Leasing News - information, news, education and entertainment for the commercial bank, finance and leasing industry

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release” and was not written by Leasing News nor information verified, but from the source noted. When an article is signed by the writer, it is considered a “by line.” It reflects the opinion and research of the writer.

Sales Veteran Mark Scritchfield Passes Away

June 15, 1953 -April 16, 2015

"Mark was a talented and hardworking sales guy with lots of passion for the business.

"He worked for me at Rockford industries for many years through the American Express purchase and then later again he worked for ZRG Partners.

"Very hard working Southern guy who cut his teeth in sales selling bibles door to door in his early days.

"Loved golf and University of Kentucky basketball."

Larry Hartmann
Managing Partner
ZRG Partners

Mark Scritchfield Obituary
(Not much written, but shows 73 photos in the gallery)
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Mark-Scritchfield&lc=4881&pid=174664398&uuid=99d7ea11-8169-4554-8c47-0f76bfd84b7e

From LinkedIn.com:

"In my over 40 years in sales, I have been on 100% commission & have never received a salary."

President, CRM4Sales.net (June, 2013); Executive Recruiter, Z Resource Group, Inc. (June 2003–August 2007); Independent Representative, Rockford Industries, Inc. (May 1990-March 2002); Director of Business Development, American Express (January 2000–January 2002) Stockbroker, Bear Stearns (June 1980–April 1986); Student sales rep, Thomas Nelson Publishers (May 1973–August 1980) "I sold bibles door to door. Over my five summers of selling I came in no lower than 3rd and in 1978 I broke the sales record which stayed in place of about 7 years." Education: University of Kentucky, None, Business Administration and Management, General (1972–1976), Business School. Activities and Societies: Alpha Tau Omega
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-scritchfield/9/494/621

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Classified Ads---Senior Management

(These ads are “free” to those seeking employment or looking
to improve their position)

Accomplished leasing executive driven to deliver increased revenues, operating efficiencies, improved sales productivity and customer acquisition. Seeking new opportunity to utilize my strategic, ideation, communication and analytical strengths to develop, implement and execute your organization’s strategic plan.
Reg.Lindholm@gmail.com

Free Posting for those seeking employment in Leasing:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

All “free” categories “job wanted” ads:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm

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Leasing Conferences Report
by Christopher Menkin

Looks like this is going to be a very good year for leasing associations
judging by the attendance at conferences. Leasing News will have a report on membership as of March 31, 2015, which usually gives the more accurate numbers of those who did not renew membership.

As of last week, 580 were registered for the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association’s (ELFA) Annual Funding Conference in Chicago, Illinois, now underway through April 23, 2015. Last year, the conference had 551 attendees, the highest it has been since the 2008 financial crisis.

It was interesting to note about the list of those attending the ELFA Funding Conference were ex-CLP's Rudy Trebels and Brian Trebels, with Brian as President of Equipment Leasing Group of America, LLC, and Rudy as Manager. Rudolph, as he does not like to be called, is perhaps better remembered as the president of IFC Credit, a bankrupt firm which appeared in many Leasing News' Bulletin Board complaints. Evidently still active in leasing and finance.

At the ELFA Funding Conference, the most registered are presidents, CEO's, and executives in the industry who fund transactions, as well as appear to also syndicate transactions. It looks like a “who’s who” in the industry, especially many bank representatives. They obviously want to be kept informed of changes, as well as talk among mergers, acquisitions, and other changes, such as GE Capital units for sale and companies such as Wintrust expanding its reach (story in press release section). The internet with smartphones may be apparent in use, but evidently the “face to face” remains valuable, thus the strong attendance, which seems to get better and better
each year.

The conference started off with Andrew G. Mesches, director of The Alta Group who has more than 30 years’ experience in commercial lending and bank owned equipment finance.

Mesches discussed the roots of the problem, specific examples, and potential solutions Tuesday, April 21, during the Bank Best Practices Roundtable preceding the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association’s (ELFA) Annual Funding Conference in Chicago. Alta CEO John C. Deane also participated in the session.

Bruce Kropschot, a Leasing News original Advisory Board Member, longtime friend, also of The Alta Group, discussed the impact of mergers and acquisitions on independent leasing companies at the Independent Best Practices Roundtable. He covered current M&A market conditions, motivations of buyers and sellers, recent M&A activity, and how to make a leasing company more valuable to potential acquirers. To readers who don’t know, Bruce never tells me anything he is working on, as I am always surprised when I see a press release with his name on it. Nor does Hugh Swandel. Everything they keep confidential, unless public knowledge.

Covering the ELFA Funding Conference for Leasing News is Hugh Swandel, Senior Managing Direct-Canada, The Alta Group, Past President of the National Equipment Finance Association, twice Canadian Finance and Leasing Association Member of the Year, as well as member of the Leasing News Advisory Board since 2011.

The National Vehicle Leasing Association Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, starts today and goes through April 24th. The 2015 NVLA Report appears today in “News Briefs.”

In Phoenix, Arizona, the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers, the only group without "finance" in its name, gets underway the following Thursday (We haven’t changed our name, either. Editor). Online Registration Extended to April 22nd; after that, you can register directly at the site. 208 are registered to date; list by category and full list is included in the following information, on as well as updates other conferences to follow this year.

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Online Registration Extended to April 22nd;
after that, you can register directly at the site.

Agenda
http://www.naelb.org/NAELB/Events/2015_Annual_Conference.aspx

206 Registered Attendees as of April 10, 2015

NAELB Attendee list XPS
NAELB Attendee list PDF

Brochure
http://www.naelb.org/NAELB_Docs/2015%20Annual%20Conference/
NAELB%20Registration%20Brochure%201.9.15.pdf

Registration
http://www.naelb.org/NAELB/Events/2015_Annual_Conference.aspx

9th Annual Women in Leasing Luncheon April 30th

Hope you paid attention when we suggested bringing your swimsuit to the 2015 NAELB Conference. You should also bring hiking boots.

Even if neither of those activities are 'your thing' Phoenix and the Arizona Grand Resort offer plenty to see and do. Join NAELB April 30-May 2 for great education; networking with current and potential business partners; and these 'must see and do' recommendations from three local NAELB members:

Is culture your thing? NAELB Member Rick Wilbur recommends Taliesin West - Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation; the Musical Instrument Museum; and the Heard Museum - which is dedicated to the various native cultures of the Southwest and Central America. If you're more of an outdoors person, Rick says there is plenty of golf; hiking at Camelback Mountain; hot air balloon rides; or Open Jeep Tours.

Erin McCarthy suggests you check out the Desert Botanical Gardens, the Phoenix Zoo or the South Mountain Preserve if you like outdoor activities. For those who prefer to stay inside, Erin recommends the Phoenix Art Museum, one of the largest museums in the Southwest with more than 18,000 works on display.

If you like good restaurants, Dan Munman suggests Flemings Steakhouse and Z'Tejas, which are near the Arizona Grand Resort; or visit Rustlers Roost, which is right at the Hotel. For thrill seekers, Dan recommends one of the "great kart tracks in America, Octane Raceway in Scottsdale, which gives you the Ultimate Adrenaline Rush!"

Conference Theme: Climbing the Mountain: Solving New Challenges
with Innovative Ideas

The Public Sector Finance Forum is a joint venture of the Association for Governmental Leasing and Financing and the Equipment Leasing Finance Association. The 2015 Forum will be held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, CO on May 6 through May 8, 2015.

Preliminary Agenda

93 Attendee Registered as of April 17,2015

Registration
https://aglf.memberclicks.net/aglf-elfa-public-sector-finance-forum

8th China Leasing Summit 2015
June 10-12, 2015
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town.

