Structured Settlement Update News: April 2014

Ringler Associates Announces Joe Loseman as Chief Financial Officer

- Ringler Associates, the nation's leading structured settlement company, is pleased to announce that Mr. Joseph Loseman has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In addition to his role as CFO, Mr. Loseman is responsible for all corporate office operations, including finance & accounting, human resources, licensing, and information technology. Mr. Loseman joined Ringler Associates' Newport Beach, CA corporate office in 2000 and previously held the position of Director of Operations.

According to Ringler Associates' President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert J. Blattenberg, "Joe has been a key member of the Ringler Associates' organization for the past 14 years, bringing a level of financial and operational expertise that is greatly valued and he will continue to contribute to the company's path for growth and continued success."

"As the profession of custom structured solutions continues to mature and evolve, Ringler Associates is in an incredibly strong financial position after one of the best years in our company's history." said Mr. Loseman, adding, "I look forward to leading our corporate operations and preserving a strong administrative and financial platform for our Consultants and National Sales team with the high level of service that is part of the Ringler culture." About Ringler Associates

Ringler Associates is the largest structured settlement company in the United States with over 140 consultants in more than 60 major cities. Established in 1975, the company is a team of experienced professionals who have earned the trust of all parties involved in the structured settlement process. Every Ringler Associate takes an individualized, customer-focused approach to each case, backed by the strength and resources of a national company to collaborate with injured people, attorneys and insurance professionals providing the best settlement solutions for claimants and their families.

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Fitch Rates New Jersey Economic Development Authority's $1.085 Billion Bonds ...

- Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A+' rating to the following issues of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA):

--$400 million school facilities construction refunding bonds 2014 series PP;

--$625 million school facilities construction refunding bonds 2014 series QQ (federally taxable);

--$60 million school facilities construction bonds, 2014 series RR.

The bonds are expected to sell via negotiation on or about April 23, 2014.

Concurrent with these issues, the NJEDA is executing a direct, private placement of bonds with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BOAML) in the approximate amount of $950 million (the direct purchase bonds). The direct purchase bonds will be unrated.

In addition, Fitch affirms the 'A+' rating on the state of New Jersey's outstanding appropriation-backed debt as detailed at the end of this release.

The Rating Outlook is Negative.

SECURITY

The bonds are special, limited obligations of the NJEDA; debt service is paid under a state contract between the state treasurer and the authority subject to annual legislative appropriation.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

APPROPRIATION OBLIGATION OF THE STATE: State contract payments provide for debt service; payments must be appropriated annually by the state legislature, resulting in a rating one notch below the state's 'AA-' GO bond rating.

NEGATIVE OUTLOOK: The Negative Rating Outlook incorporates the state's ongoing budget strain, even as revenues continue to recover, and economic performance that is providing insufficient support to meet the growing demands of the state's high long-term liabilities.

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES CONSIDERABLE: Above-average state debt obligations are compounded by significant and growing funding needs for the state's unfunded retirement liabilities. Continued pension funding-level deterioration is projected through the medium term as full actuarial funding of the required contributions is several years off.

WEALTHY ECONOMY WITH SLOW RECOVERY: New Jersey benefits from a wealthy populace and a broad and diverse economy. The state's economic performance has lagged the nation in recovery from the recent recession, with improvement in 2013 trailing off at the close of the year. Unemployment levels have recently decreased both year-over-year (yoy) and relative to the national rate.

BUDGET REMAINS STRUCTURALLY IMBALANCED: The state relies on one-time measures to achieve budgetary balance, including in the current fiscal 2014, even though full funding of annual pension contributions remains several years off.

MINIMAL CASH BALANCES RESULT IN LIMITED OPERATING FLEXIBILITY: Minimal cash balances have been maintained in recent years, providing limited flexibility to absorb unforeseen needs or revenue under-performance from overly optimistic forecasting.

BROAD EXPENDITURE REDUCTION AUTHORITY: The governor's strong executive powers to implement any necessary expenditure reductions to balance the budget, and the state's consistent history of doing so, somewhat offset concern over the record of revenue under-performance and limited reserves.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The rating is sensitive to shifts in the state's 'AA-' GO credit rating to which this credit is linked. The GO rating is sensitive to the state's economic and financial performance in the context of a high fixed-cost burden and ongoing expenditure requirements. Continued under-performance of the state's economic base, an unwillingness to address or appropriate for its growing long-term liabilities, or continued deterioration in the state's budgetary flexibility, could lead to a downgrade.

CREDIT PROFILE

The bonds being issued are special obligations of the NJEDA, payable solely from payments received by the authority equal to debt service on the bonds from the state of New Jersey, subject to annual appropriation. The payments from the state to the authority are pursuant to a state contract between the two entities whereby the treasurer agrees to pay debt service on the bonds from amounts appropriated annually to the NJEDA. The state legislature initially authorized $8.6 billion of school bonds primarily to meet capital requirements pursuant to the New Jersey Supreme Court holding in Abbott versus Burke regarding the adequacy of school funding. In 2008, an additional $3.9 billion in school bonds was authorized to continue the program. Over $9 billion, exclusive of refunding bonds, has been issued to date; $8.6 billion was outstanding as of Dec. 31, 2013. Proceeds from the currently issued 2014 series RR bonds will provide funds for various capital improvements for school facilities as part of this program.

Proceeds from the 2014 series PP and QQ bonds will refund a portion of the NJEDA's currently outstanding revenue bonds; together with the direct purchase bonds, the refunding will provide budget relief in the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2014 of almost $40 million and almost $284 million in budget relief in fiscal 2015. In addition, the refunding plan (which also includes the private $536 million four-year forward note purchase contract with BOAML), will move to a later point in each of the next four fiscal years, certain NJEDA debt service payments to align debt service with periods of greater cash flow for the state, providing an estimated $1.5 billion of cash flow relief over the four years. While net present value savings are achieved through the execution of these transactions, debt service is increased in fiscal years 2016 through 2030. Fitch believes the transaction is illustrative of the state's lack of budgetary flexibility and narrow cash position; these are weaknesses that Fitch pointed to in the recent revision of the state's Rating Outlook to Negative from Stable.

New Jersey's 'AA-' GO rating reflects its high wealth levels and broad economy, offset by a high debt burden, a multitude of long-term spending pressures including significant unfunded pension and employee benefits obligations and extremely narrow operating cash balances. Despite passage of pension and benefits reform legislation in 2011 which restrained future growth in the state's accumulated liabilities, continued pension funding-level deterioration is projected through the medium term as full funding of the actuarially required contributions is phased in over seven years. This schedule also results in sizeable, planned increases in annual pension contributions. Fitch believes that meeting the requisite increases in pension contributions will continue to be challenging and is likely to conflict with other long-term demands, such as infrastructure needs, property tax relief, and school funding.

FINANCIAL OPERATIONS HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED

Revenue performance in fiscal 2013, which ended June 30, was challenged both by an overly optimistic adopted budget revenue forecast and by the impact of Super Storm Sandy, which made landfall on Oct. 29, 2012. In its adopted budget, the state projected robust revenue growth in fiscal 2013 of $2.6 billion (9.1% above 2012 levels not inclusive of fund adjustments). As actual receipts through January 2013 did not meet revenue targets, the state revised its revenue forecast downward by $407 million and closed the resulting budget gap through expenditure reductions, appropriation lapses, and delaying the May 2013 property tax rebate to August 2013 (fiscal 2014) to provide $394 million in one-time budget relief in fiscal 2013.

At the time the fiscal 2014 budget was adopted, the state estimated ending fiscal 2013 with a fund balance at $467 million, equal to a slim 1.5% of revenues. The state subsequently reduced that ending fund balance estimate to about $313 million due to a canceled $165 million transfer from the state's Affordable Housing Trust Fund to the General Fund that had been the subject of litigation with municipal affordable housing agencies. As the fund sweep and transfer did not occur in fiscal 2013 and the litigation continues, the state revised its ending operating balance for fiscal 2013 downward. The ending balance was just under 1% of expenditures.

BUDGET REQUIRES RESTRAINT; MAINTAINS MINIMAL FUND BALANCES

The enacted budget for fiscal 2014 funded growth in appropriations of 4.1% to $32.98 billion from fiscal 2013 results. State education spending grows by 6.1% while Medicaid expense declines, incorporating anticipated results from state reform measures and the state's participation in the federal Medicaid expansion; the state expects to benefit from federal subsidy of its current, expansive Medicaid program. The use of one-time measures to balance the budget was planned to total just over $1 billion, not including pension underfunding. The pension contribution is funded at three-sevenths of the actuarially calculated annual required contribution (ARC) for fiscal 2014, consistent with the established statutory schedule to phase in the full contribution over seven years. The revised, partial contribution equals almost $1.6 billion and accounts for 4.8% of the revised budget; a full ARC payment would equate to 12% of the budget.

