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Non-Tech : E*Trade (NYSE:ET) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Spytrdr who wrote (9022)	10/21/1999 10:46:00 PM
From: Spytrdr	Respond to of 13953

Mass. regulators probe Merrill on ex-broker moves BOSTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Massachussetts regulators are investigating Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.'s (NYSE:MER - news) Boston office to determine what the firm knew about the investments of a broker who allegedly defrauded clients out of about $6 million over ten years, the Secretary of State's office confirmed on Thursday. Fired Merrill Lynch broker Donald Martineau, who is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors, has written in a note to family and friends that he ran a fraudulent real estate venture from the late 1980's until last summer, the Boston Globe reported. Brokerages are required by federal law to closely monitor emloyee actions and the state investigation is seeking to determine whether Merrill Lynch neglected to do so or ignored known misconduct by Martineau, Massachussetts Secretary of State William Galvin told the Globe. ``The facts of this case warrant an inquiry into the question of what they knew and when they knew it,' the paper quoted Galvin as saying. ``If they didn't know what was going on, the question becomes 'could they have known?' We have very strong regulations on this point,' Galvin told the paper. A Merrill Lynch spokesman told Reuters the company had supervised Martineau as it had its other employees and could not have known about the alleged scheme because it occurred in accounts personally controlled by Martineau. ``Merrill Lynch terminated this financial consultant after learning that he received personal loans and engaged in other private arrangements with nine clients in violation of our policies,' said the spokesman, Bill Halldin. ``These arrangements were never disclosed to Merrill Lynch and did not occur in Merrill Lynch accounts,' he said, noting that Merrill Lynch had notified all federal and state authorities of the situation and was cooperating with all investigations.