The event is strongly supported by leading companies
and international leasing association.

The China Leasing Summit is based on over 10 years’ of research into the Chinese leasing industry and will provide an effective platform on which attendees can familiarize themselves with the current status of the market and the latest policies and regulations in order to gain a better understanding of China’s leasing market, thereby optimizing their development strategies. Furthermore, speakers from the government, as well as from the leading leasing companies, will share their invaluable experiences and opinions on the state of China’s leasing industry.

For more information, please go here:
http://www.duxes-events.com/lease15/index.html

2015 Eastern Regional Meeting
September 11-12, 2015
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Atlanta, GA

2015 Funding Symposium 2015 Funding Symposium
10/7/2015 to 10/9/2015
Wed through Friday
J W Marriott Atlanta Buckhead Hotel
3300 Lenox Road Northeast
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
United States
Contact: Kim King
KKing@NEFAssociation.org
Phone: 847-380-5053

RSVP for this event:
http://nefassociation.site-ym.com/events/event_details.asp?id=594672&group=#

2015 54th Annual Convention
10/25/2015 - 10/27/2015
JW Marriott Hill Country
San Antonio, TX

The 2015 Fall Conference will be held at the Loews Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach, FL on November 4 through November 6, 2015.

2015 Western Regional Meeting
November 13-14, 2015
Doubletree by Hilton Anaheim - Orange County
Anaheim, CA

CFA
71st Annual Convention
November 11 - 13, 2015
JW Marriott Austin
Austin, TX

EXPO NJ Super Regional
11/15/2015 to 11/16/2015
Sunday/Monday

Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe
100 Frank Burr Blvd
Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
United States

Contact:
Kim King, NEFA Sr. Association Coordinator
KKing@NEFAssociation.org
Phone: (847) 380-5053

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Golf Channel Advertising Was Fraudulent Conveyance/
Ruling May Affect Banks/Lessors in EAR Case & Others
by Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Ordinary Trade Creditors With Arms’ Length Fair Value Transactions in
Ponzi Scheme Do Not Enjoy Presumption of Value. Will This Affect the EAR Fraudulent Conveyance Actions Against Banks and Equipment Lessors?

By Tom McCurnin
Janvey v Golf Channel 780 F.3d 641 (5th Cir. 2015).
In re EAR Case No. 1:11-ap 2215 to 2239 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2013)

I have been following, with great interest the fraudulent conveyance action against the dozen or so lessors in Chicago involving the Equipment Acquisition Resources Bankruptcy. To remind readers, EAR was another leasing fraud and a Ponzi scheme, which doubled or triple financed the same equipment or financed non-existent equipment. It was first exposed in Leasing News, by the way, with an alert to readers. Its principal Sheldon Player passed away from prostate cancer November 13, 2013.

EAR filed bankruptcy. Its president Mark Anstett plead guilty and is to
be sentenced this May, 2015, along with the vendor involved. Numerous equipment banks and lessors were joined as defendants in a fraudulent conveyance action. The Trustee has claimed that the payments by EAR to the equipment lessors, a routine trade creditor equipment lease, were fraudulent because the equipment lease did not convey “value” to EAR. Thus, the Trustee argued, the equipment lessors perpetuated the Ponzi scheme.

The Trustee sued over 30 lessors and trade creditors. Some have wisely settled the claims. There remains another dozen lessors who now face trial in September. The issue will be whether a routine equipment lease, essentially a garden variety trade creditor, can be held accountable as a fraudulent conveyance if there was no “value” delivered to the debtor.

Sadly, the Texas 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the issue involving another Ponzi scheme. It will certainly be of precedential value. The case held that a routine trade creditor, in this case, “The Golf Channel” which supplied advertising at market rates for the debtor, did not convey “value” to the debtor. The Fifth Circuit noted that in a Ponzi scheme, the advertising perpetuated the scam and allowed the Ponzi scheme to continue, thus no “value” was conveyed. This case is a disaster, and makes trade creditors like equipment lessors share more exposure to fraud associated with fraudulent investment schemes. The facts follow.

Stanford International Bank was the invention of Allen Stanford, a Texas real estate developer who bought his way into the Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation for the Caribbean island nation of Antigua. Stanford was, for a few years, legitimately known as Sir Allen Stanford, but these days he is referred to as Sir Scam-A-Lot while serving his 110-year prison sentence.

Stanford’s scam was an old one, which was selling CDs at a much higher rate of return than could be legitimately from banks in the United States. In February 2009, the SEC investigated Stanford and its principals were charged with fraud. The United States District Court in Texas froze all of Stanford’s assets in the United States and appointed a receiver.

However, in 2005, Stanford Bank became a title sponsor of the St. Jude’s Championship, an annual PGA Tour event held in Memphis, Tennessee and signed up for a two-year agreement with the Golf Channel for 682 commercials per year. Stanford made all the payments to The Golf Channel and actually signed a four year renewal contract in 2007. Stanford paid around $5.9 million dollars to Golf Channel pursuant to the agreement.

The Receiver uncovered the payments and sued The Golf Channel for fraudulent conveyance, alleging that the payments were made (true), made while Stanford was insolvent (true) and were made without “reasonably equivalent value” (the issue in the case).

The District Court found for The Golf Channel, ruling that it looked more like an innocent trade creditor than a salesman perpetrating and extending the Stanford Ponzi scheme. Thus, the trial court ruled for The Golf Channel and against the Receiver. The Receiver appealed, essentially demanding a mulligan.

On appeal, The Golf Channel argued that it was a legitimate trade creditor, acting in good faith and provided advertising time and services at market rate. It did not try to mathematically establish a tangible value to the Ponzi scheme. And there might be a good reason for that—the only value of the ads was presumably baited for new investors.

The Fifth Circuit reversed, holding that where the property transferred are consumables, there is no tangible property and the analysis must be undertaken by examining the balance sheet of the debtor, and whether the debtor’s net worth was preserved. The analysis is viewed from the perspective of a creditor of the debtor and whether, after the transfer of money, the debtor was mathematically better off or worse off as a result of the transfer.

Under this analysis, the ads did not affect Stanford’s balance sheet and no value was given, and The Golf Channel was required to repay the $5.9 million dollars.

Then to cement its decision, the Court stated that there simply is no exception for “trade creditors” under fraudulent conveyance law and the Court declined to create one.

Ultimately for the Court, it was the failure of The Golf Channel to provide evidence how the advertising time and services provided economic benefit to Stanford’s creditors. The Fifth Circuit has consistently tightened the definition of value which leaves suits like these a stronger possibility in Ponzi schemes. The takeaways here are these:

• First, This Court’s valuation conclusion is confined to Ponzi scheme cases. Some lower courts in the Ponzi scheme context have previously rejected the Fifth Circuit’s analysis. If lawyers are reading this, you may contact me directly for those cases.

• Second, equipment lessors providing financing services to operators of Ponzi schemes (the EAR fraudulent conveyance actions come to mind), are now at heightened risk because of this decision. The takeaway for me is that equipment lessors apparently have to discover the fraud before the SEC.

• Third, the Fifth Circuit’s holding on “value” demonstrate inconsistencies among Bankruptcy Code, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer and case law. At the very least, the Fifth Circuit undercuts the meaning of “value” and the fair treatment of “good faith” transferees. Defendants to these types of suits will need to plead and prove tangible value to the creditors of the debtor, and not rely on the simplistic market value approach taken by The Golf Channel in this case.

