprehensive, it included claims that employees worked flexible hours against workplace policies, abused other workplace policies, and used ANA equipment for personal business including for outside income.
Ellis was only part of the problem. If the source is true, there are employees in Colorado Springs that should be disciplined for their part in creating the hostile environment for both Shepherd and Shevlin. We may never know what changes will be made in Colorado Springs because of both federal and Colorado employment privacy laws. However, the ANA Board of Governors should be open with the membership regarding how they are dealing with the ANA permanent employees.
While it appears the situation has settled with Kim Kiick as the Executive Director, the ANA has over 20 years of problems with Executive Directors. Maybe it is time for operations at the ANA Headquarters be revamped into a more professional organization with workplace rules and policies rather than being a club where people get paid.
After writing the post “Congress should leave well enough alone” I began to wonder how many people will collect the John F. Kennedy dollar and the Jacqueline Kennedy First Spouse gold coin. After all, the U.S. Mint is expecting higher sales for these coins. Let’s hear what you think. If you want, you can add […]
Some members of congress seem to act without thinking. Aside from not thinking about how much the U.S. Mint is forced to waste in order to make less than pure planchets, there are others who are so entrenched in their ideology that they make proposals that no longer make sense and will hurt the collecting […]
One of the problems many of us have with congress is the complete lack of common sense its members show. Even though most of the people have a better understanding of the issues, congress appears to represent the least common denominator of knowledge. Case in point was the three bills introduced in January. Time and […]
Late last month, the U.S. Mint published their price changes for collector coins, lowering prices from last year. The changes largely reflects the lower cost of silver versus last year. Although the price of silver is up from the beginning of the year ($15.71 on January 2 to $17.22 on February 2), the price is […]
In celebration of a reoccurring activity but the government, on Groundhog Day the President released his Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) budget request. Forgetting the usual politics surrounding congress’s reaction, the budget for numismatic-related production is largely irrelevant. Since 1950, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has been funded using income from operations, mostly sale of […]
The 114th Congress was gaveled into session on January 5, 2015 with an air of optimism that both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue would be able to work together. Optimism can last as long as someone does not offend their opponent or there are significant lingering issues. Let the games begin. We open February with the […]