Marco G. Fiore, Jr., Benjamin V. Salmonese, Jr., Thomas Deceglie, And David C. Lavender

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 48905 / December 11, 2003

Admin. Proc. File No. 3-11350

In the Matter of MARCO G. FIORE, JR., BENJAMIN V. SALMONESE, JR., THOMAS DECEGLIE, AND DAVID C. LAVENDER, Respondents.

: : : : : : : : : : :

ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS

I.

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") against Marco G. Fiore, Jr. ("Fiore"), Benjamin V. Salmonese, Jr. ("Salmonese"), Thomas DeCeglie ("DeCeglie"), and David C. Lavender ("Lavender") (collectively "the Respondents").

II.

In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, the Respondents have submitted Offers of Settlement (the "Offers") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over them and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III. A. 2 and 4, B. 2 and 4, C. 2 and 4, and D. 2 and 4 below, which are admitted, Respondents consent to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions ("Order"), as set forth below.

III.

On the basis of this Order and Respondents' Offers, the Commission finds that:

A. Mark G. Fiore, Jr.

1. Fiore is 37 years old and is currently incarcerated in the Allenwood Federal Prison Camp located in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. From September 1995 through April 1996, Fiore was a registered representative of Nationwide Securities Corporation ("Nationwide"), a broker-dealer registered with the Commission, and a de facto control person of Nationwide's branch office located at 110 Wall Street, New York, New York ("Nationwide-NY").

2. On November 20, 2003, a final judgment by consent was entered against Fiore, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M, in the civil action entitled SEC v. Marco G. Fiore, Jr., et al., 00 Civ. 9422, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ("SEC v. Fiore").

3. The Commission's complaint alleges that, among other things, between approximately January 1996 and March 1996, Fiore, acting individually and as a control person of Nationwide-NY, employed a variety of fraudulent sales practices in connection with the 1996 initial public offering of Thermo-Mizer Environmental Corp. ("Thermo-Mizer"), including making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors, first to sell Thermo-Mizer securities and then to inflate artificially the aftermarket price of those securities so that Fiore and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profits.

4. On December 28, 2001, Fiore pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery, in violation of Title 15 United States Code, Sections 77q(a) and 77(x) and Title 18 United States Code, Section 371 before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in United States v. Marco G. Fiore, 00 Cr 1267 ("U.S. v. Fiore"). On June 10, 2002, a judgment in the criminal case was entered against Fiore. He was sentenced to a prison term of 51 months followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution, jointly and severally with Salmonese, in the amount of $10,773,461.

5. The counts of the criminal information to which Fiore pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that Fiore, together with others, knowingly and willfully agreed to engage in a scheme or artifice to defraud by making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors in order to manipulate artificially the market price and demand for Thermo-Mizer securities and that he used wire communication as a means to transmit writings, signs, signals, and sounds for the purpose of executing his scheme or artifice to defraud so that Fiore and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profit.

B. Benjamin V. Salmonese, Jr.

1. Salmonese is 34 years old and is currently incarcerated in the New York Metropolitan Correctional Center located in New York, New York. From October 1995 through April 1996, Salmonese was a registered representative of Nationwide, a broker-dealer registered with the Commission, and a de facto control person of Nationwide-NY.

2. On November 20, 2003, a final judgment by consent was entered against Salmonese, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M, in the civil action entitled SEC v. Fiore.

3. The Commission's complaint alleges that, among other things, between approximately January 1996 and March 1996, Salmonese, acting individually and as a control person of Nationwide-NY, employed a variety of fraudulent sales practices in connection with the 1996 initial public offering of Thermo-Mizer, including making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors, first to sell Thermo-Mizer securities and then to inflate artificially the aftermarket price of those securities so that Salmonese and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profits.

4. On August 13, 2001, Salmonese pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery, in violation of Title 15 United States Code, Sections 77q(a) and 77(x) and Title 18 United States Code, Section 371 before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in U.S. v. Fiore. On June 28, 2002, a judgment in the criminal case was entered against Salmonese. He was sentenced to a prison term of 49 months followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution, jointly and severally with Fiore, in the amount of $10,773,461.

