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Co-Founder/CEO William Verhelle Retires
from First American Equipment Finance

(Photo: Facebook)
Bill Verhelle with Family, Lives in Naples, Florida with his wife
Cyndee, and their four sons: Mitchell, Bradley, Trey and Luke.

Leasing News contacted William Verhelle: “Was surprised to see you were stepping down, especially with the results you are having at First American Equipment Finance. Is this to spend more time with your family or something more serious?”

He responded, “Thank you for asking, Kit. Everything is ok.

“Today is the three year anniversary of our sale of the First American business to City National. Although it was a cash transaction, I agreed to stay for three years to facilitate a successful transition.

“First American's business is doing very well. Alan Sikora who has been with First American for over a decade took over as CEO today. Alan will do a great job. He and his colleagues are ready for the opportunity. And regarding City National, I have the greatest respect for everyone at City National Bank, Los Angeles.

“Russell Goldsmith (City National, CEO) and his management team at have been so kind to me and First American's entire staff that I wanted to make sure I enthusiastically fulfilled my three year commitment as CEO, which concluded yesterday. The transition of the business to City National has been a great success for everyone involved.

“I will continue as a consultant to the bank, while I contemplate what I will do next.

“I am already missing my friends at First American. But, I will enjoy spending more time with my wife and four children during the next few months. “

- Bill

From Website: http://www.faef.com/

To First American’s valued customers, business partners and colleagues:

As I reflect on the nearly three years that have passed since First American became part of City National Bank, and the 20 years that have passed since Guy Klingler and I founded First American Equipment Finance, I’m struck by how much has changed. And the rate of change is increasing.

For the first fifteen years of this two-decade endeavor, we thought we were running a commodity business in a mature industry. We tried to be different wherever possible; however, we never really believed we might innovate in a transformative way, or that we might catch our larger competitors.

In the last five years it became clear that everything had changed. Old-line industries were being disrupted every day by small, agile firms employing new technology, new delivery models, and young, empowered workers that think differently about the role of technology in business. I’m proud to say we are building a business for the future … a business primarily focused on these important considerations.

With $26.4MM of 2014 pre-tax income, First American will triple its pre-tax income in the first three full years following the City National acquisition. With 35 bps of net charge-offs over the past ten years, First American leads the field in efficiently serving the largest and most creditworthy borrowers in the United States. By more than doubling in size in less than three years, First American is growing its business at a rate that outpaces nearly all its competition.

The primary cause of these enviable business results is an outstanding team of First American employees who do whatever it takes for our clients and our shareholder. They are the best people I have ever known.

It has been the highlight of my career to be a very small part of this outstanding First American team.

Respectfully yours,
Bill Verhelle, CEO
http://www.faef.com/Default.aspx?RD=454

Biography:
http://www.faef.com/Default.aspx?RD=1429

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Classified Ads---Credit

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

Will relocate for the right opportunity and can work remotely. I have (25+) years in making credit decisions, as well as helping sales team and third party originators close more transactions via understanding their applicant's financial abilities. I can create alternative or additional opportunities (and income) by knowing which type of loan is best for the borrower
aaacorrespondent@gmail.com

Orlando, Florida
As a Commercial Credit Analyst/Underwriter, I have evaluated transactions from sole proprietorships to listed companies, across a broad spectrum of industries, embracing a multitude of asset types. Sound understanding of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow dynamics which impact credit decisions. Strong appreciation for credit/asset risk.
rpsteiner21@aol.com
407 430-3917

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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Top Ten Stories of last week
(Most Often Opened by Readers)

(1) California Proposed Law:
Brokers Won't Need License for Business Loans
by Christopher Menkin
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_29.htm#law

(2) Marlin Net $500,000 Less than Previous 1st Q
Lease/Loan Production Down $7.9MM - Sr. VP/CFO Resigns
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2015/5_01.htm#marlin

(3) Chicago, April 21-23, ELFA Funding Conference Report
by Hugh Swandel, The Alta Group
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_27.htm#elfa

(4) Funder List "A" Update
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_29.htm#update

(5) Customers Bank Recruits Very Experienced Team
To Launch Commercial Finance Business
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_29.htm#customers

(6) Maxim Commercial Capital Goes Digital
Accelerates Funding from Days to Hours
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2015/5_01.htm#maxim

(Tie) (7) Archives---April 29, 2003
Douglas-Guardian Services Corporation Announces Robert J. Fisher, CLP, as Vice President Sales and Marketing
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_29.htm#archives

(Tie) (7) Bill to Allow Anyone to Obtain Referral Fees
May Be Adopted by Other States
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2015/5_01.htm#bill

(9) Archives---May 1, 2000
Bruce Kropschot Re-Establishes Kropschot Financial Services
http://leasingnews.org/archives/May2015/5_01.htm#archives

(10) Farmers Don't Own their Tractors Claims John Deere
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere

(11) "Broker/Lessor" List "A" Updated
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Apr2015/4_29.htm#updated

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Brican America Court Case
Preface

This is a preface to Leasing News Legal Editor Tom McCurnin's
article which follows

The story first appeared in Leasing News October 5, 2009, as an "Alert," sent in by Bernie Boettigheimer, CLFP, Head of Lease Police in late September. (1) It lead to participating in the Yahoo Dentist Blog, recommending attorneys Ron Gossett and Michael Witt (who excused himself due to a possible conflict of interest with his previous employer Wells Fargo), as well as another threatening letter from well-known attorney Charles H. Lichtman. (2)

It started when the sale of a portfolio was brought to Lease Police Bernie Boettingheimer's attention. He looked at the circumstances, did some checking and found out the value of the equipment and the background of the founders of the company.

The person hawking the portfolio Chuck Brazier, formerly of Pinnacle Business Finance, and in the past, Colonial Pacific Leasing. It appears one of the two men behind Brican America was Jean-Francois Vincens, one of the principals in Recomm, who had over $125 million in losses involving over 30 leasing companies, including Colonial Pacific Leasing, Lease Partners, Bell Atlantic TriCon, Finova, GreatAmerica Leasing, Textron, among others. (3) This then lead to a claim against Brican America for $38 million involving 1672 leases. The case was filed
May 5, 2009.

(1) Alert--Brican America
http://leasingnews.org/archives/October%202009/10-05-09.htm#Alert_Brican

(2) Charles H. Lichtman letter
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/CharlesLichtmanLetter32015.pdf

(3) Recomm Court Document
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Optical_Tech.pdf

Brican America/Brican Financial Lawsuits
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/brican_america.htm

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

$8 Million in Attorney Fees
Brican America Six Year Court Case
by Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Leases Subject to Fraud Claims by Lessees Because Lessor Knew or Should Have Known the Leases Were Fraudulent. But Where Does the Court Go From Here After $8 Million Dollars in Attorney Fees?

In re Brican Equipment Lease Litigation 10-MD-02183 (S.D. Fla. 2015)

Today’s case is a train wreck. I’d like to report there was a winner and the party won for the right reason, but I think the case is about the biggest loser. The biggest loser could be the vendor, the lessor, the lessees or the lawyers. Or all of them.