Projected revenues in support of the budget totaled $32.8 billion and incorporated growth from actual 2013 results; 7.7% projected growth in the PIT, 5.4% growth in the sales tax, 2.2% growth in the CIT, and 76% ($166 million) growth in casino revenue resulting from the introduction of internet gaming tied to Atlantic City casinos. The total increase projected from actual fiscal 2013 revenues, including casino revenues and as modified in November 2013, was 5.2%. Fitch believed the casino revenue forecast to be ambitious, particularly given the consistent downward trend of this revenue source, and the state's recent revision to 19.5% revenue growth from fiscal 2013 is a more conservative, although still aggressive, forecast of this revenue source.

Reflecting revenue underperformance year-to-date, the governor's proposed fiscal 2015 budget, released in February 2014, included a net $251 million negative revision to the fiscal 2014 revenue forecast, now expected to total $32.56 billion, a growth rate of 5.3% from fiscal 2013. The revised forecast lowered the expected PIT growth rate to 6.8% from fiscal 2013, increased the CIT expected growth rate to 2.3%, and maintained the expectation for sales tax revenue. Factored into the revision was the expected receipt of one-time proceeds from a recent securitization of the state's remaining tobacco settlement revenues; the transaction brought a net $91.6 million into the general fund. In Fitch's view, the application of the proceeds highlighted the limited options available to the state in maintaining budget balance.

The revised budget for fiscal 2014 also factors in appropriation lapses of $694 million from unexpended items, including about $94 million in pension savings from the combined effect of incorporating salary scale changes from recently adopted experience studies and a changed method of calculating the state's normal cost pension contributions. The change in calculating the state's normal cost pension contribution, effective for fiscal 2015 and applied retroactively for fiscal 2014, allows increased employee contributions pursuant to pension reform to be used as an offset in developing the state's normal cost pension contribution rather than serving to reduce the UAAL as originally planned. These lapses allow the state to fund a $292 million increase in expected appropriations, with total spending now forecast at $33.3 billion, providing for an expected narrow fund balance of $301 million at year-end.

Year-to-date through March 2014, operating revenues are running $145 million (0.8%) below the revised forecast. Personal income taxes are almost $75 million below the revised forecast (1%), followed by insurance premium receipts that are almost $33 million (8.7%) below forecast and sales tax revenue that is $23.9 million (0.4%) below forecast. The only notable positive was corporation business taxes that are almost $44 million (3.2%) above forecast. It would be anticipated that these shortfalls, should they continue, would have an impact on the state's projection for its ending fund balance without offsetting action.

The governor's proposed budget for fiscal 2015 calls for appropriations of $34.4 billion. Notable expenditure recommendations include an approximate 4% increase in spending on grades PreK-12 education (to $12.9 billion), an approximate 7% increase in higher education spending (to $2.3 billion), and a 5.4% increase in state-funded Medicaid programmatic spending (just shy of $4.2 billion). The budget proposal includes a $2.25 billion appropriation for the state's pension systems, equal to four-sevenths of the ARC, as required by statute. The fund balance is expected to total $313 million at year-end.

Anticipated revenue in the governor's fiscal 2015 budget is projected to total $34.4 billion; an increase of 5.8% from the revised fiscal 2014 revenue estimate. Strong yoy revenue growth is factored into the forecast including 8.2% growth in the PIT, 6.1% growth in sales tax revenue, 6.7% growth in the CIT, and 21% growth in casino revenue. Fitch considers the revenue forecast to be aggressive, as has been typical for the state over the past several fiscal years, particularly in regard to the PIT and casino revenues in light of current revenue and economic trends, and believes the state may find it difficult to achieve these results.

Although New Jersey has a history of taking steps necessary to maintain budget balance, the state's ongoing reliance on one-time budget solutions to achieve and maintain balance and its insufficient annual pension contributions are evidence of a significant structural imbalance, in Fitch's view. Further, the state's narrow fund balance position provides little budgetary flexibility. The governor has strong powers to implement expenditure reductions to balance the budget, and Fitch expects those powers to be exercised as necessary, but options have become more limited as the state's fixed cost burden increases.

ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS LAGGED THE NATION

State employment growth during most of the last decade lagged the national experience and while growth has returned following recessionary losses, the pace of expansion remains well below the national average. The state entered the recession with the nation in 2008 and its experience from 2008 to 2010 was fairly similar, although the state recorded a decline of 1.2% in non-farm employment levels in 2010, higher than the 0.7% contraction seen nationally; growth in 2011 was essentially flat to 2010 and below the 1.2% national growth rate. Modest employment growth in both 2012 and 2013 of 1.1% was below the national 1.7% growth rate for both years.

Improved state yoy employment growth in the fall of 2013 trailed off at the year's close and employment in February 2014 was essentially flat to one year prior as compared to 1.5% yoy national employment growth. State unemployment of 7.1% for February 2014 was solidly improved from the rate one year prior at 8.8% and better relative to the national average (national rate of 6.7% in February 2014); however, the declining rate appears to be primarily attributable to a 2.2% yoy decline in the state's civilian labor force rather than improved growth in employment, as actual yoy employment decreased.

New Jersey's wealth levels are high, with 2013 per capita personal income equaling 126% of the national level, ranking fourth among the states.

COMPARATIVELY HIGH LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

New Jersey's debt levels are high for a U.S. state, and ongoing capital demands for school construction, environmental protection and transportation remain large. Net tax-supported debt as of June 30, 2013 equaled 7.6% of 2012 personal income as compared to a Fitch-rated states' median of 3%.

Unfunded pension liabilities attributable to the state are also well above average. Unfunded pension liabilities are expected to increase over the next several years absent additional reform measures, as the state continues its plan to phase in full funding of its actuarially calculated annual required pension contributions (ARCs), with four years remaining in its seven-year plan to achieve full funding. Fitch expects the pension funding increases, combined with expected annual increases in other post-employment benefit (OPEB) funding demands, to further strain the state's operating budget.

For the public employees' retirement system (PERS) and the teachers' pension and annuity fund (TPAF), as of July 1, 2013, systemwide reported funding levels, which incorporate both state and local liabilities, were 62.1% and 57.1% funded, respectively. Using Fitch's more conservative 7% discount rate assumption, the plans were 56.5% and 51.9% funded, respectively. As of July 1, 2013, the state portion of pension liabilities for PERS was 46% funded while TPAF's ratio remained unchanged as the system is wholly supported by the state. Using Fitch's more conservative 7% discount rate assumption, the state's portion of pension liabilities for PERS was funded at 41.8% as of July 1, 2013. On a combined basis, as of July 1, 2013, New Jersey's net tax-supported debt and adjusted, unfunded pension obligations attributable to the state, as adjusted for a 7% return assumption, totaled 16.9% of 2012 personal income, well above the 7% median for states rated by Fitch.

The governor's recently proposed fiscal 2015 state budget includes a pension payment of $2.25 billion, representing a 4/7th payment of the ARC and equal to 6.5% of the proposed state general and property tax relief fund expenditures for fiscal 2015. In delivering the budget proposal to the legislature, the governor acknowledged the sizable and increasing burden of pension contributions and recommended that additional, as yet unspecified, reform measures be considered in the current legislative session.

For fiscal 2015, differing from the four-sevenths appropriation, an appropriation for the full ARC payment of $3.9 billion would account for about 12% of operating fund appropriations and as the state continues on its path to full funding of the ARC, the UAAL will increase, growing the required increases to reach full ARC funding, scheduled for fiscal 2018. At that time, based on the ARC phase-in and historical growth patterns, it is estimated that the full ARC payment will approximate $4.8 billion and account for about 12.6% of operating fund appropriations in fiscal 2018.

RELATED DEBT

The ratings on the following credits, which are linked to the state GO rating, have been affirmed as indicated. The Rating Outlook on all the bonds is Negative.

--Approximately $13.9 billion New Jersey Economic Development Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $14.35 billion New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $518.5 million New Jersey Building Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $404.9 million New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $712.2 million New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $486.8 million New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority annual appropriation bonds at 'A+';

--Approximately $739.7 million of state of New Jersey certificates of participation at 'A+'.

The 'A+' ratings for the state's appropriation obligations, one notch below the state's GO rating, reflect the requirement of annual legislative appropriations for debt service.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

In addition to the sources of information identified in Fitch's Tax-Supported Rating Criteria, this action was additionally informed by information from IHS Global Insight.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

--'Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 14, 2012);

--'U.S. State Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria' (Aug. 14, 2012);

--'State of New Jersey Full Rating Report' (March 28, 2014).

