Columbia Space Shuttle Services

 

 Columbia Shuttle Astronauts memorial service will be aired live from 1-2 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS and NBC as well as by cable news outlets CNN (coverage 12:30- 3 p.m. ET ), C-SPAN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC.

 

The president and his wife will join NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at the outdoor service, the space agency said in a statement Monday.

 

The ceremony is for family members, friends, guests, and NASA employees and contractors. It will take place at the same site where victims of the Challenger explosion were memorialized 17 years earlier.

 

 

 

 

  Headlines---

 

    Pictures from the Past---1997-Donald Froomer

           repeat----Pictures from the Past-1994 Pat Roberts

             Gold opens up in Europe on Iraq war fears

               Former Pinnfund CEO plea bargain- 10 years in prison

                 --plus Former PinnLease Pres. Larsen Denied Bail                  

        Verified-Ken Wheeler Does Belong to ELA, UAEL to follow?

    Bulletin Board Complaint-- Confessions of a Funding Tree Telemarketer:

         ---  “I Really Didn’t Know.”

      American Express Business Finance Sales Terminations

        Amex Launches "Downloadable" Smart Card App

          PFSC and Terra Vista Software Launch New Leasing Solution

            MB Financial Reaches Agreement/Sell Dallas Based Abrams Centre

              Snow sworn in as treasury secretary; set to testify on Bush's budget

                 Tyco Counsel Gives Attorneys a Bad Name

                    Online Auto Shopping--Ten Top Web Sites

 

  ### Denotes Press Release

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Pictures from the Past---1997-Donald Froomer

 

 

Donald Froomer, Executive VP, QuikTrak, Inc. was the founder of Enterprise

Leasing Corporation of Sherman Oaks, CA. After selling his interest in Enterprise in the late 1980’s, he and his son Greg started QuikTrak.  Their firm does equipment inspections and audits for lessors and commercial lenders nationwide and in Canada. Don has been married to his wife Geraldine for 37 years.  They have three children—Greg, Brett, and Toni.

  Jan/Feb United Association of Equipment Leasing Newsline

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

          

       Gold opens up in Europe on Iraq war fears

 

 

* GOLD (XAU=) - Spot gold opens European session at $375.70/376.45 an ounce at 0707 GMT, up from $371.10 (bid) at Monday's close in New York. Market supported by prospects for war in Iraq ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech to Security Council on Wednesday. * SILVER (XAG=) - Spot quoted at $4.85/4.87 an ounce, up from $4.82/4.84 at New York close. * PLATINUM (XPT=) - Quoted at fresh 23-year high of $704.00/711.00 an ounce, up from New York's $698.00/ 708.00 on strong demand and supply concerns from Russia. * PALLADIUM (XPD=) - At $260.00/ 270.00 from $262.00/268.00 at European close on Monday.

 

       Former Pinnfund CEO plea bargain- 10 years in prison

 

                     Former PinnLease Pres. Larsen Denied Bail

 

By Mike Freeman

 

SAN DIEGO – The former chief executive of PinnFund USA was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for his role in running what prosecutors called a "fraud factory" that bilked investors out of millions.

 

U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff gave Michael J. Fanghella the prison time recommended by prosecutors as part of a plea deal in which he agreed to cooperate with investigators.

 

"It's a very sad day for the victims. It's a very sad day for the employees of PinnFund," Huff said. "When PinnFund closed its doors, there were people that lost their jobs, lost their health insurance, lost all they had."

 

Several ringleaders have pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with what prosecutors believe was the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of San Diego County. In addition, four people were indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges linked to the scam.

 

James Hillman, the alleged chief money raiser in the scam; Tommy Larsen, president of a PinnFund subsidiary called PinnLease; Piotr Kodzis, a Hillman business associate; and Kim Larsen, Tommy Larsen's son, have been indicted on federal charges.