For those of you unfamiliar with the case, it involves NorVergence and Royal Links type claims, whereby the vendor sold worthless equipment which was supposed to pay for itself, and promised to buy back the equipment if the equipment did not generate the advertising revenue promised. The whole program was a Ponzi scheme and was sustainable only if new lessees were being suckered into the program. While not on all fours, this Brican America case is remarkably similar to Royal Links and is there any doubt that it will not end well for the equipment lessor?

The case is very complicated procedurally and involves four different cases in California, New Jersey, Florida and Iowa. This Florida case is a “Multi-District Litigation” case which essentially involves preliminary determinations on the four cases as a whole, before they are returned to the various states from which they came.

In January of this year, this Florida Federal judge ruled that the lessor was not a holder in due course, and consequently was responsible for the vendor’s fraud, a complete disaster. The transcript also discloses that the lessor incurred over $3 million dollars in attorney fees to obtain this adverse (but predictable) result, and the case isn’t over yet. As a litigator that tried several Royal Links and NorVergence cases, I don’t see much of a future in the lessor’s litigation, but the Lessor is stomping ahead like the Energizer Bunny.

The facts follow.

Cast of Characters

There were 1,672 leases involving $38 million signed with Brican America, Miami, Florida. This specific case involves less than half. The rest either continued payments, hired their own attorney, or were sued individually. In this case, the Plaintiffs numbered 674 dentists and optometrists who signed a one-column Financing Agreement for the purchase of the purchased an “Exhibeo Multimedia System” for their waiting rooms. Some of the plaintiffs received $400 for referring their colleagues to the Vendor, Brican.

Brican America (“Vendor”) was the vendor of the Exhibeo multi-media systems to dentists, essentially a monitor and cheap computer which played back industry videos for customers, attempting to cross-sell other dental products. Although it cost only $3,000 it was sold for $24,000. Brican promised the lessees that advertising revenue from an essentially non-existent company would pay for the lease payments and the dentists would actually make money on the deal. The program was a Ponzi scheme and sustainable only if new lessees could be located.

NCMIC (“Lessor”) also known as “Professional Solutions Financial Services” is a financial services company providing malpractice insurance and equipment financing mainly for chiropractors, but in this case, provided financed Brican’s deals until about 2008 after which it financed them through assignments. It is without question that NCMIC knew or should have known the leases were fraudulent no later than 2008.

Viso Lasik, a lasik provider, was theoretically an advertiser which allegedly had agreed to purchase advertising on the Exhibeo system, paying the dentists for the ads, and offsetting the cost of the Exhibeos system. However, all the advertising revenue was paid for by loans from Brican to Viso Lasik at $10,000 a unit, so they had no skin in the game. Moreover Viso Lasik had no offices in most of the locations where the leases were sold.

Issues of Case and Holding

The central issue decided by the Court was whether the lessees could, as a defense to the lessor’s claims, assert fraud on the part of the vendor which could be attributable to the lessor in any collection action.

The court concluded that the vendor’s fraud, if known by the lessor, could be asserted as a defense to the lease litigation. But experienced leasing lawyers already knew that answer.

Rationale

The Court had numerous problems with the Lessor.

Despite doing over $38 million dollars’ worth of leases, the Lessor did little or no underwriting of the Vendor. Indeed, the Vendor’s principals were previously involved in a well-publicized Ponzi scheme. Why wasn’t that picked up? Sheesh, a Google search would have discovered that.

No contact was ever made by the Lessor to any of the lessees, and had the Lessor contacted the lessees, it would have discovered that the lease was subject to a third party agreement, notwithstanding the fact that the Lessor had in its vendor agreement the standard clause that there are no other agreements or warranties with any customer relating to the equipment. So the lease assignments were all fraudulent from the get-go. Why weren’t the customers contacted to vet the Vendor?

In 2006, early on in the vendor relationship, the Lessor obtained an admission from the Vendor that the lease was subject to this ridiculous advertising set-off and the Vendor was legally obligated to buy back the contract, but did not have the financial resources to buy back the contracts. Inexplicably, the Lessor continued to fund deals like there was no tomorrow.

If anything, those damning facts caused fundings to increase!

No inquiry was made about the ridiculous advertiser, Viso Lasik which advertised but had no offices in most of the locations. The advertiser received a $10,000 cut from each unit. Why wasn’t the advertiser contacted?

The equipment and software only cost about $3,000, but was being sold for $24,000. Like NorVergence and Royal Links, the Lessor did not question the price tag of the equipment. I remember vividly a Royal Links trial where the trial judge had the lessor on the stand and inquired why a $500 cart was being sold for $10,000, and the lessor had no explanation why it didn’t make further inquiry into the cost of the equipment.

The Vendor was making advertising claims that the equipment was “free” and the Lessor knew about those claims in 2006. These claims are almost identical to the vendors’ claims in both Royal Links and NorVergence.

The advertiser, Viso Lasik, was paid $10,000 for each equipment sale in the form of a “loan.” Again, the Lessor never asked any questions why these loans were taking place. Such loans were disclosed to the Lessor in the form of financial statements of the vendor. Why didn’t the Lessor contact this mythical Advertiser and try to understand why it was receiving a huge cut of the proceeds?

Consequently, the Court ruled that the Lessor was not a holder in due course, was closely connected with the Vendor, and thus was saddled with the same defenses that the lessees would have which could be made against the Vendor.

Lessees won, Lessor lost. I’m not surprised.

The Battle is Not Over

Although this sounds like a class action, the Court refused to certify it as a class action leaving thousands of dentists to fund the action on their own.

No affirmative relief against the Lessor was allowed, due in part because most of the Lessees stopped paying when the Advertiser stopped paying. So the Lessees are left with very good defenses against any claim by the Lessor.

The Lessor still has lease claims against the Lessees but is saddled with all the fraud that the Vendor did. This is not a good thing for the Lessor.

The Lessor has indicated a desire to file a new lawsuit against some of the Lessees who referred the Vendor to their colleagues for a $400 fee. The theory is that if the Lessor knew or should have known about the Vendor’s fraud, the Lessees should have also known about the fraud. That seems like a bit of an eye roller to me, since the Lessees were not in the leasing business and could not have underwritten the Vendor or the advertiser in any meaningful way. The Court, in a transcript a few months ago, also expressed skepticism as to those claims. The transcript is attached for those who might have interest.

The Lessor, by its own admission, has spent three million dollars in attorney fees on this stupid case. The poor Plaintiff’s lawyer has incurred five million dollars in legal bills, and probably has the case on a contingency except for the modest retainers provided by some of the Lessees. How is he going to get paid?

The Brican defendants are foreign and one of the principals has a $14 million dollar Caribbean home. Good luck collecting on that.

My Analysis

The Lessor’s attorneys have their hands full. While in theory they can assert lease claims against the doctors, my experience in Royal Links and NorVergence cases taught me that judges and juries hate these cases, especially when the Lessors knew of the fraud and still continued to fund deals. I would be very surprised if the lease litigation is successful.

