Business briefs for June 4, 2002

Tuesday, June 4, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.

Firms disciplined

The Nevada State Contractors Board revoked the licenses of four Las Vegas companies and took disciplinary action against two Las Vegas-area contractors, alleging they violated Nevada construction laws.

The companies that had their licenses revoked were:

The companies were also accused of failing to include license numbers and monetary limits on a contract or proposal, failing to pay for materials or services and establish financial responsibility.

Two other contractors were disciplined for allegedly failing to include license numbers and monetary limits on a contract. RCSS Enterprises Inc. of Henderson was assessed the board's costs of investigation, while Green Tree Development Group LLC received a reprimand.

Sam Rimer, Green Tree's owner, disputed the allegations. "The license number was on the bid that we had submitted to a restaurant we were contracted to build. But the monetary limit wasn't. That was an oversight on our part. We've since rectified that problem."

The other companies could not be reached for comment.

Exec's suicide tied to health problems

HOUSTON -- Investors, already nervous about questions surrounding energy trading companies' accounting practices, dumped shares of El Paso Corp. Monday after learning the company's treasurer had been found with a gunshot wound to his head in an apparent suicide at his Houston townhome.

"This is a tragic event for our company," William A. Wise, the company's chairman, president, and chief executive, said Monday.

Shares of El Paso fell $3.70, or 14 percent, to close at $21.95 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.

Police said the body of Charles Dana Rice, 47, the company's senior vice president and treasurer, was found Sunday afternoon.

According to industry executives, he was known to suffer from various health problems, including kidney and heart problems.

Sanders Morris Harris analyst John Olson said it was an "unfortunate coincidence" that Rice died amid accounting practice questions surrounding El Paso Corp. He believes health problems were the main reason.

Airline closing Vegas ticket office

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines plans to close 23 city ticket offices in the Western United States, in addition to the 32 U.S. offices closed last year, to reduce costs and aid its return to profitability.

The airline said in a taped message to workers that it will close two offices in Portland, Ore., and one office each in Las Vegas, San Diego and Sacramento. It will decide in the next few weeks which offices to close in Denver, Los Angeles and other cities where there are multiple offices.

The Chicago-based carrier had a first-quarter loss of $510 million on top of a record $2.1 billion loss last year following the terrorist attacks, which deepened a slump in air-travel demand sparked by the U.S. economic recession. United and rivals have been shifted more ticket sales to the Internet in recent years to lower administrative and distribution costs.

Bank COO resigning

SAN FRANCISCO -- Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Operating Officer Les Biller last week said he is leaving the fifth-largest U.S. bank in October to pursue his goal of becoming a chief executive elsewhere.

Biller, 54, has been with the company for 15 years and has known Chief Executive Richard Kovacevich for 25 years, he said. The two once worked together at the former Citicorp. John Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt, both executive vice presidents, will share Biller's duties.

Kovacevich, 58, has relied on Biller, the bank's No. 2 executive, for the last 3 1/2 years to combine operations of the former Norwest Corp. in Minneapolis with Wells Fargo. Kovacevich was the CEO of Norwest and moved its headquarters to San Francisco following the $31.7 billion November 1998 combination.

Stock falls on probe

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Knight Trading Group Inc. shares fell 22 percent today as the company said the Securities and Exchange Commission is probing an allegation by a former executive that the firm engaged in improper trading.

Knight shares fell $1.29, or 22 percent, to $4.63 in midday trading, paring an earlier 37 percent loss.