UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

     LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15546 / October 30, 1997

     ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING ENFORCEMENT 
     RELEASE NO. 980 / October 30, 1997

     Securities and Exchange Commission v. Mitchell A. Hammer and Joseph
     Letzelter, Jr. (United States District Court for the Southern District of
     Florida, Civil Action No. 97-6892-CIV-ZLOCH)

     The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on October 23, 1997,
     the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, entered
     permanent injunctions and permanent officer and director bars by consent
     against Mitchell A. Hammer (Hammer), the former CEO, and Joseph Letzelter,
     Jr. (Letzelter), the former controller, of Sheffield Industries, Inc., a
     bankrupt manufacturing company which had been based in Miami, Florida.  The
     Commission's complaint alleged that between June 1991 and January 1993,
     Hammer and Letzelter perpetrated a massive fraud on Sheffield's investors
     by maintaining two sets of books and by filing materially false financial
     reports with the Commission on Sheffield's behalf.

     The complaint alleged that six of Sheffield's SEC filings, which Hammer
     signed, overstated accounts receivable and inventory by as much as 40%, and
     falsely stated that Sheffield had complied with a critical loan covenant
     from a principal lender when, in fact, it was in default thereunder. 
     Hammer, with Letzelter's assistance, orchestrated the scheme by causing
     Sheffield to keep two sets of books and records: a secret set which
     accurately reflected the company's deteriorating financial condition, and a
     public set which fraudulently overstated the company's financial condition. 
     Thus, the complaint alleged that Sheffield, through Hammer, Letzelter and
     others, failed to make and keep books and records which accurately
     reflected Sheffield's financial and accounting transactions, and failed to
     maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide
     assurances that accounting transactions were recorded as necessary to
     permit the proper preparation of financial statements in conformity with
     generally accepted accounting principles.

     The complaint also alleged that Hammer announced in a newswire report that
     he anticipated revenues for Sheffield for the fiscal year ended 1992 to be
     approximately $36 million, with anticipated net profits of approximately
     $.75 per share on 2.6 million average shares outstanding (or approximately
     $1.95 million in net profits.)  However, on December 17, 1992, Sheffield
     reported losses of $1,800,000.  The complaint alleged that Hammer had no
     reasonable basis for Sheffield's July 1992 profit projection.

     Hammer was permanently enjoined from further violations of Section 17(a) of
     the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), and Sections 10(b) and
     13(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rules
     10b-5 and 13b2-1 thereunder, and as a control person, of Sections 13(a) and
     13(b)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11 and 13a-13
     thereunder.  Letzelter was permanently enjoined from further violations of

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     Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Sections 10(b) and 13(b)(5) of the
     Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 13b2-1 thereunder.

     For further information, see also Litigation Release No. 15425, Accounting
     and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 942, July 29, 1997.
















































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