The Lessee’s attorneys also have their hands full. The class action was not certified, so assuming the Lessor wants to press the issue, the Lessees will face several hundred trials and potential exposure. While I don’t think the Lessees really face much liability, the cost of defense might be prohibitive and makes a good bargaining chip.

The Bottom Line

I’ve maintained for years that an equipment lessor with a large scale vendor program really has to vet the vendor thoroughly, including customer verification and detailed financials. Asking dumb questions like, “why are you selling a $3,000 computer for $24,000?” would have been a good starting point.

Perhaps, as Edmund Burke first said, “Those that don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Brican American LLC Equipment Litigation Case (26 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/BricanEquipmentLeaseLitigation2015.pdf

Brican America Transcript (95 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/BricanTranscript2015.pd

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/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for appraisals
and equipment valuations provided by Ed Castagna)

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Help Wanted Classified Ads

Cost
$595 four HTML lines
(note, a space is counted as a line)
$40 for each additional line or space

Logo or Graphic is free.

Website address, brief description underneath
is free.

The classified ad will appear for 21 days.

The idea is to attract an applicant to learn more, either to click to a full description on your web site or to a full job description attachment (free, no charge).

All "Help Wanted" ads go into the "Help Wanted" classified ad section, which appears in each news edition, and is well read. The ad will also appear on the web site for those who go directly to the web site section.

A "Help Wanted" ad appears at the top of the headlines in each edition in a chronological basis with other help wanted ads. The position cannot be purchased. The ad also continues to appear in the classified ad section in the news edition as well as the web site in addition to appearing above the headlines. If there is only one help wanted ad, a display ad may be utilized in the rotation basis as this position, meaning the one help wanted ad is not going to be on top in every edition.

Contact kitmenkin@leasingnews.org for more
information or to help word a classified ad.

Leasing News reserves the right to refuse advertising, particularly to a company that has appeared in the complaint bulletin board

“What to Bring to a Job Interview”
Career Crossroad---By Emily Fitzpatrick/RII

Question: What should I bring to my face-to-face interview?

Answer: For a face-to-face interview, you should prepare and/or bring
(1) An updated, marketable resume;
--- bring at least 2-3 copies to hand out to each interviewer
(2) Any employer reference letters you may have;
--- hand out to each interviewer
--- attach to your resume
(3) If you are interviewing for a sales / business development role, I strongly recommend bringing items that demonstrate a track record of success:
--- For example: Deal Logs, Pipeline Reports, W-2’s, etc…
(4) A list of questions that you have developed that will assist you in determining if this company / position is a good fit for you ( prepare on a legal pad and feel free to take notes during your interview(s).)
(5) Most importantly, present YOURSELF in the most professional manner.
Please let Emily know in submitting your questions or inquiry, if you would not like to be named as asking the question. She invites all questions or inquiries be addressed to: emily@riirecruit.com

Emily Fitzpatrick
Sr. Recruiter
Recruiters International, Inc.
Phone: 954-885-9241
Cell: 954-612-0567
emily@riirecruit.com
Invite me to Connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-fitzpatrick/4/671/76
Also follow us on Twitter #RIIINFO

Career Crossroads Previous Columnshttp://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/crossroad.html

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Leasing and Finance Association Membership
by Christopher Menkin

579		Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
460		National Association of Equipment and Leasing Brokers
279		Commercial Finance Association
+		Association of Government Leasing and Finance
226		Canadian Finance & Leasing Association
223		Certified Leasing Professional Foundation
207		National Equipment Finance Association

+ No March

These may also be considered year-end membership totals. While the three month period may bring in new members, those that have not renewed their membership are written off the roster by March 31, 2015. As a former longtime membership committee member, as well as three year chairman, this is the time that membership committees realize they are under the gun to bring in new members. I personally always liked the concept that it was up to each member of the association to bring in a new member to insure the growth and abilities of their business endeavors.

	Mar 31	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2003	2002	2001	2000
ELFA	579	576	574	583	565	582	604	700	741	768	817	780	732	862	873	850
NAELB	460	469	557	557	617	696	847	1021	1089	950	731	648	480	433	415	475
AGLFA	+	249	315	285	274	250	238	265	277	255	255	255	203	263	343	250
NEFA	207	205	207	193	191	210	274
EAEL		*	*	*	*	*	*	183	181	196	198	180	191	216	227	240
UAEL		*	*	*	*	*	*	289	314	314	314	297	248	378	379	589

+ No March, 2015 numbers.

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association had a very good year, up 5 members, and the cuts in category occur in Independent Finance Company down due to mergers and acquisitions. Conferences and meetings have been at an all-time high; for instance, the Funding Conference in Chicago, Illinois April 21-23 had 587 attendees, up from 550 the previous year, as well as 49 major funding sources. It looks like CEO Woody Sutton will leave the association in retirement at the end of the year in growth, as well into the good hands of COO Ralph Petta.

Company Type	31-Mar	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Accountant	7	8	9	7	6	7
Bank	122	110	97	81	77	92
Broker/Packager	7	8	8	9	11	13
Captive	67	60	64	60	65	56
Collection Agency	3	3	5	6	11	6
Consultant	32	27	27	21	28	34
Equipment Management	31	40	48	55	51	48
Executive Recruiter	4	3	2	2	3	3
Multi-Line Commercial Finance	46	52	54	62	69	72
Investment Bank	4	5	7	7	8	6
Insurance Company	7	5	6	4	5	7
Independent Finance Company	136	140	140	129	126	142
Law Firm	85	87	91	93	95	90
Publisher	3	2	2	2	1	1
Software Provider	23	24	23	24	26	27
	579	574	583	565	682	604

2 Unversity/Government	2 University Member

A new management company was hired by the board of directors, with a change in Executive Director recently. A “broker school” was started. Attendance at conferences has been good, as noted by the recent Phoenix, Arizona conference that reported 287 attendees. Perhaps the social media and growing business loans has cut into new brokers wanted to join the only association that does not have “finance” in its title.

	31-Mar	2015	2014	2013	2012
Associate	22	23	22	22	31
Broker	351	355	421	440	499
Additional Broker	0	0	1	4	5
Funding Source	87	91	102	91	82
Additional Funder	0	0	0	0	0
	460	469	557	557	617

	31-Mar	2015	2014	2012	2011	2010
Broker/Lessors	112	118	119	*	119	158
Funding Sources	40	41	41	*	36	51
Service Providers	55	46	47	*	55	62
	207	205	207	191	210	274

Brian Cove, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Finance Association, told Leasing News that the CFA March 31, 2015 count was 279 corporate members, with more than 5000 employees. What makes this organization more unique is that employees of each corporate member enjoy the benefits of CFA membership.

0331: 279
2015: 280
2014: 280
2013: 275
2012: 265

The members here are more involved in accounts receivable financing, asset financing, business loans, dealer financing, factoring, working capital, and other type asset loans than capital leases or operating leasing.

The merger with the National Funding Association brought many new professionals into “chapter meetings.”

