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I'm hoping this site will be one (of many) that helps me become better informed about the right candidates to vote for in 2008, so the "vote for" functions mentioned might be a bit premature for me at this stage. I like how this site is put together from what I've seen so far (just registered today). Thank you for building PB.
Behind every great fortune there is a crime.
- Honore de Balzac
Is there a place to vote against the practice of a CEO breaching his fiduciary duty to his shareholders by backdating options to line his own pockets at their expense?
At first glance I thought this may be a good place to hang out. After signing up I read the blurbs on your "Important Political Figures" and I have decided I made a huge error in judgement by signing up.
The page began innocuous enough by simply stating facts but, well, allow me to make these comments before I continue: George Allen is a power player? LOL! Michael Bloomber is a nanny state fascist. Mrs. BJ Klintoon is the most divisive person on the planet!!! You failed to include the fact that Mr. BJ was the impeached one. Daley - unchecked power. LOL! Good one. Very coy. Gore is a candidate? You also failed to mention he's nuts! Teddy - left off that murder thingy...ill-fated indeed. I'm no fan of Lott's, but really!?!? James McGovern...who? Pelosi is also the first woman "leader" to openly commit treason. Speaking of treason -- Jon Effin Carry. No comment lest I not escape alive.
But President Bush...you don't let FACTS get in the way of your BDS when it come to him. He was overwhelmingly re-elected by his grateful nation. He was not unpopular until this past year and it had nothing to do with the WOT or the Iraq theater. Any unpopularity he now enjoys is related to his groveling for the NAU crowd, usurping the sovereignty of our nation while we are being invaded, bowing down to the communists in congress and getting on his knees before the islamofacists.
So long! All best in you endeavors.
tickedoff2 says:
" At first glance I thought this may be a good place to hang out. After signing up I read the blurbs on your "Important Political Figures" and I have decided I made a huge error in judgement by signing up. The page began innocuous enough by simply stating facts but, well, allow me to make these comments before I continue: George Allen is a power player? LOL! Michael Bloomber is a nanny state fascist. Mrs. BJ Klintoon is the most divisive person on the planet!!! You failed to include the fact that Mr. BJ was the impeached one. Daley - unchecked power. LOL! Good one. Very coy. Gore is a candidate? You also failed to mention he's nuts! Teddy - left off that murder thingy...ill-fated indeed. I'm no fan of Lott's, but really!?!? James McGovern...who? Pelosi is also the first woman "leader" to openly commit treason. Speaking of treason -- Jon Effin Carry. No comment lest I not escape alive. But President Bush...you don't let FACTS get in the way of your BDS when it come to him. He was overwhelmingly re-elected by his grateful nation. He was not unpopular until this past year and it had nothing to do with the WOT or the Iraq theater. Any unpopularity he now enjoys is related to his groveling for the NAU crowd, usurping the sovereignty of our nation while we are being invaded, bowing down to the communists in congress and getting on his knees before the islamofacists. So long! All best in you endeavors."
well tickedoff, i know you'll never see my response because you promised you weren't coming back. it looks like you spent a lot of time on the people pages. i guess you missed the big "edit this page" button at the top right of each page. if you had clicked on it, you would have discovered that you could change anything you think doesn't represent the truth. don't just get angry and give up =( ...participate!
SFGate Brocade ex-CEO gets 21 months in prison for stock options scheme
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008 Former Brocade Communications Systems Inc. CEO Gregory Re...
Saying he was sending a message to corporate leaders about the price of dishonesty, a federal judge sentenced a tearful former Silicon Valley executive to a year and nine months in prison and fined him $15 million Wednesday in the nation's first prosecution for concealing the backdating of stock options.
Gregory Reyes, 45, former chief executive officer of Brocade Communications Systems in San Jose, was convicted by a jury in San Francisco in August of 10 counts of misleading stockholders and federal regulators between 2000 and 2004. The jury found that he conspired to alter the grant dates of stock options awarded to employees, and then took steps to falsify company documents to hide the transactions.
Companies that include stock options in the compensation of high-paid employees commonly increase their value by altering the grant date to coincide with the date of the lowest stock price, which an employee can use when exercising the purchase option.
The practice is not illegal, but misrepresenting the options in official reports to shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission - and thus understating the company's expenses and overstating its net income - is a crime.
In a San Francisco courtroom filled with Reyes' relatives and friends, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer rejected a defense plea for a sentence of no more than 13 months to be served in home detention or a halfway house. Breyer said a prison term would serve as a warning to other corporate officers about the consequences of lying to the government and the public.
"This offense is about honesty," the judge said. "Every time Gregory Reyes falsified documents over a three-year period, he was lying.
"Corporate fraud is not a victimless crime. If widespread, it can affect the overall economy, employment, and, as we've seen with Enron, people's life savings."
