Compliance October 30, 2006

CT Man Jailed for Three Years in Silvester Pension Scandal

October 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A West Hartford, Connecticut man, who was convicted of charges in connection with a Connecticut state pension fund scandal, has been sentenced to a three-year prison term and hit with a $50,000 fine.
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US District Judge Ellen Bree Burns imposed the sentence on Charles Spadoni, former general counsel of Triumph Capital Group, after a federal court jury convicted him in July 2003 of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and obstruction of justice (See  Jury Slams Investment Firm For CT Treasurer Bribery Scandal ).

 

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Burns also sentenced Spadoni to five years of supervised release after being released from prison, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged that Spadoni engaged in a bribery scheme by agreeing to give two consulting contracts worth $1 million each to two close associates of former Connecticut State Treasurer Paul Silvester in return for the investment of $200 million of state pension assets in a Triumph Capital-related investment fund.

Silvester pleaded guilty to RICO and money-laundering charges in September 1999, and was sentenced in November 2003 to 51 months in prison (See  Former Conn. Treasurer Gets More Jail Time ).

The case is US v. Spadoni, D. Conn., 3:00 cr 00217, sentenced 10/25/06.

Benefits October 27, 2006

Poll: 35% Enrolled in Retirement Savings Program

October 27, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than half of US adults surveyed (57%) say they invest in long-term financial service investment products including 35% who participated in a 401(k), 403(b) or a similar retirement savings plan and 30% who had a Roth or regular IRA.
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Those were among the findings of a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Personal-Finance Poll, according to a news release.

Moving on to a key topic for many institutional and other investors, about one-third (36%) say that poor corporate governance had led them to reduce or divest holdings in a company, slightly up from last year (30%). About half of investors (49%) agree that they can trust companies to provide complete and accurate financial information on which they can make investment decisions, according to the poll.

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Almost half of US adult investors (49%) say that boards of directors are most responsible for corporate governance, an increase from 45% in 2005. Twenty-one percent of investors consider chief executive officers to be the most responsible, while 19% say senior management is most responsible.

About half of investors agree that boards of directors do a good job at overseeing the companies they govern (55%) and at managing executive compensation (45%). Most investors say that the chairman of the board title should go to an independent director (39%) or the chief executive officer (25%), while a fair amount say they do not know (28%).

Also, when asked about what they knew or may have heard about the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, including its restrictions and penalties for misinterpretation or misuse of company financial information, 32% say the law has been effective at improving the transparency of financial information at public companies, while about one-quarter (24%) say that it has not worked. Twenty-one percent say that Sarbanes-Oxley has been effective at improving boards of directors’ ability to manage executive compensation and 35% say it has not been effective.

The survey was conducted online within the United States between September 19 to 21, 2006 among 2,345 adults (aged 18 and over), 1,345 of whom invest in long-term financial service investment products.

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