Lawyers for Chuck Hildebrant, 45, filed an appeal of a Boone Circuit Court decision that declared the records, which are part of the team's lease of city-owned land, public.

In his Sept. 10 decision, Boone Circuit Judge Anthony Frohlich dissolved a restraining order that prevented Florence from releasing the records.

Frohlich said the two-page financial statement and letters from two accountants "are documents involving matters of legitimate public concern and which the public is entitled to scrutinize."

Hildebrant's attorney, Stephen Wolnitzek, argued that releasing the records would be an invasion of privacy.

But Frohlich said Hildebrant's privacy concerns were outweighed by the fact that Hildebrant "received the unique economic benefit of over $6 million in public funds."

Florence attorneys argue in a separate lawsuit that the financial records in question are false.

Hildebrant has been ordered by two Ohio judges to repay two banks $4.5 million in loans. Several of his relatives sued him and others alleging he mortgaged 204 acres of Warren County land by using fake documents.

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