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Candy-Licious Fudge
A no-fuss fudge prepared in the microwave that tastes like a candy bar? It sounds too good to be true, but it turned out to be good and true! —Dee Lancaster, Ozark, Missouri
81 Servings
Prep: 15 min. + chilling
1 teaspoon butter
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 package (11 ounces) peanut butter and milk chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup milk chocolate English toffee bits
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons
McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
Line a 9-in.-square baking pan with foil and grease the foil with
butter; set aside.
In a large microwave-safe bowl combine the milk, chips and toffee
bits. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute; stir. Cook 1-2
minutes longer, stirring every minute, or until chips are melted.
Stir in pecans and vanilla. Transfer to prepared pan. Cover and
refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Gently peel off foil; cut into
1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 2-1/4 pounds.
Nutritional Facts:
1 piece equals 66 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 4 mg cholesterol, 23 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein.
© Taste of Home 2014


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Exploit (now offline) allowed bogus reset of Apple ID passwords (updated)
Apple's new two-step verification process has already been put to the test, thanks to a (now apparently offline) exploit that allows anyone with your email address and birthday to reset your Apple ID. The Verge confirmed the exploit after the site was made aware of a tutorial posted on a Chines...
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Can someone recommend the best way to keep my (cream-based) broccoli soup from turning brown?
- j
- Jack Barber Sep 6, 2008 11:22 AM
Corn starch? Steaming? Tips on a specific method would be much-appreciated.
When I follow the basic Bittman cream-vegetable soup recipe -- simmering in stock -- it always ends up brownish. Tastes ok but unappetizing appearance.
Thx for the help.
How much time between makeing the soup and serving the soup? I think the broccoli would change colour over time. I would also suggest not over cooking. Also, I don't use (brown) stock, I use plain water with herbs. The stock must turn your soup brown.
re: grampart
my chicken stock is often brown because of the roasted bones and the onion skins.
I'm not familiar with Bittman's recipe. If you saute onions first, don't let them get too brown. I usually use chicken stock, cook the stems and a few florettes first, scoop them and the onions out and puree, cook the remaining florettes just until tender-crisp, add the puree in and cream if I want it at that point. It's always been a nice green.
I make cream of broccoli soup, one of my favorites. It has never turned brown. I don't know what the bittman recipe is, but I have always made mine with a little buttermilk, and lemon juice. I steam the brocolli, and ice bath it to keep the color. I also use chicken broth not stock meaning, not with roasted bones.
I make it from a whole chicken, and its cooked stove top with carrot, onion and celery....hope that helps you.
If you wanted more onion, saute til translucent, but the soup is about the brocolli. So I usually don't add more onion other than what flavored the chicken broth.
Puree everything add a little buttermilk and lemon juice, and then cream.
Also, to lighten the soup up make the base with leek and a potato, that works a little differently than cream, still add the lemon juice and the buttermilk, but it will be nice and thick without the fat.
ps. When I say a little bit, that would be about 1 T of fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 cup buttermilk. I like the freshness and tangy taste with my creamy brocolli soup..and don't forget to add the nutmeg, a few grinds of fresh nutmeg will make all the difference!
Try adding a handful of raw spinach leaves (young) when you blend the cooked broccoli and broth together. It may sound unappetizing but it does add a gorgeous green colour to your soup and it does not seem to affect the flavour.
Here's my recipe. Give it a try.
Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 bunch (about 1-1/4 pounds) fresh broccoli
4 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp flour
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Cayenne pepper (optional or to taste)
1. Trim enough of the top clusters of the bunch of broccoli to fill a 1 cup measure. This will be used as a garnish for the soup. Cut the rest into 2 inch pieces. Peel the large stalks and cut in half or quarters.
2. Place the larger broccoli pieces (not the garnish) in a deep skillet or saucepan and add water to cover and salt to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until crisp-tender. DO NOT overcook. Similarly, cook the garnish in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes. Drain both batches and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. When blended, add chicken broth, stirring with the whisk. Cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Add the large broccoli pieces (not the garnish) and simmer, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes.
4. Ladle the soup, solids and all, into a food processor or blender. This will have to be done in 2 or 3 steps. Blend until smooth. Return this mixture to a saucepan (strain if you want) and bring to the boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Added the cooked garnish, heavy cream, milk, nutmeg, and a touch of cayenne pepper. Stir to blend and serve hot.
re: The Old Gal
I think I might have overcooked the broc, and my stock could easily be too brown. (often homemade w/ a roast chk carcass) I'll try to make some clearer stock. Also seems like steaming might help.
Thanks for all the tips!


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Sunday, January 5
The Lord's Day
Minute for Mission: Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico
How do people keep the faith in hard times and continue to believe despite widespread hopelessness? The people of Israel exiled in Babylon faced that question. Those were the days of unique spiritual leaders—the prophets, who foresaw the exile but also prophesized that God would restore a remnant of his people to their homeland.
According to Zechariah 8:1–13, God's promises were the main source of the exiles' hope for restoration. The prophet represented the spirit of a suffering people who still trusted in God's goodness. It is not easy to live from promises, especially when they come from changing and fallible human beings. But the promise of restoration came from God and was clear. God would renew the ancient covenant: "They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and righteousness" (Zech. 8:8).
To believe, to trust, and to wait is not easy. Practicing the presence of God is not an easy task in our ever-changing world. What we need in this modern time are leaders according to God's heart, as the ancient prophets were.
The key to leadership lies in God's calling and the response of those chosen by God. God's mission for leaders is threefold and clear: to call people to repentance, to lead with a vision of the future, and to minister to people in need.
In times of constant change, preparing men and women to serve God and the church is no easy task. For the past 95 years, the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico has been dedicated to the development of pastoral leaders for the mission of the church in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Hispanic communities of the United States.
—staff of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico
Let us pray
Gracious and loving God, give us humble hearts, so that we can recognize the gifts of others and encourage their use for the edification of your church and the fulfillment of your mission. In the name of Jesus Christ, our teacher and Lord. Amen.
Sunday Lectionary and Hymns
Jer. 31:7–14
"Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us"
Ps. 147:12–20
"Praise, My Soul, the
King of Heaven"
Eph. 1:3–14
"Christ Is Made the
Sure Foundation"
John 1:(1–9) 10–18
"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
Daily Lectionary
Morning Psalms 99; 150
First Reading Kings 3:5-14
Second Reading Colossians 3:12-17
Gospel Reading John 6:41-47
Evening Psalms 96; 110
I know you're busy, but I was disappointed not to be able to get to more than the first half of January. I often pull quotes for our church newsletter from the next month's Mission Yearbook pages in order to encourage our members to read it.


