Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 July 2002 — Page 32

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JULY 19,2002

PAPE 02

V.V - ^ •»

LOGON

MBMESS EXCNMU

www.lndianapollsracorder.coni

1>7> ERVIN CONSTRUCTION CO INC

1M HOMIOWNStl reiCND Ova M VMn bpManc* • CMKTN6 •SONG • FURNACIS •WMOOWS

It it aa lily P R I N T I hi G

Keith Rand Joyce Rand Owners

5410 Emerson Way, Suite 3 Indianapolis, IN 46226 Phone 255-2748 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m Monday - Friday

Investigating corporate crimes: Is Thompson in or outside the box?

By WILLIAM REED “A poor man has no credit,” said 3rd century historian Ausonius. Today, rich men are trying to gain creditability for their history of using credit to gain riches. To regain consumer confidence in America’s corporations and stock market. President Bush appointed the Justice Department’s highest-ranking African American, Larry D. Thompson, to head a multiagency corporate-crime task force. However, new information is revealing that Thompson is cut from similar corporate credit cloth as the people he’s investigating, raising the age-old question: Are foxes guarding the hen house? Thompson was a board director of the Providian Financial Corp. credit card company, who cashed in over $4 million of stock the company lent him the money to buy. To gain credit among the public, Thompson will have to do better ferreting out corporate crime and its funny money activities now than when he was chairman of Providian’s audit and compliance

committee and Providian was involved in consumer and securities fraud actions it paid $400 million to settle. A San Francisco-based company, Providian has IS million customer accounts and $18.7 billion in assets. A major player in the “sub prime market,” Providian targets people with low incomes and bad credit histories. Among its customers, Providian preys upon African Americans and others with poor credit histories and difficulty obtaining credit. Providian’s payments settled complaints that it denied cardholders customary grace periods for loan payments and misled them into accepting higher interest rates and hidden charges. It inflated its financial results by charging excessive fees and engaging in practices regulators say broke consumerprotection rules. Eighty percent of African Americans earning more than $70,000-a-year invest in the markets and are directly affected by corporate stock and trading crimes. At Providian, Thompson was one of 350 African Ameri-

cans serving on Fortune-level boards. Not a multi-board sitter, like the few African Americans corporations have tapped for board positions, Thompson’s only board tenure was with Providian. He got into that loop after another partner at his law firm. King & Spalding, retired and recommended him for director. African Americans will watch with interest Thompson’s enjoinment with President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to gain public credit through cajoling current corporate officials not do what each of them used to do. Questions abound about their creditability in this chore. For example. Bush held a position on Harken Energy’s board after it took over his faltering Spectrum 7 oil firm in 1986 for $2 million in stock. In the deal. Bush received 212,000 Harken shares; he then took advantage of a company credit that allowed officers and directors to borrow cash to buy stock or to exercise options. He borrowed $96,000 in 1986 and $84,375 in 1989 to buy

stock he then sold for $850,000 weeks before its price plunged. Unlike the problems most Blacks endure getting credit, the loans and stock options Bush and Thompson received were a routine practice for officers and directors. Lending money to top executives is a tax-free way of giving employees more stock. When directors and executives borrow, it’s not counted as income. (If Harken had paid Bush $186,000 to purchase stock. Bush would’ve had to pay nearly half in taxes.) In the practice, when stocks rise, executives sell shares bought with borrowed money, take the capital gains hit, and pay back the loan. Currently, many Americans don’t trust numbers or actions emitting from Wall Street, or the White House. As he leads the government effort to clean up white-collar crimes such as insider trading, Thompson will need to rid himself of the cloud of his Providian dealings. Or, he will be viewed as being more a part of the problem than leader toward a just solution.

:•

FIND OUT FIRST. On the net or in the book, a few minutes in here can save you hours out there.

Find Your Yollovw Fagos Online At www.SMARTpag«s.com

Student campers

experience jobs first-hand

y, ■.