• Fourth, I concede that in the law of fraudulent transfers there is an inevitable tension between creditors of the Ponzi scheme and the merchants who innocently deal with debtors. This tension manifests itself, as here, in The Golf Channel’s good faith defense. The Fifth Circuit forces trade creditors to share more exposure to Ponzi schemes, than investors do. That’s not fair. Whose next, the pizza delivery boy?

• Fifth, the Fifth Circuit refused to make any distinction between services to secure new investment in a Ponzi scheme versus services which simply promote the company’s existence and brand in the ordinary course of business. Nor did The Golf Channel’s brief draw this distinction.

• Finally, this decision imposes an unrealistic expectation for trade creditors to investigate the affairs of their customers before transacting with them because even innocent parties could be subject to claw-back claims if they are dealing with the operator of a Ponzi scheme. Was The Golf Channel supposed to surmise that Sir Scam-a-Lot was just another Bernie Madoff before the SEC did? As silly as that sounds, it is what the Fifth Circuit held.

The bottom line is that this judicial decision is bad news for equipment lessors and will certainly be cited by the Trustee in the EAR Bankruptcy.

Jane v. Golf Channel
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/JanveyGolfChannel2015.pdf

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting
in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

Spafford Leasing Alliance with Savings Institute Bank

Savings Institute Bank & Trust, Connecticut and Rhode Island, is widening its commercial-finance operations into equipment-leasing through a partnership.

The Windham lender says it is partnering with Springfield's CB Leasing Inc., an affiliate of Stafford Leasing Associates Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts for leasing services and prospective customers.

Kenneth Spafford, President and Owner

"Ken has been President of Spafford Leasing since its inception in 1989. He is responsible for developing lease programs that will be advantageous to small and large businesses. Ken has been in the equipment leasing business for over 30 years, 25 years of which were with his own firm, and in that time has facilitated over 80 million dollars in lease transactions for local and national businesses. He has served on several non-profit boards and is past President of the East Longmeadow-Longmeadow Chamber of Commerce. Ken has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Finance and a Master's Degree in Taxation from the University of Hartford."
http://spafford.com/about_us.htm

Angela Flebotte, Chief Financial Officer and Owner

"Angela joined Spafford Leasing in 1992 after graduating with an accounting degree from American International College. She is responsible for developing lease programs in addition to the implementation of lease fundings with many local and national Banks and financial institutions and she has facilitated over 30 million dollars in lease fundings. Angela also is responsible for daily business operations including accounting, lease servicing and documentation, and customer service. Angela is Treasurer of a local Booster Club and has participated in numerous fundraising activities."
http://spafford.com/about_us.htm

Savings Institute CEO Rheo Brouillard said, "The bank will pursue leases with manufacturers, hospitals, municipalities and others, ranging from $50,000 to $5 million in its Connecticut and Rhode Island markets."

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Step-by-Step Directions to Stop Unwanted Calls
and Texts to Your Mobile Phone
CTIA.org The Wireless Association

CTIA and the wireless industry want to make sure that if you don’t want a call or text from certain individuals, you know that there are numerous tools and applications available to block these unwanted calls and messages.

By using these kinds of apps and features, you make the decision of who you want to hear from, and who you want to block. What could be considered a nuisance call for one, may be important to someone else. That’s why it’s important blocked calls and texts are directed by the user, not by the wireless carrier.

Apps and Instructions to Block

To help you, we assembled a list of these apps and divided them based on which operating system your phone uses (e.g., Android or iOS). Many of the helpful apps feature personalized blacklists and whitelists to allow consumers the freedom to decide what calls they want to allow and what calls they want to block.

http://www.ctia.org/your-wireless-life/consumer-tips/blocking-robocalls

For robocalls as well as texts, file a complaint with the FTC or FCC via their websites – ftc.gov or fcc.gov, or by calling the FCC at 1-888-CALL-FCC or the FTC at 1-888-382-1222.

Laws Determine Who Can or Can’t Contact You

Who may contact you, and how they may do so, is governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (1)PDF, which includes calls to mobile devices, as well as advertisements to fax machines, the use of automated dialers (aka robocalls) and artificial and recorded voice messages. The TCPA is designed to protect consumers from the intrusion of unwanted solicitations, in addition to the expense, which can sometimes be associated with such solicitations.

Telemarketers may not call during certain hours, and they may not use auto dialers and recorded messages to call numbers which will result in charges to the consumer. There are, of course, some exemptions to the TCPA. These exceptions permit businesses to make calls to customers with whom there is an established relationship, as well as calls made on behalf of a non-profit organization, or for non-commercial purposes, which allows pollsters and political campaigns to make such calls.

Under the TCPA, it is:

legal for a campaign to call voters on their landline phones using an auto dialer and leave a robocall message without the “prior express consent of the called party [e.g., voter].”
illegal for a campaign to contact voters’ cellphones using auto dialers and robocalls without prior express consent (per 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) (2).

The same rules apply to text messages. It is:

legal for campaign workers to send texts to voters’ cellphones.
illegal for a campaign to use an auto dialer to send texts to voters’ cellphones without prior express consent (per 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(1)(A)(iii).

Report SPAM Text Messages

If you receive a SPAM text message, report it by following these simple steps. Users will not be charged for reporting SPAM text messages.

Forward the SPAM text message to SPAM (7726)
You will then receive a text asking for the phone number that the text message was sent from; text that number back
You will then receive a "thank you" text. No additional action is necessary.

Telephone Protection Act
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/TelephoneProtectionAct2015.pdf

Illegal to Use Telephone Auto Dialers
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/IllegalTelephoneDialers2015.pdf

((Please click on ad to learn more))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

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North Mill Equipment Finance Increases
its Wells Fargo Loan Facility

North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“North Mill”) announces that it has increased the size of its senior loan facility with Wells Fargo Capital Finance to $75 million. The increased loan facility will enable North Mill to expand its business of originating small-ticket equipment leases and loans throughout the United States through third party referral sources. Based in Norwalk, CT, North Mill is a commercial equipment finance company with extensive experience leasing business-essential equipment in the small-ticket sector.

Gary Silverhardt, President and CEO of North Mill, views this loan facility enhancement as an opportunity to continue growing in the company’s target markets of transportation, construction and materials handling. He stated, “We are very happy that the Wells Fargo team expressed its confidence in North Mill by increasing the size of its commitment. It enables us to expand our equipment leasing activities and to continue providing our third-party referral sources and end-users with superior service.

Andrea Petro of Wells Fargo Capital Finance said, “We are pleased to continue our commitment to North Mill Equipment Finance. The enhanced loan facility provides additional senior capital the company needs to finance loans and leases for its customer base. We are proud to have been able to work with a leading independent equipment finance company like North Mill and we look forward to supporting the company’s plans for continued growth.”

About North Mill Equipment Finance

North Mill has over 55 years of experience originating equipment leases and loans. For more information, visitwww.northmillef.com. North Mill is a subsidiary of Colford Capital Holdings LLC, a New York City based holding company that is building a diversified and industry-leading specialty finance and asset management business through acquisitions, strategic partnerships and new business development. In addition to North Mill Equipment Finance, Colford owns North Mill Capital, a national asset based lending and receivables factoring company based in Princeton, NJ. Colford is majority owned by Monitor Clipper Partners, a private equity firm that targets growth-oriented businesses with strong management teams and currently manages over $2 billion in capital. For more information, visitwww.colfordcapital.com.