 

On Monday, a federal judge denied Tommy Larsen's request for bail. He was deemed a flight risk

 

Despite his help with the investigation, Fanghella, 51, received a stiff sentence for a white-collar crime, said one former prosecutor. As a comparison, notorious junk-bond king Michael Milken also received a 10-year sentence in 1990 after pleading guilty to securities violations.

 

"This is like Mount Everest," said Thomas McNamara, a former assistant U.S. attorney now in private practice. "Ten years – that's really a significant hit."

 

Federal prison officials say Fanghella is ineligible for parole but will spend the final six months in a halfway house. He will receive credit for the nearly 18 months he has spent in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego.

 

For investors who suffered huge losses in the scam, however, Fanghella's sentence was less than satisfying.

 

"Who says crime doesn't pay," quipped one investor after the sentencing hearing.

 

PinnFund was a mortgage lender that employed more than 200 people at its Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters before shutting down March 23, 2001 – the day after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a sweeping securities-fraud lawsuit against the company.

 

Fanghella fled the country in the wake of the SEC action. He surrendered on Aug. 1, 2001, and has been behind bars ever since. In March, he pleaded guilty to fraud and tax-evasion charges.

 

About 160 investors funneled $330 million into PinnFund over a five- year span. They were promised 17 percent returns on their money, which they were told was being used to finance mortgage loans.

 

Instead, the money went to cover millions in operating losses at PinnFund, to enrich company executives and to provide investors with their monthly returns, which is the way a classic Ponzi scheme operates.

 

While the total loss remains unclear, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Kelly said about $106 million came back to investors in the form of monthly payments. That puts the estimated loss of investor funds at about $224 million.

 

Fanghella's lavish lifestyle got most of the news coverage. Among his bills: $120,000 for a New Year's party for about 15 people at a New York restaurant, more than $10 million in gifts to a girlfriend who was a former porn star, and expensive homes.

 

In court Monday, Fanghella, dressed in a prison jumpsuit, nervously read a statement in a raspy voice. He said he surrendered to authorities to show his children that people shouldn't run from their problems. He claimed that he had received multiple death threats.

 

Fanghella's estranged wife, Patrice, attended Monday's hearing, saying she hoped to achieve some closure. Like the investors, she said a longer sentence seemed more appropriate.

 

"I think that everyone felt that there isn't enough time to make up for all the damage he has done to innocent victims," she said.

 

Tom Frame, an investor who put $8 million into the scheme, met with Fanghella several times over the years to receive updates on PinnFund's business. Listening to Fanghella's plea for leniency brought back memories of those sessions, Frame said.

 

"I was reminded that Mike was the consummate salesman, and he has not lost his sales ability," Frame said. "He made a Faustian bargain, and now he has to pay for the wealth and the women."

 

Last week, PinnFund's former president, Keith Grubba, pleaded guilty to a host of federal fraud charges. John Garitta, PinnFund's former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in August. Both are scheduled to be sentenced in April.

 

The prison where Fanghella will serve his sentence hasn't been determined, although Huff recommended a federal prison camp near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

 

(Leasing News has reported on PinnLease and Tommy Larsen in several stories,

and will print excerpts from the original indictment.)

 

http://www.leasingnews.org/docs/Pinn_1.htm

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

          Verified—Ken Wheeler Does Belong to ELA, UAEL to follow?

 

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/Januray%202003/1_31_03.htm#ken

 

“An ELA representative will be contacting Steve Geller today explaining that we are a current member in good standing with the ELA. I also have a call

into Bill (Grohe)  at the UAEL we have been members for years.”

 

 

Nice detective work!

 

Kenneth Wheeler

Equipment Financing Group, Inc.

559-438-5146

559-438-5386-fax

http://www.efginc.net

 

(I could not find you in a direct check in the membership directory under

Kenneth Wheeler or Equipment Financing Group, Inc. in either the ELA

directory or the UAEL;directory on line when I first tried this. We have access to the membership directory. No one could confirm that  you were making an application. Whether you were a member under a different company, the program could not indicate that, and the literature Steve Geller brought to readers

attention stated “Equipment Financing Group, Inc. “

 

(Again, I verified what Steve Geller had sent me as being accurate and

stated we also could not find any listing.