But Breyer imposed a lighter sentence than the range of 2 to 2 1/2 years recommended in federal guidelines, saying the billionaire defendant did not profit from the transactions and deserved some consideration for leading a "life dedicated to trying to help others" through charitable contributions and personal acts of generosity.
He also allowed Reyes to remain free while he appeals his conviction, noting that the case was the first of its kind and that a higher court might disagree with his interpretation of the law.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 30 to 33 months, a $41 million fine, and restitution of $90 million to Brocade for its costs of investigating and defending the case. Breyer said the company was free to seek restitution in a civil suit.
One white-collar defense lawyer said the sentence was harsh.
"The rules (for backdating) aren't always that clear," said Phil Stern, a Chicago attorney and former lawyer and administrator with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He said such transgressions are more typically handled by the SEC in civil damage suits.
But San Francisco defense lawyer Daniel Margolis, a former federal prosecutor, said the term didn't seem especially severe and probably would have been a lot longer if Breyer had found that Reyes' conduct hurt stockholders. The judge ruled in November that prosecutors had failed to show that the backdating caused a measurable drop in Brocade's stock price.
Reyes, part owner of the San Jose Sharks, rose through the Silicon Valley corporate ranks to become chief executive of Brocade, a data storage networking company, in 1998. The company ousted him in January 2005 after having to restate earnings because of backdated stock options.
Reyes was the first to be charged in an investigation by a backdating task force established by then-U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan. Another Brocade executive, Stephanie Jensen, former vice president of human resources, was convicted last month of colluding with Reyes to falsify company records and is awaiting sentencing.
Wednesday's 90-minute sentencing hearing included a five-minute break for Reyes to compose himself before reading a short statement. In a halting voice, the defendant apologized, said he had been changed and humbled by his experience, and asked Breyer for "your mercy and your compassion."
Defense lawyer Richard Marmaro argued that Reyes was being unfairly singled out for punishment. He said about 150 companies have restated their earnings because of backdating, but only a handful of their executives have been prosecuted, and just four others besides Reyes and Jensen have been convicted. Only one, William Sorin, former general counsel of Comverse Technologies in New York, has been sentenced to prison, a term of a year and a day imposed in May.
"It just doesn't seem right that virtually all of the executives who did what Mr. Reyes did, or worse, face civil sanctions or no sanctions at all," Marmaro said. "Mr. Reyes had the misfortune to be the first to be prosecuted."
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Crudo said the other defendants, unlike Reyes, had pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors.
Breyer agreed that the cases weren't comparable. He also said six months of Reyes' sentence were for obstruction of justice, for making false statements in a declaration that led Breyer to grant Jensen a separate trial rather than trying her jointly with Reyes.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/17/BUEDUGBV5.DTL
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle © 2008 Hearst Communications Inc. | Privacy Policy | Feedback | RSS Feeds | FAQ | Site Index | Contact
I would like to make a suggestion, lowering the points required in order to become a mod from 5,000 to a more realistic number like 1,000 or 2,000. People that reach the 2,000 mark are obviously active, and it would still take some time to achieve it. Otherwise it would take an eternity to be able to reach the 5k mark. Just a thought.
AMP says:
"I would like to make a suggestion, lowering the points required in order to become a mod from 5,000 to a more realistic number like 1,000 or 2,000. People that reach the 2,000 mark are obviously active, and it would still take some time to achieve it. Otherwise it would take an eternity to be able to reach the 5k mark. Just a thought."
Hey AMP- As of now, the points don't really mean much except as a way quantify a user's activity. We haven't started accepting volunteer moderators yet. Once that happens, we'll be deciding based on points plus quality of submissions, blogs, and forum comments.
Obama Promises to Help Small Business and Create Small Business Reform Mr. Obama has made a pledge to small businesses to help them navigate the over regulation they face. Obama has apparently been listening to the small businesses in Ohio and thus, made a promise to them and has stated he will make sure there is small business reform. Obama stated that over half of all Americans work in for small businesses. Actually, 10% of Americans own their own small business and over 65% work for a small business. My question to the Obama campaign is why now is he bringing this to the table? The plight of the small businessman is not a new problem? Didn't Obama rise through the ranks of the political system, hasn't he ever dealt with this before, or did he simply not care, because he got his campaign contributions from other groups like PACs, Unions and Corporate America? Is he serious or just giving small business lip service? I would certainly like to know. Personally and in my personal opinion, I am completely troubled by this candidate, for a number of reasons and this latest last minute grab for the small business vote is a bit much for me to swallow. It also appears that Barack Obama is double speaking and clearly does not understand much about what the SBA Small Business Administration has been doing. About everything Obama promises, the SBA is already doing. It seems each time we check to see if Obama means what he says, we are left with an empty feeling when we check his actions against his words. Vote against Obama, I do not believe he is the small business candidate. And where is Oprah, did she finally see through the rhetoric? "Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance Winslow's Bio Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow
