[3] Accused of perpetrating an embezzlement scheme behind one of the largest corporate frauds in US history, Monus was fired from the company and faced criminal charges.
[3] His return coincided with the collapse of the community's core steel industry, and Monus became intrigued with the possibility of launching a retail enterprise whose operations stretched beyond the borders of his hometown.
[3] Monus partnered with David Shapira, to launch Phar-Mor, a "deep discount" drugstore which used a strategy of aggressive buying to provide customers with tremendous savings, if fewer selections.
[3] With startup money provided by Giant Eagle, Inc., the supermarket company in which Shapira's family members were large shareholders, the Phar-Mor discount drug chain became enormously successful.
[3] In an effort to revitalize his hometown's deteriorating retail district, Monus located the company's national headquarters in a remodeled former department store in downtown Youngstown.
[9] In July 1992, board members of Phar-Mor alleged that financial books stored at the corporate headquarters showed that the company had inflated its profits by huge margins.
[12] The subsequent collapse of the discount chain not only marked the end of Monus' tenure as a leading entrepreneur; it disillusioned residents of his hometown, who were still coping with the loss of the community's steel-manufacturing sector.
It emerged that Ray Issac, the quarterback for the 1991 Youngstown State Penguins football team (which won the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship that year), had received substantial benefits from Monus over his college career, including $10,000 in cash, and the use of several cars.