--'Fitch Revises Outlook on New Jersey GO and Appropriation Bond Ratings to Negative' (March 21, 2014).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:

Tax-Supported Rating Criteria

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U.S. State Government Tax-Supported Rating Criteria

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Additional Disclosure

Solicitation Status

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ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: http://ift.tt/18KQ7du. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

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Michigan House Speaker Says Unions Needs To Pay Part Of Detroit Bankruptcy ...

DETROIT (WWJ) - Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger released a statement Friday saying that Detroit employee unions should contribute to the city's bankruptcy settlement plan if they expect $350 million from the Michigan Legislature to minimize pension cuts.

In the statement, Bolger says it's "entirely reasonable" to expect the unions to give back to the very people they profited from. AFSCME attorney Sharon Levine said earlier this week that union members should not be asked to vote for a plan that would result in larger pension cuts if the Michigan Legislature does not approve the state funding.

This comes on the heels of news that the bankruptcy case appeared to be picking up momentum with the help of behind-the-scenes negotiations with mediators. Detroit this week got the support of pension funds and a retirees' group to reduce payouts to thousands of retirees as well as employees who qualify for a future pension.

Roughly 30,000 retirees and employees still must vote in May and June, and the judge also must review Detroit's entire bankruptcy plan.

"We are also optimistic in the next several days we may be in a position to announce further agreements," said Bruce Bennett, another city attorney.

There are many concerns, however. Foundations, philanthropists and the state of Michigan are supposed to pay $816 million to shore up pensions and prevent the sale of city-owned art.

The Republican-controlled Legislature still hasn't approved the state's share, $350 million, although Gov. Rick Snyder and House and Senate leaders are on board.

Union attorney Sharon Levine said the money should be guaranteed when retirees vote. Pension cuts would be deeper without it.

"This would not be the first time they would be lied to," Levine told the judge.

Carole Neville, an attorney for a committee of retirees, said there's a need for clear disclosure about another key issue facing many pensioners. The city is proposing to recover 20 percent of what they earned in separate annuity accounts since 2003. The money would be deducted from future pension checks of non-uniformed retirees.

In the meantime, a former New York lieutenant governor is among the candidates to be interviewed as a possible expert in the Detroit bankruptcy case.

Judge Steven Rhodes wants a set of fresh, experienced eyes to offer opinions as Detroit tries to emerge from bankruptcy this year.

Richard Ravitch and others will be interviewed by Rhodes in court Friday.

The 80-year-old Ravitch has had a long career in public service in New York and has been outspoken about financial risks faced by states and local governments. He told The Associated Press that many promises no longer are affordable.

Ravitch said Detroit is the most dramatic example of "what happens when you kick the can down the road." He said he would work for free.

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Zamansky LLC Warns Investors In AXA Equitable's Tactical Manager Strategy ...

New York, NY (Law Firm Newswire) April 18, 2014 - Zamansky LLC warns investors who hold Accumulator and Equi-Vest variable annuity contracts issued by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company ("AXA Equitable") that are invested in AXA Tactical Manager Strategy ("ATM") managed funds. The warning is that investors who held these variable annuities invested in the ATM managed portfolios may have suffered lower investment returns since 2009.

On March 17, 2014, AXA Equitable agreed to pay a $20 million to settle an investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services ("DFS") which began in 2011. The DFS investigation concerned AXA Equitable's alleged omissions in applications for approval to change its Accumulator and Equi-Vest variable annuities to substitute ATM managed funds for previous managers. DFS accused AXA Equitable of misleading it over the impact of the change, and failing to disclose that the ATM funds underperformed the previous managers lowering returns for investors, particularly for investors with paid fees for guaranteed minimum benefits and wanted to invest more aggressively.

According to securities attorney Jake Zamansky, AXA Equitable's settlement with Regulators raises issues over whether investors were misled by the changes to their variable annuity contracts. Investors who purchased these contracts should receive what they bargained for, Zamansky says. AXA Equitable should not change the terms to deny them growth they earned during years of a bull market, he states.

What Investors Can Do If you are an investor in an AXA Equitable Accumulator, Equi-Vest or other variable annuity, and wish to have the investment reviewed or discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, email jake(at)zamansky(dot)com or call the law firm at (212) 742-1414.

About Zamansky LLC Zamansky LLC is a leading stock law firm specializing in securities class actions and insurance and securities arbitration. We are fraud attorneys who represent both individual and institutional investors. Our practice is nationally recognized for our ability to aggressively prosecute cases and recover investment losses.

ContactZamansky LLC 50 Broadway - 32nd Floor New York, NY 10004

Jake Zamansky Phone: 212-742-1414 Email: jake(at)zamansky(dot)com

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GSK under investigation after bribery scandal

In the latest twist in the doctor bribery scandal, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is now under investigation for a training programme run by doctors in Poland as recently as 2012, according to BBC Panorama. If bribery is proven, the drug company will be in violation of both the UK Bribery Act and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

GSK set up an educational programme to help improve diagnostic standards in respiratory disease, but following allegations it conducted an investigation and found evidence of inappropriate communication to promote asthma drug Seretide, according to its statement.

"These sessions were delivered by specialist healthcare professionals who, based on contracts signed with GSK, received payments appropriate to the scope of work as well as their level of knowledge and experience. The provision of sessions under this programme was agreed with the Polish healthcare centres," the statement said.

The Lodz public prosecutor found evidence in documents received by doctors to support claims of corrupt payments in over ten health centres where there was no evidence an educational seminar had taken place.

One doctor has already admitted guilt, been fined and given a suspended sentence. He accepted £100 for a lecture he never gave. Ten other doctors and one of GSK's regional managers have been charged over alleged corruption.

The latest allegations follow a scandal in China where The Chinese Ministry of Public Security claimed that GSK channelled £300 million through travel agencies between 2007 and 2010.

Furthermore, in 2012 GSK paid £1.9 billion in the United States' largest healthcare fraud settlement. This was due to activities dating back to the 1990s, when it promoted two drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin, for unapproved uses including prescriptions for children, despite the increased incidence of suicide in children and teenagers. Psychiatrists who made those prescriptions were treated to all expenses paid trips to resorts in Bermuda, Jamaica and California. GSK also failed to report safety data about a diabetes drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration.

Last December, the company announced it would cease paying doctors to attend medical conferences, in a rather belated overhaul of its marketing practices. It also said it would end direct payments to doctors for promotional talks and stop setting individual targets for its sales reps.

The pharmaceutical industry has tightened up its practices in the last few years as a result of the ABPI code in the UK and the Sunshine Act in the US. Most pharmaceutical companies have now stopped sponsoring healthcare professionals to attend medical seminars.

Rival AstraZeneca (AZN) cleaned up its practices in 2011 and publicly reports the number of confirmed breaches of external sales and marketing codes, and the nature of any remedial action taken.

The allegation against GSK is that its management was slow to see the writing on the wall for such practices. Investor view

On the Interactive Investor discussion boards, ' Yorkist' said: "As with last week and Iraq, the monetary consequences may not be large but they show repeated failure of management. Worrying."

Investors still love the dividends, however.

"Good dividend - poor management? Will either change?" said ' Jarfurrank', while ' Jersey Bob' added: "Great yield, quarterly dividends with regular increases. Better than any annuity for retires like myself."

The shares dropped 1.35% to 1,531p.

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AM Best Upgrades Rating of 321 Henderson Receivables V LLC

- A.M. Best has upgraded the debt rating to "bb" from "bb-" on the $4,695,000 Class B 10.00% Fixed Rate Asset Backed Notes, Series 2008-3 and affirmed the debt ratings of "aaa" on $74,646,000 Class A-1 8.00% Fixed Rate Asset Backed Notes, Series 2008-3 and $9,389,000 Class A-2 8.00% Fixed Rate Asset Backed Notes, Series 2008-3 of securities issued by 321 Henderson Receivables V LLC (the issuer), a special purpose Nevada limited liability company. The outlook for all ratings is stable.

The issuer was formed for the purpose of acquiring receivables from an affiliate; conducting activities required for the maintenance and servicing of the receivables; creating trust and/or other entities for the purpose of securitizing the receivables; issuing securities related to the securitization; and organizing other activities incidental to the performance of the aforementioned items.

Proceeds from the issuance of the notes, along with contributed equity capital were used to purchase a pool of structured settlement and annuity receivables (receivables) from the affiliate and to fund the initial reserve requirement. The initial pool of receivables consisted of 1,844 contracts totaling $189,169,244.16 in payment obligations from 107 annuity providers (i.e., insurance companies). Nearly all of the receivables were pursuant to a court order. A structured settlement describes an arrangement between a claimant and a defendant, which results in compensation to the claimant who has settled a claim, primarily arising from a personal injury lawsuit with the defendant. The compensation arrangement provides for a payment to be received by the claimant over time, usually in the form of an annuity payment issued by an insurance company. The settlement receivable represents the purchase of all or a portion of the claimant's rights to receive scheduled settlement payments, thereby providing liquidity to claimants whose structured settlements no longer meet their particular life circumstances.