 

(If the leasing association is in error, we will report the news. )

 

 

“Just an update the Equipment Leasing Association (ELA) does have us listed on the on-line site as a member (you can verify) The United Association of Equipment Leasing still has not called my back but they did charge my credit card.; I would like you to print a follow up stating at minimum the ELA membership is active and in good standing. “

 

Kenneth Wheeler

kennethwheeler@msn.com

 

(Verified that you are an ELA member, according to their membership directory:

 

Mr. Kenneth Wheeler, President

2037 W. Bullard Avenue Suite 514

 Fresno, CA 93711

Phone:  (559) 438-5146 Fax:

(559) 438-5386

 EMail: info@efginc.net

 Business Council: Small Ticket Function

 Code: Sales )

 

 

 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

                     Bulletin Board Complaint

 

                                       Confessions of a Funding Tree Telemarketer

 

  “I Really Didn’t Know”

 

Leasing News has had many complaints and has written similar stories about the Funding Tree. We believe this e-mail to be legitimate, and accept it as “another complaint” to add to the series we received:

 

“I am a telemarketer for The Funding Tree. Actually it now resides in Laughlin,NV and its new name is Legacy Leasing. I have been sitting around my office starting to realize that a lot of ways they take care of business aren’t appropriate or correct.

 

“ Finding all this information about the company on here and on the better business bureau freaked me out a little. Bruce Peterick does still live in California but once a month, so it seems he comes to our office in Laughlin. For the past week my supervisor has been telling me and my co-workers he will be in...day after day he never shows. I really do not know of any person by the name of Kendra, but..I do file papers and check the mail and see her name on numerous things. The office manager now and Bruce's (he’s the pres. now)  assistant is *******. They both have fake names they talk to customers with also. They are ******* and  **********.

 

“The new numbers are (702)299-1234,(701)299-1235,(702)299-1236 And so on.Our new telemarketing "grab" phrase is : 'hello my name is.... We are a direct leasing company, we specialize in C and D type of credit. We were wondering if you could use an additional funding source for your decline applications'

 

“Also warn your secretaries of us just trying to get your fax number to send you information on us. We have had numerous complaints..many that I have had to answer the phone for calming customers down (I’m the nice one). Also plenty of requests for refunds and plenty of people threatening to take us to court.

 

“Legacy Leasing hasn’t funded anyone since we have been in business Sept '02 in Laughlin. Many of our bills are 'over due and final notices'. I’m wondering what they do with all the money they receive from people if this is the state of our bills. I deposited over 4k in their account today also.

 

 “I’m finding this company unsafe, I'd like everyone to watch out for it and I am quitting tomorrow.

 

“If you would like any more information you can contact me ****** and I will try my best. Thanks. Sorry for anyone I screwed out of money...I really didn’t know!! “

 

 ( name with held )

 

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/fundingTree_stories.htm

 

 

              American Express Business Finance Sales Terminations

 

“All sales assistants were not terminated.  Some were (in various places) but not all.”

 

 (name with held )

 

( Leasing News cannot get a statement from many companies, especially when

they are “down sizing.”  Unfortunately, it is clear that many are now cutting

staff, perhaps caught in the business limbo of the pending war in Iraq, or just experiencing the mood of the country and business---who apparently

do not want to invest in new equipment and fear it is best to cut back

as things will not get better until 2004, or thereafter.

Companies like American Express, UPS, and others who had wanted

are caught up in the lack of business confidence and the quickest way

to solve lack of income appears to be to cut expenses---meaning people.

editor )

 

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/Januray%202003/1_31_03.htm#amex

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Amex_main.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

              Amex Launches "Downloadable" Smart Card App

 

 ----Bank Technology News

 

American Express is trying a new way to make its Blue card a little bit smarter. The credit card company has introduced a tool called "ID

Keeper", an application that can be downloaded off of its Web site to be used in conjunction with its Blue card.