	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Basic	64	113	106	100	99	9
Industry Leader	148	155	118	126	100	9
Individual/Government	12	20	20	18	22	24
Limited	20	22	35	26	25	22
Emeritus	5	5	5	4	4	4
	249	315	284	274	250	238

David Powell, President & Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Finance & Leasing Association, reports “The Association canadienne de financement et de location had 266 corporate members. There are no individual members. Year-end 2015, they had 280 members.

Certified Leasing and Finance Professionals (individuals)

0331: 223
2015: 213
2014: 199
2013: 173
2012: 168
2011: 174
2010: 159
2009: 182
2008: 179
2007: 204

The Equipment Financing and Leasing Foundation does not have members. It does have a board of directors as well as contributors but is not “membership organization.” It is under the wing of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. It is supported by donations.

http://www.leasefoundation.org/About/

--Honorable Mention---

Arizona Equipment Leasing Association at one time had an estimated 25 members. No official count is available at this time. The group is active. They get together for social and business meetings during the year, even invite speakers.

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(Terry retired January 1, 2015. To honor him and his many years of writing for readers of Leasing News, is repeating several of his columns that are still meaningful today. Here is February 13, 2012.)
---

Income and Tax Consequences for New Leasing Companies

Many lessors who develop a steady flow of business decide to retain some and start their own portfolio. This is a wonderful idea and can usually be supported by a local bank. However having your own business requires a back office with lease accounting capabilities with invoicing and collection requirements. The back office can be farmed out to companies such as ECS in Chicago for invoicing but collection remains an in-house requirement.

There are a number of Back Office companies, but many of them require a minimum and a new operation will not qualify. Leasing News has two groups, with a URL to those available located at the end of this article.

Capital Leases

In carrying your own portfolio, income will be different on retained deals because now you are subject to lease accounting. When you sell off a transaction, your income is up front. On transactions that you retain with bargain options the lease income will be under the interest method and spread out over the term. You will also need to establish a lease loss reserve that will be subtracted from your income up front. This lease loss reserve is a function of the quality and size of your leases. It will range from 2% of equipment cost to 6% or higher. It can be deducted from your tax income reporting.

Small transactions require a higher lease loss reserve because of the high cost of collection and legal costs. This is why some banks make their leasing operations part of the bank, instead of establishing a separate company, to tie into the banks loss reserve.

The loss reserve becomes less of a problem as leases pay off and no loss occurs. That reduces the need to add to the loss reserve unless it is used to offset an actual loss. That is why some new leasing companies try to have short term leases in the beginning, so the fast payoffs lowers loss potential and helps the loss reserve. However longer term leases have more income, so it is a hard decision to make.

You will also need to establish an “initial direct cost” account where commissions, credit investigation costs and other costs directly attributed to obtaining the transactions must be amortized over the term of the lease.

Therefore a lot of cash that is spent up front will be expensed over the term of the lease even though you have spent it now. Spreading the income over the term of the lease will require a large portfolio before the monthly income is high enough to sustain an internal operation.

It is generally recommended that if you have an existing leasing business that sells or assigns its lease business that entrance into your own portfolio should be slow and easy while retaining most of your current way of funding.

I have mentioned many times that it takes up to 34-36 months to create a profit. That’s a long time to live with monthly negative income not to mention the drain on cash flow.

To start a new venture in leasing you need to look at the type of leases you plan to fund and then create a budget showing accounting income and tax return effects. I recommend that after you determine the proposed volume … cut it in half and run the numbers again and plan for twice as much cash as you think you will need. That’s thirty five years of experience talking.

True Leases

If you retain true leases, then you have a tax form of income that requires a separate income analysis. All payments received from the lessee at the end of the year are listed as taxable income. The IRS depreciation tables allow for a percentage of the original cost to be depreciation and deducted from the payment income to determine actual taxable income. Because the depreciation is a set number and the lease payment stream could be variable each lease requires a review of the tax consequences to determine the lease payment. This requires a computer based pricing program to determine the correct payment.

In addition, the undepreciated tax balance must be computed because; if there is an early termination the amount of money required to take care of the accounting balance may create taxable income. Depreciation is accelerated and therefore most probably less than the accounting balance thereby creating taxable income. This additional tax must be added on to the balance thus raising the payoff and thus raising the tax and this goes on for a while.

This early termination value or a loss report from the computer based pricing program is called a “stipulated loss value”

One of the reasons true leases carry a “non-cancelable” clause is to avoid the tax problems of early termination. The loss report also covers equipment that is destroyed during the term. It should carry a statement that the loss of the equipment requires, as a loss value. The equipment’s then true fair market value or the stipulated value whichever is greater.

True leases also must meet many requirements and I recommend consulting with a CPA with leasing experience or an attorney whose staff can advise you on “operating leases.”

Back Office Companies
http://www.leasingnews.org/Ag_leasing/backoffice.htm

Classified Ads--Back Office Companies
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Outsourcing/Outsourcing.htm#sec3

Previous #102 Columns:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Leasing_102/Index.htm

Receivables Management LLC
John Kenny

• End of Lease Negotiations & Enforcement
• Third-Party Commercial Collections

john@jkrmdirect.com | ph 315-866-1167
www.jkrmdirect.com

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigative
reporting provided by John Kenny)

[headlines]
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##### Press Release ############################

Improvement in April/NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index

April’s economic report from the National Association of Credit Management shows slight growth, with the combined index increasing from 53.4 last month to 53.9.

Columbia, MD... The April report of the Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) improved by a fraction and rose to 53.9, comfortably above contraction territory. “It would appear that a collapsed energy sector, winter worries and trepidation regarding dollar values and the interest rate weighed pretty heavily on previous months,” said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D. “But most of these shouldn’t be issues by the summer.”

Upon receiving updated data for February and March, Kuehl revised some of the numbers and found them not as dramatically negative as originally reported. Hence, improvement in April from the updated data is only slight.

In the combined manufacturing and service sectors, the index of favorable factors increased from 58.3 in March to 59.8 in April. The categories of sales, new credit applications, dollar collections and amount of credit extended all showed increases. The index of unfavorable factors decreased slightly from 50.1 in March to 50.0 in April. Dollar amount beyond terms increased, while rejection of credit applications, disputes, dollar amount of customer deductions and filings for bankruptcies all decreased. Accounts placed for collection remained unchanged from March to April at 49.8.

Chris Kuehl, Ph.D.
NACM Economist

“This is a month with some mixed messages,” said Kuehl. “The year-over-year trend overall remained about as it has been and still seems to be a little volatile. Thus far, nearly all the blame can be laid at the feet of the index of unfavorable factors … Favorable factors are performing well as a group, but there are just too many unfavorable categories in the 40s right now.”