The rating actions reflect qualitative and quantitative considerations including updated default probabilities that were derived from stochastic modeling that incorporated the default probability of the annuity providers maintaining the payment obligations and the recovery rate on the cash flows upon an insurance carrier event of default. The stochastic modeling of the transaction incorporated updates on: (1) issuer credit ratings (ICRs) of the insurance carriers, (2) financial data required for modeling purposes and (3) remaining collateral/payment information including the finalization of the reduced payment obligations of Guaranty Association Benefits Company, a newly formed special purpose not-for-profit captive insurance company and the successor to the liquidated Executive Life Insurance Company of New York.

The ratings could be upgraded or downgraded and/or the outlook revised (i.e., positively or negatively) if material changes occur in the ICRs of the remaining insurance carriers, a reduction in the remaining scheduled payments, an increase in the level of the write-off activity or a breach in ongoing surveillance and/or compliance benchmarks/ratios.

These are structured finance ratings.

For access to special reports, analytical criteria and transactions relating to insurance-linked securities, please visit http://ift.tt/1r0jr6D.

The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best's Credit Rating Methodology can be found at http://ift.tt/1c2LHBC.

A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2014 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Morgan Stanley's CEO Discusses Q1 2014 ...

[Seeking Alpha] - Morgan Stanley (MS) Q1 2014 Earnings Conference Call April 17, 2014 8:30 AM ET Executives James Gorman - Chairman, Chief Executive Officer Ruth Porat - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer ...Read more on this.

Morgan Stanley (MS), valued at $60.77B, opened this morning at $30.72. Today's price range has been between $30.40 and $31.29 per share with a one year range of $20.16 to $33.52. Priced at 12.31x this year's forecasted earnings, MS shares are relatively inexpensive compared to the industry's 19.22x forward p/e ratio. And for passive income investors, the company pays shareholders $0.20 per share annually in dividends, yielding 0.70%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 25 sell-side analysts are looking at $0.60 per share, which would be $0.01 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.06 sequential decrease. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $2.40 is a $0.34 better when compared to the previous year's annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $8.52 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.47% increase over the year-ago quarter. In terms of ratings, Deutsche Bank downgraded MS from Buy to Hold (Dec 5, 2013). Previously, Oppenheimer downgraded MS from Outperform to Perform. With the above information in mind, readers should note that the average price target is $33.72, which is 9.77% above where the stock opened this morning. Summary (NYSE:MS) : Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals worldwide. The company's Institutional Securities segment offers financial advisory services on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, recapitalizations, spin-offs, exchange offers, leveraged buyouts, takeover defenses, and shareholder relations, as well as provides capital raising and corporate lending services. This segment is also engaged in sales, trading, financing, and market-making activities, including institutional equity, fixed income and commodities, research, and investment activities, as well as offers financing services, such as prime brokerage, consolidated clearance, settlement, custody, financing, and portfolio reporting services. Its Wealth Management segment provides brokerage and investment advisory services covering various types of investments comprising equities, options, futures, foreign currencies, precious metals, fixed income securities, mutual funds, structured products, alternative investments, unit investment trusts, managed futures, separately managed accounts, and mutual fund asset allocation programs. This segment also offers education savings programs, financial and wealth planning services, annuity and other insurance products, cash management services, trust and fiduciary services, retirement solutions, and credit and other lending products, as well as fixed income principal trading services. The company's Investment Management segment provides alternative investment products, such as hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds, and portable alpha strategies to institutional and intermediary channels, and high net worth clients, as well as is involved in real estate investing and merchant banking businesses. Morgan Stanley was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in New York, New York. Tag Helper ~ Stock Code: MS | Common Company name: Morgan Stanley | Full Company name: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) .

NYSE, NASDAQ, Market Data, Earnings Estimates, Analyst Ratings and Key Statistics provided via Yahoo Finance, unless otherwise specified. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Jutia Group will not be liable for any errors, incompleteness or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on the data displayed herein. Related Articles

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After pension deals, Detroit leaders optimistic about more agreements soon in ...

The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy is holding a hearing during a week of significant breakthroughs in the case. Read: Live updates from Rod Meloni

The city has the support of pension funds and a retirees' group to reduce payouts to thousands of former Detroit employees. The retirees still must vote, but the tentative deals are a major step toward eventually emerging from bankruptcy. Rod Meloni: What a difference a day makes

More details could emerge Thursday in Judge Steven Rhodes' courtroom. He's holding a hearing to listen to objections to Detroit's disclosure statement, which is hundreds of pages of information about the city's finances.

Rhodes also is likely to get an update on Detroit's plan to send ballots to creditors who will soon vote on a plan to settle debts. Complete coverage: Detroit bankruptcy

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Hancock Reports First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

GULFPORT, Miss., April 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hancock Holding Company (Nasdaq: HBHC) today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2014. Operating income for the first quarter of 2014 was $49.1 million or $.58 per diluted common share, compared to $45.8 million, and $.55 in the fourth quarter of 2013. Operating income was $48.6 million, or $.56, in the first quarter of 2013. We define our operating income as net income excluding tax-effected securities transactions gains or losses and one-time noninterest expense items. Management believes that operating income provides a useful measure of financial performance that helps investors compare the company's fundamental operations over time. The financial tables include a reconciliation of net income to operating income.

There were no adjustments between operating income and net income for the first quarters of 2013 and 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2013, net income reflected the impact of certain one-time noninterest expenses of $17.1 million. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $34.7 million, or $.41 per diluted common share, with a ROA of 0.74%.

Highlights of the Company's first quarter of 2014 results:

Continued improvement in the overall quality of earnings (replacing declining purchase accounting income with core results)

Operating expenses declined $10.1 million linked-quarter, or 6%, exceeding the first quarter's expense goal and achieving the targeted fourth quarter goal ahead of schedule

Efficiency ratio improved to 62%; additional branch closures and the previously announced divestiture of selected insurance lines of business will fund revenue-generating projects that will contribute to achieving the efficiency ratio target for 2016 of 57%-59%

Core net interest income (TE) was flat linked-quarter; core net interest margin (NIM) narrowed 3 basis points (bps) (we define our core results as reported results less the impact of net purchase accounting adjustments)

Approximately $231 million linked-quarter net loan growth, or 8% annualized, and approximately $1.2 billion, or 11%, year-over-year loan growth (each excluding the FDIC-covered portfolio)

Purchase accounting loan accretion declined $.6 million; expect continuation of quarterly declines with accelerating declines in the second half of 2014

Continued improvement in overall asset quality metrics

Return on average assets (ROA) (operating) improved to 1.05% from 0.97% in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 1.03% in the first quarter a year ago

"A lot of hard work and focus has allowed us to meet our fourth quarter of 2014 expense target three quarters ahead of schedule, and I would like to thank all of our associates for achieving this aggressive goal," said Hancock's President and Chief Executive Officer Carl J. Chaney. "But we are not done. As we continue our work to improve the quality of our earnings (replacing declining purchase accounting income with core income), we expect operating EPS to remain flat in the near term. Over the next couple of quarters you may see expenses rise slightly as we reinvest in higher-return, revenue-generating lines of business to help achieve our efficiency ratio targets, however we remain committed to keeping expenses for the fourth quarter of 2014 in line with our stated goal."

Loans

Total loans at March 31, 2014 were $12.5 billion, up $203 million from December 31, 2013. Excluding the FDIC-covered portfolio, which declined $28 million during the first quarter of 2014, total loans increased approximately $231 million, or 2% linked-quarter.

The largest component of linked-quarter net growth (excluding the FDIC-covered portfolio) was in the commercial and industrial (C&I) portfolio, with additional growth in the construction, commercial real estate (CRE) and residential mortgage portfolios. Many of the markets across the company's footprint reported net period-end loan growth during the quarter, with the majority of the growth in the Houston, southwest Louisiana, Mississippi, and central Florida regions. For the full year of 2014 management expects period-end loan growth in the upper single digit range.

Average loans totaled $12.4 billion for the first quarter of 2014, up $476 million, or 4%, from the fourth quarter of 2013. A substantial portion of the fourth quarter's net loan growth came toward the latter part of the period, impacting the average for the first quarter.

Deposits

Total deposits at March 31, 2014 were $15.3 billion, down $86 million, or less than 1%, from December 31, 2013. Average deposits for the first quarter of 2014 were $15.3 billion, up $353 million, or 2%, from the fourth quarter of 2013.

Noninterest-bearing demand deposits (DDAs) totaled $5.6 billion at March 31, 2014, up $84 million, or 2%, compared to December 31, 2013. DDAs comprised 37% of total period-end deposits at March 31, 2014.

Interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits totaled $6.1 billion at the end of the first quarter, down $45 million, or 1%, from December 31, 2013.

Time deposits (CDs) and interest-bearing public fund deposits totaled $3.5 billion at March 31, 2014, down $125 million, or 3%, from December 31, 2013. Almost all of the decline was in the public fund deposit category, and reflects the seasonality of those deposits. Typically public fund balances increase toward year end with subsequent reductions beginning in the first quarter.

Asset Quality

Non-performing assets (NPAs) totaled $180 million at March 31, 2014, down $6 million from December 31, 2013. During the first quarter, total non-performing loans remained virtually unchanged while foreclosed and surplus real estate (ORE) and other foreclosed assets decreased $7 million. Non-performing assets as a percent of total loans, ORE and other foreclosed assets was 1.43% at March 31, 2014, down from 1.50% at December 31, 2013.

The total allowance for loan losses was $128.2 million at March 31, 2014, down from $133.6 million at December 31, 2013. The ratio of the allowance to period-end loans was 1.02%, compared to 1.08% at year-end 2013. The decline in the allowance during the first quarter was primarily related to a $9.7 million reduction in the allowance on covered loans, of which $7.2 million was a reversal of previous impairment. The allowance maintained on the non-covered portion of the loan portfolio increased $4.3 million linked-quarter, totaling $84.8 million at March 31, 2014.

Net charge-offs from the non-covered loan portfolio were $4.0 million, or 0.13% of average total loans on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2014, down from $5.2 million, or 0.17% of average total loans in the fourth quarter of 2013.

During the first quarter of 2014, Hancock recorded a total provision for loan losses of $8.0 million, up from $7.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. The provision for non-covered loans was $8.3 million in the first quarter of 2014, up slightly from $7.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. The net provision from the covered portfolio was a credit of $0.3 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared to a credit of $0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income (TE) for the first quarter of 2014 was $168.2 million, virtually unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2013. Average earning assets were $16.7 billion, up approximately $364 million from the fourth quarter of 2013.

The reported net interest margin (TE) was 4.06% for the first quarter of 2014, down 3 basis points (bps) from the fourth quarter of 2013. The core net interest margin (reported net interest income (TE) excluding total net purchase accounting adjustments, annualized, as a percent of average earning assets) declined 3 bps to 3.37% during the first quarter of 2014. A decline in the core loan yield (-7 bps) was partly offset by an improved earning asset mix and higher yields on investment securities (+4 bps).

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income, including securities transactions, totaled $56.7 million for the first quarter of 2014, down $2.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2013. Included in the decline is an increase of $2.3 million in the amortization of the indemnification asset. The amortization was $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2014, compared to $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, and reflects a lower level of expected future losses on covered loans.

Service charges on deposits totaled $18.7 million for the first quarter of 2014, down $0.9 million, or 5%, from the fourth quarter of 2013. Bankcard and ATM fees totaled $10.6 million, down approximately $0.7 million, or 6%, from the fourth quarter of 2013. A portion of the linked-quarter decrease is related to having two fewer business days in the first quarter of 2014 for these fee income categories.

Trust, investment and annuity, and insurance fees totaled $18.9 million, up $0.8 million, or 4%, from the fourth quarter of 2013. Included in the total was $3.7 million of insurance revenue. The company announced on April 1, 2014 the divestiture of selected insurance business lines. As a result, insurance revenue is expected to decline by approximately half beginning in the second quarter of 2014.

Fees from secondary mortgage operations totaled $2.0 million for the first quarter of 2014, up $0.4 million, or 26%, linked-quarter. The increase reflects a higher level of loans sold in the secondary market during the quarter.

Noninterest Expense & Taxes

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2014 totaled $147.0 million. Noninterest expense totaled $174.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and included $17.1 million of one-time costs related to the expense and efficiency initiative. Excluding these costs, noninterest expense (or operating expense) totaled $157.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and were down $10.1 million, or 6%, linked-quarter.

Total personnel expense was $81.4 million in the first quarter of 2014, down $3.5 million, or 4%, from the fourth quarter of 2013 excluding one-time costs. Occupancy and equipment expense totaled $15.5 million in the first quarter of 2014, down $0.8 million, or 5%, from the fourth quarter of 2013. The reduction in the personnel, occupancy and equipment expense categories reflects in part a full quarter's impact from the sale of 7 Houston area branches completed on November 8, 2013, the sale of 3 Alexandria, Louisiana area branches completed on January 10, 2014 and the closure of two branches that had been previously announced. Management has continued to review its current branch network and expects to close an additional 16 branch locations in Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana in early third quarter 2014 as part of its ongoing branch rationalization process.

ORE expense totaled $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2014, up $0.2 million from the fourth quarter of 2013.

Other operating expense totaled $41.3 million in the first quarter of 2014, down $5.9 million, or 13%, from the fourth quarter of 2013 excluding one-time costs. The decrease is mainly related to lower costs for advertising and professional services.

The effective income tax rate for the first quarter of 2014 was 27%, up from 20% in the fourth quarter of 2013. The increase in the tax rate is primarily related to several additional New Market Tax Credit investments that were closed during the fourth quarter of 2013, reducing the rate for that quarter. Management expects the effective tax rate to approximate 27% for the remainder of 2014. The effective income tax rate continues to be less than the statutory rate of 35% due primarily to tax-exempt income and tax credits.

Capital

Common shareholders' equity at March 31, 2014 totaled $2.5 billion. The tangible common equity (TCE) ratio was 9.24%, up 24 bps from December 31, 2013. Final settlement of the accelerated share repurchase (ASR) transaction will be completed in May, with approximately 600,000 shares expected to be received. Management continues to review a full range of the strategic options presented by Hancock's strong capital position, including additional stock buybacks, organic growth, acquisitions or increased dividends. Additional capital ratios are included in the financial tables.

Conference Call and Slide Presentation

Management will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, April 17, 2014 to review the results. A live listen-only webcast of the call will be available under the Investor Relations section of Hancock's website at www.hancockbank.com. Additional financial tables and a slide presentation related to first quarter results are also posted as part of the webcast link. To participate in the Q&A portion of the call, dial (877) 564-1219 or (973) 638-3429. An audio archive of the conference call will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website. A replay of the call will also be available through April 23, 2014 by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, passcode 23429122.

About Hancock Holding Company

Hancock Holding Company is a multi-faceted financial services company with regional business headquarters and locations throughout a growing Gulf South corridor. The company's banking subsidiary provides a comprehensive network of full-service financial choices through Hancock Bank locations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and Whitney Bank offices in Louisiana and Texas, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; energy banking; private banking; trust and investment services; certain insurance services; mortgage services; and consumer financing. More information and online banking are available at www.hancockbank.com and www.whitneybank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and we intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions therein and are including this statement for purposes of invoking these safe-harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements provide projections of results of operations or of financial condition or state other forward-looking information, such as expectations about future conditions and descriptions of plans and strategies for the future.

Forward-looking statements that we may make include, but may not be limited to, comments with respect to future levels of economic activity in our markets, loan growth, deposit trends, credit quality trends, future sales of nonperforming assets, net interest margin trends, future expense levels and the ability to achieve reductions in non-interest expense or other cost savings, projected tax rates, future profitability, improvements in expense to revenue (efficiency) ratio, purchase accounting impacts such as accretion levels, the impact of the branch rationalization process, and the financial impact of regulatory requirements.

Hancock's ability to accurately project results or predict the effects of future plans or strategies is inherently limited. Although Hancock believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results and performance could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in Hancock's forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those risk factors outlined in Hancock's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the SEC's internet site ( http://www.sec.gov).

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Hancock does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of differences in actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such statements, except as required by law.

(a)

Tax-equivalent (TE) amounts are calculated using a federal income tax rate of 35%.

Operating income excludes tax-effected securities transactions and one-time noninterest expense items. Management believes that operating income provides a useful measure of financial performance that helps investors compare the Company's fundamental operations over time.

(c)

The tangible common equity ratio is total shareholders' equity less preferred stock and intangible assets divided by total assets less intangible assets.

(d)

The efficiency ratio is noninterest expense to total net interest (TE) and noninterest income excluding amortization of purchased intangibles, one-time noninterest expense items, and securities transactions.


CONTACT: For More Information
         Trisha Voltz Carlson
         SVP, Investor Relations Manager
         504.299.5208
trisha.carlson@hancockbank.com

Source: Hancock Holding Company

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AM Best Upgrades Rating of 321 Henderson Receivables V LLC

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Lumpsum Funder Emerges As the Best Portal for Structured Settlement ...

LumpSum Funder has come up as the best portal for annuity payments and structured settlements in Atlanta with its tailored comprehensive assistance from seasoned professionals assuring best value in the fastest possible time.