 

The tool memorizes and stores specific Web site addresses, on-line usernames and passwords, and other related information. The card and application must be used along with a smart reader. Once inserted in the reader, a user will receive a list of stored Web sites and usernames and passwords are entered

automatically via ID Keeper

 

############## ###########################

 

               PFSC and Terra Vista Software Launch New Leasing Solution

 

Strategic Alliance Provides Complete Front to Back End Solution

 

PORTLAND, Oregon and Walnut Creek California, -Portfolio Financial Servicing Company (PFSC), the nation's largest independent commercial lease and loan servicing company, and Terra Vista Software, a provider of state-of-the-art equipment lease origination software utilizing Ivory Consulting's SuperTRUMP lease analysis software,  announced the launch of a comprehensive solution for lessors.

 

Under the arrangement, lessors will utilize MAX, Terra Vista's new, user friendly front-end software package which is powered by Ivory's SuperTRUMP engine, to perform the credit evaluation, application tracking & management, document generation and lease pricing.  PFSC will perform all "back end" servicing functions including invoicing, cash application, treasury, General Ledger

reporting, tax, collections, customer service, UCC, Titling and Insurance tracking, loss & litigation and end of lease negotiations and asset disposition.

 

"With the launch of MAX, Terra Vista has wrapped a state of the art front-end system around SuperTRUMP, the leasing industry's standard in pricing programs.  By integrating MAX with the back end capabilities, systems and services of PFSC, we will provide a combination that is an extremely attractive package for both new and established lessors" Said Chris Ivory, President of Ivory Consulting.

 

Jerry Hudspeth, President of PFSC adds: "We are very pleased to collaborate with Terra Vista to bring the best of both companies to the market place.  In today's business environment, portfolio management, analysis and servicing has risen to the top of the critical component list for the funding of transactions.  Companies are demanding more services and capabilities for less

investment.  For the first time, the leasing industry has a cost effective and total solution for companies who wish to reduce costs and improve their front and back end portfolio management and servicing capabilities."

 

PFSC and Terra Vista have implemented a beta test program for the MAX product utilizing seven banks and will roll-out the production version product after approximately ninety days.

 

About Portfolio Financial Servicing CompanyPFSC is the largest independent commercial lease and loan-servicing company is the U.S. and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.  PFSC provides primary/master servicing, backup/successor servicing, and consulting for leasing portfolios.  It currently

services over $3.0 billion in assets.  More information can be found at www.pfsc.com.

 

About Terra Vista Software

Terra Vista Software is a producer of equipment leasing software powered by the Ivory Consulting SuperTRUMP pricing module, the industry leader in providing after tax pricing solutions to banks, captives and independent lessors.

 

########### ###############################.

 

MB Financial Reaches Agreement to Sell Dallas Texas Based Abrams Centre National Bank To Prosperity Bancshares

 

 

CHICAGO & DALLAS----MB Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBFI), announced today that it has agreed to sell Abrams Centre Bancshares and its only subsidiary, Abrams Centre National Bank, N.A., located in Dallas, Texas, to Prosperity Bancshares. Inc. (NASDAQ:PRSP) for $16.3 million cash. Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2003.

 

The announcement was jointly made by Mitchell Feiger, President and CEO of Chicago based MB Financial, and David Zalman, President and CEO of Houston based Prosperity.

 

The sale of Abrams Centre National Bank, a bank with two offices and $93.6 million in assets, allows MB Financial to concentrate its resources on its core commercial and consumer banking operations located primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area and operated under the name MB Financial Bank, N.A. (Illinois). MB Financial has experienced consistent and continuous growth in recent years.

 

"We feel that our capital investment should be focused in the Chicagoland area. There are excellent opportunities for growth and expansion right in our backyard where we already have the critical mass to be successful," Feiger said. "While it is important to focus our attention on our primary marketplaces, we also were committed to finding an acquirer for Abrams who will treat our loyal customers and employees with the respect they have enjoyed from us for so many years."