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Wintrust Expands Lease and Equipment Finance Operation
With Wintrust Commercial Finance

ROSEMONT, Ill., -- Wintrust Financial Corporation ("Wintrust") (Nasdaq: WTFC) has expanded its lease and equipment finance operation capability with the addition of Wintrust Commercial Finance, an equipment-focused financing group located in Texas. The group will provide highly sophisticated loan and lease products to commercial companies in a variety of industries throughout the United States and Canada.

"We've had great success with our current leasing operations," said Wintrust President and CEO Edward J. Wehmer. "We feel there is room to expand, and broaden our national offering. The new team offers extensive knowledge and experience and we know the new addition will make our leasing offerings even more robust."

The Wintrust Commercial Finance group will have a customer-focused origination philosophy while minimizing risk through strong underwriting discipline and expert asset management and will specialize in financing fixed assets consisting of property, plant and equipment, including transportation (trucks, trailers, rail, marine, buses), construction, manufacturing equipment, technology, oil and gas, restaurant equipment, medical and healthcare.

Wintrust Commercial Finance is led by an executive management team with, on average, 25 years’ experience.

Kirk S. Phillips, who heads up the team as president and chief executive officer, has had proven success developing, growing and managing commercial equipment finance and leasing organizations with sustainable profitability and solid portfolio performance, including senior roles at AIG Commercial Equipment Finance and Transamerica Equipment Finance Services Corporation.

Paul Hallauer and Jeff Darlington, CPA, also joined the team as executive vice president and chief credit officer and executive vice president and chief financial officer, respectively. Hallauer has also had extensive experience in the field with management roles at AIG Investments and AIG Commercial Equipment Finance and General Electric Capital Corporation. Darlington brings significant experience, as a chief financial officer and controller in the financial services industry, to the team. His past roles at AIG, and with finance groups at CIT, have given him valuable knowledge and understanding of the business life cycle and key drivers in the market.

Wintrust Commercial Finance compliments Wintrust's other leasing groups: Wintrust Equipment Finance and Wintrust Capital, based in the Chicago metropolitan area.

About Wintrust

Wintrust is a financial holding company with assets of approximately $20 billion whose common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Built on the "HAVE IT ALL" model, Wintrust offers sophisticated technology and resources of a large bank while focusing on providing service-based community banking to each and every customer. Wintrust operates fifteen community bank subsidiaries, with over 140 banking locations located in the greater Chicago and southern Wisconsin market areas. Additionally, the Company operates various non-bank business units including one of the largest commercial insurance premium finance companies operating in the United States and Canada, a company providing short-term accounts receivable financing and value-added out-sourced administrative services to the temporary staffing services industry, a business unit engaging primarily in the origination and purchase of residential mortgages for sale into the secondary market throughout the United States, and companies providing wealth management services.

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The So. CA. Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals
Just Weeks Away! May 7 - 9th in Irvine, CA

Finalize your studying to become a Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) by attending.

If you're unable to make the Southern California ALFP, fear not. There are three more opportunities this year!

The Locations

Southern California - May 7-9
Hosted by Banc of California; more information here

Texas - June 18-20
Hosted by Ascentium Capital; more information here

New York - August 13-15
Hosted by First American Equipment Finance; more information here

Midwest (Iowa) - November 5-7
Hosted by GreatAmerica Financial Services; more information here

The Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals (ALFP) is a new product offered by the CLFP Foundation. This three day event is designed to fully prepare an individual to sit for the CLFP exam assuming that the candidate has read The Certified Lease & Finance Professionals' Handbook prior to attending. All of the mandatory sections of the exam, as well as three of the elective sections, are covered in-depth during the first two days. On the third day, the exam is offered, but is not mandatory.

To register for any ALFP, please contact: Reid Raykovich, CLFP: reid@clfpfoundation.org or (206) 535-6281

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Alliott Wins Finance Monthly Law Award
for Accountancy & Law Alliance, Global Market, 2015

The Alliott Group is pleased to announce that they have not only been nominated but have also won the prestigious Finance Monthly Law Award for Accountancy & Law Alliance of the Year in the Global Market 2015.

James Hickey
Chief Executive Officer

“It is an accolade to be nominated and an honor to be the recipient of such a prestigious award, recognizing Alliott Group as the Accountancy & Law Alliance of the Year in the Global Market 2015,” commented James Hickey.

Returning for another year in Celebrating Excellence and Success the Finance Monthly Law Awards bring together law firms and legal professionals from all over the world under one publication to celebrate their successes. The annual awards honor both firms and individuals for innovation in their specific yet wide-ranging legal fields.

The honorees drive the industry by coupling client focus with unparalleled knowledge. Their work is done on a global scale. With a readership that spans every continent, Finance Monthly offers an international showcase for international work.

Finance Monthly’s lengthy research process involved many months of company feedback and professional consultation. As a result the Awards compile a selection of winners who are both sought after by the public and respected by their colleagues. A full range of international, boutique, niche, and full service firms are recognized. Together they provide a glimpse into the amount of variety and professional excellence within the industry.

About Alliott Group
Alliott Group is a worldwide alliance of independent accounting, law and consulting firms. With more than 160 member firms in some 60 countries, the group meets the local and cross-border needs of its members and their clients. http://www.alliottgroup.net

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News Briefs----

GE in talks to sell lending, leasing portfolio to Wells Fargo: source
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/20/us-gecapital-m-a-wellsfargo-idUSKBN0NB1Y420150420

Waypoint Leasing surpasses 100 aircraft acquired and on lease
http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/
WaypointLeasingsurpasses100aircraftacquiredandonlease

U.S. Bancorp - Strong Performer in a Harsh Interest Rate Environment
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3083196-u-s-bancorp-strong-performer-in-a-harsh-interest-rate-environment

2015 NVLA Leasing Finance and Fleet Management Report (28 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/NVLAReport2015.pdf

Wall Street Exodus to Silicon Valley Isn't Just About the Money
http://www.thestreet.com/story/13118214/1/wall-street-exodus-to-silicon-valley-isnt-just-about-the-money.html

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--You May Have Missed It

Google spends record amount lobbying Congress
http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2015/04/21/google-spends-record-amount-lobbying-congress/

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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

The Hunt for Hidden Sugar
How Much of the Sweet Stuff is Hiding Your Foods?
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=616

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This poem by Robert L. Harrison depicts one of the best teams of all times. The 1927 Yankees or "Murderer's Row" were legendary and this poem pays tribute to those magnificent Yanks.

1927 Yankees

Published: New York Baseball Poems (1999)

Gather 'round you fans of baseball
you lovers of season past,
let me take you back to the greatest team
that ever played on grass.

Guided by Miller Huggins
known as "murderer's row,"
never was such a string of pearls
so feared this side of Hell.

Greedy was this awesome bunch
with Ruth and Gehrig leading the punch,
and Hoyt and Moore on the mound
shooting all the batters down.

Gasping crowds assemble
like sinners in a tent,
watching all the other teams
trying to repent.

God blessed those boys of summer
those pin-striped renegades,
with a winning passion
while others saw only the haze.

Gathering in the rosebuds
by playing excellent ball,
called the "five o'clock lightning"
taking the pennant in the fall.

Gone were any pretenders to the throne
no on stood wherever these Yankees roamed,
twenty-five men made up this team
and all had a year better than their dreams.

Fast Facts

Murderer's Row was anchored by Babe Ruth, who hit sixty home runs and batted .356; and Lou Gehrig, who had forty-seven home runs and batted .373.

The team won one-hundred ten games and the other members included: Earle Combs, who hit .356 and led the league in hits, singles and triples; Tony Lazzeri, who hit eighteen home runs and batted .309; and Bob Meusel who hit .337.

