"Jim Crane's $680 million purchase of the Astros remains on hold as Major League Baseball continues to investigate charges of war profiteering and alleged unfair hiring practices of blacks and women, an official familiar with the process said Monday.

Meanwhile, Astros owner Drayton McLane continued to express optimism that Crane ultimately would be approved.

"I spoke extensively with the commissioner (Sunday) and had hoped this would be done this week, but it looks like it's going to be next week." said McLane, who believes the sale will be consummated in the next week to 10 days.

However, others are less certain. Baseball apparently has completed virtually all the background check on Crane's investors and is comfortable with the financial parameters of the deal.

But it's Crane himself who is under scrutiny. In 1997, complaints were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner against one of Crane's companies, Eagle USA Airfreight, regarding the companies policy on hiring blacks and women.

The EEOC sought $20 million to settle the case in 2001, and Eagle agreed to pay $8.5 million into a settlement fund while denying that it violated employment laws. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes returned about $6 million to Eagle in 2005 after a review found that 203 of 2,073 claims had merit.

After Crane announced his intention to purchase the Astros, he met with a local NAACP official to express his commitment to fair hiring practices. His investor group includes several minority business executives, some of whom said Crane promoted them and boosted their careers.

In the war profiteering case, another of Crane's companies, Eagle Global Logistics, paid $4 million to settle a Department of Justice lawsuit charging it had inflated the costs of military shipments to Iraq."