John A. D'Onofrio

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 50352 / September 13, 2004

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-11643

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 John A. D'Onofrio ("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:

1. D'Onofrio, 48 years old, is a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From August 1996 through April 1999, D'Onofrio was employed in various capacities at Mortgage Bankers Holding Corp. ("Mortgage Bankers") including vice-president, member of the board of directors and president of Commonwealth Capital Investment Corp. ("Commonwealth Capital"), a wholly-owned subsidiary that Mortgage Bankers acquired from D'Onofrio in February 1997. Until December 31, 1998, D'Onofrio was associated with a broker-dealer registered with the Commission. During the period from August 1996 to May 1998, Respondent acted outside of that association in connection with the sale of securities of Mortgage Bankers and Commonwealth Capital. During that time, Respondent did not qualify for the safe harbor from broker-dealer registration for associated persons of an issuer provided by Rule 3a4-1 of the Exchange Act. As part of that conduct, Respondent participated in an offering of Mortgage Bankers stock, which is a penny stock.

2. On August 20, 2004, a final judgment was entered by consent against Respondent, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, in the civil action entitled Securities and Exchange Commission v. National Institute Companies of America et al., Civil Action Number 00-CV-1216, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

3. The Commission's complaint alleged that, in connection with the sale of unregistered securities of Mortgage Bankers and Commonwealth Capital, Respondent made material misrepresentations and omissions to investors concerning, among other things, the risk of the investment, the financial condition of the issuers, and the use of proceeds. The Complaint also alleged that Respondent acted as an unregistered broker or dealer in connection with the sale of those securities.

IV.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions specified in Respondent's Offer.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:

Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondent 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.

Respondent be, and hereby is, barred from participating in any offering of a penny stock, including: acting as a promoter, finder, consultant, agent or other person who engages in activities with a broker, dealer or issuer for purposes of the issuance or trading in any penny stock, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any penny stock.

By the Commission.