Former Mamtek CEO granted Missouri public defender

The former CEO of a failed sweetener facility is back in Missouri to face charges that he spent public money intended for the planned Moberly factory for his personal use.

Ex-Mamtek U.S. Inc. head Bruce Cole faces fraud and stealing charges after plans to build the plant collapsed. Prosecutors say he used some of the money from a $39 million bond to avoid foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.

Cole was assigned a public defender in his initial court appearance Monday after arriving at the Randolph County Jail two days earlier. Associate Circuit Judge Mason Gebhardt denied Cole's request to lower his $500,000 cash bond.

Cole faces one felony count of stealing and four counts of securities fraud. Construction on the Moberly plant stopped when a bond payment was missed