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speckytecky (11th September 2012)
Got an e-mail today announcing SWGfL new transparent proxy service. This is timed quite nicely for us as I've been looking at a BYOD setup using our Ruckus Wireless system. I'm making use of our 'admin' scope of IP addresses that we've never used on a separate VLAN to have these devices reside in. Just got this side of it working and started playing with WPAD to help auto configure the proxy settings and this pops up in my mailbox. Nice.
Will report again when we've got it running.
speckytecky (11th September 2012)
Hi Pete
Did you get this working? Im seriously looking into BYOD due to budget constraints etc so could i pop over and have a look at your setup? The only difference with ours is we use Extricom for our Wireless.
Last edited by techie08; 13th September 2012 at 12:10 PM.
I had seen the announcement from the SWGfL folk on twitter. Looks like a nice solution, and actually the same solution I am trying to get my RBC/LEA to implement.
Just out of interest... have you checked with the SWGfL on using the 'admin' range for BYOD? There might be different firewall rules, which might make it not suitable for BYOD use. Probably worth checking?
The whole BYOD is running, I'm testing it at the mo - writing this on my personal netbook as a test.
I'm still waiting for the transparent proxy to be enabled - I've put the order in and I've had confirmation and a checklist from SWGfL for things to check. I've made it clear to them that I'm working on that particular IP address range and ideally only want it activated on that range - I'm waiting a responsde from their engineers.
My reasoning for using that range is that we don't use it. I don't have any sort of NAT device on our network so the only way of getting this working is to use the scope(s) that we have from SWGfL.
I've setup a VLAN specifically for this and that VLAN only works for that range of addresses with no routing setup to that vlan to the others. I'm am however using IP Helper-Address for the DHCP server to issue addresses and set their DNS address to that of the DNS Servers of SWGfL.
I essentially setup our Ruckus System following the video that Ruckus put on YouTube for setting up BYOD. I've got two additional SSID's running, one which is open and is setup as a 'walled garden'. They can only go to a Login Screen on the ZoneDirector which authenticates them against an AD Group. If sucessful, the Zero-IT Configuration utility then setups up a wireless network on their device with their Pre-Shared Key which is unqiue to that MAC Address of the device in use, valid for a set period. They latch onto that and that's that.
I like this sort of setup as the BYOD are seperate on a different VLAN once secured, so, essentially secured away from the main network and servers. Hopefully this new service will stop me having to worry about setting up WPAD or explaining proxy servers to users. The new 9.3 firmware release of Ruckus does support WPAD configuration but I couldn't get it working but I'm not too worried if this new Transparent proxy works. Tricky part has been getting the VLAN tagging and untagging in place on the numerous switches, but Spiceworks has been helpful in identifying what is plugged into where.
For now, it'll do (hopefully) and this will be aimed purely at Staff at present. However, if and when we do get a 6th Form, I've already been hinted at that BYOD will be the big thing for this. Numbers will be greater so upgrades will be needed and more than likely bigger address range or the setup of some sort of NAT device.
Hope that helps. I'll report back once this new transparent proxy service is in place.
If the SWGfL can do it, I hope BGFL will offer the same/similar service... come on chaps, make it happen
Just to add, the next challenge is seeing if I can work out how to route to our Frog Server from the BYOD range. That would be a useful mechanism to allow access to their files while attached internally on the BYOD network - I'm hoping that we can get one of the additional NICs on the Frogserver activated within it's own IP address and hook this into the BYOD VLAN, I'm still working it out in my head - one step at a time though.
@FragglePete Your setup is practically the same as mine, same kit, same youtube video... The only thing we are missing is the transparent proxy, although my LEA are investigating this with their supplier. They have however assigned us an additional subnet which we have hacked into chunks of IP's which get filtered at different levels, so a KS3 child, will be filtered/monitored at the appropriate level.
We have used WPAD and PAC files successfully, but it proved to complicated for many popping a pac address in an Apple device, or a manual proxy on Android. Effectively killing off our previous BYOD scheme.
How are you getting on with ZeroIT on Android? It's confused the few people we tried it with because it downloads as an App. And do any of your devices automatically drop the walled garden SSID and connect to the BYOD SSID after installing the profile/exe/apt like it shows in the youtube video?
This represents a huge step forward for schools wishing to provide proper "Guest WiFi" services. We've been providing this for about a year with various methods for dealing with the proxy configuration. None have proved reliable so we've ended up with posters around the school telling people the proxy details they need to manually add to their device. Losing this hindrance altogether promises to make the Guest Wifi facility come alive and be really useful.
I haven't launched it to staff yet, but can see the Android thing being an issue, as it's got no idea what to do with an .exe file. Some instructions will be provided I guess and we'll see how it goes.
Yes, that is one behaviour I did notice, is that it doesn't actually swap the Wireless Network to the secure one which it seems to do in the BYOD Video - the video was demonstrated on a MAC so I guess it might work on a those?
When I annouce it, I'll give as clear as instructions where I can and see how it goes.
The problem I can see with the WPAD and PAC files on the Zone Director is that it hosts the WPAD file on the main VLAN address range which can't be accessed when they swap to the BYOD VLAN with it's own scope. That's what I figured anyway ? !
Androids download a .apk file (or at least the default browser in my ICS tablet does, dolphin downloads a zip). It installs an app called WifiAutoConf4.0 which your users then need to open. This app, has a button which installs the SSID settings. A bit of a faff.
It's on my list to test it from a Mac. I suspect this is the only platform that might automatically jump networks once installed.
Our PAC and WPAD files are served from an internal web server which we've allowed access to through the ACLs. It's also our moodle server, so we wanted all that traffic to stay internal.
We got switched over to the Transparent Proxy system this morning, and it all seems to work but have noticed an issue which I need to resolve. I was just getting excited and was about to annouce this service to staff but a small issue has just kerbed my enthusiasm.....
When connected to BYOD, users can't access our internal e-mail server of VLE server. The reason being, that their sitting on a seperate VLAN which has not routing to the main VLAN. The DNS server I'm using for this range is the SWGfL Servers which when you type in the 'public' address of our VLE server it pings back the internal IP address of the server on the main VLAN. After all, the SWGfL DNS are pointing it back to a server on their internal network, our subnet. Type in the actual public IP address of the server, and a connection is made but obviously the certificate gets all tissy.
I knew at the back of my mind when doing this that I'd have to setup some sort of route on our core switch to allow access to the servers; it makes sense after all. This is where I'm a little stuck. I don't want the BYOD VLAN have full access to the other VLANs configured but do want it to allow access to two specific servers on the main VLAN. So I guess I need to setup some sort of static route and I believe ACLs as well? Anybody got an pointers on configuring this on a HP ProCurve 5460zl switch?
Hi Pete
Just wondered how you went about setting up the transparent proxy service. We have a request in but the prerequisites talk about renaming our entire internal domain which sounds like a real headache especially as we use Exchange 2010 which apparently doesn't like domain renaming. Did you manage to do this without too much pain?
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GreatSchools Rating
Teacher quality
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I cassidy its a very good school I've been going there for two year 5 and 6 this a very good school You should send your child there its a very good school and have great teachers that would push you through your work and they have a teacher that help the people that need extra help they have after school program etc. So send your child there Sincerely, Zanaib Abdul-aziz aka Zayboo
Cassidy is a wonderful school I've been at Cassidy from k to 6. I graduated 2 years ago. There was a officer there his name was officer Thomas. When I was there it was a great. I built relationships with the teachers and staff. Ms.Meghan and Ms.Wallace were my favorites. I still go to visit every once in a while. Cassidy was my favorite school to attend. But now I'm at Discovery Charter School. I will be graduating this year. My name is name Nafis. And I love Lewis C Cassidy.
OMG!! Do not send your child here it was bulling and i was there the first week and it was horrible for me i was there for one year thank god for 6 grade the teacher make us do hard work and i usually get straight A's and B's i gotten bad but the teacher would say her child know the work then we do they would make us feel like we cant and there was alot of bullin students were disruptive and disrespectful the dermerite amd merite badge does not do any thing kids walk out of class rooms and the lunch is the worst my mom tried to transfer me but she couldnt at the end of the year some kids were nice and helpful it is very bad little kids is bad also kids play on the side walks and does not go straight home mess with people adults had to come inside the school the next day and tell them they are horrible it is so much more my school from the beginning and middle was upseting,my mom was happy when i graduated some people get use to you they be nice and also at the end of the school year they have fun day and move up day for the 6 grade they may not like the beginning and middle nor the end at the end of the school year was okay for me.
Most of the staff at Cassidy is dedicated. Many love the kids and love their jobs. The school is very old and not well maintained. There are many bright children that attend Cassidy, however it is the disruptive students that cause a lot of failure in the school. As a parent I would like disruptive students to be handled in consistent and more appropriate ways, as not to influence the instruction in my child's classroom.
I'm the mother of a kindergartener and I don't particularly fond of this school. They treat the kids like they're supposed to know how to do everything at a yong age and no real leadership from gthe top. On the other hand, his teacher is absolutely wonderful. She is the teacher of my childhood, the kind that loves children and loves her job, so wih that, I'm happy. He will go one more year so that once my daughter, who is now 3, is in kindergarten, I can transfer them to another school. I didn't know that you have to put in transfer papers the year before the school year your child is entering, But I will be ready next time!
my experience with this school has not been a good one the leadership of this school along with the staff is very rude the principla needs to work on her people skills. also this is not a school for kids who have receive special education services the way that they group the kids together not to mention the class room that they use for math the class is in the basement dark and gloomy I had to take my kids out of their. I you have a child their make sure you make frequent visits to see whats going on my kids have come home with some stories to tell about what has happened during their school day.
My experience was an excellenet one. The students were extremely wel behaved and focused on their work. The teachers were dedicated to running a tight ship, without losing a sense of energy and joy. I have tested many Philadelphia schools and, I can say this one ranks at the top in promoting a well rounded learning environment. Congratulations, Cassidy.
My experience with Cassidy was overall good. I love the music program which is free, and my son's teacher helped him out with a lot with the things he did not understand and she really worked with my child.
not a place for kids who are slow learners. The leadership at that school is absolutely poor.
I found cassidy to be a good school.I removed my child for first grade only because I found it to be larger than my child's introvertedness could handle.The academics were on point.The teachers I came in contact with were very nice to me and kind to my child.my involvement was limited but not refused.The prevenative safety measures they utilize during dismissal are good.Music and art were key elements here also.
Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.
The Community Rating is the school's average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.
6523 Lansdowne Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Phone: (215) 581-5506
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text:
Sam Choy's Kai Lanai
- Address:
78-6831 Ali'i Dr.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740Neighborhood:
- Cuisine:
Hawaii Regional CuisinePrice: $30 and under
Sam Choy's Kai Lanai
- Dining Style: Casual Dining
- Website: http://www.samchoy.com/
- Phone: (808) 333-3434
- Hours of Operation:
Serving Daily - Lunch and Dinner, Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday
Monday - Thursday 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
Saturday 7:00 am - 9:30 pm
Sunday 7:00 am - 9:00 pm
HAPPY HOUR - Daily 3:00 - 5:00 pm
- Payment Options: AMEX,Diners Club,Discover,JCB,MasterCard,Visa
- Cuisine: Hawaii Regional Cuisine
- Executive Chef: Sam Choy
- Dress Code: Casual Dress
- Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
- Additional Details: Beer, Fireplace, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
A word from Sam Choy's Kai Lanai
You'll experience the wonderful hospitality of the Hawaiian culture, the sensational aromas of fresh, island cooking and the innovative recipes created by Hawaii's culinary ambassador, Sam Choy.Continued
At Sam Choy's Kai Lanai, a stunning 230-degree view of the Pacific stretches out in a beautiful blue oasis before you. "The Short Bait" bar is a fun place to meet friends for pupus or sit by the fire pits and watch spectacular sunsets. The superb service and warm Aloha welcome will make this your top dining choice at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Foodspotting photosSee all photos
Awards voted by OpenTable diners
- Diners' Choice WinnerGreat for Lunch
- Diners' Choice WinnerNeigborhood Gem
- Diners' Choice WinnerRomantic
Sam Choy's Kai Lanai - Best Restaurants in Kailua-Kona ›
Sam Choy's Kai Lanai reviews from OpenTable diners
50 reviews since July 31, 2014
- Food4.2Service4.4
- Ambiance4.5Noise LevelModerate
