HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — A. William “Bill” Erpenbeck has resigned from Northern Kentucky University's board of regents, the school said Tuesday.

        Mr. Erpenbeck stepped down in March as the president of the Erpenbeck Co. The firm, which once was the fourth-largest home builder in Greater Cincinnati, is under investigation by the FBI for possible bank fraud. No charges have been filed in the episode, which is affecting lenders, subcontractors and home buyers in Ohio and Kentucky.

Bill Erpenbeck

        The resignation by Mr. Erpenbeck, an NKU alumnus who was a standout baseball pitcher for the Norse in the early 1980s, was effective Monday. The Crestview Hills resident was appointed by Gov. Paul Patton on July 1, 2001, and his term was scheduled to expire in June 2007.

        NKU President James Votruba and the other regents, who were having a dinner meeting Tuesday night, wouldn't take calls for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Patton's office said a replacement for Mr. Erpenbeck has not been chosen.

        In another development, ex-banker John Finnan — whose relationship to Erpenbeck cost him the job as head of Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky — is selling his house in Crestview Hills. It sits just off the Summit Hills Country Club Golf Course and is on the same street of upscale homes, Legends Way, as the $1.3 million home of Mr.Erpenbeck.

John Finnan's home on Legends Way

        Mr. Finnan's 13-room home is listed for $799,000 on the Huff Realty Web site.

        The Erpenbeck Co. owes Peoples, a six-branch bank with its main office in Crestview Hills, up to $6 million in construction and real estate loans, which the company is apparently unable to pay. Last week, the Erpenbeck Co. laid off most of its work force and now has about 10 employees.

        Mr. Finnan and another former Peoples executive, vice president Marc Menne, resigned last week after it was revealed that they and their wives were operating a side business known as Jams Properties that was buying homes from the Erpenbeck Co. and then leasing them back.

        Mr. Finnan and Mr. Menne were buying real estate, mostly model homes, from Mr. Erpenbeck without the knowledge or consent of the bank's board.

        There was no answer Tuesday at Mr. Finnan's home.

        The home is listed by Huff Realty of Florence. Huff Realty chief executive officer Jim Huff is a Peoples bank board member. His daughter, Susan Huff, is the home's listing agent. She did not return a phone call Tuesday for comment.

        Huff Realty is also the listing agent on several Erpenbeck-built homes, including those in the Reserve at Steeplechase subdivision in Richwood, Boone County.

       

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