UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


          Litigation Release No. 15924 / October 2, 1998.

          SEC SUES LAWYERS AND OTHERS FOR INSIDER TRADING IN CONNECTION
          WITH FT. LAUDERDALE TIME-SHARE COMPANY

          Securities and Exchange Commission v. Daniel Lambert, John Pape,
          James Verrillo and Gerard Verrillo, Civil Action No. 98-2280-CIV-
          KING (S. D. Florida, filed Sept. 29, 1998)

               The  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that
          on September  29, 1998 it filed a complaint in an insider trading
          case involving  the securities of Vacation Break U.S.A. (Vacation
          Break), a Ft. Lauderdale company in the time-share business.  The
          SEC's complaint charges four individuals with having violated the
          federal securities  laws  by  trading  on the basis of non-public
          information,  or  having  provided  non-public   information,  in
          advance of a merger with The Berkley Group, Inc. (Berkley  Group)
          that  Vacation  Break  announced on November 27, 1996.  Following
          news of the merger, Vacation Break's stock, which was then traded
          on the NASDAQ,  closed at  about  56%  higher  than its price the
          prior  day.   The  SEC's  complaint seeks more than  $400,000  in
          disgorgement from the defendants  and requests civil penalties of
          more than $1,200,000.

               The SEC's complaint alleges that  defendant  Daniel  Lambert
          (Lambert),   who  is  a  29 year old attorney residing in the Ft.
          Lauderdale, Florida, area,  negotiated the Vacation Break/Berkley
          Group merger in the fall of 1996  on  behalf of the Berkley Group
          and  other  related companies, all of which  were  controlled  by
          Lambert's family.   The  SEC  further  alleges  that beginning in
          October 1996, Lambert provided his friend and then  law  partner,
          defendant  John  Pape  (Pape), a 30 year old Miami area attorney,
          with inside information  in  advance  of the merger announcement.
          The   SEC   alleges   that   Pape  used  that  information,   and
          approximately $74,000 that Lambert transferred him, to accumulate
          Vacation  Break stock.  After the  Vacation  Break/Berkley  Group
          merger announcement, Pape sold his Vacation Break stock at profit
          of approximately $110,000.

               The SEC's  complaint  also  alleges  that James Verrillo (J.
          Verrillo), a 31 year old resident of Lighthouse  Point,  Florida,
          who  did  telemarketing  work  for  both  Vacation  Break and the
          Berkley  Group,  was tipped about the proposed merger before  the
          announcement. The SEC further alleges that J. Verrillo tipped his
          father, Gerard Verrillo  (G. Verrillo), a 47 year old resident of
          Syracuse, New York who is a retired police officer.  According to
          the  SEC's complaint, J. Verrillo  was  a  guest  in  the  shared
          Vacation  Break/Berkley  Group  suite at Pro Player stadium for a
          Monday  night  football game on November  25,  1996.   The  SEC's
          complaint alleges  that  J.  Verrillo was tipped that night about
          the  impending Vacation Break/Berkley  Group  merger.   The  next
          morning, November 26, 1996, J. Verrillo purchased nearly $300,000
          worth of Vacation Break stock in two brokerage accounts.  The SEC
          also alleges  that  J.  Verrillo tipped his father, who purchased
          another $100,000 worth of  Vacation  Break  stock for his son, J.
          Verrillo, as well as $30,000 worth of the stock for himself.  The
          SEC's  complaint  claims  that  after  November  27,  1996,  when
          Vacation Break and the Berkley Group announced their  merger,  J.
          Verrillo  sold  his  Vacation  Break  stock at a profit of nearly
          $276,000 and his father, G. Verrillo, sold  his stock at a profit
          of about $17,000.

               The SEC's complaint charges Lambert, Pape,  J. Verrillo, and
          G. Verrillo with having violated Section 10(b) of  the Securities
          Exchange  Act  of  1934  (15  U.S.C.    78j(b))  and  Rule 10b-5
          thereunder (17 C.F.R. 240.10b-5).  The complaint seeks permanent
          injunctions  against future violations of Section 10(b) and  Rule
          10b-5,  disgorgement   of   ill-gotten  gains  (with  prejudgment
          interest), and civil penalties  of  up to three times the profits
          for which each defendant is liable.

               The SEC's complaint arises out of Vacation Break's announced
          merger with the Berkley Group,  a privately  held  Ft. Lauderdale
          based  company also in the time share business.  The  merger  was
          eventually canceled in the spring of 1997.

               The  SEC  thanks  the  National  Association  of  Securities
          Dealers,  Inc. for the assistance it provided in connection  with
          the investigation leading to this matter.