Here's some material that relates to that complaint.
LOCK settled a civil suit, but does the NASD go after them? No. They only went after the person who uncovered the fraud because he didn't disclose he was a MM and held a short position.
I guess it didn't help that Tony went on 20/20, Wired magazine, and the Justice Files and called the NASD corrupt. They then held him accountable for not disclosing his short. Of course, it didn't matter that everything in his reports were accurate.
So in March of 2000 they file a complaint against Tony about his reports in 1997 that resulted in LOCK's principals paying $55k civil penalties.
Read the news.. It's interesting:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Key West Securities, Inc Re-Iterates Its Sell Rating
Business Editors
HURST, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 1997--Key West
Securities, Inc. re-iterates its sell rating. SAF-T-LOK announces
that Dennis DeConcini, the ex-senator from Arizona, has accepted a
place on the Board of SAF-T-LOK.
What SAF-T-LOK failed to disclose to its shareholders is that
DeConcini is one of the infamous "Keating Five." DeConcini is the one
who was reprimanded by a Senate ethics committee for his direct role
in the S&L Scandal, which led to the conviction of Charles Keating.
In an article written by Jim Hightower on June 18, 1996, he
reports, "To continue giving him that 'senatorial aura,' DeConcini
even uses letterhead that bears a facsimile of the official Senate
seal and his name 'The Honorable Dennis DeConcini.' Honorable?"
DeConcini was forced to leave office and abandon his re-election
campaign.
For information on how to receive Key West Confidential News and
Research directly, please fax your request to 817/428-5019 or
817/428-1053.
--------------------------------
Re-Iterates Its Sell Recommendation
Business Editors
HURST, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 1997--Key West
Securities, Inc., in a phone interview today with John L. Gardner,
president of SAF-T-LOK (Nasdaq:LOCKC), noted that Gardner refused to
comment as to how he could market a lock for "loaded guns" when
small children can open their lock within a couple of hours. Gardner
also refused to disclose or to comment on how many shares of
Saf-T-Lok he and other insiders have sold within the last 24 hours.
Gardner stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the company
will not be able to maintain its listing on NASDAQ and should be
delisted on Oct. 15.
--30--LP/da*
CONTACT: Key West Securities, Inc., Hurst
T. I. Elgindy, 817/428-5020
KEYWORD: TEXAS
------------------------------
Business Editors
HURST, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 1997--Mr. Gardner,
president of SAF-T-LOK (Nasdaq:LOCKC), stated in an interview with
Bloomberg today that the company will not be able to maintain its
listing on NASDAQ.
Key West would like to also point out to the investing
community that SAF-T-LOKS can be opened by any child that knows his
or her numbers, simply going through each possible combination in
less than 2 hours. (We did it in 46 minutes).
Chief Analyst T.I. Elgindy at Key West was quoted, "When this
frenzy burns out, and it will burn out, it is the public who loses
the most."
As mentioned in the Bloomberg story as of 9:35 a.m. today, Kevin
Foley, VP of Product Engineering at Smith & Wesson Corp., said, "It
cannot be relied on to prevent unauthorized use of a firearm."
--30--BB/da* CONTACT: Key West Securities, Inc., Hurst
T. I. Elgindy, 817/428-5020
KEYWORD: TEXAS
INDUSTRY KEYWORD:
------------------------------
AND THEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Saf T Lok Incorporated
(Nasdaq: LOCK) announced today that it has reached a settlement with the SEC
with respect to the Division of Enforcement's previously announced
investigation of the Company that began in mid-1998.
As part of the settlement, and solely for the purpose of proceedings with
the SEC, the Company, without admitting or denying the SEC's findings,
consented to the entry of an SEC Administrative Order (a) finding that certain
of the Company's press releases, filings and projections made in 1997 and 1998
violated Sections 10(b) and 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20,
13a-11, and 13a-13 there under; and (b) prohibiting the Company from
committing or causing any future violations.
Simultaneously, the Company's president, Franklin Brooks, and former
president, John Gardner, settled the Commission's claims against them with
respect to the matters described above. Messrs. Brooks and Gardner, without
admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, consented to the entry of a final
judgment permanently enjoining them from future violations of the statutes and
rules referred to above and imposing civil penalties against each of them in
the amount of $55,000 for which the Company has agreed to reimburse them. The
Company also provided Messrs. Brooks and Gardner a legal defense.
Saf T Lok's president, Franklin Brooks, commented on the settlement. "We have fully cooperated with the Commission's investigation and believe that we
have resolved the matter in the best interest of the Company and its
shareholders. The Commission's findings relate primarily to the Company's
involvement in 1997 and 1998 with a financier who proved to be a criminal.
The settlement both recognizes that the Company and its executives are
ultimately responsible for the Company's transactions and disclosures and
achieves finality in a manner that permits the Company to focus its attention
on the Company's remaining significant challenges: namely, raising additional
capital, seeking an appropriate strategic alliance, and improving sales."
