sweetener

The former CEO of Mamtek is fighting extradition to Missouri. At a court hearing today in Santa Ana, California, Bruce Cole refused to be extradited, which means that he can’t be sent back to Missouri unless the Governor of California asks the court to order it. A spokeswoman for the Missouri Attorney General’s office says that request is being expedited. Cole is charged with diverting $700,000 in bond money from the city of Moberly to pay for personal expenses, including a failed attempt to prevent foreclosure on his home in Beverly Hills. Moberly issued $39 million in bonds to fund construction of an artificial sweetener plant, but work halted after Mamtek missed a bond payment and the town’s bond rating was later downgraded. Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport

A patent attorney who vouched for a Chinese artificial sweetener factory has testified that he became aware of concerns about the Chinese site before a…