Employing Ex-Cons -- It's a Good Thing!

They deserve a fresh start.

Word reaches me that an ex-convict -- a man, as they used to say in the James Cagney movies, who has "paid his debt to society" -- has moved to an honored place in society.

The ex-con of whom I speak is Aleksandr Shvarts, former head of an illustrious chop house -- "boiler room" to you -- called Global Equities Group. A warm-hearted company called Edulink, Inc., situated on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, has brought this man into the fold.

Isn't that sweet! And get this: They have brought on Shvarts not as a janitor or maintenace man, but as CEO! So says a recent corporate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

I think it's just great Edulink is not intimidated by Shvarts's guilty plea to securities fraud or his 41-month prison sentence or the $837,436.80 in restitution that he was ordered to pay, and which he is still paying off.

I guess Shvarts owning most of the stock in the company might have something to do with this, but it doesn't matter. Not to me. What matters is that a company is doing something nice.

Edulink does some kind of media stuff, and the hard-hearted bureaucrats at the SEC just suspended trading in its stock.

© 2006 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

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Wall Street Versus America was published by Penguin USA on April 6.
Click here for its Amazon.com listing and here for more information on the book, from my web site.