 

In the past year, MB Financial has been an active acquirer, completing the acquisitions of the First National Bank of Lincolnwood (Illinois), and LaSalle Systems Leasing, Inc. During the fourth quarter of 2002, MB Financial also reached an agreement to acquire South Holland Bancorp., Inc., and its principal operations -- South Holland Trust & Savings Bank (commonly known as South Holland Bank). As a result, MB Financial is expected to complete that previously announced acquisition during the first quarter of 2003.

 

MB Financial, Inc., a Chicago-based financial holding company, is the parent of MB Financial Bank, N.A., Union Bank, N.A., and Abrams Centre National Bank, N.A. and has been delivering competitive, personalized service for more than 90 years. MB Financial Bank is a leader among Chicago area banks and concentrates on serving the needs of privately owned, middle-market businesses as well as individuals who live and work in the metropolitan area. More information about the company can be found on the web at www.mbfinancial.com.

 

CONTACT:

 

MB Financial, Inc.

Karen Perlman, 773/292-6292

kperlman@mbfinancial.com

 

or

 

Raymond Minkus, 312/261-2989

rdm@minkuspr.com

 

 

               Snow sworn in as treasury secretary; set to testify on Bush's budget

 

By Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP) Former CSX railroad executive John Snow was sworn in Monday as the nation's 73rd treasury secretary, and he has his work cut out for him: Trying to steer the wobbly U.S. economy back onto firmer footing.

 

One of Snow's first major jobs will be selling President Bush's $695 billion tax-cut plan, aimed at energizing the $10.5 trillion economy. The proposal was included in the $2.23 trillion budget for 2004 that Bush sent to Congress on Monday.

 

Snow sworn in during a private ceremony at 5 p.m. was confirmed by the Senate last week and spent all day Monday getting briefed on the president's budget, said Treasury Department spokesman Rob Nichols. Snow will testify on the president's 2004 budget on Capitol Hill three times in the next two days, Nichols said.

 

The private ceremony took place inside the blue office of the treasury secretary and underneath the portrait of the nation's first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Snow's wife, Carolyn, two of his sons and his grandchildren attended.

 

Snow has pledged to sell his extensive stock holdings in CSX Corp. and 60 other companies and put his money in diversified mutual funds. He has 90 days from his confirmation on Jan. 30 to do so. Snow has said he would recuse himself from participating in any decisions involving CSX while at Treasury, and would forego a lucrative severance package estimated at up to $15 million.

 

Snow, the head of railroad giant CSX for the past 14 years, was picked by Bush in December to replace Paul O'Neill after the president decided to shake up his economic team in an effort to find more effective salesmen for his new economic stimulus package.

 

Ken Dam, the deputy treasury secretary who took over the department's helm after O'Neill's departure, administered the oath of office to Snow. A public ceremony for Snow could take place at the White House this week. A ceremony was slated for Tuesday but was moved because of a memorial service in Houston for the Columbia shuttle astronauts.

 

On the Net:

 

Treasury Department: http://www.ustreas.gov/

 

 

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              Tyco Counsel Gives Attorneys a Bad Name

 

                         By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

 

Mark A. Belnick, a former general counsel of Tyco International, was indicted on three additional charges yesterday, including an accusation that he took an unauthorized $12 million bonus.

 

Mr. Belnick, who was led into New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan with a trench coat covering the handcuffs on his wrists, was charged with grand larceny, falsifying business records and plotting to defraud. He was already facing six charges that accused him of falsifying company documents to conceal $14 million in unauthorized loans.

 

According to a recent internal investigation, Tyco found that the company engaged in financial gimmickry to inflate its earnings while Mr. Belnick was general counsel. Tyco said that the inquiry had uncovered a corporate culture that openly encouraged managers to push the rules of accounting to mislead investors about the company's results.

 

A memo to employees at one division directed them to find cost savings by "financial engineering." At another unit, employees were told to "create stories" to justify an accounting change that would improve Tyco's earnings.

 

The report found that the company had "poor documentation; inadequate policies and procedures to prevent the misconduct of senior executives that occurred; inadequate procedures for proper corporate authorizations; inadequate approval procedures and documentation," which the general counsel should have been responsible for.

