Boston Communications, a provider of mobile phone billing services, said E.Y. Snowden will no longer serve as president and CEO, and instead will become board chairman responsible for mapping the Bedford-based firm's strategic direction. Paul Tobin, the current chairman and former CEO, will become acting president and CEO of the 500-employee company while a search is conducted for Snowden's replacement.
Chief Financial Officer Karen Walker resigned and will be replaced temporarily by Thomas Doherty, an executive vice president at Argus Management Corp. The company's general counsel, Alan Bouffard, "has decided to accelerate his retirement effective immediately," the company said in a news release.
The announcement said the moves were "in connection with" the company's previously disclosed internal investigation of its options practices, but did not elaborate. A phone call seeking further comment from the company was not immediately returned. BCGI is among at least 135 companies that are under government investigation or internal review over options practices. So far, at least 30 senior executives or directors at 16 companies with stock option problems have resigned or been fired.
Most inquiries are focused on "backdating," in which company insiders looked back in time for a low point in their company's stock price so the exercise, or "strike," price of the options could be set at that ebb. If they aren't properly disclosed, backdated options can inflate corporate profits and result in an underpayment of taxes.
Associated Press
Workplace fatalities may bring charges
BOSTON - A legislative panel is recommending that company officials face criminal charges if they have recklessly failed to protect workers who are killed on construction sites, according to a published report.
The panel said it will recommend prison time for officials who may not be impressed with the fines assessed now in such cases. "The prospect of criminal convictions and jail time send a powerful and necessary message to companies that might not be deterred by a fine," the report says.
The Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security has been reviewing worksite safety since a scaffolding collapse in downtown Boston in April killed two construction workers and a passing motorist. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a $119,000 fine against Bostonian Masonry, the company that employed the scaffold workers, citing safety violations, including one it said was willful.
"Many view the fines that OSHA gives as the cost of doing business. But criminal prosecutions will get their attention where monetary fines can't," state Sen. Jarrett Barrios, co-chairman of the committee.
The report also says the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards should adopt new regulations to require regular inspections of worksites with scaffolds. The board has refused to order such inspections, saying a 1994 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling gave jurisdiction for workplace safety to the federal government. Panel members said they expect their recommendations will be considered by the Legislature next year.
Associated Press
Renewable energy customers in Rhode Island could get tax break
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island consumers who participate in a program that supports renewable energy could qualify for a tax break this year, officials said.
The tax break applies to more than 3,000 consumers who signed up for the GreenStart program, which supports renewable energy projects with a surcharge on the bill of customers who participate.
The tax break was triggered by the restructuring this summer of People's Power & Light of Providence, which merged with the Massachusetts Energy Consumers Alliance to form a new entity, Energy Consumers Alliance of New England.
As a result, the surcharge now qualifies as a charitable deduction when calculating federal income taxes. That surcharge could total about $90 annually for a typical household that uses 500 kilowatts of electricity per month.
Associated Press
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