scenic view (44)great for outdoor dining (38)romantic (23)special occasion (23)neighborhood gem (19)fit for foodies (18)great for lunch (15)good for groups (15)great for brunch (12)vibrant bar scene (7)notable wine list (5)kid-friendly (5)hot spot (5)late-night find (4)Show More
- Reunion with friendsOpenTable Diner Since 2008Dined on 11/21/2014A small group (5) gather together and had an exceptional evening of laughs, good fun, great food and service and hospitality!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Loved the 3-6 pm Happy Hour!Cali3VIPDined on 11/17/2014Heard that this has one of the best sunset views from a local so gave it a try. Absolutely beautiful! Food was nothing fancy but good... Got there 5 minutes before 6 and we were allowed to order 5 different appetizers for only $5@! Worth a visit!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- The View is UndescribablemeatsweatVIPDined on 11/16/2014We first noted a very generous, albeit somewhat pricy, wine list. Something there for everyone. Our apps were the poke and kona style wings. As tasty as the poky was, the wings were better. Amongst our entrees were a filet, which was sizeable and very good; a 10 oz strip grilled Hawaiian style, which was also very good, and the three fish diner, which included the local catch. The fist was outstanding. Each of the steaks came with garlic mashed potatoes with corn interspersed, an interesting concept that worked. Will admit a bit disappointed in the dessert, the kona cake was rather blah. All in all, recommend a visit, but bring your wallet and sunglasses. You will not experience a sunset while dining like this one.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Truly mediocreOpenTable Diner Since 2000VIPDined on 11/13/2014Bland food, weak drinks, view of shopping center. Not worth it!Special Features:
- D MichaelOpenTable Diner Since 2010Dined on 11/8/2014Food and service was very good view is of the ocean sunset is stunning. Sam came to our table and chatted with us a very hands on owner.Special Features:
- ComfortableHonokowaiDined on 10/29/2014Sam Choy's has a good food selection at a scenic location. I'm always happy he hires local people who bring their genuine Aloha to their job.Special Features:
- Tasty SunsetsOpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 9/23/2014This has been and continues to be a great dinner location. You can count on the menu, and the fresh ingredients ( kitchen garden in back). The view and sunsets combine to make Sam's a never miss on the Big Island.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Great sunset dinnerFoodieonKonaDined on 9/14/2014The restaurant was recommended by a friend and I am grateful for the tip. The location provides a high, commanding view of the coastline and ocean. The beautiful sunset was an added bonus. The 'three fish' special was really good as well as their salads. On the spendy side, but it was a targeted nice dinner with an expectation the cost would exceed $100. The service could use some improvement. Plenty of parking.Special Features:
- DinerpunaweleDined on 9/13/2014Ordered the duck.....it must have died of old age....tough....had to send it back. The pasta with mussels was good for the reorder.Special Features:
- Casual, but top notch find!AllanDined on 9/7/2014Excellent, service and House cocktails with a view to die for!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Don't waste your time or moneydcbrDined on 9/6/2014Disappointed celebrate sister & moms bday. V Seated & ordered. Drinks,. salad and soup served within less than a minute our meal served. Entrée sat while we finished salad & soup. Mom spilled her water and waiter confused He mopped up a small amount than walked away while we swam in spilled water. Just talking for myself meal was nothing to write home about. Had fish trio swordfish overcooked. Veggies good. For price paid totally disappointed. They did not do Sam Chop proud Sept 6th.Special Features:
- Great ViewCoffeeTimeDined on 9/5/2014Food is good. Their Maitais are strong. The sunset view is outstanding. The manager does a good job of keeping customers happy.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- romantic dinnerOpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 8/26/2014although we did not get a table with the best view what we wished we had a great wvening withh good food.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- SamsJosseDined on 8/22/2014Amazing Lamb & Duck! Also Fish Trio! To die for ! Really great customer service ! Little pricey but worth it!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- LoriSeamanDined on 8/22/2014Have been here several times and intend to keep coming back and keep recommending it to others. Love it! And the best part is, it's consistently good.Special Features:
- We came BackPnRTravelingDined on 8/21/2014This was our second time at Sam Choy's and it was as great as we remembered it! We made our reservations just before sunset and requested a view table, which we received. We ordered the spare-ribs as an appetizer, it was delicious and would recommend as a starter. We both had the house salad with the oriental ranch dressing, what a different twist, with very fresh vegetables. The Trio of Fresh Fish was next for both of us. They were prepared different ways and were all wonderful. Bread pudding was good definitely the weakest of what we had. Our only complaint was that our main course came out before we were finished with our salads.Special Features:
- kailuagrlkailuagrlDined on 8/17/2014Sam's exceeds our expectations every time we visit. Food is exceptional, service is great and you can't beat the view. We will be back soon.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Ready for another visitmichaelhartzellDined on 8/17/2014Our next trip will have us visiting Sam Choy's on the first night vs the last. The Duck, the fresh catch of the day, the sunset view -- all spectacular. David made us his own special margarita (and still deciding on a name) This will be a visit on the first night on our next trip. Excellent.Special Features:
- Outstanding!!!OpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 8/16/2014The service was off the chart! Food was amazing. Overall experience was wonderful. Very romantic and perfect for couples.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- The following 512 reviews are from the Sam Choy's Kai Lanai reviews archive.
- Best view for dining on the islandfoodieVIPDined on 7/30/2014Gorgeous views that our probably the best possible in the Kona area. Food as always was wonderful with new features to the menu daily. Sam's was always our favorite on Oahu, but that branch has since closed, so now we come to Kona for our dose of Sam Choy.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Dining on the of the world!RaynemanDined on 7/24/2014What a great view while sipping on a Mai Tai and having some Poke and other Pupus. The service was excellent as the staff were friendly and attentive. The dinner was wonderful with the fresh seafood and mouth watering rib eye and NY strip steaks! We will definitely come back to dine and watch another sunset at Sam Choy's!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Sensational sunset viewSMH1Dined on 7/23/2014The food was fresh, healthy, and beautifully presented...each platter had a fresh orchid on it...a very nice touch. The service was top notch. We are only in Kona for 2 weeks, and we plan to eat here at least twice more. The stunning view of the sunset from the open-air restaurant and terrific food from local sources make for a very "Hawaiian" experience.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Da Kine Find!!!PunaGirlDined on 7/20/2014Celebrating my birthday this year was a big deal, as I haven't done so in years, and Sam Choy's was the "perfect" venue to do so! From the moment my date and I walked through the door, we were greeted with smiles and quickly escorted to our lovely table overlooking a sunset washed Kona shoreline below. Our celebratory margaritas were made to perfection and we lulled over the delicious menu choices, probably a bit too long, but what the heck...it was so much fun! We decided to go with an array of pupus instead of main course dishes because we wanted to sample more of Sam's culinary delights and we weren't disappointed, only wish there were more choices available! A complimentary chocolate decadence dessert topped off a perfect meal!!!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- One of our favorite spotshawaiigalDined on 7/18/2014Our granddaughter was visiting from Nashville and she said that Sam Choy's was one of the restaurants she wanted to go to. We go there for most special occasions.Special Features:
- Good food, kitchen timing offMJRobinsDined on 7/16/2014This was the second time we went to Sam's. The first time was very disappointing because the service was so bad. This time our server was wonderful and the food very good. There's few places nicer to see the Sunset in Kona than from an outside table at Sam's. (To get an outside table, I'd definitely recommend reservations.) My one complaint was the timing of the dishes from the kitchen. There were long lags between the courses, especially between the entree and dessert. Also to be improved would be the hostess - it's always nice when there's someone there to thank you for dining with them.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Excellent food!Firsttimersamazed4sureDined on 7/15/2014First timers at Sam Choys. We heard thru media that it was good. We had no idea his status as a chef was this highly regarded. We did not know he had a t.v show and several cook books. We do know that we could not stop raving about the quality and flavors of the meal. My hubbie had the fish trio and I had the steak with shiitake mushroom sauce. We even brought some home and ate it the next day and the flavours were still there! It was clearly the best meal we've had in a very long time. Thank you for the great food! Desert was excellent too!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Kai LanaiKonaLindaDined on 7/13/2014This is one of my favorite places in Kona! It is always such a delightful experience to come here. I enjoy bring family and friends that are visiting from the mainland. They enjoy it as well. I appreciate Sam and his crew immensely as he adds so much to Kona and this beautiful island of Hawaii.Special Features:
- Great value and great foodOpenTable Diner Since 2009Dined on 7/10/2014Very nice sunset view. Excellent food. Really good prices.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Too many bugsHawaiianDined on 7/6/2014This place is great, except for all the bugs. My husband had to return a drink because bugs were swimming in it. Other than that, the food, service, and ambiance were good.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- ddavisDined on 7/5/2014The view and food were very good went back a second time before we went back to phoenixSpecial Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Needs tweakingFooddivaDined on 7/5/2014Chose this for our last night. Our waiter was less than attentive and then he disappeared! He was sent home but never told us and we had to ask for help. Turns out they forgot to have us cared for...once they realized it the management apologized and offered us a free dessert/coffee. That being said...the main coarse 3 Fish and my fish in Ti leaves were both quite tasty.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Great serviceMicandreaDined on 6/28/2014Our waiter was excellent, sorry I don't remember his name. His description of each on tray was mouth watering and we enjoyed how he used his hands in his expressions.Special Features:
- A Better Sam Choy'ssoimarriedahapahaoleDined on 6/23/2014After visiting the Honolulu location, where the food was good but the ambiance and location less impressive, the Keahou location just south of Kona on the Big Island was a great step up. Same great food, and the lanai's ocean view was spectacular. Sunsets are amazing there, since the view is westward. I indicated "fit for foodies," because you might learn local ways to prepare fish (furikake-encrusted spear fish in my last entree), as well as local names for the different species. Many tourist families make it more casual than you might be seeking for a quiet, romantic dinner. Great evening, overall.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Thee BEST on th Big IslandSunniDaeDined on 6/19/2014GREAT for *Special* times, or any time. Loved my Calamari. Sam Choys knows how to fix it and a great serving. Had a garden/house salad with their own salad dressing. I also had a virgin MaiTai. Surprised by the flavor. TRY IT! My husband had a fish trio diner. Plenty for one person. Then out came a tiny little cake and a tiny serving of ice cream. PERFECT for us! They sang Happy Birthday to me and wished us a HAPPY 11th Anniversary. Just the best place to eat. We'll be going back again before we leave. Thank you Sam Choys for a beautiful evening meal under the stars. To Aurthur, our waiter, you took care of us well! Thank you!Special Features:
- Aloha from TucsonTeamLeaVIPDined on 6/18/2014Have been to the original Sam Choys when it was up by Costco in Kona, and we visit almost every year and go to his new location, which we went when it was the Wendy's with the killer view then sat vacant for years...so glad it's Sam's!! Salad dressing rocks!Special Features:
- Great ViewsLovehawaiiDined on 6/17/2014I took both of my sons to Sam's and we had a wonderful dinner! The wait staff was very accommodating and reseated us to one of the outside tables so we could experience the view. (We had reservations for 7:30 and I told them we'd wait for an outside table but they moved us right away) My boys (21 and 11years) loved their food. Duck and pork dishes. I am a vegan so the food experience was more fir their benefit. I had the pasta dish with veggies. It wasn't anything remarkable but I wasn't expecting a fabulous vegan dish. :) Our waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- john & DianeWashingtonitesDined on 6/15/2014My husband and I went to Sam Choys for dinner and got a great table with no one in front of us. Very nice waitress and the food was good. A bit expensive.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Awesome ViewSteveMcDined on 6/12/2014The food was excelent and the view is one of the best on the island. I recomend getting there in time to watch the sunset. The waiter was friendly and accomodated some picky personalities!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Sam ChouOpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 6/10/2014Fabulous. Location and food to match. Reasonable prices,big portions, beautiful presentationSpecial Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Good food and viewOpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 6/8/2014Great view of the sun setting over keahou bay. Food was very tasty. However service was lacking. Our order was taken promptly and food arrived quickly, even had a visit from the executive chef. However once we had finished our meal we were left waiting for over 40 minutes for our plates to be cleared and dessert or more drinks to be offered. When we finally ordered our dessert we were told a couple had been waiting over an hour for our table, even though we had only been around 1.5 hours and had been left unattended for 40 minutes!! Not sure why we were hurried along as there were other tables free, and we had made a booking. Overall the food and view were lovely so worth a trip, just make sure you have an extended booking.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.