5. The counts of the criminal information to which Salmonese pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that Salmonese, together with others, knowingly and willfully agreed to engage in a scheme or artifice to defraud by making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors in order to manipulate artificially the market price and demand for Thermo-Mizer securities and that he used wire communication as a means to transmit writings, signs, signals, and sounds for the purpose of executing his scheme and artifice to defraud so that Salmonese and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profit.

C. Thomas DeCeglie

1. DeCeglie is 41 years old and currently resides in Old Bridge, New Jersey. From October 1995 through June 1996, DeCeglie was a registered representative of Nationwide, a broker-dealer registered with the Commission, and worked at Nationwide-NY.

2. On November 20, 2003, a final judgment by consent was entered against DeCeglie, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M, in the civil action entitled SEC v. Fiore.

3. The Commission's complaint alleged that, among other things, between approximately January 1996 and March 1996, DeCeglie, acting individually and as a registered representative of Nationwide-NY, employed a variety of fraudulent sales practices in connection with the 1996 initial public offering of Thermo-Mizer, including making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors, first to sell Thermo-Mizer securities and then to inflate artificially the aftermarket price of those securities so that DeCeglie and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profits.

4. On August 8, 2001, DeCeglie pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery, in violation of Title 15 United States Code, Sections 77q(a) and 77(x) and Title 18 United States Code, Section 371 before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in U.S. v. Fiore. On January 14, 2002, a judgment in the criminal case was entered against DeCeglie. He was sentenced to a prison term of 18 months followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution, in the amount of $202,872.

5. The counts of the criminal information to which DeCeglie pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that DeCeglie, together with others, knowingly and willfully agreed to engage in a scheme or artifice to defraud by making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors in order to manipulate artificially the market price and demand for Thermo-Mizer securities and that he used wire communication as a means to transmit writings, signs, signals, and sounds for the purpose of executing his scheme or artifice to defraud so that DeCeglie and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profit.

D. David C. Lavender

1. Lavender is 33 years old and is currently incarcerated in the Allenwood Federal Prison Camp located in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. He was a registered representative of Nationwide, a broker-dealer registered with the Commission, and worked at Nationwide-NY from January 1996 through April 1996.

2. On November 20, 2003, a final judgment by consent was entered against Lavender, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M, in the civil action entitled SEC v. Fiore.

3. The Commission's complaint alleges that, among other things, between approximately January 1996 and March 1996, Lavender, acting individually and as a registered representative of Nationwide-NY, employed a variety of fraudulent sales practices in connection with the 1996 initial public offering of Thermo-Mizer, including making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors, first to sell Thermo-Mizer securities and then to inflate artificially the aftermarket price of those securities so that Lavender and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profits.

4. On August 8, 2001, Lavender pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery, in violation of Title 15 United States Code, Sections 77q(a) and 77(x) and Title 18 United States Code, Section 371 before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in U.S. v. Fiore. On January 14, 2002, a judgment in the criminal case was entered against Lavender. He was sentenced to a prison term of 30 months followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to make restitution, in the amount of $202,872.

5. The counts of the criminal information to which Lavender pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that Lavender, together with others, knowingly and willfully agreed to engage in a scheme or artifice to defraud by making misstatements and omissions of material fact to investors in order to manipulate artificially the market price and demand for Thermo-Mizer securities and that he used wire communication as a means to transmit writings, signs, signals, and sounds for the purpose of executing his scheme or artifice to defraud so that Lavender and others could sell their undisclosed holdings of Thermo-Mizer securities and obtain illegal profit.

IV.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions specified in the Respondents' Offers.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:

Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondents Fiore, Salmonese, DeCeglie, and Lavender be, and hereby are barred from association with any broker or dealer.

Any reapplication for association by the Respondents will be subject to the applicable laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following: (a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondents, whether or not the Commission has fully or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order.

By the Commission.