This poem is a Baseball Almanac exclusive and appears here with expression written permission from the author.

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Sports Briefs----

Doug Flutie, Andy Katz among notable finishers in the 2015 Boston Marathon
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/04/21/doug-flutie-andy-katz-among-notable-finishers-boston-marathon/eoyMyAAzS7BGoE7viBgQBK/story.html

NFL schedule 2015: Week by week
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/04/21/nfl-schedule-week-by-week/26082763/

Santa Clara: Critics pan 49ers' $15 million offer to take over youth soccer fields
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_27953862/santa-clara:-critics-pan-49ers-15-million-offer-to-take-over-youth-soccer-fields

Super Bowl 50 organizers unveil plans for fan village in San Francisco
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_27960737/super-bowl-50-organizers-unveil-plans-fan-village

NFL pushing Oakland for progress on Raiders stadium
http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders/ci_27922904/nfl-stadium-czar-met-oakland-officials

Bob St. Clair, Hall of Fame 49ers lineman, dies at 84
http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Bob-St-Clair-dies-at-84-6212538.php

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California Nuts Briefs---

Environmental protections are not the cause of low water supplies.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/04/19/california-drought-golden-gate-salmon-association-editorials-debates/26044087/

California vaccine bill changes seek to protect education
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article19169280.html

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

How Important Are Tasting Rooms to Success?
http://svbwine.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-important-are-tasting-rooms-to.html

Ballad of East and West: A Carneros Wine Alliance Barrel Tasting Reveals Both Sides of this Cool-Climate AVA
https://deborahparkerwong.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/
san_fran_insider_may-2015.pdf

Vineyard expansion levels off on North Coast
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/3812431-181/vineyard-expansion-levels-off-on

Women Winemakers Thrive in Santa Barbara
http://www.independent.com/news/2015/apr/17/women-winemakers-thrive-santa-barbara/