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Spring is one of the most popular application development frameworks for enterprise Java. The Spring Framework does not impose any specific programming model, it has become popular in the Java community as an alternative to, replacement for, or even addition to the Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) model.
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Drag the home icon in this panel and drop it onto the "house icon" in the tool bar for the browser
Select "Yes" from the popup window and you're done!
The Associated Press
LONDON- London's police chief on Friday appealed to Muslims to move beyond their shock over the suicide bombings that killed 54 people and join the fight against terrorism.
Related Story:
London chief: Authorities have identified all four suicide bombers


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SHS alumni update
Summer Jackson, a 2005 graduate of Sequim High School and a senior at the University of Arkansas, helped the No. 21-ranked Razorbacks earn a split in their first dual meet of the season Oct. 17, topping Vanderbilt 252-47 and falling to No. 10 Tennessee, 197-103.
Jackson is a business major.
Last year as a junior, Jackson led Arkansas in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:03.67, a new personal best time set at the Southeastern Conference Championships preliminaries, had 11 top-five finishes in dual meets over the course of the season and was part of the Razorbacks' relay teams to break Arkansas records in the 200 and 400 medley relays.
She was a three-time state champion (50 free, 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke) at Sequim, earning the class 3A Washington state Swimmer of the Year award.
Smyth second at EWU invitational
Alex Smyth, a 2006 Sequim High School grad, finished second to teammate Paul Limpf at the sixth-annual Eastern Washington University cross country invitational Oct.18 in Cheney.
Smyth, a junior at Eastern Washington, finished just six seconds behind Limpf at the invite, as the Eagles won the title in the four-team meet against Montana, Calgary and Gonzaga.
Last year, Smyth placed 13th at the Big Sky Conference cross country championships and finished 71st at the NCAA West regional championships. His 8,000-meter times were both the second-fastest times on the team at those meets, just behind Limpf.
At Sequim, Smyth twice ran at the state 3A cross country meet. In his senior year, Smyth won the district championship, finishing 15th overall at the state meet. He also competed in the 1600- and 3200-meter races at the class 3A state track meet his senior season, finishing fifth and 10th, respectively.
Smith runs for Whitman
Heather Smith, a 2007 graduate of Sequim High School, finished 61st as the Whitman College women's cross country team took fourth place at Saturday's Bigfoot Open in Spokane Oct. 18.
Smith is a freshman at Whitman. While at Sequim High, she was a member of the girls cross country team that earned four consecutive trips to the Washington state prep championships.
Stratton swims as a Vandal
Staci Stratton, a 2006 graduate of Sequim High, helped her University of Idaho Vandals take fifth place at the Debbie Pipher Memorial Invitational in Pullman Oct. 24-25.
Stratton is a sophomore at Idaho. She took ninth in the 50 freestyle, finishing in 25.03 seconds, and helped her 400 freestlye relay team place fourth.
Last season, she placed 14th at the Western Athletic Conference tournament in the 50 freestyle (24.20). At that same meet, she earned the sixth-best time in Idaho history in the 100 backstroke (1:00.71).
While a Wolf, Stratton participated in four state swim meets, earning seven medals and top-eight finishes with relays or as an individual. She took second place in the 100 back and third place in the 100 free as a senior at the state 2A meet in 2006.
Know of a Sequim High graduate playing college sports? Let us know! Contact sports editor Michael Dashiell at firstname.lastname@example.com or 683-3311, x113.
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Quotes of the Week: Best Zingers From New Girl, Good Wife, Thrones, Vampire Diaries and More
What. A. Week. With so many deaths, finales and general game-changers, we understand if you missed a few gems along the way. Enter Quotes of the Week, a collection of the best retorts, one-liners and bon mots from the last seven days! READ MORE & VIEW GALLERY


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Q&A with 'The Return of the Living Dead' production designer William Stout
If there is one person other than Dan O'Bannon who was as involved in the majority of creative processes that led to the making of "The Return of the Living Dead," it is William S
LEON: 'Need the Weed,' but don't get high on your own supply
After months of investigation, officials attribute Tumbleweed's rent issues to the truth behind the restaurant chain's slogan.
LEON: Louisville Cardinals to wear TOMS to raise recruiting awareness
Sitting in front of his locker, starting guard Terry Rozier looked down at his Adidas sneakers.
Zombies ate my city!
The story behind 'The Return of the Living Dead' and Louisville's zombie obsession
(Attention: Massive spoilers will quickly be revealed for the film, "The Return of the Living Dead." But hopefully by now, you've already seen it -— especially if you li
KET debacle was a foreplay fail, but get in the mood unless you want to get...
The good news is, the election is almost here. The finish line looms.
Seminole opportunity
So do you think Louisville can beat Florida State? Yeah, same here. Don't know.
LEON: Voter opinion of McConnell spending $1.8 million in personal funds for the final week of campaign
Senator Mitch McConnell has personally lent $1.8 million of his own money for the final week of his campaign. LEON wanted to find out what likely voters thought of this decision.
Inbox - October 29, 2014
Letters to the Editor
LEO Weekly welcomes letters that are brief (350 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number.
A little empathy from a post-primary D9 survivor
It was a freezing cold and gray Saturday morning in February 2014. I was trekking through the hills of Clifton Heights, trying not to fall and break my neck on the slick, ice-covered roads.
Midterm elections for dummies
As a recovering political junkie (having seen the sausage made at the highest levels, I have pretty much accepted the futility and meaninglessness of the entire endeavor), I find it funny how littl


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[QUOTE=Trades;3716348]Your comments about Chris Christie are stating the opposite of your point. The unions that he is against are all about ENTITLEMENT. If it wasn't for the unions demanding raises every year regardless of the economy and the product they are producing maybe the state wouldn't be so under water that people could have kept their jobs.
My sister-in-law lives in Rome NY and the teachers were given a choice of foregoing their raises or them cutting about 90 teachers. The ENTITLED teachers chose to can thier bretheren rather than skip the raise. Now whose fault is it that all those people are out of work?
This is happening all over the country. Christie is just trying to make things work in the state again. Or would you rather him just raise taxes again like CoreSlime?
The problem with Revis and his agents is that they refuse to compromise which is an integral piece of the negotiating process.[/QUOTE]
Thank goodness we have stalwart defenders of the billionaire owners in this country, to protect them from organized labor.