For a full breakdown of the manufacturing and service sector data and graphics, view the complete April 2015 report at http://web.nacm.org/CMI/PDF/CMIcurrent.pdf. CMI archives may also be viewed on NACM’s website at http://web.nacm.org/cmi/cmi.asp.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CREDIT MANAGEMENT
NACM, headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, supports more than 15,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry services, tools and information. NACM and its network of affiliated associations are the leading resource for credit and financial management information, education, products and services designed to improve the management of business credit and accounts receivable. NACM’s collective voice has influenced federal legislative policy results concerning commercial business and trade credit to our nation’s policy makers for more than 100 years, and continues to play an active part in legislative issues pertaining to business credit and corporate bankruptcy. NACM's annual Credit Congress & Exposition conference is the largest gathering of credit professionals in the world.

### Press Release ############################

News Briefs----

German Commerzbank to pay $260 Million Fine
http://www.lbfpartners.com/Publications/897e5085-29fb-4df1-bfd8-20771e28e904.pdf

Marlin Business Services' (MRLN) CEO Dan Dyer on Q1 2015 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3128116-marlin-business-services-mrln-ceo-dan-dyer-on-q1-2015-results-earnings-call-transcript

Key players in the Export-Import Bank fight
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/240836-key-players-in-the-export-import-bank-fight

Kansas businesses claim stake in debate over Export-Import Bank
http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article20149650.html

Rebranding could help Citizens Bank cash in locally
http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20150503/SUB1/305039991
/rebranding-could-help-citizens-bank-cash-in-locally

[headlines]
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--You May Have Missed It

QuickBooks Customers Using EzCheckPrinting
Check Writer Can Now Switch To Avoid Unwanted Fees
http://www.prweb.com/releases/Business-Checks/Business-Software/prweb12687079.htm

[headlines]
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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

Movie Theater Snack Attack!
Two Thumbs Up or Blockbuster Diet Disaster?
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=808

[headlines]
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Baseball Poem---

Alone At The Plate

( Inside the front cover of the book “You Can Teach Hitting,” by Dusty Baker, there appears this poem about a Little Leaguer...)

He pulls on a helmet, picks up the bat, and walks to the plate, "gotta hit and that's that."

The crowd starts to yell, the game's on the line, last inning, two outs, the score's nine to nine.

Dad yells, "Go get it," Mom wrings her hands, coach hollers, "hit it," but alone there he stands.

Heros are made in seconds such as this, but he's just a little boy, what if he should miss?

Years after this game's ended and he's little no more, will he remember the outcome or even the score?

No he'll have forgotten if he was out, hit, or a run, he'll only look back on his friends and the fun.

So cheer this boy on, alone with his fate;help him remember with fondness this stand at the plate.

Spend your time wisely and help in his quest to be a hitter with confidence and always his best.

And when the game's over, this boy can stand tall, for you've helped him prepare to give it his all!

[headlines]
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Sports Briefs----

NFL Draft Winners and Losers
http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/05/02/2015-nfl-draft-grades-winners-losers

Did Mayweather-Pacquiao Live Up to the Hype?
http://www.boston.com/sports/boxing/2015/05/03/did-mayweather-pacquiao-live-the-hype/3iM0haGtCsBBdnA2hqOzvJ/story.html

First Hawaiian Bank signs Heisman winner Marcus Mariota to endorsement deal
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2015/05/first-hawaiian-bank-signs-heisman-winner-marcus.html

Cowboys draft gives them Super Bowl pass rush if stupidity doesn't get in way
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/rick-gosselin/20150502-gosselin-cowboys-draft-gives-them-super-bowl-pass-rush-if-stupidity-doesn-t-get-in-way.ece

Warriors beat Grizzlies 101-86 in Game 1 of West semifinals
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/3886379-181/warriors-beat-grizzlies-101-86-in

Warriors star Stephen Curry to be named NBA MVP
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/article20151363.html

[headlines]
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California Nuts Briefs---

April state income tax revenue blows past Jerry Brown’s estimate
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article20047671.html

[headlines]
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“Gimme that Wine”

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

INE 101 [Kindle Edition] Free
http://www.amazon.com/WINE-101-Byron-Bennett-ebook/dp/B00BN2JI0W

Jackson Family Wines Collaborates with Tesla Energy
to Pilot Stationary Energy Storage Systems
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jackson-family-wines-collaborates-tesla-044500977.html

Champagne and Burgundy titan Joseph Henriot dies
http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/05/champagne-and-burgundy-titan-joseph-henriot-dies/

Banke on that: Jackson Family Wines chairman
and proprietor Barbara R. Banke
http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/04/banke-on-that/

