UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
                                      Before the
                          SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


     SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
     Release No.  39243 / October 15, 1997


     ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
     File No. 3-9370


     _____________________________
                                  :
                                  :
     In the Matter of             :     ORDER MAKING FINDINGS                    
                      		  :  AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL
         JOHN L. BRIDGES, JR.,    :  SANCTIONS
                Respondent.       :                           
                                  :                        
     _____________________________:
                                          

                                          I.

          In connection with public administrative proceedings instituted
     against John L. Bridges, Jr. ("Bridges") pursuant to Sections 15(b)(6) and
     19(h) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), Bridges has
     submitted an Offer of Settlement which the Securities and Exchange
     Commission ("Commission") has determined is in the public interest to
     accept.  Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other
     proceeding brought by or on behalf of the Commission or in which the
     Commission is a party, Bridges, without admitting or denying the findings,
     except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over this matter and findings
     contained in Paragraphs II.A. and II.B., which are admitted, consents to
     the entry of this Order Making Findings and Imposing Remedial Sanctions
     ("Order").  

                                         II.

          On the basis of this Order and Bridges' Offer of Settlement, the
     Commission finds that:

          A.   From January 1995, until his termination on March 1, 1996,
     Bridges was a registered representative with American Investment Services,
     Inc. ("AIS"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AISCO Holdings, Inc., and a
     broker-dealer registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 15(b) of
     the Exchange Act. 

          B.   Pursuant to a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for
     the District of New Jersey, Bridges pled guilty to four counts of wire





     fraud committed in furtherance of his scheme to defraud his AIS customers.
     <(1)>  Bridges' judgment of conviction was entered by the court on
     October 23, 1996.  The court sentenced Bridges to twenty-seven months
     imprisonment on each of the four counts, to be served concurrently, and
     three years of supervised release.  Bridges was also ordered to pay a
     special assessment of $200 and to make partial restitution in the amount of
     $15,000.

          C.   The Information, on which Bridges' conviction was based, charges
     that while associated with AIS, located in East Peoria, Illinois, Bridges'
     customers included his parents, his brother-in-law and a private investor,
     each of which maintained AIS brokerage accounts.  The Information also
     charges that, between September 1995 and April 1996, Bridges transmitted
     false instructions to AIS concerning the wire transfer of funds from his
     clients' brokerage accounts into his personal bank account.  Bridges caused
     $129,400 to be transferred into his personal bank account from his clients'
     accounts.

     III.

          In view of the foregoing, the Commission finds that it is in the
     public interest to impose the sanction specified by Bridges in his Offer of
     Settlement.

          Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Bridges be, and hereby is, barred from
     association with any broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer,
     investment company, or investment adviser.

          For the Commission, by its Secretary, pursuant to delegated authority.





                                             Jonathan G. Katz
                                             Secretary












                              

          <(1)>     United States of America v. John L. Bridges, Jr., No.
          96-00321-01 (D.N.J. Oct. 23, 1996).

                                          2