text: Bones Unearthed of Biggest Titanosaur Yet Print article Send a Tip by Warner Todd Huston 19 May 2014 post a comment Paleontologists have unearthed what promises to be the largest dinosaur yet discovered. A dig in Argentina's Patagonia region has revealed a thighbone measuring over 8 feet in length from a creature that walked the earth during the Cretaceous Period over 95 million years ago. Jose Luis Carballido, of the Egidio Feruglio Museum in Trelew, Argentina, suggested that the dinosaur, a member of the "titanosaur" branch of ancient creatures, "weighed the equivalent of more than 14 African elephants." That would be at least 100 tons. Carballid called the find a "true paleontological treasure" and said that, "There are many remains and they were practically intact, something that does not frequently happen." The site was discovered back inn 2011 but it is only now that researchers have been able to uncover more of the remains. This newest creature will remind most people of the famed Apatosaurus (sometimes mistakenly called "Brontosaurus") with its long tail, large body, and long neck. These were gigantic plant-eating behemoths that roamed the Cretaceous Period. Along with bones of this new, yet to be named creature, 200 fossils have been uncovered including the broken teeth of carnivores. The remains of perhaps as many as seven separate creatures have been revealed. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at email@example.com


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Social Media And The Growth Of Mobile Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
Did you know that the mobile web is expected to reach nearly two billion users by 2015, which will outrank desktop usage?
Mobile is big, and it's getting bigger. For marketers, this presents new challenges. While the gender split between mobile users is almost equal, men and women use their phones differently when it comes to shopping. Moreover, while more than a third of mobile users social network on their phones, the smaller screen size limits a brand's effectiveness to display an ad, certainly in a way that will be welcomed by their target audience.
This won't stop them from trying, though – mobile advertising is on track to pass $5 billion by 2015.
Ultimately, it could be money well spent – nearly one third of consumers cite mobile as their preferred shopping method. This infographic from Hightable takes a closer look at the power and growth of mobile marketing.
(Source: Hightable. Smartphone image via Shutterstock.)
- Six in 10 B2B Marketers Spending More on Social Media in 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC]
- Twitter 2014 UK Ad Revenues: £90 Million (Facebook: £531M, Google: £556M) [STUDY]
- Facebook, Twitter, YouTube: How Advertisers Are Spending On Social [SURVEY]
- 7 Social Media Marketing Trends For 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC]


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About Us
Here are just a few of the tattoos that we offer. We use an airbrush system for the tattoos you see below. We do also offer a smaller glitter only option for smaller children that does not involve the airbrush.
The newest addition to our tattoo collection is this beautiful German Shepherd! We have a few other dog stencils too!! This one was done at the Sharon Dog Park fundraiser at Buddy's Union Villa in Easton
Dedham, Massachusetts
We can be reached by any of the following methods
by phone 781-690-4705
provided by


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817 SE 17th St.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Category: Restaurant > Contemporary
Region: Fort Lauderdale
If you're looking to liven up the workweek with a fancy dinner, the Grateful Palate is hosting a five-course wine dinner – with sparkling wine reception and passed hors d'oeuvres – on Thursday at 7 p.m. The event is $80 per person. Reservations required. Call 954-467-1998.
Thu., May 2, 7 p.m., 2013


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Fascination [live] Lyrics - Everything But The Girl
-- opens with cheers --
I won't try to stop you when you speak of the past
Doubt is over now, and I can join in when you laugh.
Fascination makes us ask for more than we'd like to know,
And I needn't explain, I bet you know.
Reassure me when my heart's not bold enough to bear her name.
If you were in my shoes and scared, I would do the same.
And though I may ask, there is no need for past details
for although I may laugh alone,
My courage fails
Did you know?
See how I've changed now, my head's so clear
Still there are some things that I don't want to hear
And there must be so much I know
That you cannot forget
And I musn't wish your life began
The day we met
Places we go remind you of when you were here before
So you talk and tell me you don't think about it any more
There is something I know that hasn't quite been left behind
So I'll ask you once again
To prove that I don't mind
To prove that I don't mind
-- closes with cheers --
Click here to submit the Corrections of Fascination [live] Lyrics
Please Click Here to Print Fascination [live] Lyrics
Thanks to Paul Robertson firstname.lastname@example.com for submitting Fascination [live] Lyrics.
The following area is only for review, if you want to submit the lyrics or the corrections of the lyrics, please click the link at the end of Fascination [live] Lyrics.


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November 06 2014 10:30 PM ET
The Advocate's Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin
Jeremy Lybarger
Driving the governmental, religious, and popular disdain for gays and lesbians, the Russian president became the single greatest threat to LGBTs in the world in 2014.
November 06 2014 11:35 AM ET
Jill Soloway: Her Groundbreaking Transgender Story
November 06 2014 11:34 AM ET
United Church of Christ: The Religious Case for Marriage Equality
November 06 2014 11:33 AM ET
Robin Roberts: Unparalleled Visibility For So Many
November 06 2014 11:30 AM ET
Person of the Year: The Finalists
Advocate.com Editors
The Advocate's Person of the Year was revealed Thursday on MSNBC's The Last Word, and the other nine finalists are presented here in no specific order.
November 05 2014 6:00 AM ET
The Year's 10 Best Transgender Non-Fiction Books
Mitch Kellaway
Trans non-fiction writing has had a banner year, exploring love, sexuality, and family in deep and refreshing ways. Read about 10 of the best new offerings.
November 05 2014 5:00 AM ET
Number Crunch: The State of Big Screen and Small Screen LGBTs
Advocate.com Editors
GLAAD grades TV and film on its inclusivity, and here we review the numbers.


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Woodford Reserve is continuing to capitalize on the popular "anyone can be a distiller" ethic that's helped fuel the current craft liquor fad, actively promoting a program in which buyers choose their own barrels for blending. Woodford Reserve master distiller Chris MorrisWoodford Reserve un ... More >>
[Editor's Note: This is the last time we'll be running Echoes and Reverberations as a regular feature here on DC9. Will we see future installments? Don't know yet. But in the meantime, a big thanks to Jeff Liles for the past 30 installments of the series. It's been fun.]Shallow Reign, performing at ... More >>


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The Lucas Oil Can-Am Midgets held their Election Meeting on Sunday afternoon for the Officers and Board of Directors for the 2015-2016 seasons.
Returning as Club President for his 9th and 10th consecutive year will be Ken Lorenz of Lancaster, NY. He was also President from 2000-2002. Newly elected Vice President will be Peter DeMan from Mississauga, Ont. Cindy Lorenz also returns as Secretary and Kim Banyard becomes the Treasurer for these 2 year positions.
The Board of Directors will be Todd Cresswell, Wayne Gray, Larry McLennan, Colin Turnbull and Cliff Walsh.
The Annual Lucas Oil Can-Am Midget Awards Banquet for 2014 will be held on Saturday, November 22nd at the Best Western Cairn Croft in Niagara Falls, Ont. Series Champion Mack DeMan, will collect his trophy for the second year in a row, driving for Andy Mackereth.
Excitement is building for 2015 as these Canadian and American car owners and drivers will be competing in the 50th Anniversary Year of the Can-Am Midget Racing Club. Check out their amazing history on their website http://www.canammidgets.com/.


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3 MINUTE UPDATE There's a new trailer for BEYOND: TWO SOULS. Available exclusively for PS3 later this year, the game will launch with two-player co-op support and the BEYOND TOUCH App for iOS and Android.
Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and articles.
To stay in the loop, bookmark our homepage.


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This item was sold to another member.
- Browse PSP
pink psp
- Closed: Tue 25 Sep 2012, 12:00 am
i brought it about 5 months ago and dont use it. it is pink like the title says and it comes with the charger. it is in good condition
Closes: Tue 25 Sep, 12:00 am. 2012


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Indoor Radon
- Michigan Indoor Radon Program Overview
The Michigan Indoor Radon Program is a non-regulatory program. It's purpose is to increase awareness of the health risk associated with exposure to elevated indoor radon levels, to encourage testing for radon, and to also encourage citizens to take action to reduce their exposure once elevated radon levels are found. The program resides in the Radiological Protection Section of the Resource Management Division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.> More
What's New
- NOVEMBER is Lung Cancer Awareness Month in Michigan. Have you Tested Your Home for Radon?
- Radon Poster Contest
- Radon Training Courses For Professionals (2013-2014)
- January 2014 Is Radon Action Month
General Radon Information
Home Builders and Code Officials


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Photos and Description of this 2 bedroom holiday apartment in Pinaret
In a residential area near the center and 200 m from the beach
Spacious and comfortable apartment, located on the first floor, well equipped, suitable for living long periods, consisting of two double bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, kitchen and nice terrace.
Air conditioning hot and cold in all rooms.
Wifi Internet access.
Privileged town of Pollenca Mallorca: The municipality of Pollença combines sea, mountains and countryside as well as a culture and landscape. Master and cosmopolitan, has been chosen as a resting place for the most distinguished visitors to our island. Consisting of several towns: Polllença city, Puerto Pollensa, Cala San Vicente and Formentor, in addition to their vacation homes scattered in the interior that makes it a great urbanization. Located in the eastern part of Sierra de Tramuntana, is ideal as a base for excursions on foot or by bicycle, also has a wet area for bird watching, and the Bay of Pollensa is ideal for practicing sailing and other water sports.
- Suitability:
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- children welcome
- pets not allowed
- smoking allowed
- wheelchair inaccessible