Atlanta, USA - April 13, 2014 /MarketersMedia/ --

Folks in quest of optimal payments for their structured settlement or annuity need not look further; LumpSum Funder has reportedly emerged as the best portal for annuity and structured settlement payments in the GA financial district.

Running successfully for more than 15 years, LumpSum Funder has been a leading direct purchaser of annuity payments & structured settlements throughout the southeast. The company assures best value within the fastest time possible.

"Customer satisfaction is paramount for us and we leave no stone unturned to ensure best worth for our clients' annuity payments and structured settlements. Thanks to our reliance on seasoned & highly trained financial pros with whom we are always able to greet our customers with optimum value possible," stated the LumpSum manager.

He continued, "The vast amount of referral and repeat business received by us only testify to our high credibility quotient in the market. Our vast financial experience & background has assured us the top purchasing firm status that we enjoy today."

A chief spokesman from the company informed on extending comprehensive assistance for the clients, right from the 1st call till the lump sum receipt. LumpSum Funder maintains a tailored approach for every client with personable expert team. He also spoke of zero-interest cash advance assistance for customers as well as gas cards and other similar incentives till the cases receive court approval.

"Thanks to our extensive experience with myriad cases on structured settlement payments and annuities, we are quite knowledgeable on varied possible circumstances. Thus, you can always count on us as your most understanding guide here, who are geared to address your specific condition in the most compatible way. We promise you complete guidance in every step of the process right from gathering paperwork, court approval, and cash advance assistance until you are funded your full amount," shared the spokesman emphasizing on a delicate handling approach for every case undertaken.

Speaking on their constant focus on fastest possible turnaround, the company manager referred to several instances of finalizing funds within 45 days in some cases. Moreover, LumpSum Funder pays for the legal fees, court-filing charges, notary costs, processing & bank costs for the customers. The media personnel promised 100% honest and transparent fee structure (if incurred). The company also provides free informative educational resources on structured settlements & annuities on its site.

About LumpSum Funder: LumpSum Funder is a leading Atlanta-based direct purchaser of annuity payments and structured settlements offering best possible value with comprehensive assistance in fastest possible time.

For more information about us, please visit http://ift.tt/1ijbBm6

Contact Info:Name: Walt McGinnisEmail: info@lumpsumfunder.comAddress: 3424 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA, USA, 30326Phone: 888-651-7482Organization: LumpSum Funder

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Greg Abbott releases tax return, pays 14% on a portion of income

Attorney General Greg Abbott released this year's tax return, showing he and his wife Cecilia earned about $191,000 in reportable income.

With standard deductions, the Abbotts' reduced their taxable income to $100,000 and paid almost $14,000 in taxes.

The Republican nominee for governor also garnered approximately another $500,000 in nontaxable payments from a 1989 personal injury lawsuit that he is not required to report to the Internal Revenue Service.

The payments stem from a jogging incident when a tree fell on him, fracturing his spine and confining him to a wheelchair. He sued the homeowner and a tree care company to gain the annuity. Last year, Abbott released the settlement agreement.

The 2013 tax return shows the Abbotts' gave a total of $6,650 to charitable groups last year. That amounts to 6.6 percent of their adjusted income, but less than 1 percent of their total income.

The Abbott's largest deductions were on their Austin home, where they deducted $50,000 in mortgage interest and $20,000 in property taxes.

"On tax day, Greg Abbott is once again taking the lead in releasing his 2013 tax return in the spirit of transparency and honesty that Texas voters deserve," Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch said.

He also criticized Democratic opponent Wendy Davis, a lawyer, for not releasing her full client list and how much she earned from each. Davis has released a list of public entities that her law firm represents.

The Davis campaign has not yet released her 2013 taxes, but pledged to do so.

"In the interest of transparency, Sen. Davis has released her tax returns for the past three years and will release her latest returns in the near future," said spokesman Zac Petkanas.

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Federal Judge Orders Detroit to Pay Another $85 Million to Banks Implicated in ...

Federal Judge Orders Detroit to Pay Another $85 Million to Banks Implicated in the City's Bankruptcy

A ruling by Federal Eastern District Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven W. Rhodes has awarded yet another large-scale payment to two banks that are heavily implicated in the financial ruin of Detroit and other cities throughout the United States.

Rhodes ruled on April 11 that the third negotiated attempt to terminate an interest-rate swap agreement involving Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) arrived at a "reasonable" plan for the working people of the city who will pay for this decision. The judge said that it was legal to hand over more money to these financial institutions despite the fact that they have been paid over $300 million since 2006.

Two earlier negotiated agreements between the state-imposed Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and the two banks were so outrageous that they were rejected by the court. Another ruling late last year forced the EM to disclose the fees associated with crafting deal which is $4.4 million.

The deal will be financed by Barclay's Bank which has been targeted in media reports and by regulatory agencies in England and the U.S. Justice Department for rigging interest rates related to inter-bank borrowing. The so-called 'LIBOR scandal" (London Interbank Offered Rate) exposed even further the role of the finance capital in controlling the terms of lending to ensure that profit margins are maintained at the expense of working people and the poor.

Objections to the deal were presented from other capitalist interests, including Syncora, a bond insurer which traps Detroit casino tax revenue in order to pay for the usurious debt . The other financial firms and bond-related entities only opposed the deal because it sets a legal precedent for placing a higher priority on pleasing the larger banks such as UBS and BOfA.

Nonetheless, the only real opposition to the deal came from Atty. Jerome Goldberg representing Detroit resident and City retiree David Sole. Goldberg had argued successfully in the previous hearing during December and January that the proposed settlement of initially $230 million and later $165 million were not only excessive but ignored the potential for regaining hundreds of millions in damages which are rightfully owed to the City of Detroit.

Judge Rhodes in his Jan. 16 ruling rejecting the second proposed settlement, clearly stated that the City should not engage in financial arrangements that were disadvantageous and that there was a possibility of suing the banks to regain resources needed for the operations and the maintenance of assets. Goldberg quoted from Rhodes' ruling on Jan. 16 in his closing arguments on April 3, yet the decision on April 11 appeared to have moved 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

After reading his ruling on April 11 awarding BOfA and UBS the $85 million, Rhodes went on to "commend" the state-imposed EM and the banks for reaching the agreement. The City of Detroit is being tragically represented by Jones Day law firm which was also involved in the Chrysler bankruptcy of 2009.

Kevyn Orr, the EM appointed in March 2013 by multi-millionaire Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, is a former partner at Jones Day and was involved in the disastrous bankruptcy and restructuring at Chrysler which resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of dealerships. Jones Day and the EM have spent nearly $100 million on consultants over the last year which is enough money to hire three thousand city workers at $30,000 plus per year. What's at Stake in the Detroit Bankruptcy?

On April 1 retirees, workers, union representatives and community people took over the streets in front of the federal court downtown. They were demanding the preservation of their pensions and the re-instatement of their healthcare plans which were terminated by the EM on March 1.

Hundreds of pensioners, city residents and other interested parties have filed over 500 legal objections to the so-called "Plan of Adjustment" presented by Orr during late February. The EM document is vague about the source of its findings and only presents a series of draconian austerity measures as a method for "restructuring" the City's finances.

Retirees who have sacrificed decades of service and deferred wages face cuts up to one-third of their monthly checks on the surface, but when the theft of their annuities and healthcare benefits are calculated into the scheme, the reductions amount to over 60 percent. The banks and bond holders are said to be asked to take up to an 80 percent cut, however, a deal reached with "unsecured" creditors involving insurers and other corporate interests provides between 70-80 percent of payments which they claim are owed to them by the working people of the city.

These attacks on unions, pensioners and residents in this majority African American city is setting the stage for a national assault on the deferred wages and benefits of workers. Corporate media editorials and news stories daily publish reports claiming that public pension funds are grossly underfunded and mismanaged.

In Illinois, which is said to have the worst funded pension system in the country, steps were taken by the state legislature in December which lawmakers say will cut $145 billion in public investments for the system over the next three decades. These measures have enhanced bond sales for the state since most capitalist investors favor the lessening and even abandonment of constitutional protections for public pensions. (Bloomberg, April 11)

Bloomberg stated that even though legislation was approved to purportedly remedy the system's weaknesses, "The passage didn't bolster the fifth-most-populous-state's rating, as the credit companies cited legal challenges to the pension overhaul and the expiration at year-end of a temporary personal-income tax increase. " (April 11)

The California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers) is also under attack by the bankers, bondholders and rating agencies. Calpers sued the rating agencies in 2009, and in 2012, a California judge ruled that Standard & Poor and Moody's must answer to claims that they misrepresented actual bond values.

