The Securities and Exchange Commission

[Stock]

34-55573 Apr. 3, 2007 Anthony Coppola
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2007/34-55573.pdf

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 55573 / April 3, 2007
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-12607
In the Matter of
ANTHONY COPPOLA,
Respondent.
ORDER INSTITUTING
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
I.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) against Anthony Coppola (“Respondent”).
II.
In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement (the “Offer”) which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission’s jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III.2 below, which are admitted, Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions (“Order”), as set forth below.
III.
On the basis of this Order and Respondent’s Offer, the Commission finds that:
2
1. From 1993 through October 1998, Coppola was employed at John Dawson & Associates (“JDAI”), a broker-dealer registered with the Commission, as JDAI’s margin clerk. His responsibilities in that position included handling margin-related issues in the firm’s customer and employee accounts and, on occasion, handling issues related to JDAI’s proprietary trading accounts.
2. On April 12, 2006, Coppola pled guilty to obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1505 before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in United States v. Coppola, Crim. Indictment No. 1:04-CR-1009. On July 19, 2006, a judgment in the criminal case was entered against Coppola. He was sentenced to a term of probation for a period of four years and home detention with electronic monitoring for a period of six months.
3. The counts of the criminal indictment to which Coppola pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that Coppola corruptly and knowingly endeavored to influence, obstruct and impede the due and proper administration of law before the Commission by knowingly making false statements under oath to Commission staff members investigating JDAI and certain of its officers, directors and employees.
IV.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions agreed to in Respondent Coppola’s Offer.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:
Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondent Coppola be, and hereby is barred from association with any broker or dealer.
Any reapplication for association by the Respondent will be subject to the applicable laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following: (a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondent, whether or not the Commission has fully or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order.
By the Commission.
Nancy M. Morris
Secretary