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

[headlines]
----------------------------------------------------------------

     1493 - Spanish Pope Alexander VI divided the land they called “America” between Spain and Portugal (it was basically the Caribbean Islands).
    1494 - Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica. The Arawak Indians were its first inhabitants. This was his second journey. On his first, he basically discovered Cuba, and on his third, Trinidad, and on his fifth trip, 1502-1504, Martinique, exploring the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. He brought a lot of slaves back to Spain, his main find in the islands.
    1626 - Dutch colonist Peter Minuit arrived on the wooded island of Manhattan in present-day New York. He later bought Manhattan for $24, but from a tribe in Brooklyn, almost like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The story has been repeated so many times school children believe the borough was bought for beads. Ironically, the Dutch had already established the town of New Amsterdam at the southern end of the island. The American Indians had no comprehension of land ownership. Shortly thereafter, most of them were wiped out by small pox, influenza, and a host of diseases brought from Europe, against which they had no immunity.
(lower half: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html )
    1715 – The first folding umbrella debuted in France.
    1746 - The Moravians in Pennsylvania established the Moravian Women's Seminary at Bethlehem. It was the first educational institution of its kind established by the "Unitas Fratrum" in (colonial) America.
    1776 - Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
    1780 - American Academy of Arts & Science founded
    1796 - Birthday of Horace Mann at Franklin, MA. American educator, author, public servant, known as the "father of public education in the US". Founder of Westfield (MA) State College and editor of the influential Common School Journal. Historian Ellwood P. Cubberley asserted: “No one did more than he to establish in the minds of the American people the conception that education should be universal, non-sectarian, free, and that its aims should be social efficiency, civic virtue, and character, rather than mere learning or the advancement of sectarian ends.” Mann died at Yellow Springs, OH, Aug 2, 1859.
    1805 - Henry C Overing bought 80 acres of Throggs Neck in The Bronx.
    1846 – Michigan outlawed the death penalty.
    1850 - A second Great San Francisco Fire broke out in the United States Exchange, a saloon and gambling house. The fire burned 300 building s and caused $4,000,000 damage. At about 4:00 AM, a suspicious fire erupted in a building on the east side of the United States Exchange, a drinking and gambling house built where Dennision's Exchange once stood. Before 11:00 AM, the conflagration consumed the block between Kearny, Clay, Washington, and Jackson. Again, dynamite and rope saved the city from complete destruction. With ashes still hot and smoking, the first evidence of arson was found. Within ten days San Franciscans had rebuilt half of their Phoenix City.
http://www.sffiremuseum.org/history/fires.html
It is interesting that on the same date, one year later, the 5th Great Fire almost destroyed San Francisco. The entire business district was destroyed in 10 hours, engulfing 18 Blocks and 2,000 buildings.
The 1906 Great Earthquake was not the cause of the major damage. It was the fire that was created by the quake that devastated the city.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/5-51fire.html
    1861 – At Gretna, LA one of the first guns of the Confederate Navy was cast.
    1863 – A defeated Union Army withdraws from the Battle of Chancellorsville.
    1864 - General Grant's Army of the Potomac attacks at Rappahannock, crosses the Rapidan and begins his duel with Robert E Lee.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?pp/cwp:@field(NUMBER
+@band(cwpb+01175))
http://www.civilwar-va.com/virginia/va-central/1864tour.html
    1864 - Over the objections of President Lincoln, the House of Representatives on this date passed the Wade-Davis Reconstruction bill, containing stiff punitive measures against the South that, if put into law, would have destroyed Lincoln's more moderate reconstruction aims. The bill was also adamantly opposed by Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens, for whom it was insufficiently severe in its treatment of the Southern rebels. Lincoln eventually killed the bill by using the pocket veto. When Andrew Johnson became President, following Lincoln's assassination, he basically abandoned all Lincoln's reconstruction plans and set up to punish the South.
    1871 – History recorded the first baseball game of the National Association of Baseball Players. Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0 as Deacon Jim White got the first hit, a double.
    1886 - Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter received a US patent for the Graphophone. This invention replaced Thomas Edison's phonograph, and featured wax-coated cylinders. These were considered an improvement over the phonograph's tinfoil cylinders, which had been delicate and difficult to remove.
    1891 - The first hospital open to all races as a matter of policy was the Provident Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Although primarily for African-Americans, there was no racial barrier to the admission of patients or staff appointments of physicians. Dr. Frank Billings was chief consulting physician. Dr. Christian Fenger, chief consulting surgeon; and Drs. Ralph N. Isham and Daniel Hall Williams, attending surgeons. A nursing school, the Provident Hospital Training School Association, was connected with the hospital.
    1893 - Cowboy Bob Pickett invented bulldogging
    1894 - Bird Day was observed for the first time. Bird Day is a holiday established by Oil City, PA school superintendent Charles Babcock.   It was the first holiday in the United States dedicated to the celebration of birds. Babcock intended it to advance bird conservation as a moral value
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may04.html
    1896 - Labor union unrest at Chicago led to violence when a crowd of unemployed men tried to enter the McCormick Reaper Works, where a strike was underway. Although no one was killed, anarchist groups called a mass meeting in Haymarket Square to avenge the “massacre”. When the police advanced on the demonstrators, a bomb was thrown and several policemen were killed. Four leaders of the demonstration were hanged and another committed suicide in jail. Three others were given jail terms. The case aroused considerable controversy around the world.
   1904 – The US began construction of the Panama Canal.
    1905 - Honky Tonk singer Al Dexter was born in Jacksonville, Texas. He perfected his style in the oil-boom dance halls of East Texas. And he recorded one of the first songs to have the word "honky tonk" in its title, "Honky Tonk Blues." Dexter, who died in 1984, is best known as the composer of the wartime hit, "Pistol Packin' Mama."
    1907 - Birthday of Mary Agness Hallaren - U.S. military commander. With the rank of captain, she commanded the first WAC battalion of women to go overseas in World War II. She became director of the WACS in May, 1947. On June 12, 1948 when the Armed Services Integration Act went into effect and the WACS became a component of the Regular Army, Col. Hallaren became the first woman to receive a commission in the Regular Army. She retired from the Army in 1960 and, in 1965, she became director of the Women in Community Service division of the U.S. Labor Department.
    1909 - Tel Aviv founded. In 1910, the suburb was named Tel Aviv after Nahum Sokolow's translation of Altneuland, Herzl's fictional depiction of the Jewish State.
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/dev/ta1.htm
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/aliyah/aliya2b.htm
http://alpha.furman.edu/~mcknight/cr9.htm
http://www.ddtravel-acc.com/tel.htm
    1910 - Congress required every passenger ship or other ships carrying 50 persons or more, leaving any port of United States, to be equipped with a radio (powerful enough to transmit to a 100-mile radius) and a qualified operator.
    1917 – Arabs sacked Tel Aviv.
    1918 – The Yankees set a Major League record with 8 sacrifice bunts on the way to defeating Babe Ruth and the Red Sox, 5-4.
    1919 – In the first legal Sunday baseball game in NYC, the Phillies beat the Giants 4-3 before a crowd of 35,000 at the Polo Grounds.
    1923 – New York revoked Prohibition
    1925 – The League of Nations conferred on arms control and poison gas usage
    1926 - Drummer Sonny Payne birthday, New York City. Best known for “Atomic Bomb” Basie album. Died Jan 29, 1979 in Los Angeles, CA
http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/Payne/payne.htm
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,477721,00.html?artist=
Sonny+Payne
    1928 - Canadian jazz trumpet player, “screamer,” Maynard Ferguson was born in Montreal. He went to the US at the age of 20, playing in the big bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Charlie Barnett and Stan Kenton. Ferguson won the Down Beat magazine readers' poll for trumpet in 1950, '51 and '52. He later formed his own big band, which in the 1970's turned in a jazz-rock direction. Ferguson's recording of "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from "Rocky," was a major hit single in 1977.
