SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


     LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 15550 / November 4, 1997 

     United States v. Robert D. Gersh (United States District Court for the
     District of Massachusetts, 97CR10277(RGS), filed October 10/23/97)
      
          On October 23, 1997, the United States Attorney for the District of
     Massachusetts filed an Information charging that, between January 1990 and
     July 1995, Robert D. Gersh ("Gersh"), of Burlington, Massachusetts,
     misappropriated over $4 million in investor moneys that had been entrusted
     to two corporations under his control, Boston Municipal Securities, Inc.
     ("BMS") and Devonshire Escrow and Transfer Corp. ("Devonshire").  Gersh was
     charged with ten counts of Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property. 
     If convicted, Gersh faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for
     each count of the Information. 

          The Information involves essentially the same underlying facts that
     were the subject of a November 25, 1995 Commission complaint filed against
     Gersh, BMS and Devonshire.  The Information charges that, in 1990 and 1991,
     Gersh, acting through BMS and Devonshire, marketed and sold over $14
     million of five-year Certificates of Participation ("COPs") to investors. 
     Under the terms of the COPs, investor money was to be invested in pools of
     equipment leases entered into by state and local governments.  According to
     the Information, although a large share of the investors' money was
     initially invested in state and municipal lease obligations, many of the
     states and municipalities paid off their leases within one or two years. 
     Those payments returned millions of dollars to BMS and Devonshire. 
     According to the Information, Gersh was required either to return the money
     to investors or to reinvest it in safe, highly-liquid securities.  Instead,
     Gersh used approximately $4 million of the COPs money to finance various
     business ventures in his own name, including a medical billing company, a
     Judaica book store, several kitchen supply stores, and a model airplane and
     ship distributorship.  According to the Information, Gersh covered up his
     diversion of the COPs funds by using some of the money to make semiannual
     "interest payments to investors, leading them to believe that their
     principal investment was safe and sound.

          The Commission's complaint, filed on November 29, 1995, alleged that
     the defendants had conducted a fraudulent offering of $14 million in COPs. 
     On March 20, 1997, the Honorable Reginald C. Lindsay of the U.S. District
     Court for the District of Massachusetts enjoined Gersh, BMS and Devonshire
     from further violations of certain antifraud provisions of the securities
     laws.  Gersh, BMS and Devonshire consented to the injunctive orders without
     admitting or denying the complaint's allegations.  Gersh was also ordered
     to disgorge $7,451,935, plus prejudgment interest thereon, provided,
     however, that payment of $5,949,185 of such amount, plus the prejudgment
     interest, was waived based on his demonstrated inability to pay.

          The complaint alleged violations of the antifraud provisions of
     Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5

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     promulgated thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and
     sought a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent
     injunctions, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties and an asset freeze and
     other equitable relief.  On November 30, 1995, the Court issued a temporary
     restraining order and asset freeze against the defendants.  In addition, on
     December 11, 1995, the Court granted the Commission's motion for
     appointment of a receiver to take control of the assets of the corporate
     and relief defendants, and those assets are being operated by the receiver
     for the benefit of investors.  On January 12, 1996, after a hearing, Judge
     Lindsay granted the Commission's request for a preliminary injunction
     against the defendants.

          On April 1, 1997, the Commission announced the entry of an order
     instituting administrative proceedings against Gersh and the simultaneous
     acceptance of his offer of settlement.  Gersh was barred from the
     securities industry.

          For further information, See Litigation Release Nos. 14742, 14785 and
     15310, and Rel. Nos. 34-38459 and IA-1626.