FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    2000-48

    Chairman Levitt Names Randall J. Fons Head of the SEC's 
                        Central Region

     Washington, DC, April 11, 2000 - Securities and Exchange
Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt today named Randall J. Fons
Regional Director of the Commission's Central Region.  The region
comprises offices in Denver, Colorado, Ft. Worth, Texas, and Salt
Lake City, Utah, and has both enforcement and regulatory programs
in an eleven-state area.  As Regional Director, Mr. Fons will
oversee these activities throughout the region.  He is expected
to assume his new post in June of this year.  Mr. Fons replaces
Daniel Shea, the present Regional Director, who is returning to
the private sector.  A successor to Mr. Fons has not yet been
named.

     Mr. Fons, 37, is currently the Regional Director of the
SEC's Southeast Regional Office in Miami.  He joined the
Commission's staff in 1988 as a staff attorney in the SEC's
Midwest Region, and served as a Branch Chief, Senior Trial
Counsel, Assistant Regional Director (Enforcement), and Senior
Associate Regional Director (Enforcement) in that Regional
Office.  He assumed his present post in October 1997.  In these
capacities, Mr. Fons has been responsible for several significant
Commission actions, including actions against W.R. Grace & Co.,
Piper Capital Management, Inc., the City of Miami, and, most
recently, PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP for its violations of the
auditor independence rules.

     SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt said, "Randy has been an
excellent leader of the Commission's Southeast Regional Office.
As a result of his management and legal skills, the Office has
established a strong and effective presence in the Southeast.  I
am very pleased that he will remain an important part of the
SEC's senior staff as the Regional Director of the Commission's
Central Region."

     SEC Director of Enforcement Richard Walker stated, "Randy
Fons has distinguished himself as a manager and as a lawyer
throughout his career with the SEC.  As the Regional Director of
the Southeast Region, Randy has initiated a number of important
cases that have made our markets safer for investors.  He has
overseen a significant growth in the size of the SEC's Southeast
Regional Office in Miami and in the scope of its enforcement and
regulatory activities.  I look forward to continuing to work
closely with Randy in his new position as Regional Director of
the SEC's Central Region."

     Mr. Fons earned his B.B.A. (Accounting) degree from the
University of Wisconsin in 1984, and his J.D. degree from the
University of Colorado School of Law in 1987.

     For further information contact: James A. Clarkson at (202)
942-4580.

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