And another one bites the dust!!!!!!!
Wednesday August 22, 4:18 pm Eastern Time
Ex-Brokers Charged with Insider Trading
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Wednesday said they filed insider trading charges against two former stockbrokers accused of buying securities in companies after receiving tips in the 1990s from an officer who worked at big Wall Street firms.
ADVERTISEMENT
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges Tuesday in federal district court in Manhattan against Vincent Napolitano, 39, formerly with Stratton Oakmont Inc., and Robert Breed, 32, formerly with brokerage firm Alexander Wescott & Co.
The civil complaints allege they ``received tips containing material, nonpublic information'' concerning the securities of at least seven publicly traded companies from a friend, Jeffrey Streich. He in turn got his information from then brokerage legal compliance officer Marisa Baridis.
Napolitano, of New York, and those he subsequently tipped off made $400,000 and Breed, of Bonita Springs, Florida, and members of his family profited to the tune of about $200,000, according to the complaints.
The SEC said it is seeking permanent injunctions barring the men from further violating U.S. securities laws. It also wants unspecified fines paid and profits and interest returned.
The two defendants were not being represented by an attorney, said Jim Coffman of the SEC's enforcement division.
Breed pleaded guilty in 1999 to charges filed by New York prosecutors of obtaining insider information. Napolitano was also convicted on state charges relating to insider trading.
In the civil complaints, the SEC allege that both men were tipped in 1996 and 1997 by Streich, who was tipped by Baridis, a legal compliance officer from 1993 into 1997 at Smith Barney, then a subsidiary of Travelers Group and now a unit of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - news). During 1997 she worked at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (NYSE:MWD - news).
As legal compliance officer, Baridis was responsible for protecting highly sensitive information about companies.
The complaints are among several filed against various defendants who were accused of receiving material information originating from Baridis. She pleaded guilty in December 1997 to selling confidential information.
In March 1999, Streich, who was associated with the now-defunct Beacon Securities Inc. brokerage firm, settled a civil case brought by the SEC against him without admitting or denying the SEC's findings. In 1997 he had pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
Email this story - Most-emailed articles - Most-viewed articles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Questions or Comments? |