http://www.gr8music.com/Ferguson%2C_Maynard/mf-bio.html
http://www.maynard.ferguson.net/
http://www.super8filmmaking.com/maynard/maynard.htm
    1929 - Birthday of Audrey Hepburn near Brussels, Belgium. Her first major movie role in “Roman Holiday” (1953) won her an Academy Award as Best Actress. Her real name was Edda Van Heemstra Hepburn-Rusten. She made 26 movies during her career and received four additional Oscar nominations. During the latter years of her life, Hepburn served as spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Fund, traveling worldwide raising money for the organization. Audrey Hepburn died Jan 20, 1993, at Tolochenaz, Switzerland. Even when dying of cancer, she traded ceaselessly in Third World countries, always for the children, never stinting, giving everything she had. Answering a reporter's question about why she worked so hard for UNICEF, she answered simply, "I do not want to see mothers and fathers digging graves for their children." One can only guess that she saw too much of that when as a girl she was accidentally trapped in Holland during World War II. She suffered extreme hardships during the war and several of her relatives and friends were executed by the Nazis. She acted as a courier for the underground. She even had to eat tulip bulbs when food supplies ran out or they were confiscated by the Germans just before the Allied troops freed the Netherlands.
    1929 – Lou Gehrig hit three consecutive HRs as the Yanks beat the Tigers, 11-9.
    1932 - Public Enemy Number One, Al Capone, was jailed - in the Atlanta Penitentiary - for tax evasion.
    1937 - Bassist Ron Carter birthday, Ferndale, MI
http://www.roncarter.net/officialSite.html
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/carter_ron/bio.jhtml
    1937 – Dick Dale born Richard Anthony Monsour in Boston. Known as The King of the Surf Guitar, he pioneered the surf music style, drawing on Eastern musical scales and experimenting with reverberation. He worked closely with Fender to produce custom made amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.   He pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop new equipment that was capable of producing distorted, "thick, clearly defined tones" at "previously undreamed-of volumes." The "breakneck speed of his single-note staccato picking technique" as well as his showmanship with the guitar is considered a precursor to heavy metal, influencing guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. Dale died in Dec, 2014.
    1940 - Duke Ellington bad records “Cotton Tail,” “Don't Get Around Much Anymore” for Victor.
    1942 - *POWERS, JOHN JAMES, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, U.S. Navy. Born: 13 July 1912, New York City, N.Y. Accredited to: New York. Other Navy award: Air Medal with 1 gold star. Citation: For distinguished and conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, while pilot of an airplane of Bombing Squadron 5, Lt. Powers participated, with his squadron, in 5 engagements with Japanese forces in the Coral Sea area and adjacent waters during the period 4 to 8 May 1942. Three attacks were made on enemy objectives at or near Tulagi on 4 May. In these attacks he scored a direct hit which instantly demolished a large enemy gunboat or destroyer and is credited with 2 close misses, 1 of which severely damaged a large aircraft tender, the other damaging a 20,000-ton transport. He fearlessly strafed a gunboat, firing all his ammunition into it amid intense antiaircraft fire. This gunboat was then observed to be leaving a heavy oil slick in its wake and later was seen beached on a nearby island. On 7 May, an attack was launched against an enemy airplane carrier and other units of the enemy's invasion force. He fearlessly led his attack section of 3 Douglas Dauntless dive bombers, to attack the carrier. On this occasion he dived in the face of heavy antiaircraft fire, to an altitude well below the safety altitude, at the risk of his life and almost certain damage to his own plane, in order that he might positively obtain a hit in a vital part of the ship, which would insure her complete destruction. This bomb hit was noted by many pilots and observers to cause a tremendous explosion engulfing the ship in a mass of flame, smoke, and debris. The ship sank soon after. That evening, in his capacity as Squadron Gunnery Officer, Lt. Powers gave a lecture to the squadron on point-of-aim and diving technique. During this discourse he advocated low release point in order to insure greater accuracy; yet he stressed the danger not only from enemy fire and the resultant low pull-out, but from own bomb blast and bomb fragments. Thus his low-dive bombing attacks were deliberate and premeditated, since he well knew and realized the dangers of such tactics, but went far beyond the call of duty in order to further the cause which he knew to be right. The next morning, 8 May, as the pilots of the attack group left the ready room to man planes, his indomitable spirit and leadership were well expressed in his own words, "Remember the folks back home are counting on us. 1 am going to get a hit if 1 have to lay it on their flight deck.'' He led his section of dive bombers down to the target from an altitude of 18,000 feet, through a wall of bursting antiaircraft shells and into the face of enemy fighter planes. Again, completely disregarding the safety altitude and without fear or concern for his safety, Lt. Powers courageously pressed home his attack, almost to the very deck of an enemy carrier and did not release his bomb until he was sure of a direct hit. He was last seen attempting recovery from his dive at the extremely low altitude of 200 feet, and amid a terrific barrage of shell and bomb fragments, smoke, flame and debris from the stricken vessel.
    1942 – The Battle of Coral Sea begins in the Pacific. This was the first sea battle fought solely in the air, between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air forces.
    1945 – German Adm. Donitz sends envoys to the headquarters of Field Marshal Montgomery, at Luneburg Heath, and they sign an agreement, at 1820 hrs, for the surrender of German forces in Holland, Denmark and northern Germany. The Germans also agree to the Allied demand that German submarines should be surrendered rather than scuttled -- in the German naval tradition. The surrender becomes effective on May 5th. Meanwhile, in continuing fighting to the south, Salzburg is captured by American forces. Other units push into Czechoslovakia toward Pilsen. German forces conduct rearguard actions, in northern Germany, in Czechoslovakia and Austria, as the bulk of the German forces attempt to disengage and reach the Anglo-American lines.
    1948 - Twenty-five-year-old Norman Mailer's first novel, “The Naked and the Dead”, is published. The book, which closely chronicles the lives of 13 soldiers stationed in the Pacific, presents a fictional story with precise, journalistic detail.
    1951 - The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to raise the maximum strength of the Marine Corps to 400,000 -- double its strength at the time. The bill also made the Commandant of the Marine Corps a consultant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
    1956 - Top Hits
“Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One” - Elvis Presley
“Moonglow and Theme from 'Picnic'” - Morris Stoloff
“Standing on the Corner” - The Four Lads
“Blue Suede Shoes” - Carl Perkins
    1956 - Gene Vincent and his group, The Blue Caps, recorded "Be-Bop-A Lula" for Capitol Records in Los Angeles. Interesting note: Vincent had written the tune only three days before he auditioned in a record company talent search that won him first place. The record was rush-released just two days later and became a rock and roll classic. Vincent recorded two other charted songs in 1957 and 1958: "Lotta Lovin'" and "Dance to the Bop".
    1957 - "The Alan Freed Show" debuted on ABC-TV. The legendary disc jockey's rock 'n' roll variety show was cancelled some months later after black teenage singer Frankie Lymon was shown dancing with a white girl.
    1959 - The first Grammy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Record of the year and song of the year was "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" - better known as "Volare" - by Domenico Modugno. Henry Mancini won the Album of the Year award for "The Music from Peter Gunn" and the Kingston Trio won the first country Grammy for "Tom Dooley."
    1960 - The birth control pill was approved by the FDA in the U.S. It was developed at the Worcester Center for Experimental Biology. The work was financed by Katherine McCormick who gave the center $150,000 a year from 1953 on to develop an oral contraceptive. McCormick was the second woman graduate of M.I.T. She married into the McCormick family and took over the International Harvester business when her husband became hopelessly insane.
    1961 - Militant students joined James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to conduct “freedom rides” on public transportation from Washington, DC, across the Deep South to New Orleans. The trips were intended to test Supreme Court decisions and Interstate Commerce Commission regulations prohibiting discrimination in interstate travel. In several places, riders were brutally beaten by local people and policemen. On May 14, members of the Ku Klux Klan attacked the Freedom Riders in Birmingham, Alabama while local police watched. In Mississippi, Freedom Riders were jailed. They never made it to New Orleans. The rides were patterned after a similar challenge to segregation, the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation, which tested the US Supreme Court's June 3, 1946 ban against segregation in interstate bus travel.
