Oct. 14, 2002

Contact: Christopher Anderson, School of Business, (785) 864-7340.

White-collar criminal to give business students a hard lesson in corporate crime

LAWRENCE -- A former chief financial officer of a Kansas City investment firm who pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and income tax charges will present University of Kansas business students on Tuesday with a personal lesson on corporate crime and its consequences.

Richard Halford's appearance in front of Assistant Professor Christopher Anderson's Emerging Markets class is part of the community service component of Halford's sentence.

Halford, 67, of Overland Park, will speak at 4:45 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15, in Alderson Auditorium at the Kansas Union. The presentation is open to the public and the media.

"Every day we hear news about white-collar crimes of embezzlement, fraud and corruption," Anderson said. "We make a point of emphasizing ethics and good business practices in our classrooms. Recently, we learned of a unique opportunity to bring the hard lessons of business crime and punishment directly to our students in the classroom."

U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright made community service a component of Halford's sentence in order to bring the message to others. Anderson, who arranged Halford's visit, said he was eager to bring this lesson to his students. He recently devoted a class session to the implications of corruption and cronyism for corporate and portfolio management in emerging market countries.

"We strive to teach strong ethics and honesty in business to our students," said William L. Fuerst, dean of the business school, "but hearing from a businessman who failed to uphold them can be a powerful way to get the message across."

Halford, who was chief financial officer of Owl Securities and Investments Ltd., pleaded guilty in 2001 to one felony count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and three misdemeanor counts of failure to pay federal income taxes. Prosecutors said charges stemmed from a scheme to offer $1.5 million in bribes to Costa Rican officials and politicians to secure a concession to build a port and resort complex in the Central American nation.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is intended to ensure that U.S. companies do not use bribes in securing business abroad, regardless of business practices in other countries.