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

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       1451 – Isabella, Queen of Spain who sponsored the voyages of Christopher Columbus to search for a new trade route to India, was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, Spain.
    1526 - The first American slave revolt occurred in SC. Nearly 40 years before the first permanent European settlement in North America, Spanish explorers bring enslaved Africans to what are now the Carolinas. The Africans escape in what is the first recorded slave revolt in North America.
    1778 - Captain John Paul Jones of Ranger led a landing party raid on Whitehaven, England. Whitehaven was an English seaport on the Irish Sea. The decision to raid it was not made because of its strategic value, for the ships in its harbor were mostly coastal fishing vessels, containing little of value to the English war cause. John Paul Jones' original idea was to capture an important person in the course of the raid and hold him hostage until the British ministry released American sailors from prison. Soldiers taken prisoner during land engagements were frequently exchanged as prisoners of war. But the English still treated anyone found on an American armed vessel as a pirate. This was a sore point with sailors in the Continental Navy, and especially with Jones. He hoped his raid might free some of the American seamen languishing in English prisons. The destruction caused by the Whitehaven raid was paltry, but its effectiveness as propaganda was electrifying. No raid had been made on an English seaport since 1667, thanks to Britain's dominance of the seas. Englishmen wondered uneasily where the mighty Royal Navy had been in Whitehaven's time of need, and Jones appeared, not for the last time, in English newspapers as a swashbuckling pirate. The effects of the Continental Navy's daring exploits upon English commerce helped arouse distaste among the British people for continuing the Revolutionary War.
    1793 - President Washington attended the opening of Rickett's, the first circus in the U.S.
    1794 - The first death penalty ban by a state was enacted by Pennsylvania. The law abolished all executions except in cases of murder in the first degree. Michigan enacted a general ban on the death penalty on May 4, 1846, except in cases of treason against the state.
    1802 - The U.S. learned that Napoleon I of France in 1800 had secured through a secret agreement, the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, the return of the Louisiana territory from Spain. This reversed the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762 that awarded Spain the territory by France. At the time, 1802, France was at war with England and believed that many British trade ships were disguised as American ships. In 1808, they began seizing ships, considered piracy by the US. This was alarming news because the mouth of the Mississippi River was now in the hands of an aggressive power, and Americans west of the Allegheny Mountains depended on free passage and the use of the port of New Orleans to transfer their products to oceangoing ships. President Thomas Jefferson ordered Robert R. Livingston, U.S. minister to France, to buy land on the lower Mississippi for use as a port, or to secure a guarantee of free navigation. In October, Spanish officials, still in New Orleans, refused to allow Americans to use the port. This serious disruption of American commerce led Jefferson in the next year to begin negotiations for purchase of Louisiana.
    1836 - A day after the Battle of San Jacinto, forces under Texas General Sam Houston identified Mexican General Santa Anna among the captives of the battle when one of his fellow captives mistakenly gave away his identity.
    1844 – Lewis Powell, co-conspirator of John Wilkes Booth and attempted assassin of Secretary of State William H. Seward, was born in Randolph County, AL. He was hanged in 1865 in Washington, DC.
    1864 - By Act of Congress, the phrase "In God We Trust" began to be stamped on all U.S. coins. The first coin with this inscription was the 2 cent coin, in circulation from 1864 to 1872.
    1870 – Lenin was born in Simbirsk, Russia.
    1876 - In the first National League game ever played, the Boston Red Caps, later the Braves defeated the home town Philadelphia Athletics, 6-5. Jim O'Rourke got the first hit, and Joseph Borden, playing under the name of Josephs, was the winning pitcher. Wes Fisler scored the first run.
    1883 - An outbreak of tornadoes from Louisiana to Kansas claimed the lives to 200 persons. One of the tornadoes destroyed the town of Beauregard, MS.
    1887 - James Norman Hall was born in Colfax, Iowa. American writer, best-known for the “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1932), co-authored with Charles Nordhoff. Hall lived in California and Tahiti. He also published poetry, children's books, short stories, and travel books. He died in 1951.
    1889 - At precisely high noon, thousands of would-be settlers make a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim cheap land. The nearly two million acres of land opened up to white settlement was located in Indian Territory, a large area that once encompassed much of modern-day Oklahoma. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie were formed with populations of at least 10,000.
    1891 - Laura Gilpin’s birthday in Santa Fe, NM. Famed photographer of New Mexico, the Southwest, and the Navaho Indian way of life.
http://www.photographydealers.com/htdocs/representedartists/
lgilpin/artistindex.html
http://ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/library/gilpin.html
http://www.sla.purdue.edu/WAAW/Palmquist/Photographers/Gilpin.htm
    1891 – Anarchist Nicola Sacco of Sacco and Vanzetti infamy was born in Foggia, Italy.
    1898 - The American gunboat Nashville captured the Spanish ship Buena Ventura. On April 24, Spain declared that a state of war existed with the United Sates. The following day, Congress declared that a state of war had existed since April 21. President McKinley ordered the blockade of Havana Harbor.
http://www.spanamwar.com/timeline.htm
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/record/
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/sawhtml/sawhome.html
    1903 – Having relocated from Baltimore and been renamed, the New York Highlanders won their first game, defeating the Washington Senators, 3-1 before a crowd of 11,950.
    1904 – J. Robert Oppenheimer was born in NYC. Among the select few physicists who worked on The Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb that hasted the end of World War II, he is recognized as one of the fathers of atomic energy. Shortly thereafter, in 1946, Dr. Oppenheimer received a Presidential Citation and a Medal of Merit for his direction of the Los Alamos Laboratory, where the bomb had been developed. In the years from 1945 to 1952, Dr. Oppenheimer was one of the foremost Government advisers on key phases of United States atomic policy. He was the dominant author of the Acheson- Lilienthal Report which offered a plan for international control of atomic energy. He was also the virtual author of the Baruch Plan calling for United Nations supervision of nuclear power. He was consultant to Bernard M. Baruch at the United Nations and to Frederick H. Osborn, his successor, in futile United Nations negotiations over the plan, which was rejected by the Soviet Union. In 1954, he was stripped of security clearance by the Atomic Energy Commission because of his alleged association with Communists. The same agency nine years later awarded Dr. Oppenheimer the $50,000 Fermi award for "his outstanding contributions to theoretical physics and his scientific and administrative leadership." He died in 1967 suffering from throat cancer.
    1906 - Father Ricard at the University of Santa Clara wrote to the "San Jose Mercury":
“The earthquake period is gone. Once the pent up forces of nature have had a vent, nothing of a serious nature need be apprehended. At the most a succession of minor shocks may be felt and that's all. It is not unreasonable, therefore, for people to continue in dread of a new destructive temblor. People should fearlessly go to work and repair mischief done and sleep quietly at night anywhere at all, especially in wooden frame. Never mind foreboders of evil: they do not know what they are talking about. Seismonetry is in its infancy and those therefore who venture out with predictions of future earthquakes when the main shock has taken place ought to be arrested as disturbers of the peace”. Board of Supervisors met for the first time since the earthquake in Sup. McGushin's saloon. Lawyers for the Home Telephone Co. were also there and paid bribes to the supervisors. All this was aftermath of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire on the morning of April 18, 1906.
    1906 – The 1906 Summer Olympics opened in Athens.
    1906 – Actor Eddie Albert was born Edward Albert Heimberger in Rock Island, IL. He died in 2005.
    1913 - Birthday of guitarist Willie C. “Boll Weenie Bill” Moore in Kinston, NC
    1914 - Babe Ruth made his professional pitching debut, playing for the International League Baltimore Orioles in his own hometown. Allowing just six hits and contributing two singles himself, Ruth shut out the Buffalo Bisons, 6-0.
    1914 - FLETCHER, FRANK JACK, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Place and date: Vera Cruz, Mexico, 21 and 22 April 1914. Entered service at: Iowa. Born: 29 April 1885, Marshalltown, lowa. G.O. No.: 177, 4 December 1915. Citation: For distinguished conduct in battle, engagements of Vera Cruz, 21 and 22 April 1914. Under fire, Lt. Fletcher was eminent and conspicuous in performance of his duties. He was in charge of the Esperanze and succeeded in getting on board over 350 refugees, many of them after the conflict had commenced. Although the ship was under fire, being struck more than 30 times, he succeeded in getting all the refugees placed in safety. Lt. Fletcher was later placed in charge of the train conveying refugees under a flag of truce. This was hazardous duty, as it was believed that the track was mined, and a small error in dealing with the Mexican guard of soldiers might readily have caused a conflict, such a conflict at one time being narrowly averted. It was greatly due to his efforts in establishing friendly relations with the Mexican soldiers that so many refugees succeeded in reaching Vera Cruz from the interior.
    1915 – The Yankees adopted the pinstriped uniforms and the hat-in-the-ring logo.
    1917 - The William Metz Ice Company of Pittsburgh, PA, began operating equipment to ice refrigerated railroad cars. Manufactured by Thomas Wright of Jersey City, NJ, it consisted of a truck with an extension top adjustable to any position to enable ice to be placed in the upper most section of the car, making it possible for one man to do all the loading without the help of assistants. It is credited with expanding the agriculture and farming industry in the United States.
    1920 – Birthday of Hal March, born Harold Mendelson, in San Francisco. Emcee of several early television shows: “What's It For?”, “The $64,000 Question”, “Laughs for Sale” He also was an actor in “My Friend Irma”, “The Soldiers”, “The Imogene Coca Show”, “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show”. Died Los Angeles, Jan 19, 1970.
http://us.imdb.com/Name?March,+Hal
