FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    99-173

          SEC Charges New York Pension Fund Manager in
                  $6.9 Million Kickback Scheme
                                
     Los Angeles, CA, December 16, 1999 - The Securities and
Exchange Commission today announced that it has sued New York
pension fund manager Alan B. Bond for fraudulently receiving more
than $6.9 million in kickbacks from brokerage firms in connection
with his management of the pension and investment funds of such
notable clients as the National Basketball Association, the
Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and the City University
of New York.  Bond, Harvard educated and a frequent guest on
PBS's Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser, used the kickbacks to
purchase more than 75 luxury and antique automobiles and a large
home and beachfront condominium in Florida.

     Also today, the United States Attorney for the Southern
District of New York has criminally charged Bond, and the second
defendant in this lawsuit, Robert I. Spruill, for conduct alleged
in the SEC's complaint.

     The SEC's complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York, alleges that, from
September 1993 through November 1998, Bond received over $6.9
million in commission kickbacks from three brokerage firms.  Bond
directed trades to these firms through his former money
management business, Bond, Procope Capital Management.  The
kickbacks he received were siphoned off the investment returns of
his clients in the form of mark-ups on principal trades in the
over-the-counter market.  According to the complaint, Bond
dictated to the brokerage firms the amount of the mark-up on each
trade and the firms, in turn, kicked back 57-80% of the mark-ups
to Bond.  In most cases, the kickbacks were funneled through
dummy corporations set up by Spruill, who worked as a broker at
these firms.  Bond then instructed the firms not to report the
mark-ups on his clients' trade confirmations and account
statements.  "By choosing to direct trades to these firms, Bond
was not only deciding when he received a kickback, he was also
deciding how much the kickbacks would be, while at the same time
preventing his clients from detecting the scheme," said Valerie
Caproni, Pacific Regional Director of the SEC.

     The SEC's complaint further alleges that most of the money
in this scheme went to finance Bond's extremely lavish personal
lifestyle.  In addition to the 75 cars and the two real estate
properties in Florida, Bond frequently went on shopping sprees at
stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co., running up
American Express bills of $200,000 to $470,000 a month.  He spent
several hundred thousand dollars remodeling and furnishing his
various homes.  He also hired an interior designer to decorate
the warehouse that he used to store his classic cars.  Bond also
used some of the illicit payments to purchase gratuities for the
trustees and employees of his pension fund clients.  The
gratuities included limousine service, overnight stays in posh
New York City hotels, expensive clothing and tickets to sporting
events.

     According to the complaint, Bond had approximately 25
clients and over $600 million under management.  The clients were
mostly union and government pension funds.  Bond's largest client
was a retirement fund for Washington, DC's transit workers.  Ms.
Caproni said, "Although Mr. Bond's clients were mostly pension
funds, the victims are human.  Mr. Bond's scheme affected the
life savings and financial security of thousands of working
people, such as police officers, fire fighters, teachers and bus
drivers.  People who believed that their pension fund adviser was
investing for their benefit, not his.  We bring this case as a
way of saying to all investment professionals:  `If you're
thinking of lining your own pockets with other people's money,
don't.  We will find you and stop you.'"

     As part of its lawsuit, the SEC charged Bond with violating,
and Spruill with aiding and abetting violations of, the antifraud
provisions of the federal securities laws.  Bond was also charged
with filing false documents with the SEC.  The lawsuit is seeking
permanent injunctions, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains plus
prejudgment interest and civil penalties against the defendants.

     The SEC acknowledges the valuable assistance the United
States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
and the United States Postal Inspection Service in bringing this
case.

PERSONS TO CONTACT:

SEC
Clifford C. Hyatt
(323) 965-3858

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Marvin Smilon
(212) 637-2600
                                
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