Special to The Recorder This summer, 22 high school students are receiving a head start training for careers through the Career CAMP program operated by Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana and its partners. Now in its fourth year, CAMP relies heavily on handson experiences, ushering students into kitchens and hospital operating rooms to demonstrate the variety of opportunities available in the working world. Classroom training is designed to provide introductory lessons and familiarize students with the vocabularies of two specialized fields. Competition for inclusion in the CAMP programs was intense with 60 students applying for openings in the two CAMPS. In all, 14 students are registered to begin the medical CAMP and eight will attend the culinary CAMP. The learning experiences will last three weeks, and students will receive a stipend

\ V

for their efforts. Two organizations are partnering with Goodwill to provide the instruction for the CAMPs. Clarian Health Partners will provide its fourth year of tutelage to the medical CAMP students, and this year Second Helpings will provide its first year of instruction to the culinary CAMP. Goodwill is coordinating the registration process and will provide case managers who will work with each group of students to monitor their progress and help them develop a long-term career plan. Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana is in the business of helping people prepare for, find and keep jobs. Through its partnerships, Goodwill placed more than 15,000 people last year. For more information about Goodwill’s employment services, go to www.goodwill-indy.org or call (317)264-1313.

(Afineritech. Fund-raising event

^ ^ n.— Bill I

e Amartach PubfaNng, Inc. 2000. A* Right* R—cv»d 8HMRTpagM.com a a product of 880 inMactlve

State Rap. BUI Crawford, D-Indianapolis, recantly hold a campaign fund raiaar at tha Ganaaia Plaza/MartindalaBrlghtwood Haalth Canter. Crawford will faca Rapublican Garald “Jarry" Papanmalar in tha Novambar ganaral election, (photo/

C. Guynn)

RECORDER Continued from D1 be honest I have yet to see one of these units that yields really good sound in the standard mode. Regardless, these things are lifesavers. In the car when I have to jot down a time or appointment, I just record it instead without fumbling for a pen or pencil. Later many times I will even transfer the recording to my laptop computer because the unit I have is equipped with an ear phone and microphone jack. Some have little clocks on them and will time stamp the date and time you made your recording. Then there are those with removable storage cards that can be interchanged with your computer for transferring recordings. You have the ability to delete entries without having to worry that you might get rid of something that you really need. All in all these things are convenient and some even come in the size and shape of an ink pen. Now I ask you, which is more convenient, a book the size of the one Ma Bell issues or all your important info in a device not much larger than your cell phone. Prices on these gems range anywhere from $20 to $100 or more depending on the features. Try one. I guarantee you will be spoiled. If you have any technical subjects in any field of interest to you and you would like to have it covered in our TECH CORNER forum, please send e-mails to [email protected] or send them by snail-mail on a post card to The Indianapolis Recorder C/O Jim’s Tech Corner, 2901 N. Tacoma Ave., Indianapolis IN 46218. I will try to address your questions either by e-mail or in the weekly column.

DELI Continued from D1 ment Specialist of Indiana — a firm that provides financial counseling, business management and customer service training to many local small businesses. “John has been extremely helpful to us. He actually gives you practical information you can really use,” said Wheaton who also supplements business revenue through catering meetings and special events. With sound business advice on their side, the couple said they are now in a place to give customers more. Hearty comfort foods like smoked pork chops, meat loaf and baked chicken are now on the menu for dinner along with a few surprises. Unique and new to Side Street Deli is a featured “art gallery,” designed to create a more enjoyable dining experience. This month artwork by local artists Mark Smith, Carmen Hunt, Walter Witlock and William Rasdale is on display on the walls of the restaurant. In the future, the owners plan on having a regular jazz showcase, featuring local acts twice a month on Fridays. A calendar of events will be compiled and distributed in every cany out bag to notify customers of upcoming entertainment events. Although on a path of growth, Cheryl and Dennis say they will not stray too far away from what has helped endure through the critical five-year period that makes or breaks a small business. House specialty is the deli’s mean take on pina pasta and spinach, where cooks, combine blue cheese with an oil and vinegar base that just hits the spot. The dish is its most popular item. “We are going to continue to offer great tasting food that is health conscious, we still do not fry any of our food, choosing to only offer baked or grilled items,” said Cheryl. A true family affair, the couple’ s children KIsha and Dennis Jr. round out the deli’s 12 paid employees. “Since the kids love to eat and cook it was a natural act for them to join in the business," said Dennis, -it’s truly a blessing to have them around, they are one of the reasons we started the business and are an important part of our growth.” Jim Buntin contributed to this report.