Release: 4150-98

For Release: June 2, 1998

CFTC CHARGES JOSEPH J. MARCHIANO, HARTFORD FINANCIAL GROUP, INC., KERI L. STEWART, GLENN R. TAUBMAN, AND GARY V. VALLETTA IN FLORIDA FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT WITH VIOLATIONS OF A COMMISSION ORDER AND REGISTRATION PROVISIONS

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that on June 1, 1998, it filed an injunctive action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Joseph J. Marchiano, Hartford Financial Group, Inc. (Hartford), Keri L. Stewart, Glenn R. Taubman, and Gary V. Valletta. The action seeks to enforce a November 22, 1996 Commission order that, among other things, required Marchiano to pay a civil monetary penalty and alleges violations of the Commission order and various registration requirements.

The three-count complaint alleges that Marchiano has been acting as an Associated Person (AP) and as a principal of Hartford, a registered introducing broker (IB) located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, without being registered. Marchiano, who was a respondent in an earlier Commission enforcement proceeding, In the Matter of American Futures Group, Inc., George J. Perk, Thomas G. Reeves and Joseph J. Marchiano, CFTC Docket No. 95-15, entered into a settlement in which he agreed to, among other things, withdrawal of his registration for a period of one year, imposition of a $10,000 civil monetary penalty to be paid on or before January 2, 1997, prohibition from acting as a principal of a registrant, and imposition of conditions on any future registration he might obtain. To date, Marchiano has not paid the $10,000 civil monetary penalty and has further violated the Commission order by acting as an AP and as a principal of Hartford.

The listed principals of Hartford -- Stewart, Taubman, and Valletta -- knew, or acted in a manner to avoid knowing, that Marchiano was prohibited from acting as an AP or as a principal of a registrant by the Commission order. Furthermore, by enabling Marchiano to control Hartford without registration, they aided and abetted Marchiano and Hartford's registration violations.

Accordingly, the CFTC filed the complaint in federal district court charging Marchiano, Hartford, Stewart, Taubman, and Valletta with registration violations. In addition, the complaint charges Marchiano with violating the Commission order by failing to pay his civil monetary penalty and acting as an AP and principal of Hartford.