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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Reactions to Gupta Verdict
The jury deserves credit - they clearly evaluated all the counts as evidenced by their finding of guilt in some and not guilty in others. The judge deserves credit - Hon. Jed Rakoff is a leading scholar and superb jurist.
But should this be a crime? And exactly what is the crime? Should individuals who obtain little or no personal profit be subject to criminal penalties?
And what evidence should a jury hear during the trial? Should wiretaps that are select conversations of the government be allowed to be used against a defendant in a securities fraud case, when this crime is not included in the criminal activity of our wiretap laws (see here)?
There is an interesting interplay here. On one hand we have someone being convicted for using "secret" information - the insider trading. On the other hand we have the government using "secret" information to convict the individual - the wiretaps. I keep wondering if there is anything that can be "secret" anymore. In this information age it seems like information is so accessible that it is difficult to claim anything as being "insider."
June 19, 2012 in Investigations, Securities, Verdict | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, June 15, 2012
Gupta Convicted On Some Counts & Acquitted On Others
Peter Lattman & Azam Ahmed, NYTimes, Rajat Gupta Convicted of Insider Trading
Patricia Hurtado & David Glovin, Bloomberg, Ex-Goldman Director Rajat Gupta Convicted of Insider Trading
AP, Ex Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta convicted
June 15, 2012 in Insider Trading, News, SEC, Securities, Verdict | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Corporate Social Responsibility and Supply Chains Practice: Proposed Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Rules
Chart by T. Markus Funk & Jean-Jacques Cabou of PerkinsCoie - Dodd- Frank Conflict Minerals Flow Chart- Download Conflict Minerals Flow Chart_TMF
June 3, 2012 in News, Prosecutions, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Department of Justice and the Culture of Non-Disclosure
We don't need new legislation insuring that defendants receive the exculpatory information they are entitled to under the U.S. Constitution, because the DOJ has learned its lesson from the Ted Stevens case and will NEVER let something like that happen again.
For example, in the high-profile insider trading case of U.S. v. Rajat Gupta, the DOJ recently argued that its prosecutors did NOT have to review 44 SEC interview memos for Brady material, even though the memos summarized interview sessions jointly conducted by SEC and DOJ attorneys. According to SDNY prosecutors, the overall DOJ and SEC investigations were not technically "joint" in nature, so SDNY AUSAs had no Brady obligations with respect to the SEC memos. The SEC attorneys were capable of conducting the Brady review on their own. Yeah, right. Just like the FBI and IRS Special Agents were capable of conducting the Brady review in U.S. v. Stevens. I completely forgot about the Brady training that SEC attorneys receive on a regular basis. DOJ's position is not only contrary to SDNY and Second Circuit case law--it also violates the letter and spirit of the Ogden Memo, promulgated after Stevens to prevent future Brady debacles. I guess SDNY didn't get the memo. (They're special you know.) Judge Jed Rakoff was having none of it. See his Gupta Brady Ruling, issued last week, for details. In truth, all of the SEC memos should be turned over in their entirety to the defense, just as all of the 302s and MOIs in Stevens should have been turned over.
It is clear that the DOJ has learned almost nothing from the Ted Stevens case. Suppression of exculpatory and/or potentially exculpatory evidence is largely not an issue at the line level. The typical AUSA knows Brady/Giglio when he sees it, and knows to disclose it. The problems tend to arise in high profile cases, particularly those captained out of DC. The sickness extends to very high levels at the DOJ. The Stevens prosecution clearly showed this. The Bill Allen-Bambi Tyree subornation of perjury allegation, reported in 2004 to a federal judge by DOJ prosecutors in a sealed pleading, was classic Giglio material. It should have instantly been recognized as such by the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Public Integrity Unit and they should have ordered it turned over immediately to the defense. It wasn't and they didn't.
The DOJ has run out of scandals and excuses. Enough already. At long last, have they no shame?
April 1, 2012 in Insider Trading, Prosecutions, Prosecutors, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Mismarking CDO Case Not Earth-Shattering
Last week, after President Obama announced a purportedly new initiative, see here and here, to combat fraud, government law enforcement officials, criticized for their lack of activity, promised action in the very near future. It is not clear whether the indictment returned Wednesday in the Southern District of New York for crimes committed four years ago is the action referred to. It certainly is not an earth-shattering case.
On Wednesday, three former Credit Suisse traders were indicted for inflating the worth of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to avoid recognition of market losses and thereby increase their bonuses. See here.
The CDOs consisted of pooled, presumably at least in part subprime, mortgages that were sold to investors in packages by presumably reputable institutions with high ratings provided by presumably reputable credit agencies. The presence of large amounts of overvalued CDOs in firm inventories is considered by some a major cause of the financial crisis.
Unlike securities such as listed stocks, there was no liquid market for these mortgage securities and therefore no easily ascertainable market value. Some financial firms were hesitant to mark down these failing obligations because it would considerably decrease reported earnings. Here, it is alleged -- and two of the three indicted have pleaded guilty -- that the traders knowingly concealed the loss in value and secured a bogus evaluation from a friendly small investment bank in order to support the inflated value of the securities. The overvaluation -- or failure to recognize the loss -- resulted in increased compensation for the traders, whose year-end bonuses were based considerably on the profits of their groups.
This case is interesting for several reasons. It is one of the relatively few brought so far that concern alleged criminal wrongdoing after the financial crisis arose. Most previous criminal prosecutions involving failed mortgages have focused on the origination of mortgages and comparatively small-time people such as aggressive mortgage brokers, perjurious buyers and conniving lawyers, and not their securitization.
It is also one of the few instances in which employees of a major financial institution have been prosecuted criminally in a case related to the financial crisis. Nonetheless, it would be a stretch to say that this overvaluation, discovered and corrected by Credit Suisse in days, had a major impact.
This is one of the rare criminal accusations, to my knowledge, involving mismarking or deliberately overvaluing illiquid assets in order to inflate profits. These valuations have a major effect on the profit and loss statements of financial institutions, including hedge funds, and the consequent bonuses or incentive compensation of traders and managers. False marking, often using evaluations by supposed experts or comparable institutions of the worth of securities with no easily-defined market value, is an area which deserves more governmental scrutiny and probably more governmental legal action.
Of course, care must be taken to distinguish deliberate falsity from good faith but erroneous evaluation in this uncertain area.
February 4, 2012 in Current Affairs, Fraud, Mortgage Fraud, Prosecutions, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, January 30, 2012
New Financial Unit Raises Questions
Virtually every presidential State of the Union speech, or its gubernatorial equivalent, calls for tougher criminal laws and/or new investigative resources. President Obama's address last week was no exception. The President called for the establishment of a new unit "to crack down on large scale fraud and protect people's investments." As blog editor Ellen S. Podgor wondered, see here, it was unclear how this unit would differ from the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force established in 2009. I too asked whether this purportedly new unit was anything other than a repackaged version.
The announcement of a new prosecutorial unit also was perhaps an unintended implicit admission that existing federal law enforcement agencies had been less than successful in dealing with serious alleged crimes which some believed had caused the financial crisis. Both Attorney General Eric Holder and SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami defended their record, stating that not every mistake is a violation of law. Holder said, "We also have learned that behavior that is reckless or unethical is not necessarily criminal," a statement which (aside from leading me to ask why it had taken him so long to realize it) should be painted on the walls of every prosecutorial office.
The principal apparent structural difference between this unit, entitled the Unit on Mortgage Origination and Security Abuses ("UMOSA"), and the prior one is, besides its more focused jurisdiction, that this is a joint task force of both federal and state officials. One of its co-chairs -- albeit one of five, four being DOJ or SEC officials -- is New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has shown his independence and aggressiveness toward Wall Street by pushing for stronger sanctions against financial institutions for robo-signing and other improprieties committed after the crisis arose.
Generally, joint federal-state task forces are a one-way street. The feds take the best criminal cases and leave the dregs to the state. One purported justification for such selection is that federal laws and rules of evidence make it easier for federal prosecutors to bring cases and win convictions. Schneiderman has indicated somewhat to the contrary -- that New York and other state laws give state attorneys general greater means to bring both civil and criminal prosecutions.
The idea of combining federal and state resources is generally a good one. Too often law enforcement agencies refuse to share information with other agencies, if at all, until they have determined the information was insufficient for them to act on, often too late for use by the other agencies. On the other hand, I fear that some task force constituents might attempt to make an end run around constitutional and statutory laws and rules, specificially Fed.R.Crim.Pro. 6(e), which, generally, as relevant here, prohibits disclosure of grand jury information to non-federal officials. Of particular concern is whether information secured by federal grand juries, much of which is through immunized testimony, will be provided for use by the states. Both Attorneys General Holder and Schneiderman seem aware of this restriction, but both appear to view it as an obstacle to overcome rather than a right to ensure. How scrupulous they will be in upholding the rule and spirit of grand jury secrecy will be seen.
January 30, 2012 in Current Affairs, Fraud, Grand Jury, Investigations, Mortgage Fraud, Prosecutors, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, January 13, 2012
Inside Trader Brownstein Receives 366-Day Sentence
Former Denver hedge-fund operator Drew "Bo" Brownstein, about whose case we wrote (see here), was sentenced Wednesday to a prison term of one year and one day following his plea of guilty to insider trading charges. Brownstein had received confidential information from his friend Drew Peterson concerning a pending purchase of Mariner Energy by Apache Corp. and used that information to reap about $2.5 million in profits for himself and his asset management firm. Drew Peterson, who has pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced, received the information from his father, H. Clayton Peterson, a Mariner director, and personally netted about $150,000 from it. The older Peterson also pleaded guilty, and received a probationary sentence.
