Midwest Regional Director Mary Keefe to Leave SEC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2003-162

Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 2003 -- Mary E. Keefe, Regional Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Midwest Regional Office, announced today that she will leave the Commission in December to become Associate General Counsel and Head of Global Compliance of Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.

Ms. Keefe, 53, became Regional Director in July of 1994. In that role, she has been responsible for the agency's enforcement and examination programs in nine Midwest states. Prior to her appointment as Regional Director, she served the Commission in several management positions of increasing importance in the Midwest Regional Office including Associate Director for Regulation and Associate Director for Enforcement. Ms. Keefe came to the Midwest Regional Office as an enforcement staff attorney in 1982 after three years at a Chicago law firm that specialized in securities law.

Under her leadership, the Midwest Regional Office recently filed several notable enforcement actions including a case against Spiegel, Inc. for failing to file a number of required periodic reports in an alleged attempt to hide an auditor's going-concern letter; a financial fraud case against senior officers of Anicom, Inc.; and a case against the Chicago Stock Exchange for failing to enforce certain of its trading rules as to its members. Under her direction, Ms. Keefe's staff has brought a number of enforcement actions against securities firms including Piper Capital Management and PaineWebber; a series of insider trading cases including an action against George Kline and his affiliates in Minneapolis; and a prime bank offering fraud case involving John Lauer, risk manager for the defined benefit plan of the Chicago Housing Authority. The Midwest Office also has maintained an aggressive and effective examination program that has resulted in several important referrals to the Region's enforcement staff.

SEC Chairman William Donaldson said, "We owe Mary a debt of gratitude for twenty-one years of dedication and service to the Commission. I know that Commission staff and my fellow Commissioners join me in wishing her well in all of her future endeavors."

SEC Enforcement Division Director Stephen Cutler stated, "Mary has played a critical role in the success of the Midwest Regional Office over her entire career with the Commission. Under her leadership and guidance, the Midwest Office has developed a strong management team and established outstanding programs in the enforcement and examination areas. Her wise counsel has been of significant benefit to the SEC and to its senior staff, including myself. I will miss her personally as well as professionally."

In announcing her plans to leave the Commission, Ms. Keefe said, "It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve the investing public in my 21 years at the SEC, an agency unparalleled in government in its commitment to the public. The Commission is comprised of extremely talented individuals who perform at the highest levels of professionalism to accomplish the SEC's mission of protecting investors. I am grateful to the many colleagues I leave behind for all of the support they have given me. In particular, I thank the devoted staff of the Midwest Regional Office. I will always be proud of my tenure at the Midwest Office of the Commission."

In 1997, Ms. Keefe was the recipient of the Meritorious Executive Award, a Presidential Rank Award for Senior Government Executives. Also in 1997, she received the Distinguished Service Award, the Commission's highest award. In 1991, Ms. Keefe received both the Chairman's Award for Excellence and the Supervisory Excellence Award. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and received her J.D. from De Paul University College of Law.