Page 1 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

CEA CASES 

NAME: MELVIN MILLER, AND DOMINICK F. AUCIELLO 

CITATION: 27 Agric. Dec. 582 

DOCKET NUMBER: 151 

DATE: MAY 2, 1968 

DOCUMENT TYPE: DECISION AND ORDER 

(No. 11,791) 

In re MELVIN MILLER, and DOMINICK F. AUCIELLO. CEA Docket No. 151. Decided May 

2, 1968. 

Overselling -- Potato futures -- Suspension of registration -- Stipulation 

Respondents consented to the issuance of an order suspending their 

registrations as floor brokers and directing all contract markets to deny all 

trading privileges to them for 20 days. Respondents were charged with cheating 

and defrauding customers of a futures commission merchant in handling orders for 

transactions in potato futures and causing false reports and false records to be 

made and deceiving the futures commission merchant. 

Earl L. Saunders for Commodity Exchange Authority. 

Franklin R. Weissberg, of Colton, Fernbach, Weissberg & Yamen, New York, 

N.Y., for respondents. 

Decision by Thomas J. Flavin, Judicial Officer

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

In this administrative proceeding under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 

1 et seq.), the respondents are charged with violating section 4b of the act (7 

U.S.C. 6b). No hearing has been held with respect to this proceeding. The 

respondents have submitted a stipulation under section 0.4(b) of the rules of 

practice (17 CFR 0.4(b)), in which they admit, for the purposes of this 

proceeding, the facts hereinafter set forth, waive hearing on the charges, and 

consent to the entry of the order contained herein. 

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Respondent Melvin Miller, an individual whose business address is 6 

Harrison Street, New York, New York, is now and was at all times material herein 

a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange and a registered floor broker under 

the Commodity Exchange Act. 

2. Respondent Dominick F. Auciello, an individual whose business address is 6 

Harrison Street, New York, New York, is now and was at all times material herein 

a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a registered floor broker under 

the Commodity Exchange Act and an agent and employee of respondent Melvin Miller 

and engaged in assisting him in handling orders from futures commission 

merchants to execute trades on the New York Mercantile Exchange and in the 

making of the reports of execution with respect to such orders. 

3. The futures transactions referred to herein were sales of May 1967 potato 

futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a duly designated contract market 

under the Commodity Exchange Act and hereinafter referred to as the exchange. 

Such 
Page 2 

sales could have been used for (a) hedging transactions in interstate commerce 

in potatoes or the products or by-products thereof, or (b) determining the price 

basis of transactions in interstate commerce in such commodities, or (c) 

delivering such commodities sold, shipped, or received in interstate commerce. 

Trading in May 1967 potato futures on the exchange was conducted in units of one 

contract or carlot consisting, at all times material herein, of 50,000 pounds of 

Maine-grown Irish potatoes. Trading in such futures ended on May 10, 1967. 

4. On May 10, 1967, the respondents received for execution an order to sell 

85 carlots of May 1967 potato futures for the accounts of customers of Goodbody 

& Co., a clearing member of the exchange and a registered futures commission 

merchant under the Commodity Exchange Act. The respondents executed such order, 

selling 85 carlots at $ 2.84 per hundred pounds and reported the execution at 

that price to Goodbody & Co. Thereafter, on May 10, 1967, the respondents 

learned that they had oversold in excess of 40 carlots of May 1967 potato 

futures in the course of executing a number of orders received from various 

futures commission merchants and that substantial losses had accrued with 

respect to the oversales. Thereafter, on May 10, 1967, and approximately one 

and one-half hours after the close of trading on the exchange, the respondents 

reported or caused to be reported to Goodbody & Co. a "corrected" report of 

execution with respect to its order of May 10, 1967, to sell 85 carlots of May 

1967 potato futures. This "corrected" report had the effect of taking from the 

accounts of the selling customers 21 sales executed pursuant to such order at a 

price of $ 2.84 per hundred pounds and substituting therefor 21 less favorable 

sales -- 16 sales at $ 2.80 and 5 sales at $ 2.81 -- which had not been executed 

pursuant to such order. The respondents placed the 21 sales taken from the 

customers' accounts in an account through which the respondents cleared their 

error trades. Based on the "corrected" report of execution, Goodbody & Co. 

showed on its records and reported to its customers 16 sales at $ 2.80 and 5 

sales at $ 2.81, rather than the 21 sales that were actually executed pursuant 

to the order from Goodbody & Co. to sell 85 carlots. 

CONCLUSIONS

The facts admitted by the respondents are verbatim the factual allegations of 

the complaint, and these have been adopted as the Findings of Fact in this 

proceeding. By reason of these findings, 

it is concluded that the respondents willfully violated section 4b of the 

Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 6b), as charged in the complaint. 

Complainant states that the administrative officials of the Commodity 

Exchange Authority have carefully considered the proposed stipulation and order, 

and that they believe the proposed sanctions are adequate and that the prompt 

entry, without further proceedings, of the order to which the respondents have 

consented will constitute a satisfacotry disposition of this case, serve the 

public interest, and effectuate the purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act. 

Complainant recommends, therefore, that the stipulation and waiver submitted by 

the respondents be accepted and that the proposed order be issued. It is so 

concluded. 

ORDER

Effective on the twentieth day after the date of issuance of this order, the 

registrations of Melvin Miller and Dominick F. Auciello as floor brokers are 

suspended for a period of twenty days, and all contract markets shall refuse all 

trading privileges to them during this period, such refusal to apply to all 

trading done and all positions held by them, directly or indirectly. 

A copy of this Decision and Order shall be served upon each of the parties 

and upon each contract market. 
Page 3 

LOAD-DATE: June 8, 2008 
Page 4