U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.

Litigation Release No. 17364 / February 19, 2002

   Civil-2-690 (MLC) (D. N.J.)

   Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the
   United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against
   John S. Kramer, W. Jeffrey Kramer, Richard K. Pulling, Jr., and Keith
   E.C. Pulling, for insider trading. Named also in the complaint as
   relief defendants are John Kramer's wife Nancy Kramer, his daughter
   Elizabeth Kramer Whitney, his client Lucien D. Yokana, and two family
   partnerships he controlled, Northeast Investment Properties
   ("Northeast Investment") and Vermont Capital Investors ("Vermont
   Capital"). Jeffrey Kramer, Richard Pulling, Keith Pulling, and Yokana
   have agreed to settlements with the Commission.

   The complaint alleges that on two separate occasions in 2000, Jeffrey
   Kramer obtained material nonpublic information while working in the
   trust division of a national bank located in Hartford, Connecticut,
   and misused that information to earn illegal profits trading stock.
   The complaint further alleges that in each instance, he also tipped
   his father John Kramer and his friend Richard Pulling, and Richard
   Pulling then tipped his brother Keith Pulling. Both times, John
   Kramer, Richard Pulling, and Keith Pulling made improper use of the
   nonpublic or "inside" information to obtain illegal trading profits.
   The complaint alleges that collectively, the defendants made
   approximately $620,000 in illegal trading profits.

   The complaint alleges that no later than June 14, 2000, Jeffrey Kramer
   learned that a customer of the bank he worked for was forming a trust
   for the purpose of acquiring Justin Industries, Inc. ("Justin").
   Between June 14 and June 19, 2000, Jeffrey Kramer, John Kramer,
   Richard Pulling. and Keith Pulling purchased 40,750 shares of Justin
   stock. On June 20, 2000, Justin announced that it had agreed to a cash
   tender offer made by another company, and the price of Justin stock
   rose in response to the announcement. Following the June 20, 2000
   announcement, the defendants sold the Justin stock they had purchased
   for total illicit profits of $185,650. The complaint further alleges
   that by August 7, 2000, Jeffrey Kramer learned that the same customer
   was forming another trust for the purpose of acquiring Republic Group,
   Inc. ("Republic"). Between August 8 and August 11, 2000, Jeffrey
   Kramer, John Kramer, Richard Pulling and Keith Pulling purchased
   172,900 shares of Republic stock. On August 11, 2000, Republic
   announced that it had entered into a merger agreement with the trust.
   Again, the announcement caused a substantial increase in the price of
   Republic stock. The defendants then sold the Republic stock they had