    1963 - Andy Williams's album, “Days of Wine and Roses”, hit the Number 1 spot on the LP pop chart, and stayed there for 16 weeks.
    1963 - The Beach Boys "Surfin U.S.A." LP debuts on the charts.
    1964 - Top Hits
“Can't Buy Me Love” - The Beatles
“Hello Dolly!” - Louis Armstrong
“Bits and Pieces” - The Dave Clark Five
“My Heart Skips a Beat” - Buck Owens
    1964 - “Another World, “created by lrna Phillips and sponsored by P&G, this soap was set in fictional Bay City. It was the first soap to air for a full hour and the first to beget two spin-offs (“Somerset” and “Texas”). Charles Durning, Ted Shackelford, Eric Roberts, Ray Liotta, Kyra Sedgwick, Faith Ford, Morgan Freeman, Jackëe Harry, Victoria Wyndham and Valarie Pettiford are some of its well-known alums. The show was cancelled in 1999 and the last episode aired June 25, 1999.
    1964 - The Beatles set a "Billboard" magazine Top 100 chart all-time record when, today, all five of the top songs were by the British rock group. The Beatles also had the number one album with "Meet the Beatles", the top album from February 15 through May 2, when it was replaced by "The Beatles Second Album". During the first three months of 1964, it was estimated The Beatles accounted for 60 percent of the entire singles record business. The top five Beatles singles, setting the record, were: 1) “Can't Buy Me Love”, 2) “Twist and Shout”, 3) “She Loves You”, 4) “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, 5) “Please Please Me”.
    1964 - Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder formed an R&B group, the Moody Blues, named after Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo".
    1966 - Simon and Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock" enters the Hot 100. During its eleven week chart run, it will peak at #3.
    1966 - Del Shannon enters the Billboard Hot 100 for the 16th time with "The Big Hurt", which will stall at #94.
    1966 - The Mamas and Papas hit #1 in the US with "Monday, Monday", a song that the group would later admit that they didn't really like.
    1967 - The Turtles receive their first of two Gold singles for their recent #1 Pop hit, "Happy Together". Their second Gold single will come later for "She'd Rather Be with Me".
    1968 - FOURNET, DOUGLAS B., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Place and date: A Shau Valley, Republic of Vietnam, 4 May 1968. Entered service at: New Orleans, La. Born: 7 May 1943, Lake Charles, La. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Fournet, Infantry, distinguished himself in action while serving as rifle platoon leader of the 2d Platoon, Company B. While advancing uphill against fortified enemy positions in the A Shau Valley, the platoon encountered intense sniper fire, making movement very difficult. The right flank man suddenly discovered an enemy claymore mine covering the route of advance and shouted a warning to his comrades. Realizing that the enemy would also be alerted, 1st Lt. Fournet ordered his men to take cover and ran uphill toward the mine, drawing a sheath knife as he approached it. With complete disregard for his safety and realizing the imminent danger to members of his command, he used his body as a shield in front of the mine as he attempted to slash the control wires leading from the enemy positions to the mine. As he reached for the wire the mine was detonated, killing him instantly. Five men nearest the mine were slightly wounded, but 1st Lt. Fournet's heroic and unselfish act spared his men of serious injury or death. His gallantry and willing self-sacrifice are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1968 - Top British model Twiggy saw a performance by an 18 year old Welsh singer named Mary Hopkin and immediately recommended her to Paul McCartney as a possible addition to the Apple Records roster. Six months later, Hopkin's first record, "Those Were the Days", was sitting behind "Hey Jude" in the number 2 position.
    1970 - Still fresh in the minds of students who were attending college during this time are four students - Allison Krause, 19; Sandra Lee Scheuer, 20; Jeffrey Glenn Miller, 20; and William K. Schroeder, 19 – who were killed by the Ohio National Guard during demonstrations against the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Ohio. After seeing the photos later that week in Life magazine, Neil Young immediately writes the song "Ohio," which Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young will record the next day.
    1972 - Top Hits
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack
“I Gotcha” - Joe Tex
“Betcha By Golly, Wow” - The Stylistics
“Chantilly Lace” - Jerry Lee Lewis
    1973 - Led Zeppelin open their 1973 U.S. tour, which is billed as the "biggest and most profitable rock & roll tour in the history of the United States." A group spokesman predicts the group will gross over $3 million.
    1974 - The first skyscraper higher than 1,400 feet in height was the 110-story Sears Building of Sears, Roebuck and Company, measuring 1,454 feet high located on Jackson Boulevard between Adams and Franklin streets in Chicago.
http://www.sears-tower.com/index.html
http://www.the-skydeck.com/homeDefault.htm
    1975 - Baseball's One Millionth Run. Bob Watson of the Houston Astros raced around the bases on Milt May's home run against the San Francisco Giants and crossed the plate with what was declared to be the one millionth run scored in major league baseball history. Watson's hustle paid off. Davey Concepcion of the Cincinnati Reds scored another run in a different game in a different city seconds later.
    1976 - The Illinois Legislature declares today as Rick Monday Day because of his patriotic gesture of saving the American flag from being burned in Los Angeles by two fans in center field in Dodger Stadium. He was playing CF for the visiting Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, when two protestors ran into the outfield and tried to set fire to an American flag. Monday dashed over and grabbed the flag to thunderous cheers. He handed the flag to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau, and the ballpark police officers arrested the two intruders.
    1976 - KISS performs their first concert in their hometown of New York City.
    1978 - Jefferson Starship receives a platinum record for what will be their last LP with Grace Slick and Marty Balin. Just a few weeks later, both are gone and the band has to be revamped.
    1980 - Top Hits
“Call Me” - Blondie
“Ride like the Wind” - Christopher Cross
“Lost in Love” - Air Supply
“Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again” - Debby Boone
    1980 - An acoustic performance by the East Los Angeles band Los Lobos brought a hostile response from an Olympic Auditorium audience who came to hear Punk music. Opening for Public Image Ltd, the group was bombarded with bottles and other debris. It would take seven more years for the band to crack the Hot 100 with a couple of Richie Valens songs, "La Bamba" (#1) and "Come On, Let's Go" (#21).
    1988 - Top Hits
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go” - Whitney Houston
“Wishing Well” - Terence Trent D'Arby
“Angel” - Aerosmith
“It's Such a Small World” - Rodney Crowell & Rosanne Cash
    1989 - Col. Oliver North was found guilty in the investigations into the Iran-Contra affair.
    1991 - Indians' first baseman Chris James establishes the club record for RBIs by driving in nine runs with a pair of homers and two singles, helping Cleveland to crush the A's, 20-6.
    1994 - Top Hits
“The Sign” - Ace of Base
“Bump N Grind” - R. Kelly
“The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” - The Artist
“Return to Innocence” - Enigma
    1995- Twenty-five years after the Kent State Massacre, Peter, Paul, and Mary played a commemorative concert at the university, performing Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind."
    1998 - The Clinton administration invoked sanctions against North Korea and Pakistan for a secret 1997 missile deal. Pakistan’s military named the acquired missile, Ghauri, after a famous Muslim warrior who slew a Hindu emperor named Prithvi, the name of a Russian made Indian missile.
    1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento gave “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepted a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
    1999 - Top Hits
“Livin La Vida Loca” - Ricky Martin
“No Scrubs” - TLC
“Kiss Me” - Sixpence None the Richer
“Every Morning” - Sugar Ray
    2006 - A federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
    2007 – Greensburg, KS was almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita Scale.
    2008 – Seth MacFarlane reached an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on television until 2012, making MacFarlane the world's highest paid television writer.
    2008 - Martha Reeves' home in Detroit was burglarized and one million dollars' worth of recording equipment stolen. In just a few hours, the perpetrator was caught while attempting to hock the merchandise for $400.

Stanley Cup Champions
1969 - Montreal Canadiens

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