These bond-rating agencies are seeking an appeals court hearing in San Francisco to reverse the previous decision calling to account the role of the firms. According to Karen Gullo, a writer for Bloomberg, the bond-rating agencies are saying in court papers that "At the heart of Calper's claim is an effort to hold the rating agencies liable for their publicly disseminated opinions on the grounds that these opinions failed accurately to predict the future." (April 9)

This same article goes on to point out that "S&P is being sued separately for fraud in federal court in Santa Ana, California by the U.S. Justice Department, which accuses the company of lying about its ratings being free of conflicts of interest and may seek as much as $5 billion in penalties. It also faces similar lawsuits by U.S. states, including one by California Attorney General Kamala Harris."

Another Bloomberg Municipal Market article notes that "New York state and localities including Westchester County borrowed a record $1.4 billion to cover retirement contributions this year, showing how even the wealthiest communities are struggling to make the payments....Even as Standard & Poor's is poised to raise the state's grade to its highest since 1972, rating companies have cut some New York City suburbs, citing the loans as a sign of imbalanced budgets." (April 8)

The Wall Street bankers, bondholders, insurers and rating agencies are attempting to not only eliminate legal protections for public pensions but to also destroy their structures through the dissolution of their boards of directors and trustees which have representation from union officials and politicians. In Detroit at least $5-6 billion in pension funds are up for grabs and the EM is attempting to replace the pension boards of both the General Retirement System as well as the separate one established for Police and Firefighters.

On April 10, representatives for the Police and Firefighters unions held a press conference stating that if the bankers' "Plan of Adjustment" put forward by Orr and Jones Day was approved by the federal bankruptcy court it would mean "destitution" for their membership. Judge Rhodes in his ruling took a swipe at the massive public opposition to the attacks on workers and retirees saying that now was the time to negotiate.

However, such an assertion does not acknowledge the massive cuts that workers have already endured in Detroit. Prior to the appointment of the EM last year, another "cost-cutting" plan worked out among City officials and unions was totally rejected by Gov. Snyder who then imposed Orr as the city's dictator where he then unjustifiably placed the municipality in bankruptcy, the largest in the history of the U.S. Forward to May Day

In response to these ongoing attacks and the failure of the federal courts to acknowledge the criminal role of the banks in destroying both the housing and municipal infrastructure of Detroit, a coalition of organizations are calling for demonstrations on May Day. Under the theme of "No Business As Usual", activists want people to refrain from shopping and work and to protest against the banks and other centers of power that are putting in place additional mechanism to further exploit and oppress the people of the city.

The event will begin with a gathering at UAW Local 600 at 8:00 a.m. A car caravan will transport people downtown for a series of actions that will protest the undemocratic and racist character of the forced bankruptcy and restructuring of the city.

On July 16 the hearing will begin on the bankers' "Plan of Adjustment" seeking approval by the federal court. The Moratorium NOW! Coalition based in Detroit is calling for a national demonstration in front of bankruptcy court demanding the preservation of pensions, healthcare, jobs, public assets and democratic rights. THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION PROJECT- E MAIL: [email protected]

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Lawsuit over inmate's death to be settled

By Harold Kruger, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

April 13 --A lawsuit alleging Sutter County showed "deliberate indifference" to a jail inmate who died is being settled for about $825,000 , according to federal court records.

U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley in Sacramento will consider approving the settlement on May 8 .

Mary Prasad sued Sutter County in 2012 after her son, Nathan, 30, died in Rideout Memorial Hospital following his release from custody in January 2011 .

" Nathan Prasad, the father of three young children, suffered an excruciatingly painful and unnecessary death while incarcerated in the Sutter County Jail after being arrested for a minor parole violation. His repeated medical complaints were ridiculed and ignored," Mary Prasad'sSan Francisco attorney, Michael Bien, said in an email statement.

"In the final day of his life, in obvious medical crisis, the jail locked him in a room for almost four hours rather than providing medical care or simply dialing 911. The delay cost Nathan his life."

According to court documents, Sutter County agreed to the settlement without admitting liability.

" Sutter County officials responsible for the jail have been on notice for years of the ongoing problems in medical care at the jail but have failed to remedy the problems," Bien said. "For example, the jail still does not have 24/7 nursing coverage, as recommended by the Sutter County grand jury and senior personnel working for the county. Training and supervision of medical staff in emergency response is severely lacking."

Sheriff J. Paul Parker responded, "I'm not going to rise to it. He's going to say whatever he wants to say. That's his view of the matter."

Parker said he was unaware the case was settling.

"Once this stuff goes to insurance lawyers, I don't have the same concern if our lawyers are working it," the sheriff said. "They basically run this thing off the best way they can. They stay in contact with the ( Board of Supervisors)."

In a 2012 report, grand jurors sharply criticized the jail's on-duty nurse, who they said "failed to recognize the emergency and confined the seriously ill inmate in the medical cell for three hours while she attended to other routine duties."

County officials disagreed with nearly all of the grand jury's findings, saying many of the recommendations were implemented.

Officials rejected the notion jail medical staff "acted inadequately" in their treatment of Prasad, as well as the finding the nurse "did not take any interest or immediate action" responding to a medical emergency.

"The facts as stated in the grand jury report are in question. The finding is a medical and legal conclusion and lacks proper foundation," the county responded.

The settlement calls for the county to pay $414,293 upfront and to spend an additional $360,706 to fund annuities for Prasad's children, ages 6, 9 and 10.

The annuities will provide the children with thousands of dollars in periodic lump sum payments through 2037.

The children will also receive a total of about $34,000 in blocked accounts. These funds may become available, with court approval, before they reach the age of majority.

In addition to the money paid by the county, Rideout is contributing $20,000 to the settlement. Dr. Michael Fraters is paying $29,999 , the settlement document said.

Of the $825,000 , Bien's law firm will collect about $374,000 to cover its fees and costs, court documents said.

"The citizens of Sutter County must hold their public officials responsible for the unconstitutional and inhumane treatment of Sutter County citizens, like Nathan Prasad, who are accused of a crime and held in the jail," Bien said. "Jail should not be a death sentence."

CONTACT Harold Kruger at 749-4774.

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Company Update (NYSE:PRU): The Heroes Project and Prudential support ...

[Business Wire] - The Heroes Project and Prudential Financial, Inc. have partnered to support USMC Staff Sergeant Charlie Linville , a veteran who is disabled, as he climbs to the peak of Mt.Read more on this.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU), valued at $36.22B, opened at $78.26. Shares have traded today between $77.47 and $78.71 per share with a one year range of $54.58 to $92.68. Prudential Financial (PRU) shares are currently priced at 8.36x this year's forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively inexpensive compared to the industry's 16.50x earnings multiple for the same period. And for dividend hunters, the company pays shareholders $2.12 per share annually in dividends, yielding 2.70%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 20 sell-side analysts are looking at $2.27 per share, which would be $0.01 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.03 sequential increase. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $9.28 is a $0.39 setback when compared to the previous year's annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $11.74 Billion. If reported, that would be a 0.76% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Deutsche Bank downgraded PRU from Buy to Hold (Nov 15, 2013). Previously, RBC Capital Mkts downgraded PRU from Top Pick to Outperform. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $98.53, which is 25.90% above than it opened this morning. Summary (NYSE:PRU) : Prudential Financial, Inc. provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to individual and institutional customers in the United States and internationally. It principally offers life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, and investment management products. The company operates through three divisions: U.S. Retirement Solutions and Investment Management, U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance, and International Insurance. The U.S. Retirement Solutions and Investment Management division offers individual variable and fixed annuity products; recordkeeping, plan administration, actuarial advisory, tailored participant education and communication, trustee, and institutional and retail investments services; and guaranteed investment contracts, funding agreements, institutional and retail notes, structured settlement annuities, and other group annuities. This division also provides investment management and advisory services to the public and private marketplace. The U.S. Individual Life and Group Insurance division provides individual variable life, term life, and universal life insurance products to mass middle, mass affluent, and affluent markets; group life; long-term and short-term group disability; long-term care; and group corporate, bank, and trust-owned life insurance products to institutional clients. It also sells accidental death and dismemberment and other ancillary coverage, as well as provides plan administrative services. The International Insurance division provides individual life insurance, retirement, and related products. The company serves its customers through third-party broker-dealers, dependent financial planners, third-party financial advisors, brokers, benefits consultants, sales forces, wirehouses, banks, general agencies, producer groups, life planners, and life consultants. Prudential Financial, Inc. was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey. Tag Helper ~ Stock Code: PRU | Common Company name: Prudential Financial | Full Company name: Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU) .

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Ford Heights Four exonerated but not free from past

By Steve Mills, Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

April 11 --On a recent morning, Willie Raines clomped around his nearly 12 acres in northwest Indiana, a cigarette in one hand, a tumbler of his favorite Don Pedro brandy in the other, looking every bit a gentleman rancher. Scattered across his property and packed into assorted outbuildings are cars, motorcycles, bicycles, even a black Cadillac limousine -- the products of a seemingly never-ending spending spree Raines has supported with his share of a $36 million legal settlement from one of Cook County's most notorious wrongful convictions.

