For immediate release 98-36 CHAIRMAN LEVITT APPOINTS RICHARD WALKER AS DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION ENFORCEMENT Washington, DC, April 8, 1998 -- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt today appointed Richard H. Walker as Director of the Division of Enforcement. Mr. Walker succeeds William McLucas, who has served as director since December 1989. Mr. Walker joined the Commission in 1991 and has served as General Counsel for the past two years. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Commission's Northeast Regional Office for four years. As General Counsel, Mr. Walker helped coordinate the government's successful appeal to the Supreme Court in United States v. O'Hagan, which upheld the misappropriation theory of insider trading. In addition, he oversaw the preparation of a report to the President and the Congress on the impact of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. As director of the Commission's largest region, with offices in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, Mr. Walker supervised numerous important investigations and prosecutions, including ground breaking insider trading and municipal securities cases, and cases involving the fraudulent sale of securities by Towers Financial Corporation, The Foundation for New Era Philanthropy and Bennett Funding Corporation. He also was instrumental in supporting the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the F.B.I. in a sting operation that netted 45 arrests in October of 1996 and has resulted in 30 Commission enforcement actions to date. Chairman Levitt said, "Dick Walker represents a great combination of `outside' experience and `inside' knowledge. In private as well as public service, Dick has demonstrated his good judgment, extraordinary intelligence and deep dedication to investor protection. Dick's talent as a litigator, and as a prosecutor, are remarkable. Throughout his service at the Commission, Dick has provided the most trusted and sage counsel to me and my fellow Commissioners." Mr. Walker received the Presidential Rank Distinguished Service Award in 1997 , the highest federal award for government service. He also received the Commission's Law and Policy Award in 1997 for his participation in O'Hagan. In 1997, he received the Chairman's Award for Excellence. Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Walker was a litigation partner for fifteen years in the New York office of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. From 1975 to 1976, Mr. Walker served as law clerk to the Honorable Collins J. Seitz, former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Walker is a 1972 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Trinity College and a 1975 graduate, cum laude, of Temple Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Temple Law Quarterly. # # #