 

Mr. Belnick, who was an investigator in the Senate hearings on the Iran-contra affair in 1987 and a former partner at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, pleaded not guilty yesterday to the charges, which carry a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.

 

His lawyer, Reid Weingarten, said outside of court, "The D.A.'s office doesn't approve of an executive who gets a bonus for good work — they say that's grand larceny." He called the previous charges "frivolous" and added, "these latest charges are no better." Mr. Belnick remains free on the $1 million bail he posted for the earlier charges.

 

The Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, who brought the new charges, said the $12 million "special bonus" was paid to Mr. Belnick for his role in persuading the Securities and Exchange Commission to end an investigation into Tyco's accounting practices. According to the indictment, the bonus payment included $2 million in cash and 200,000 shares of Tyco stock. In a separate count, Mr. Belnick was charged with hiding a $2.5 million real estate transaction involving Tyco and a former director, Lord Ashcroft. Mr. Belnick, 56, was also charged with plotting to obtain favorable proxy cards from Tyco shareholders, which had the effect of keeping management in control of the company while he sold $25 million in Tyco stock.

 

Mr. Morgenthau said the charges stemmed from "a case where the system of checks and balances broke down." He said Mr. Belnick had failed to advise the company properly on its legal obligations and "now the watchdog is in the chicken coop chasing the chickens."

 

Mr. Belnick left Paul, Weiss and joined Tyco in 1998 after the death of his mentor, Arthur L. Liman, who was chief counsel to the Senate committee that investigated the sale of arms to Iran by the Reagan administration and the diversion of profits from those sales to antigovernment guerrillas in Nicaragua. He was Mr. Liman's deputy at those hearings.

 

The charges against Mr. Belnick are part of a larger investigation into Tyco and its former chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski, and its former chief financial officer, Mark H. Swartz, who have been charged with looting the company of hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

Prosecutors said that Mr. Belnick made a secret contract with Mr. Kozlowski that guaranteed that his bonus would be no less than a third of that received by Mr. Kozlowski.

 

According to a suit filed against Mr. Belnick by Tyco, he received two employment contracts, each dated the same day and signed by Mr. Kozlowski. But the company's board says it approved only one; the other was kept secret.

 

The authorities contend that Mr. Belnick received $14 million in no-interest loans under a program that was supposed to pay for employees' moving expenses but was used, in part, for the purchase of a $10 million vacation home in Utah and a $4 million apartment in Manhattan.

 

Neither loan was proper, prosecutors and Tyco contend. Mr. Belnick already lived in Harrison, N.Y., and commuted to Paul, Weiss's offices in Manhattan and so did not need to move to Manhattan; Tyco had no offices in Utah.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

         ONLINE AUTO SHOPPING---Ten Top Web Sites

 

                                 San Francisco Chronicle

 

-- 4 percent of people buy new cars online, while 96 percent buy from dealer

 

-- Sixty percent of all new car shoppers use the Web in some way before making a purchase. The total for used car buyers is 47 percent. Uses include visiting manufacturer Web sites to decide which car to buy, which dealers have it in stock and price comparisons such as the Blue Book and manufacturers' suggested retail price.

 

-- Consumers save an average of $400 when purchasing their cars online compared with people who simply walk into the showroom and deal entirely with the dealer. .

 

 

 

TOP 10 AUTO WEB SITES

 

1) EBay Motors (www.ebay.com/ebaymotors)

 

2) MSN Autos (autos.msn.com)

 

3) Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

 

4) AutoTrader.com (www.autotrader.com)

 

5) Edmunds.com (www.edmunds.com)

 

6) Autoweb.com (www.autoweb.com)

 

7) Ford Motor Co. (www.ford.com)

 

8) Yahoo Autos (autos.yahoo.com)

 

9) Cars.com (www.cars.com)

 

10) Autobytel (www.autobytel.com)

 

 

Source: JD Power and Associates, Nielsen/ NetRatings

 

E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff@sfchronicle.com

 

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