UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 15391 / June 24, 1997
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Nicholas F. Coscia,
United States District Court, District of Nevada, Civil
Action No. CVS-97-0074-PMP (RLH)
The Commission announced that on June 18, 1997 Nicholas F. Coscia
("Coscia") a California attorney, was permanently enjoined by consent from
future violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933
("Securities Act") and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange
Act"). Coscia's consent was without admitting or denying the allegations
in the Commission's complaint.
The Commission's complaint alleged that in May 1988 Carl E. Lovell
("Lovell"), a Las Vegas Attorney, and Danna Wale ("Wale"), incorporated
Triste Corporation ("Triste") in the State of Nevada and then conducted a
controlled initial public offering and sale of Triste securities by having
all of the shares purchased by a group of investors acting in concert under
their instructions creating a "box job". Philip Sindler ("Sindler"), a
southern California stock promoter, learned that Lovell could provide him
with public shell corporations whose securities he could control. In late
1988, Sindler and Coscia met with Lovell and Wale. At that meeting Lovell
committed that he could provide one hundred percent of the purportedly
publicly owned shares of Triste at a price of five cents per share.
According to the complaint, Lovell told Sindler and Coscia that he
could deliver all of the stock through accounts in the names of his
controlled shareholders at the Las Vegas branch office of Fitzgerald-
Talman, Inc., a now defunct securities firm formerly based in Denver.
Robert Glau ("Glau") was the broker on each of those accounts.
The complaint further alleged that, pursuant to this agreement, in
November 1988, all of the purportedly publicly owned shares of Triste were
"sold" from Lovell's controlled shareholder's accounts at Fitzgerald Talman
to Sindler's controlled accounts at Adams Securities at the pre-agreed
prices, including 83,000 shares to the trading account of Ansantawae, Inc.
controlled by Coscia. Sindler then merged Triste with another corporation.
Adams Securities later sold the stocks to the public at prices in the $1 to
$3 range.
On October 27, 1993 Coscia, Lovell and Wale were indicted by a federal
grand jury in Las Vegas on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and
money laundering based upon their conduct in the scheme. Coscia and
Lovell, as well as Sindler, Glau, and James
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S. Adams, former principal of Admas Securities, all pled guilty to various
criminal charges. In addition, Lovell, Wale, Sindler,
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Adams and Glau were permanently enjoined and sanctioned in administrative
#1). You have money. Other people want it. All of it!
#2). You want easy money. So does everybody else. They'll get it, too....yours! (and all of it!)
#3). You tell yourself you're smart. You won't lose your money. Fact: Other people are smarter,