The sentence of 366 days was between the 46-month high under the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range and the probationary sentence requested by defense counsel and above the six-month sentence suggested by the probation officer. The one-year and one-day sentence will allow Brownstein to earn "good time" of 47 days. Under federal law, good time is permitted only for a sentence of more than one year. 18 U.S.C. 3624(b).
January 13, 2012 in Insider Trading, Securities, Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, January 9, 2012
SEC Ends Orwellian Policy
Stop the presses. Hold the back page. Saturday's New York Times reports here on the SEC's decision to end its "does not admit or deny" policy, but only for SEC civil defendants who are also pleading guilty to criminal charges or admitting wrongdoing as part of a deferred criminal adjudication. In other words, the policy is similar in its immediate effect to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which (for the most part) merely freed slaves in rebel held territory. Why be so boastful about ending a policy that never made much sense in the first place, because it allowed individuals and entities to neither admit or deny civil allegations when they had already pled guilty to similar, and more serious, criminal charges? To hear the SEC tell it, the decision to abandon the old policy is NOT in response to Judge Rakoff's order rejecting the proposed Citigroup consent decree, as the new policy would not apply in the Citigroup case and the decision has been under consideration since Spring 2011. The decision itself may not be in response to Judge Rakoff, but it is hard to believe that its timing is not. Although Judge Rakoff should be commended for his thoughtful opinion, I am not without sympathy for Khuzami. He and the SEC are the only actors at the governmental level who appear to be systematically investigating and bringing actions against the elite financial entities largely responsible for our economic meltdown. (DOJ is on holiday.) Still, the SEC spends too much time on its public relations.
January 9, 2012 in SEC, Securities, Settlement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Congress Considers New Limits on Its Members
The New York Times yesterday wrote that in the wake of a CBS 60 Minutes report which said that members of Congress bought stock in companies while considering legislation that might affect those companies, Congress is considering laws banning such trading. The CBS report said none of the trading was illegal at the time. See here.
The 60 Minutes report said that the current chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), then the ranking Republican on the committee, bet stock prices would fall at the time he was being briefed privately that a global financial crisis might be imminent. According to the Times, at that time Congressman Bachus' office denied he had used nonpublic information as a basis for trading.
I do not venture to assess whether any Congressperson traded on inside information. I am also generally opposed to "new laws" since most are unnecessary and duplicative. Nonetheless, I see no reason that Congress should not be held to the same standard as private businesses or citizens. I also suggest consideration that a new statute, a mirror image to 18 U.S.C. 1001, which criminalizes a false statement to a government official, be enacted prohibiting false statements by a government official to the public.
December 8, 2011 in Congress, Insider Trading, News, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Speaking Truth To Power
Here is Judge Rakoff's Order Rejecting Proposed SEC-CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC.Settlement. Here is the New York Times story. Judge Rakoff's Order repeatedly refers to Citigroup as a "recidivist." It is difficult to believe this Order would have ever seen the light of day had the Court truly believed that a comprehensive law enforcement effort was underway to investigate and hold accountable the persons and institutions whose actions "depressed our economy and debilitated our lives."
November 29, 2011 in Judicial Opinions, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Becker Will Not Be Prosecuted
The Justice Department has decided -- properly, I believe -- not to file criminal charges against former SEC general counsel David M. Becker for participating in SEC policymaking relating to the distribution of funds from the Madoff estate when he had a personal stake in the outcome, a matter we discussed over five weeks ago. See here. Although I believe Becker's failure to recuse himself on his own was an exercise in poor judgment, he did report the potential conflict to his ethics officer, who approved his participation, and SEC chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro, who apparently failed to question it. Hopefully, the SEC will not forget that errors in judgment should rarely, if ever, be actionable.
November 9, 2011 in SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Social Media and Securities Fraud
The Sixth Annual ABA National Institute on Securities Fraud is taking place in New Orleans, and a topic this morning was social media. Yes, social media is a compenent even of securities cases.
Philip Hilder is moderating a panel of Robert B. Hirschhorn, Eric Dezenhall, Carrie Johnson, and Kara Scannell. Robert Hirschhorn noted how we now have information savvy jurors. Eric Dezenhall noted that "if you put a freelance writer on the jury, you should expect them to blog." Carrie Johnson noted how facebook may be used by reporters, and she gave the example of how it was used for a story following events at Virginia Tech. The panel stressed the speed of communication today and how one can receive information quicker than previously, for example via Twitter.
(esp)(blogging from New Orleans)
November 4, 2011 in Conferences, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Rajat Gupta Charged and Arrested for Insider Trading
Here is the Reuters story. Nothing posted yet on PACER. WSJ Law Blog also has coverage. This will be a much tougher case than Rajaratnam was for the government to prove. This morning's WSJ has a decent background piece (subscription required) on the case.
October 26, 2011 in Fraud, Insider Trading, Prosecutions, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
SEC Counsel Criticized for Conflict of Interest
One would expect that the SEC, which brings actions against individuals or corporations based on their failure to disclose a material conflict of interest to the public, would be sensitive to conflicts of interest of its own employees. Nonetheless, as a report released last week by SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz reveals, former SEC general counsel David M. Becker participated significantly in decisions relating to the distribution of SIPC funds relating to the Bernard Madoff case although he had a significant personal financial interest in the decisions.
Becker and two brothers in 2004 inherited and in 2009 liquidated $2 million in Madoff investment funds, $1.5 million of which were purported profits from the original investment. Later in 2009, Becker was prominently involved in two substantial questions in which the SEC recommendations to the bankruptcy court, while not conclusive, would be expected to carry significant weight in the court, given the deference courts pay to administrative agency decisions.
One issue concerned what position the SEC would take as to what should be considered "net equity," the amount that customers can claim in a brokerage liquidation. That question was essentially the same as what should be considered the "net equity" figure in a "clawback" action by the bankruptcy trustee, a decision in which Becker had a significant potential personal monetary interest, even though he and his family had not yet been sued (they were later). Becker initially argued against the "money-in/money-out method" under which an investor could recover only the amount he invested and for the "last account statement method" under which an investor could recover the amount of the last - and fictitious - statement from Madoff. The "last account statement method" would obviously have been beneficial to Becker in that it would have protected him in a "clawback" action by the Madoff bankruptcy trustee for the $1.5 million he and his brothers had received in Madoff "profits."
After consideration, Becker concluded that the last account statement method was unsupportable. His position was in accord with that of the SEC, SIPC, the bankruptcy trustee, and ultimately the Second Circuit, In re Bernard Madoff Investment Securities, LLC, ___ F.3d ___ (2d Cir., August 16, 2011). Becker argued, however, contrary to the position of SIPC, for the "constant dollar approach" in which the recovery under the money-in/money-out method would be adjusted upward for inflation and lost real economic gain. Under this approach, the bankruptcy trustee's potential clawback recovery from the Beckers would have been reduced by $138,500.
It is apparent, as any law student who has taken an ethics course would realize, and as the Inspector General determined, that Becker had a conflict of interest in the resolution of these questions. Yet, the SEC's "ethics" officer, who reported to and was evaluated by Becker, saw no conflict. The ethics officer, revealing a narrow view of conflict of interest, and an apparent misunderstanding of relevant securities law, found no conflict in part because there was "no direct and predictable effect" between the SEC's position and the trustee's clawback decision.
SEC Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro was aware, to some extent, of Becker's Madoff financial interest, but she did not suggest he recuse himself. She and Becker both contended before Congress last week that he had acted properly by reporting the conflict to her and others. That defense, however, is limited and misplaced.
Reporting a conflict - especially if only to underlings and colleagues - is not sufficient. Even public disclosure of Becker's personal interest - and it was not disclosed to the public, Congress, the courts, or four of the SEC's five commissioners - would not have cured the conflict. Becker simply should have recused himself and not have participated at all in decisions as to the formulation of SEC policy relating to recovery of Madoff assets.
Schapiro was no doubt swayed by her respect for Becker's legal ability and integrity. Becker, who has written that he did "not remember giving any consideration to how the various proposed outcomes would affect me," may well have believed that his personal interest would not affect his professional judgment. In any case, his decision not to recuse himself and Schapiro's at least implicit condonation of this decision, demonstrate that the agency which polices conflicts of interest in the marketplace fails to appreciate them when they occur in its own house.
The Inspector General referred this matter to DOJ for consideration for criminal prosecution. I do not suggest that Becker acted criminally with respect to 18 U.S.C. 208, the statute proscribing acts affecting a personal financial interest, or any other law. He may well have lacked whatever scienter is required under the law based on his reporting to others or other acts or circumstances. Not every improper act is criminal.
September 27, 2011 in News, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
"Rogue Trader" - OUCH
UBS is having another "ouch" moment as the media is reporting on a rogue trader. The typical questions are - how could this have happened; why was it not discovered sooner; who should be held liable; and should there be criminal liability? It is too soon to answer many of these questions. But here are some points of interest -
UBS has a corporate responsibility policy that states:
"UBS is firmly committed to corporate responsibility and actively strives to understand, assess, weigh and address the concerns and expectations of the firm's stakeholders. This process supports UBS in its efforts to safeguard and advance the firm's reputation for responsible corporate conduct. In very direct ways, responsible corporate conduct helps create sustainable value for the company."
Its policies include a host of different preventative measures, such as money laundering prevention here. It takes pride in employees and notes that "[o]ur employees have the breadth of our businesses, global career opportunities and a collaborative, performance-oriented culture as a platform for individual success."
Rogue employees are not a new development for the corporate arena. No matter how many controls are in place and no matter how much oversight there might be, it is a problem to have full compliance. Knowing this, it seems important to provide companies with a "good faith" defense when a rogue employee commits acts that might be considered criminal. Unfortunately, to date, courts have only seen fit to insert such as defense in the civil area and not the criminal sphere. (See Podgor, A New Corporate World Mandates a Good Faith Affirmative Defense) But corporate criminality in the federal system is premised on respondeat superior and the acts of a rogue employee are hardly for the benefit of the company.
See also -
Dan Fisher, Why Rogue Traders Get Jail But Bad Execs Get A Pension
Frank Jordans & Paisley Dodds, Houston Chronicle, Rogue trader suspected in $2 billion UBS loss
Nathan Vardi, Forbes, Rogue Trader Deals Big Blow To UBS
Victoria Howley & Emma Thomasson, Reuters, UBS $2 billion rogue trade suspect held in London
The Telepgraph, UBS rogue trader: statement to employees in full
September 15, 2011 in Fraud, Media, News, Securities | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Friday, August 12, 2011
SEC's Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Regulations Take Effect Today. Corporate America Expects More FCPA Woes.
Politico has a story about it here. The new regs implement Section 21F of the Dodd-Frank Act, which authorizes the SEC to award 10 to 30 percent of the monetary sanctions it recovers in a given case to a qualified whistleblower. What seems to most annoy the business community about the implementing regs is the SEC's insistence that whistleblowers are under no obligation to make use of a company's internal complaint procedures before running to the SEC. But the regs do say that an employee who goes through internal company whistleblower protocols is eligible for a Dodd-Frank whistleblower award if his/her employer subsequently self-reports to the SEC, based on the whistleblower's complaint, and a recovery is had. Further, an employee has a 120-day grace period after whistleblowing to his/her company, within which to bring his/her complaint to the SEC. Finally, in determining the amount of a whistleblower reward, the SEC will consider whether the whistleblower made use of his/her internal company procedures. The new regs contain enhanced anti-retaliation provisions as well, which prohibit direct or indirect retaliation for making whistleblower complaints to the SEC and other government entities.
There is an inherent tension between the anti-retaliation provisions and the SEC's and DOJ's often-emphasized warnings to companies that they should have vigorous and authentic internal whistleblower procedures. What if a company's pre-existing compliance policy requires the prompt internal reporting of whistleblower complaints? Can a company punish an employee who ignores such a provision and goes straight to the SEC? What if the employee declines to internally report, even after going to the SEC, because he/she feels that the company procedure is a sham? My guess is that such punishments will occur and that they will be deemed to run afoul of the anti-retaliation provisions. The retaliatory response is an instinctiual, persistent, and virtually universal impulse. It is really hard to eradicate.
August 12, 2011 in Current Affairs, FCPA, Fraud, Investigations, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Family Week for Insider Trading Actions
Last week was Family Week for insider trading actions. Two highly-publicized cases concerned the disclosure and misuse of inside information received from a close relative -- one a spouse, the other a parent.
Both cases implicate the question of whether disclosure of confidential information to a close relative should form the basis of a criminal or regulatory proceeding. While the law provides no safe haven from prosecution for unlawful disclosure to a spouse or child (although the marital privilege may provide some protection to a spouse), respect for family relations may in some cases militate against such a prosecution. Here, however, the facts and circumstances of each case – one justifying prosecution, the other working against it – seem to make that issue moot.
In one, SEC v. William A. Marovitz, 1:11-CV-05259 (N.D. Ill. August 3, 2011), the husband of former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christy Hefner agreed (with the usual non-admission and non-denial of wrongdoing) to pay approximately $170,000 to settle a civil action. The husband, William Marovitz, according to the SEC, traded and made profits on sales of Playboy stock based on information he received from his wife concerning, among other things, a sale of the company. According to the SEC, Hefner had talked with her husband about her concerns with his trading and had the company counsel also speak with him. The counsel sent Marovitz a memo warning of the "serious implications" of his trading Playboy shares and asked him to consult counsel before he did. According to the complaint, Marovitz never did.
Hefner was not charged. Not only was she uninvolved in his trading, she took precautions, however unsuccessful, to prevent her husband's purported misuse of the information. Of course, she could have prevented any misappropriation of insider information by him by simply not disclosing it.
The settlement amount includes civil penalties. One wonders what, if any, additional penalties Hefner will inflict upon her husband for his apparent betrayal of marital trust.
In another case, U.S. v. H. Clayton Peterson, 11 Crim. 665 (S.D.N.Y.) (see also SEC v. H. Clayton Peterson, etc. al., 11-CV-5448 (S.D.N.Y.)), a father and son both pleaded guilty to criminal securities fraud and conspiracy violations in connection with providing, using, and disseminating inside information concerning the 2010 takeover of Mariner Energy in Denver by the Apache Corporation. H. Clayton Peterson, a Mariner director, pleaded guilty to tipping off his son, Drew Peterson, who traded for himself, clients and a friend for a $150,000 profit and tipped off another friend, reportedly Bo K. Brownstein, a hedge fund executive, who traded for his fund and relatives and friends for profits of more than $5 million.
Peterson Sr. apparently took an active role in the wrongdoing, not only on several occasions providing confidential information to his son, but also directing him on two occasions to purchase Mariner stock for his sister. His conduct, thus, was apparently far more culpable than Hefner's.
Drew Peterson is reportedly cooperating against Brownstein and others, as, to the extent he can, most likely is his father. Often, the family that steals together squeals together.
August 10, 2011 in Insider Trading, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Chiesi Sentenced to 30 Months
Danielle Chiesi, the former beauty queen, hedge fund trader, and fount of inside information to Raj Rajaratnam, was sentenced last week to 30 months in prison. We had blogged about her earlier. (see here)
Ms. Chiesi, who had extracted information from lovers and passed it on to Rajaratnam, was described by United States Attorney Preet Bharara in interesting imagery as "the vital artery through which inside information flowed between captains of industry and billionaire hedge fund managers."
The 30-month sentence was three months greater than that imposed on her former lover and boss, Mark Kurland, whom she blamed for involving her in criminality. Ms. Chiesi had specifically asked for a sentence equal to or lesser than Mr. Kurland's. The government sought a sentence within the advisory guideline range of 37 to 46 months.
Retaining her sense of style to the end, Ms.Chiesi wore an atypical outfit for a defendant about to be sentenced, a sleeveless pink dress and matching pumps. And, after the sentence, alluding to her early morning arrest, she told the FBI agents at the prosecution table that the next time they knocked on her door they should do it in the afternoon. I suspect that she'll be up early for the next 30 months.
July 28, 2011 in SEC, Securities, Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Khuzami's Complaint
The United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York has a Criminal Law Group. Wow. I never knew. SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami recently spoke to its members about questionable tactics routinely engaged in by white collar lawyers (and their clients) during SEC Enforcement Division proceedings. Khuzami's Speech is troubling as it reveals clearly unethical and potentially illegal behavior, including: improper signalling to witnesses regarding substantive testimonial responses, representation of multiple witnesses with clearly adverse interests, representation of multiple witnesses who adopt virtually identical and implausible explanations of events, witnesses who "don't recall" dozens of basic and uncontroverted facts documented in their own writings, scorched earth document production, suspect recantation of damaging testimony after deposition breaks, and window-dressing internal investigations that scapegoat mid-level employees. Khuzami laments these tactics and notes that they often backfire by increasing Enforcement Division skepticism of the entity or person under investigation and by damaging the future credibility of counsel who encourage such behavior. But employment of at least some of these brazen tactics should do more. The people and entities who engage in them should go straight to secondary, as they say at the border. If this had been done in Bernard Madoff's case, after he was caught red-handed lying during a regulatory examination, his fraud would have been uncovered years ago. The message from the SEC should be clear. You don't get to lie or obstruct justice during Enforcement Division investigations or SEC exams. Hat tip to Jonathan Hardt of Wilmer Hale for bringing this speech to my attention.
June 9, 2011 in Civil Enforcement, Investigations, Legal Ethics, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Commentary on Raj Rajaratnam Case
As noted here by Sol Wisenberg, Raj Rajaratnam was found guilty on all counts. Many have been commenting on the case, see here, here, here, here, and here for example. Some predict that this decision will be the stepping stone for future insider trading cases (see here, here , and here) After all the government might say - the wiretaps seemed to work in this case, perhaps they can work in other insider trading cases.
Hopefully, the government will think this through rationally. The wiretaps were clearly questionable (see here) (Professor Dershowitz takes a different view here). It remains to be seen whether a higher court will find their use acceptable. If there are more prosecutions using these types of wires, and it turns out that a higher court finds them unacceptable - a lot of time and money will have been wasted by the government.
A second issue is with respect to what constitutes insider trading and when is the conduct illegal. The fuzzy nature of this question makes many of these prosecutions questionable. The question I always wonder is if the person knew that the conduct was illegal, would they have committed the act. If they knew that a heavy jail sentence would be following, would they engage in this activity. The concern here being that perhaps more time needs to be spent on making criminal offenses clearer and educating folks on what is legal and what is not.
(esp)(blogging from San Francisco)
May 15, 2011 in Insider Trading, Prosecutions, Prosecutors, SEC, Securities | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)