By James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Former promissory note pitchman George Fiorini pleaded not guilty to 79 federal charges Thursday, then went home to resume selling another product with a high rate of interest: coral calcium.

Fiorini, 53, of Miami Township, was indicted last week on 79 criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering and income tax evasion. The charges stemmed from his sale of at least $1.4 million in promissory notes that collapsed in late 2001.

Appearing in a sporty white, double-breasted suit before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Hogan, Fiorini pleaded not guilty through his court-appointed lawyer and agreed to post bond of $50,000. Hogan restricted Fiorini's travel to southern Ohio, although Assistant U.S. Attorney John DiPuccio said the government does not regard him as a flight risk.

"We don't feel he's going to flee," the prosecutor said. "If he was going to flee, he'd have gone months ago."

DiPuccio did express concerns about Fiorini's new job, that of selling coral calcium - a mineral supplement popularized on TV infomercials - for a Worthington, Ohio, company called Global Outreach Partners.

At DiPuccio's request, Hogan ordered a review of that company and Fiorini's duties.

Outside the courtroom, a 59-year-old Bridgetown resident trembled over the prospect of losing the $100,000 he invested in Fiorini's 10 Percent Income Plus Plan in 1999.

The investor, Jerry Craig, said Fiorini told him that the notes would be secured by viatical settlements, in which loans are made to terminally ill people in exchange for their life insurance policies.

But he instead received promissory notes from an Erlanger company that planned - but failed - to roll out a world network of medical waste disposal centers. He said Fiorini told him that the notes were backed by an insurance company that was in turn backed by "the legal reserve."

"I don't make much money," Craig said. "My wife never worked, and I scrimped and saved and went to Goodwill stores to save money.

"I don't know how the man can sleep at night," he said. "He posed as a really great guy. He even prayed with us that night. How can he say he doesn't have our money when he's driving a Mercedes?"

Fiorini's case will be heard by U.S. Senior Judge Herman Weber. A fellow defendant, Stephen Ventre, is expected to plead guilty next Thursday to a single count of scheming to defraud.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com.