SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                                   Washington, D.C.

             LITIGATION RELEASE NO.  15719  / April 23, 1998

             SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION  v.  MARC A. OSHEROFF,
             BARRY GESSER, ROBERT S. MITCHELL, GLEN T. VITTOR, and
             SHELDON MASCHLER, Civil Action No. 98-914-Civ-Hoeveler (S.D.
             Fla. ).

                  The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a
             microcap market manipulation case involving the securities
             of Alter Sales Co., Inc. ("ASI"), a Florida distributor of
             automotive parts and accessories.  Named as defendants are
             Marc A. Osheroff, 42, former president and CEO of ASI; Barry
             Gesser, 35, formerly ASI's public relations agent; Robert S.
             Mitchell, 43, a former ASI employee and business partner of
             Osheroff; Glen T. Vittor, 36, formerly President of
             Sovereign Equity Management Corp., a registered broker-
             dealer;  and Sheldon Maschler, 53, formerly a broker at
             Datek Securities Corp.  The Complaint seeks orders
             permanently enjoining all the defendants from violations of
             Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933;
             permanently enjoining Osheroff, Gesser, Mitchell and Vittor
             from violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of
             1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of
             1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and requiring the defendants
             to disgorge their illegal profits, together with prejudgment
             interest, and to pay civil penalties.  Finally the Complaint
             seeks an order barring Osheroff from acting as an officer or
             director of a public company.

                  Specifically, the Complaint alleges:

                  From April 1993 through January 1994, Osheroff, acting
                     in concert with some or all of the other defendants,
                     engaged in a fraudulent scheme to distribute four
                     million shares of ASI stock -- a 200% increase in
                     the shares outstanding -- without registration.  The
                     distribution purportedly was effected pursuant to
                     the Commission's Regulation S.  The shares were
                     issued at discounts ranging from 40% to 85% from the
                     market price on the day of issuance, and payment was
                     not made until after the shares were resold in the
                     United States.

                  The distribution included three million unregistered
                     shares that were issued in the name of one Martin
                     Clainey ("Clainey"), a fictitious foreign investor.
                     Within days or weeks after they were issued, most of
                     the shares were deposited into new U.S. brokerage
                     accounts that Osheroff and Gesser arranged to open
                     in Clainey's name, and sold at prevailing market
                     prices.  Another one million shares were issued to
                                        - 2 -

                    Bauman, S.A., a newly-formed Bahamian entity.   The
                     majority of these shares likewise were soon resold
                     in the United States at market  prices.  The resale
                     of those shares yielded illegal profits of more than
                     $6.5 million.

                  To increase the price of ASI stock while the
                     distribution was underway, Osheroff and Gesser
                     caused the company to issue a series of false press
                     releases calculated to generate investor interest in
                     the stock.  Those releases announced interest by
                     foreign firms in acquiring the company or making a
                     large investment in it.  The entities purportedly
                     interested in making the acquisitions did not exist.

                  Vittor, who knew or was reckless in not knowing that
                     Clainey was a fictitious person, was the broker for
                     two of the accounts in Clainey's name. He also was
                     the broker on the Bauman account. He sold ASI shares
                     through those accounts as part of a scheme to enrich
                     his codefendants or others.

                  Maschler was the broker for an account in Clainey's
                     name at Datek Securities Corp.  He sold the shares
                     deposited in that account without making an adequate
                     inquiry to determine whether the sales were in
                     violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act.

                  Mitchell deposited some of the Clainey shares into his
                     personal   brokerage  account  and  sold  them.   To
                     facilitate the  sales,  Mitchell falsely represented
                     to his broker that he had  bought the ASI stock in a
                     private transaction with another  investor, and that
                     he had no affiliation with ASI.

                  The Commission thanks the National Association of
             Securities Dealers Regulation Inc. for the substantial
             assistance it provided in connection with the investigation
             leading to this action.