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Non-Tech : Ashton Technology (ASTN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sir Auric Goldfinger who wrote (3593)	3/8/2001 3:08:01 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 4443

Two Gambino Associates Among 20 Accused of $50 Mln Stock Fraud New York, Mar. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Two alleged associates of the Gambino crime family were among 20 people accused today of running a massive pump-and-dump stock scheme through three crooked brokerages that cost investors more than $50 million. More than 150 FBI agents fanned out in four states early this morning to arrest former managers and brokers for First United Equities Corp., Lexington Capital, and AGS Financial Group. The firms are defunct, but at least five of the people arrested today now work for other brokerages, authorities said. Among those arrested were alleged Gambino associates Hunter Adams and Michael Reiter, said Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn. Reiter's father, Mark, is a close associate of imprisoned Gambino crime boss John Gotti Sr., said Robert J. Cordier, the special agent in charge of the criminal division in New York for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ``These men were essentially involved in the takeover of three separate brokerages,'' said Cordier, describing Adams and Reiter. ``Their philosophy was 'You can't make money for yourselves and your clients.''' The arrests are the latest in a string of prosecutions of reputed organized crime figures who have allegedly infiltrated the securities industry. More than 30 people with ties to organized crime have been arrested in recent years and charged with securities fraud, authorities said. Despite that, a top official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said he is confident law enforcement has been successful in keeping organized crime out of the securities industry. ``Organized crime activity on Wall Street does not threaten the security of the nation's markets,'' said Richard H. Walker, the SEC's director of enforcement. ``We're all committed to working together.to put the boiler rooms out of business.'' Mar/08/2001 15:01 ET For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 2001 Bloomberg L.P.