Not far from Raines' ranch, Verneal Jimerson sits at the dining room table of his brother's tidy south suburban home, explaining how medical bills, mortgages, cars and even drugs have left him almost destitute. At one time his share of that same legal settlement provided him $8,000 a month, but now he said he struggles to get by on about $700 a month in government disability payments.

At his spacious house in nearby Ford Heights, Kenneth Adams lives a comfortable life with his wife of close to two decades. He still enjoys sports, though he plays less basketball since an injury. Like the others, talking about prison makes him uneasy and angry.

And then there was Dennis Williams, who died of a heart attack seven years after walking out of prison and, by all accounts, still trapped by it. He hid out in his heavily secured home, often tormented by his two decades on death row and all the people asking for gifts and loans from his share of the lawsuit's settlement. Everybody, Williams often said, wanted a piece of him.

Together, they became known as the Ford Heights Four. Convicted of the 1978 rape and double murder of a young, newly engaged couple in the south suburbs, they came to embody much of what was wrong with Cook County's criminal justice system.

Today, nearly two decades after their 1996 release, the three survivors are graying men whose lives illustrate how the pain of prison can haunt an inmate for years. They show, too, how big-money settlements can bring comforts never before imagined but also their share of trouble.

"I thought I was going to be happy," Raines told the Tribune. "But you want to know the truth? It's not easy."

'Cannot be made whole'

Tall and lithe, Raines, 56, sometimes pulls his long hair back in a ponytail. He is friendly and funny, thoughtful, too, with an easy smile that belies the trouble he readily acknowledges. He often describes himself as a "bona fide, certified, functioning alcoholic." In 2001 he held police at bay for seven hours, an incident authorities said was touched off when Raines found his wife with a male friend. Raines now calls it a "misunderstanding."

He isn't easy to live with, admits Raines, who changed his name from Rainge. He can lose his temper and say "negative things." He used to be on medication to help manage his mood swings but said he quit taking it.

Raines spends much of his time on his property, a former horse farm set well off the road that is a refuge for him. Among his getaways at home are an RV dubbed the Man Cave, where he watches TV and smokes, and a clubhouse over the barn equipped with a bar, pool table and DJ booth that he calls the Honeycomb Hideout.

His years in prison have never left him, Raines said, but he tries to keep them in check. When he thinks of the police and prosecutors who won his conviction, he pushes the thoughts away or he knows he'll become angry. At times, he said, he finds his eyes watering for reasons he doesn't understand, but he knows to focus on other things at those moments. He said he used to have nightmares about prison but doesn't anymore -- but credits his drinking for that.

"Nobody emerges from an experience like this whole," said Rob Warden, the executive director of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions and the first journalist to question whether the Ford Heights Four case was a miscarriage of justice. "And they cannot be made whole no matter what. It doesn't matter how much money they get. It just cannot be corrected what has happened to them."

Lawrence Marshall, one of Raines' attorneys who went on to help found the wrongful convictions center, said that he takes particular pride in persuading Raines to put his share of the settlement into an annuity and a trust. Now, 15 years later, Raines said he still receives direct deposits of thousands of dollars each month.

"The norm is to say, 'Hey, I've won the lottery and I'm responsible and I can be trusted with all this money,'" said Marshall, now a professor at Stanford University Law School. "But they're not prepared for it. People come out of the woodwork trying to take advantage of you."

When arrested in the late 1970s, the Ford Heights Four were young men, high school graduates with no criminal records except for a minor arrest in Williams' past. But their futures seemed limited -- only Jimerson had a job, at a carwash.

The case against them was shocking for its brutality. Larry Lionberg was working the overnight shift at a Homewood gas station when he and fiance Carol Schmal were abducted. She was raped and then both were shot in the back of the head, authorities charged.

The four were released after nearly two decades in prison when DNA evidence and an investigation by a Northwestern University journalism professor, his students and a private detective cleared them and led to the arrests and convictions of three other men who remain in prison.

When the Ford Heights Four were set free, they had lost much of their youth. They filed a lawsuit against Cook County alleging that sheriff's investigators essentially manufactured a case against them. On the eve of trial, the county agreed to the $36 million settlement. A special prosecutor appointed later to investigate the case concluded in 2003, after a four-year inquiry, that a "perfect storm" of errors by authorities led to the wrongful convictions but that the police and prosecutors had committed no crimes in their handling of the investigation and prosecution.

Raines bristles at the notion.

"We were framed," he said bluntly.

The money cannot give him back the years he lost, he said.

"Ain't enough money in the world to get back what they took from me," Raines said. "Money ain't nothing next to having your freedom."

Prison never far away

There are more than a few stories of exonerated former inmates struggling to adapt to a changed world, splurging on pricey cars, buying drugs, handing out money to friends and family, and ending up broke.

That is what happened to Jimerson.

Now 61, Jimerson was the oldest of the Ford Heights Four. On his release he went back to work for a time, but when the money began to come in -- first, more than $100,000 from a state fund to compensate the wrongly imprisoned, then $8.8 million for his share of the settlement -- he began to spend.

He bought a nail salon for his second wife. He gave money to his three daughters. He bought houses for his three sisters as well as for himself and invested in stocks.

Then he started to buy crack cocaine to help "ease his mind," he said. He was warned that his money could run out, he said, but he continued to spend.

Medical bills contributed to his financial woes. He underwent triple bypass surgery in 1999 and had part of his stomach removed last year. He said he did not have health insurance to help cover the mounting bills.

Jimerson has a small, serious face and a mustache that turns down at the ends, giving him a vaguely baleful expression. But he is quiet and affable, though in conversation, while fiddling with a flip phone, he seems a bit lost. Prison, he said, is never far away. Jimerson said he can still hear the metal sounds of the prison doors and inmates yelling.

"You think that you're free, but in my mind I'm not," he said. "I'm still trying to adjust. ... It's harder than you think."

Sometimes, Jimerson said, he wakes up in a cold sweat. His older brother, Henry, said Jimerson does not like to leave the room he stays in at his home and watches a lot of TV.

He went back to prison for about two months after a drug conviction. It "brought back a whole lot of memories," he said.

He has been free of drugs for five years, he said. He works to maintain relationships with his daughters, who are scattered around the country.

Nothing has been easy.

"I will always be the Ford Heights Four," he said.

Financial stability

Adams may be the one who has managed best to put his wrongful imprisonment behind him, so that it no longer defines his life. For a time he was an active public speaker and ardent death penalty foe. For him, speaking out was a form of therapy. But after a few years he decided to stop, telling his lawyer, Flint Taylor, that he believed it was time for a new generation of exonerated people to carry the message.

Now 56, he declined to speak for this article, saying it would bring back memories that would upset him, according to Taylor.

Taylor and others often point to Adams as a former inmate who successfully made the transition to the outside world. He seemed to possess an inner strength that allowed him to survive prison emotionally intact, they said. At Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois, he learned to rely only on himself after seeing another inmate stabbed and noticing that no one cared.

"He had a deep belief in himself, a confidence in himself," Taylor said. "I think that made it easier for him than it is for some other guys."

Before his arrest, Adams was an avid athlete and hoped to play pro baseball. Now he works out frequently, Taylor said. He married after his release and appears to have managed his money wisely. His home is large but not ostentatious.

"Having financial stability helps," said Taylor, noting that Adams has not had to work since settling the civil rights lawsuit. "It doesn't get you back those years. And if you can't get beyond that, well, it's going to eat you alive. But he's been able to do that."

Deeply troubled man

Williams apparently could not. In an article he wrote a decade after Williams' death, David Protess, the journalism professor who helped exonerate the Ford Heights Four, recalled a deeply troubled man who had become paranoid. He had video cameras installed in his home for fear authorities would try to frame him. He drank to calm his nerves and ease his fears and had given up oil painting, one activity that had brought him a measure of peace.

He was troubled by flashbacks, his years on death row still haunting him, according to Protess.

Williams did not dispute that he was troubled and susceptible to paranoia. He told the Tribune in 1999 that society viewed him as "psychologically contaminated" and said he could not argue with the description. Prison was "a living hell," he said, and he struggled to put the experience behind him. With characteristic humor, he joked that he saw a therapist so often that the therapist deserved a break.

In one of his last public appearances, just a few months before his death, Williams attended a ceremony at which then-Gov. George Ryan announced that he was pardoning Paula Gray, the witness who had been coerced into implicating the Ford Heights Four. Gray was convicted of perjury after she tried to recant her testimony. In spite of her role in sending him to death row, Williams embraced Gray that day.

When Williams died, Adams delivered a eulogy at the funeral. Jimerson and Raines were there too. It was the last time they were all together. smmills@tribune.com

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