Commissioner Paul S. Atkins, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Thank you, Bob [Uek], for that kind introduction. Thank you to the Independent Directors Council (IDC) for organizing this conference, which is sure to be of valuable assistance to you as you serve your funds in the upcoming months and years. I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person as I was with your colleagues three weeks ago in Washington, D.C., but this morning's public commission meeting on shareholder proposals regarding election of directors kept me from making the trip to San Francisco. I did participate in the SEC's last public meeting three weeks ago by videoconference from the U.S. Embassy in London. Because the videoconferencing technology passed that transatlantic test with flying colors, I am confident that it will handle the transcontinental test equally well. Before I begin, I must note that the views that I express here are my own and not necessarily those of the Commission or my fellow Commissioners.
One of the most notable events of this year in the mutual fund world was the capture of the suspected "Bishop" bomber. Beginning in 2005, threatening letters started arriving at, among other places, fund complexes. The intent of the letter writer, who called himself "The Bishop" appeared to be to scare readers into taking steps to raise the prices of certain stocks above $6.66 per share. In January of this year, two packages went out to two fund companies with pipe bombs and a note that included a demand for a stock price increase backed by a threat: "[t]he only reason you are still alive is because I did not attach one wire." 1 It is a great relief that a suspect is behind bars and that the disturbing mailings have ceased. And it is with great pride that I tell you that the staff from the SEC's Division of Enforcement was instrumental in tracking down the suspect. Chris Ehrman and Brian Shute as part of a collaborative effort with other federal and state agencies worked tirelessly to sort through the data and put the pieces together to determine "The Bishop's" likely identity. That laid important groundwork for the arrest of the suspect last April by the U.S. Postal Inspectors. The efforts by the SEC staff in this case illustrate how the hard work of a small number of individuals who are wholeheartedly committed to doing their jobs well can make a tremendous contribution to public welfare.
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