    1921 - Birthday of congo/bongo drummer Cándido de Guerra Camero in San Antonio De Los Baños, Cuba.
http://www.rhythmweb.com/bongo/candido.htm
http://www.latinpercussion.com/candido.htm
    1922 – Jazz pianist Lou Stein was born, Philadelphia, PA. Stein's first major gig came in 1942 when he joined Ray McKinley’s band. He also played with Glenn Miller when the latter was stateside during World War II. Died 2002.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/e/w/ews3/SHJM/
SteinHausJazzMusic/LouStein.html
    1922 - Bassist Charlie Mingus, a leader in modern jazz, was born in Arizona. He started with the traditional jazz outfits of Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton. But by 1953, Mingus had moved to the modern camp, playing with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He was also justly famous for leading his own groups, and for his compositions. Mingus died of a myotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 1979.
http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/bio/mingusbio.html
http://www.duke.edu/~rdk1/
http://webusers.siba.fi/~eonttone/mingus/
    1923 – Film and TV producer Aaron Spelling was born in Dallas. Through his production company, Spelling Television, he holds the record as the most prolific television writer and producer in US television history, with 218 producer and executive producer credits. Beginning in 1968, Spelling began producing successful television shows including “The Mod Squad”, “The Rookies”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “and “Beverly Hills 90210”. Spelling died in 2006.
    1928 - Birthday of trumpet player Tommy Turrentine, Pittsburgh, PA
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/tommyt.html
    1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States signed the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
    1935 - Birthday of bass player Paul Chambers, Pittsburgh, PA
http://members.tripod.com/~ha
   1936 - Glen Campbell was born in Billstown, Arkansas. At the age of 22, he moved to Los Angeles and began playing guitar on recording sessions. One record he is said to have played on is "Tequila" by the Champs. In 1965, Campbell took Brian Wilson's place on a tour by the Beach Boys. Two years later, he topped both the country and pop charts with "Gentle on My Mind" and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." His other hits include "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston." His television series, "The Glen Campbell Show," ran for 4.5 years. In April 2014, news reports indicated Campbell had become a patient at an Alzheimer's long-term care and treatment facility. On March 10, 2015, NBC News reported that Campbell could no longer speak for himself.
rdbop/chambers.html
http://www.glencampbellshow.com/
http://www.branson.net/
    1937 – Birthday of John Joseph “Jack” Nicholson in Neptune City, NJ. Nicholson's 12 Academy Award nominations make him the most nominated male actor in the Academy’s history. Academy Award-winning Best Actor: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” [1975], “As Good as It Gets” [1997]; Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor: “Terms of Endearment” [1983]. He, Walter Brennan, and Sir Daniel Day Lewis are the only males to win three Oscars. Among his work: “Five Easy Pieces”, “The Shining”, “Batman”, “Broadcast News”, “Chinatown”, “Two Jakes”, “Easy Rider”, “Prizzi's Honor”, “The Witches of Eastwicke”, “Little Shop of Horrors”, “A Few Good Men”, “The Departed”, “The Bucket List”, “Anger Management”…and as a true Jerseyan, he knows how to have a good time!
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Film/3000/
http://www.evesmag.com/nicholson.htm
http://the-movie-times.com/thrsdir/actors/jnicholson.html
    1939 - Birthday of singer Mel Carter, Cincinnati, OH. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording, "”Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”.
http://www.mel-carter.com/
    1940 - The first all-Chinese commercial radio program was broadcast this day over KSAN Radio in San Francisco, CA.
    1940 - Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testified before U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable. As Captain in 1918, he was head of the Division of Enlisted Personnel. Aware of the inadequacies of manpower from his experience in the fleet during World War I, in 1920, he was embroiled in a publicized dispute with then Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt and testified before the Senate Committee on Navy Affairs regarding the personnel shortage in the Navy. He stated that Navy department heads had failed "to take adequate steps to provide personnel necessary for the proper conduct of the Navy during the war." For his outspoken views, Taussig earned the lifetime enmity of Roosevelt, who wrote a sharp letter to the Navy subcommittee denying Taussig's charges. Taussig candidly maintained that, "the Navy was far from being ready for War... and the enlisted personnel was entirely inadequate for the proper manning of our already completed ships on a peace time basis, and was dangerously inadequate should we suddenly be thrown into war." Secretary Josephus Daniels was angered by Taussig's dissent and denied publication of Taussig's prize-winning essay on naval personnel in the Naval Institute Press. In May 1940, Taussig again locked horns with now-president Roosevelt, when Taussig testified at Senate hearings on plans to expand the Navy. Taussig advocated the building of Iowa class and Montana class battleships, offering testimony to the aggressive, imperialistic designs of Japan that planned to annex China, the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. He warned of the superiority of the Japanese Merchant fleet to that of the US, and the need to replenish U.S. bases in the Pacific Ocean and prepare for defense of the Philippines, stating, "I cannot see how we can escape being forced into war based on the present trends of events." Taussig's testimony set off a controversy that lasted in the press for weeks and infuriated FDR who wanted Taussig relieved of his command of Norfolk Navy Yard and the Fifth Naval District. However, CNO Admiral Harold Stark convinced Roosevelt to reconsider and Roosevelt took no action; however, Stark publicly stated that Taussig's views were contrary to the Navy Department's and on 23 April 1940, issued a reprimand that was placed in Taussig's file after the Senate testimony that was later removed after Pearl Harbor.
    1945 - Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. Almost as confirmation of Hitler's assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps reaches Treuenbrietzen, 40 miles southwest of Berlin, liberates a POW camp and releases, among others, Norwegian Commander in Chief Otto Ruge.
    1945 - Himmler meets Count Bernadotte of the Swedish Red Cross and gives him a message to pass to the western Allies, offering a German surrender to the British and Americans but not to the Soviets. The message is passed to the Allies on the 24th.
    1945 - US 7th Army units cross the Danube at Dillingen and Baldingen.
    1945 - Units of 2nd and 4th US Corps (parts of US 5th Army) reach the Penaro River in their advance to the Po River. On the left flank Modena is taken.
    1945 - HAYASHI, JOE, Medal of Honor
Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 20 and 22 April 1945, near Tendola, Italy. On 20 April 1945, ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that commanded all approaches to the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi skillfully led his men to a point within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were detected and fired upon. After dragging his wounded comrades to safety, he returned alone and exposed himself to small arms fire in order to direct and adjust mortar fire against hostile emplacements. Boldly attacking the hill with the remaining men of his squad, he attained his objective and discovered that the mortars had neutralized three machine guns, killed 27 men, and wounded many others. On 22 April 1945, attacking the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi maneuvered his squad up a steep, terraced hill to within 100 yards of the enemy. Crawling under intense fire to a hostile machine gun position, he threw a grenade, killing one enemy soldier and forcing the other members of the gun crew to surrender. Seeing four enemy machine guns delivering deadly fire upon other elements of his platoon, he threw another grenade, destroying a machine gun nest. He then crawled to the right flank of another machine gun position where he killed four enemy soldiers and forced the others to flee. Attempting to pursue the enemy, he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine pistol fire. The dauntless courage and exemplary leadership of Private Hayashi enabled his company to attain its objective. Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
    1946 - Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg arrived at WEAF radio in New York City with an entertaining morning show called, "Hi, Jinx". This was one of the most popular radio shows in the 1940's and early 1950's. They switched over to television in the 1950's. WEAF later became WNBC and then WFAN SportsRadio 66.
http://www-itg.lbl.gov/Seaborg.talks/presidents/24.html
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/5217/jinxbio.htm
    1947 – In the first NBA Championship, the Philadelphia Warriors beat Chicago Stags, 4 games to 2.
    1950 – Peter Frampton was born in London. Rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist.
    1951 - *LITTLETON, HERBERT A., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Chungchon, Korea, 22 April 1951. Entered service at: Blackhawk, S. Dak. Born: 1 July 1930, Mena, Ark. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a radio operator with an artillery forward observation team of Company C, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Standing watch when a well-concealed and numerically superior enemy force launched a violent night attack from nearby positions against his company, Pfc. Littleton quickly alerted the forward observation team and immediately moved into an advantageous position to assist in calling down artillery fire on the hostile force. When an enemy hand grenade was thrown into his vantage point shortly after the arrival of the remainder of the team, he unhesitatingly hurled himself on the deadly missile, absorbing its full, shattering impact in his body. By his prompt action and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice, he saved the other members of his team from serious injury or death and enabled them to carry on the vital mission which culminated in the repulse of the hostile attack. His indomitable valor in the face of almost certain death reflects the highest credit upon Pfc. Littleton and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1952 - Top Hits
“Wheel of Fortune” - Kay Starr
“Anytime” - Eddie Fisher
“Be My Life's Companion” - The Mills Brothers
“(When You Feel like You're in Love) Don't Just Stand There” - Carl Smith
