FleetBoston fires three fund executives

FleetBoston Financial Corp. fired three top executives at its mutual fund sales unit following accusations of helping arrange improper trading, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Fleet and Bank of America shareholders approved a merger of the two at a meeting this week.

James Tambone, 45, and Louis Tasiopoulos, 42, co-presidents of FleetBoston’s Columbia Management Group, and Joseph Palombo, 50, chief operating officer, were dismissed, according to company spokesman Charles Salmans. Two unidentified employees in Columbia’s Boston-based sales unit also were let go, according to reports.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused Columbia of allowing $2.5 billion of short-term trades by investors including hedge funds. Fleet agreed on Monday to pay $140 million in penalties, and Bank of America, which faced separate improper trading allegations, will pay $375 million in a settlement with the SEC and Spitzer, according to reports.

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Industry regulators have been investigating sales and trading practices in the $7.5 trillion mutual fund
industry for over six months. More than 60 executives including Lawrence Lasser, who led
Boston-based Putnam Investments for 18 years, have been terminated, reports state.

Bloomberg News

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