BARS FOUR FORMER D.H. BLAIR OFFICERS FROM THE SECURITIES INDUSTRY
Commission Also Revokes D.H. Blair's Registration
On Dec. 20, the Commission issued orders barring the top
four former officers of D.H. Blair & Co. Inc., a now-defunct
New York City broker-dealer, from associating with any
broker or dealer. The four are former D.H Blair chairman
Kenton Wood, former vice chairmen Alan Stahler and Kalman
Renov, and former head trader Vito Capotorto. The four
consented to the issuance of the orders, which were based on
New York state felony convictions obtained by the Manhattan
District Attorney's Office after an investigation by that
office and Commission staff. Also today, the Commission
revoked Blair's broker-dealer registration.
On March 7, 2002, D.H. Blair, Stahler, Renov, and Capotorto
pleaded guilty to and were convicted of three counts of
violating the Martin Act-the New York state securities
law-for repeated market manipulations between 1993 and 1998.
People of New York v. D.H. Blair, et al., Ind. No. 3282/00.
The same day, Wood pleaded guilty to and was convicted of
one count of violating the Donnelly Act-the New York state
antitrust law-for colluding with broker-dealer A.R. Baron
and its president Andrew Bressman to park securities and
manipulate the prices of Blair and Baron house stocks.
People of New York v. Wood, SCI No. 1228/2002.
In connection with their pleas, the firm and all four
individuals agreed to be jointly and severally liable for a
$21 million restitution payment to defrauded investors and a
$4 million payment to the Manhattan District Attorney's
Office. On June 6, 2002, Stahler and Capotorto were
sentenced to state prison terms of 1 1/3 to 4 years, Renov
was sentenced to probation (including 2,200 hours of
community service), and D.H. Blair was sentenced to a
conditional discharge (the equivalent of probation). On
August 26, 2002, Wood was sentenced to a state prison term
of 1 1/3 to 4 years. (In the Matter of D.H. Blair & Co.,
Inc., Rel. No. 34-47070, File No. 3-10991; In the Matter of
Kenton Wood, Rel. No. 34-47071, File No. 3-10992; In the
Matter of Alan Stahler, Rel. No. 34-47072, File No. 3-10993;
In the Matter of Kalman Renov, Rel. No. 34-47074, File No. 3-
10995; In the Matter of Vito Capotorto, Rel. No. 34-47073,
File No. 3-10994) |