    1954 - Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charges with being "soft" on communism. McCarthy rose suddenly to national fame in February, 1950 when he asserted in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who were employed in the State Department. Thus began his dizzying rise to fame as the most famous and feared communist hunter in the United States, but McCarthy was never able to prove his sensational charge and he never produced the list.   McCarthy made additional accusations of Communist infiltration into the State Department, the administration of President Truman, the Voice of America, and the Army. He also used various charges of communism, communist sympathies, disloyalty, or homosexuality to attack a number of politicians and other individuals inside and outside of government. Early in 1954, the U.S. Army accused McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy Cohn, of improperly pressuring the Army to give favorable treatment to G. David Schine, a former aide to McCarthy and a friend of Cohn, who was then serving in the Army as a private. McCarthy claimed that the accusation was made in retaliation. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, usually chaired by McCarthy himself, was given the task of adjudicating these conflicting charges. Republican Senator Karl Mundt was appointed to chair the committee, and, as a result, the Army-McCarthy hearings convened on April 22, 1954. One of the most prominent attacks on McCarthy's methods was a series of episodes of the CBS television documentary series “See It Now”, hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow, which was broadcast in March and April, 1954. Titled "A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy", the first episode consisted largely of clips of McCarthy speaking without substantive comment from the host. In these clips, McCarthy accused the Democratic Party of "twenty years of treason", describes the ACLU as "listed as 'a front for, and doing the work of', the Communist Party", and berates and harangues various witnesses, including an Army General. In a later broadcast, as an accommodation by Murrow to give McCarthy an opportunity to respond, McCarthy appeared on “See It Now”and made a number of charges against the popular Murrow, including the accusation that he colluded with a "Russian espionage and propaganda organization". This response did not go over well with viewers, and the result was a steep decline in McCarthy's popularity. These televised hearings gave the American public their first view of McCarthy in action, and his recklessness, indignant bluster, and bullying tactics quickly resulted in his fall from prominence. In December 1954, the Senate voted to censure McCarthy for his conduct.
    1955 – In their first game after moving from Philadelphia, the Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2.
    1956 - Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut at the Frontier Hotel. With "Heartbreak Hotel" at the top of the pop charts, one can imagine the excitement generated by the new ‘King of rock and roll'. Even with a number one hit, Elvis was not yet well-received by the middle-aged audience. Management of the Frontier was so unimpressed, they gave Elvis his walking papers after one week of a two-week engagement. “Elvis left the building” would later be the way to get audiences to leave and stop applauding for an encore.
    1957 - Frances Farmer, once a $1,500-a-week movie star, said yesterday that "San Franciscans are extremely civilized people to let me get down to the business of living" as a $70-a-week clerk. Farmer, a flaxen-haired beauty at 40, was discovered over the weekend working as a reservation clerk at the Sheraton-Palace Hotel.
    1957 – The last NL team to integrate was the Philadelphia Phillies with John Irwin Kennedy.
     1959 - The Chicago White Sox took ‘batting practice' against the Kansas City Athletics, 20-6. Chicago scored 11 runs in the seventh inning with only one hit, a single by Johnny Callison. The Sox got 10 walks and one hit batter. Not to be outdone in the effort, the Athletics contributed three errors.
    1959 - Alan Freed premieres his last Rock 'n' Roll movie, “Go Johnny Go”, starring Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, Jackie Wilson, Eddie Cochran and The Flamingos.
    1959 – Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona was born in New Brighton, PA. As manager of the Boston Red Sox (2004-2011), he broke the Curse of the Bambino and delivered two World Series championships to long-suffering BoSox fans.
    1959 – You’ll never see this again: Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees shutout the Washington Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings, striking out 15.
    1960 - Top Hits
“The Theme from ‘A Summer Place’ " - Percy Faith
“Greenfields” - The Brothers Four
“Sweet Nothin's” - Brenda Lee
“He'll Have to Go” - Jim Reeves
    1962 - The Toronto Maple Leafs won back the Stanley Cup after 11 years. The National Hockey League champions kept Lord Stanley's cup locked up in Toronto for the next three seasons.
    1966 - The Troggs release "Wild Thing."
    1966 – The Atlanta Braves won their first game after moving from Milwaukee, over the New York Mets, 8-4.
    1966 – Still in high school, Bruce Springsteen gets a boost when his band, The Castiles, won a battle of the bands contest at a roller rink in Matawan, NJ.   First prize? Opening for the Crystals and the Ad-Libs at next week's show.
    1967 - Randy Matson set a world outdoor record in the shot put with a toss of 71 feet, 5-1/2 inches in College Station, Texas. The shot landed in section E-83 of the grandstand, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
    1968 - Top Hits
“Honey” - Bobby Goldsboro
“Cry like a Baby” - The Box Tops
“Lady Madonna” - The Beatles
“Fist City” - Loretta Lynn
    1968 - Trumpeter Herb Alpert sang "This Guy's In Love With You" on his CBS-TV special. The Burt Bacharach / Hal David composition would rise to the top of the US chart, where it stayed for four weeks.
    1968 - In a news conference, Defense Secretary Clark Clifford declares that the South Vietnamese have "acquired the capacity to begin to insure their own security [and] they are going to take over more and more of the fighting."
    1970 - Tom Seaver of the New York Mets struck out 19 batters to tie a National League baseball record. He also set a record by striking out 10 batters consecutively as the ‘Amazin’' Mets defeated the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium.
    1970 - Henry Ross Perot, remember him, a candidate for the U.S. Presidency, did not have a good day. Perot, of Dallas, TX, reportedly lost $450 million in the stock market.
    1970 - Earth Day
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr22.html
    1971 - Former US Navy Lieutenant John Kerry testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and talked about alleged war crimes and atrocities committed in Vietnam by US forces.
    1974 - Redbone won a gold record for the single, "Come and Get Your Love". The group, playing American Indian ‘swamp rock', formed in Los Angeles in 1968. Lolly and Pat Vegas, brothers, had been session musicians and worked on the "Shindig" TV show. Anthony Bellamy and Peter De Poe were also members of the group. Redbone had one other hit, "The Witch Queen of New Orleans". The top five hit, "Come and Get Your Love", was the group's second and final chart success.
    1976 - Top Hits
“Disco Lady” - Johnnie Taylor
“Let Your Love Flow” - Bellamy Brothers
“Right Back Where We Started From” - Maxine Nightingale
“Drinkin' My Baby (Off My Mind)” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1976 - Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" becomes the first single record to sell over 2 million copies.
    1978 - Bob Marley and the Wailers performed at the One Love Peace Concert near Kingston, Jamaica. It was Marley's first appearance in his homeland since being wounded in an assassination attempt in December, 1976. After the concert, Marley persuaded Prime Minister Michael Manley and Opposition Leader Edward Seaga to come on stage and shake hands.
http://www.bobmarley.com/
    1978 - Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" is released. It will become his biggest US hit, reaching #2 on the Hot 100.
    1978 - On tonight's “Saturday Night Live”, John Bulushi and Dan Akroyd team up to debut two new characters called "The Blues Brothers," who perform a cover of Sam and Dave's "Soul Man."
    1980 - The United States boycotted the Olympic Games by refusing to send its athletes to the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. At the urging of President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted 1,604 to 797 to boycott the games. The following day, a number of athletes and coaches filed a class-action suit in the U.S. District court in Washington, DC, to block the boycott, but the suit was dismissed on May 16. The Soviet Union retaliated by boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, CA.
    1980 - A record April heat wave sent the mercury up to the 100 degree mark in Iowa.
    1984 - Top Hits
“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” - Phil Collins
“Hello” - Lionel Richie
“Hold Me Now” - The Thompson Twins
“The Yellow Rose” - Johnny Lee with Lane Brody
    1987 - Fifteen cities in the southeastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 96 degrees at Pensacola, FL established a record for the month of April.
    1989 - Twenty-seven cities in the central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 96 degrees at Omaha was an April record, and the high of 100 degrees at Lubbock TX equaled their record for April. Hill City KS and Liberal KS tied for honors as the hot spot in the nation with afternoon highs of 103 degrees.
    1989 – Nolan Ryan struck out Ricky Henderson for Ryan’s 5000th career K.
    1991 – Johnny Carson announced his retirement as host of “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”, in 1992.
    1993 - The museum commemorating the Holocaust, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, opened to the public in Washington, DC. The museum combined innovative multimedia displays with one of the nation's largest repositories of documentary information about the Holocaust.
http://www.ushmm.org/
    1993 - Version 1.0 of the Mosaic web browser was released.
    1998 - Top Hits
“Too Close” - Next
“All My Life” - K-Ci
“Let's Ride” - Montell Jordan Feat
“Frozen” - Madonna
“You’re Still The One” - Shania Twain
    2000 - The event which triggers the biggest mass suspension in the history of the game takes place at Comiskey Park after White Sox hurler hits Dean Palmer with a seventh inning pitch in retaliation of Jeff Weaver's plunking of Carlos Lee in the previous frame. The ensuing brawls in both the seventh and ninth innings will see the ejection of eleven participants with sixteen players, coaches and managers suspended and another nine being fined.
    2000 - In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami.
    2004 – Former Arizona Cardinal safety Pat Tillman, having walked away form a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to become a US Army Ranger in Afghanistan, was killed by friendly fire.
    2005 - Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers to kill Americans. He was later sentenced to life in prison.
    2013 - The News Corporation phone hacking scandal results in the company's agreement to pay $139 million to American shareholders.
    2014 - Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels became the 26th Major Leaguer to hit 500 home runs, knocking two off the Washington Nationals in an inter-league game at Nationals Park in DC.

NBA Finals Champions
    1947 - Philadelphia Warriors
Stanley Cup Champions
    1945 - Toronto Maple Leafs
    1962 - Toronto Maple Leafs

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