From: Peter Richardson [petrich@erols.com]
Sent: Saturday, March 08, 2003 12:53 PM
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: Re: SEC Release No. 34-47365 (DTC-2003-02)

Sirs,

Your proposed rule would remove one defense against naked short selling -- an 
abuse which, together with other abuses,  facilitates fraudulent "short and 
distort" campaigns and illegal stock price manipulation.  

SEC and NASD have so far been grossly negligent in not cracking down on stock 
price manipulations by short sellers  (often hedge funds) who also, sometimes 
through agents,  use the internet and other media to disseminate fraudulent 
claims -- particularly about small companies with low trading volumes.  

(One victim, for example, has been Research Frontiers, with respect to which 
flagrant abuses by short sellers have been the subject of numerous complaints 
to the SEC and NASD.  So far, there has -- disgracefully -- been no action on 
the complaints.)

Sincerely,

Peter Richardson
5020 Glenbrook Terrace, NW
Washington, D.C.
20016