FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    2000-47

  Dan Shea, Head of the Central Region, To Leave the Commission

     Washington, DC, April 11, 2000 - Daniel F. Shea, Director of
the Securities and Exchange Commission's Central Region,
announced today that he will leave the Commission during the
summer to become Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of
PaineWebber, Inc.

     Mr. Shea, 49, became Regional Director in March 1996 after
serving for a year as Associate Regional Director in charge of
the Central Region's enforcement program and prior to that as
Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in Washington, D.C.  During
the past four years, he has overseen all enforcement and
regulatory operations in the Region's Denver, Fort Worth, and
Salt Lake City offices, covering the States of Colorado, Texas,
Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
South Dakota, and North Dakota.  Under his leadership, the
Central Region filed several notable actions against officers and
directors of investment advisers and investment companies,
continued the Commission's longstanding effort to stamp out fraud
in the sale of stock in microcap companies, and aggressively
pursued emergency actions to halt stock manipulations perpetrated
on the Internet.

     SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt said, "I am sorry that Dan is
leaving the SEC.  He has made a significant contribution to the
work of the Commission during his tenure as Regional Director of
the SEC's Central Region.  On behalf of the Commission, I thank
Dan for his fine service and wish him well in his new position."

     SEC Director of Enforcement Richard Walker stated, "Dan Shea
has played a critical role in the success of the Central Region
over the past five years.  Under his leadership and guidance, the
Central Region has developed a strong management team and
established effective and productive programs in both the
enforcement and regulatory areas.  I wish him continued success
in his return to the private sector."

     In announcing his plans to leave the Commission, Mr. Shea
said, "Serving the Commission has been the most satisfying
experience of my professional life.  I will miss the challenge of
protecting investors in a rapidly changing electronic world as
well as the encouragement and support of visionary Commissioners
and colleagues throughout the Commission.  Most of all, I will
remember the professionalism and team spirit of the Central
Region's staff, which the Commission recognized by recently
conferring upon them its Productivity Improvement Award.   I look
forward to new challenges and am confident that my successor,
Randy Fons, will inspire the dedicated staff of the Region to
even greater accomplishments."

     For additional information contact: James A. Clarkson at
(202) 942-4580.
     
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