Saf T Lok Incorporated is the manufacturer of the Saf T Lok(R) child
safety locks for handguns. Saf T Lok's patented combination gunlocks for
revolvers and semi-automatic handguns become an integral part of the firearm
so there is nothing to remove, no keys or rings to find and no batteries to
fail. The "touch-sensitive" combination allows for operation of the
lock -- even in the dark. Unlike trigger locks, which require guns to be
unloaded, the Saf T Lok gun locks attach to the grip or magazine of a handgun
and block the weapon internally so it cannot be fired, even if it is loaded
and the trigger pulled. Only someone who knows the combination can use the
gun or remove the lock.
Except for historical information, this press release contains
forward-looking statements concerning, among other things, future plans and operating results. Such statements are based on the Company's current plans
and expectations. Actual results could differ materially based upon a number
of factors, including, but not limited to, increased competition, dependence
upon key personnel, market acceptance of the Company's products, the need to
raise additional capital, and other factors described in the Company's
periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Saf T Lok Incorporated
-0- 12/21/2000
/CONTACT: Saf T Lok Incorporated, 561-478-5625/
/Web site: saf-t-lok.com
(LOCK)
-------------------------------------------
Saf T Lok, Gun-Safety Lock Maker, Settles Civil Fraud Case
Washington, Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gun-safety lock
manufacturer Saf T Lok Inc. and two officials settled civil fraud
charges regarding statements about the company's prospects for
making $20 million in sales, U.S. regulators said.
Chairman Franklin W. Brooks, 66, and ex-president John. L.
Gardner, 64, published press releases and made filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission claiming the West Palm Beach,
Florida, company had a distribution agreement that would result in
sales of at least $20 million in company products, the SEC said.
Instead, the distributor, United Safety Action Inc., had only
contracted to buy $1 million of Saf T Lok products and lacked the
financing to purchase more, the SEC said.
``Certainly, there was no deliberate wrongdoing,'' said
Robert Ruben, lawyer for Brooks, Gardner and Saf T Lok. ``Was it
an oversight? All I can say is that the company and individuals
thought at all times they were acting in the best interest of the
company.''
Ruben said no company insider profited from the press
releases and filings.
Saf T Lok, Gun-Safety Lock Maker, Settles Civil Fraud Case Pag
Brooks and Gardner, who neither admitted nor denied the
allegations, each agreed to pay a $55,000 civil penalty, the SEC
said. They also agreed not to violate the SEC's antifraud rules in
the future.
In a separate administrative proceeding with the SEC, the
firm agreed to ``cease and desist'' from further violations of SEC
antifraud rules.
Shares of Saf T Lock were unchanged at 25 cents in today's
trading, after earlier hitting a 52-week low of 16 cents. The
shares have dropped 77 percent this year.
--Vicky Stamas in Washington at (202) 624-1958 or
vstamas@bloomberg.net /rp
Story illustration: To graph the share price of Saf T Lock, type:
LOCK US GP
Business Editors
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1998--Key West Securities,
Inc. is a Texas based-Nasdaq Market Maker that trades primarily for
itself and its Investing Partners.
"Key West specializes in identifying and uncovering equities
that it believes are overvalued, manipulated or even possibly
fraudulent along with other suspect activities in the market place.
Key West is currently investigating methods that we can share our
research with the general public in an attempt to aid current
shareholders prior to a precipitous drop or possibly even a trade
halt," according to Anthony Elgindy, chief analyst for Key West.
Key West's chief analyst, Elgindy has for the past three years
aided the US Department of Justice, IRS, FBI, US Postal
Inspectors, the SEC and the NASD in identifying and uncovering
abuses in the marketplace. He has testified for the SEC in Federal
Court and has aided Regulators and civil and criminal law enforcement
agencies. He has been featured in Forbes, BusinessWeek, The Denver
Post, KDIF Radio, Motley Fool Features, Investors Daily and was
interviewed by ABC's chief investigative correspondent, Brian Ross,for ABC's show 20/20, regarding his insights into the presence of
organized crime on Wall Street. His assistance and involvement has
led to felony convictions of at least five individuals thus far.
According to Elgindy, "Key West Securities, Inc., has issued
several press releases during the past year, however we would like
to clarify and disclose that in connection with the following
companies and our coverage, Key West is and was a Market Maker in
the following securities."
"In addition, Key West maintained positions that were consistent
with our recommendation. Key West may be short, long or flat any
security at any time and this position may and does change without
notice," he added.
Key West initiated SELL Recommendations on the following
companies:
-- SELL "JYRA" August 18, 1997 @ $32 5/8
-- SELL "IPMCF" October 8, 1997 @ $5 1/4
-- SELL "UFEM" October 22, 1997 @ $7 1/4
-- SELL "LOCK" October 9, 1997 @ $5 3/4
"Key West Securities, Inc. is the source of the above
information which it deems to be accurate and truthful. Key West
currently maintains the same position and has not terminated
coverage of any of the Securities named above," said Elgindy.
--30--JT/da*
CONTACT: Key West Securities
David Hardaway, 817/428-5020 |
