AIG to pay Conn. $1 million
New York City-based American International Group Inc. agreed to pay $1 million to the state of Connecticut as part of a $147 million settlement covering all 50 states, following an investigation into whether it under-reported premiums it collected for workers”™ compensation insurance.
New York, Massachusetts and a half-dozen other states claimed that AIG collected an additional $2.1 billion in premiums between 1985 and 1996, but classified it as premiums under its general or commercial auto plans.
AIG also agreed to pay a contingent potential fine of up to $150 million if it fails to meet the terms of a compliance plan that stiffens regulatory oversight of the company for two years.
GE, EPA discuss Hudson dredging
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants General Electric Co. to dredge far more PCB-tainted sludge from the Hudson River than initially envisioned, before capping any remaining contaminated riverbeds.
GE has until January 14 to review EPA”™s decision and notify the agency whether the company will proceed with this phase of the cleanup, scheduled to begin in May 2011. The Fairfield-based company stated it is reviewing the EPA plan, and would respond by the agency”™s deadline. EPA said it has the legal authority to order GE to fulfill the new cleanup requirements, or to reimburse the government for the costs if it refuses.
GE began the first phase of the cleanup in May 2009, which involved dredging and capping more than a third of the contaminated area.
Ex-UBS banker pleads guilty to insider trading
A former UBS investment banker and Darien resident pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to insider trading charges.
Igor Poteroba, 37, was an executive director in the health care group of UBS Securities L.L.C. Prosecutors stated he obtained inside information about six mergers and acquisitions that UBS clients were contemplating, then passed that information to Alexei P. Koval.
Koval and an unnamed person are accused of executing dozens of trades based on the information furnished by Poteroba, who received a portion of the profits. Koval has not pleaded guilty.
Poteroba agreed to forfeit more than $450,000 and is eligible for millions of dollars in additional fines and jail time when he is sentenced next March.
Urstadt Biddle increases occupancy
Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. earned $3.9 million in the fourth quarter, as revenue increased 10 percent to $21.6 million.
For all 2010, the Greenwich-based retail and office building owner saw a 3 percent gain in revenue to $85 million, and profits of $14.4 million not including amounts paid to holders of its preferred stock. In the fourth quarter, Urstadt Biddle had a 93.6 percent lease rate in what it calls its core properties, up 1.6 percent from the beginning of 2010.
“Although a weak economy and cautious and struggling retailers continue to stress our portfolio, we believe we have passed the low point in the cycle and our leasing and financial results are beginning to return to pre-crisis levels,” said Wing Biddle, president of Urstadt Biddle, in a prepared statement. “We are working on several additional acquisitions and are fortunate to have the resources and balance sheet strength to buy the quality properties that we seek at this point in the real estate cycle.”
Conn. tops in death taxes, by one measure
Connecticut contributed the highest amount of any state in estate taxes in 2009, as estimated on a per capita basis by the Tax Foundation based on information from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The federal government collected $531 million from Connecticut residents in 2009, equal to about $151 per resident. That was nearly $5 more than the death taxes paid in Florida on a per capita basis, with California, the District of Columbia, and New York rounding out the top five.
West Virginia contributed less than $10 on a per capita basis, while Rhode Island had the lowest inheritance tax collections of any Northeast state, amounting to just over $25 per resident.
Goodrich begins satellite tests
Goodrich Corp. began environmental testing of ORS-1, a program to test contractors”™ ability to furnish the military with satellites within a matter of weeks designed to meet the needs of specific missions.
The company is designing and testing the satellite at its Danbury laboratory, where it hopes to verify the satellite”™s performance in the extreme environments that it will experience during space vehicle launch and on-orbit operations.
Malloy names new DPH commissioner
Governor-elect Dan Malloy chose Dr. Jewel Mullen as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, replacing Dr. Robert Galvin.
Mullen currently directs the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and holds a master”™s degree in public health from Yale University and a master”™s in public administration from Harvard University.
Mullen lives in Guilford and has practiced medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital and the Hospital of St. Raphael, where her husband Dr. Herbert Knight is chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine.
“She”™s a practitioner, a teacher, a community leader and she has first-hand experience with neighborhood-based health delivery, as well as managing a large department within with Massachusetts Department of Public Health,” Malloy said, in a prepared statement. “Her experience in all of these areas will fit well with my vision for the Department of Public Health, and the job we need to do to keep our state healthy.”
Champ opens pizza shop in Old Greenwich
Winner of the international competition, World Pizza Champion, Bruno DiFabio, and restaurateur Steve Cioffi are opening ReNapoli in Old Greenwich.
DiFabio is also the co-owner of the International School of Pizza in San Francisco.
The new pizzeria will be located along Sound Beach Avenue and feature a wood-fired and a traditional brick-floor oven to produce three styles of pizza; Napoletana, Romana, and New York Pie.
ReNapoli will also serve sandwiches, salads, appetizers and pasta dishes.
FuelCell narrows losses
Danbury-based FuelCell Energy reported its net loss narrowed as product costs fell.
The maker of fuel-cell power plants reported a $12.9 million loss, which is 11 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. The company had a loss of $15.6 million in the previous year. For this fiscal year, the company’s losses were also minimized, with a net loss of $58.9 million, down from $71.9 million for 2009.
Revenue for the company fell to $69.8 million in 2010 from $88 million the year before.
Aussie air deal
Shelton-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has merged several support agreements that will provide deeper component and accessories maintenance for the Australian Defense Force”™s Kiowa aircraft fleet.
The $7.5 million contract represents a consolidation by the company”™s divisions, Sikorsky Aerospace Services and Sikorsky Helitech, of services that were previously administered as separate support agreements.
Sikorsky Helitech will offer component aftermarket support for the Kiowa fleet supplemental to maintenance and repair services handled on-base by military personnel. Maintenance of repairable items includes aircraft transmissions, blades, gear boxes and auxiliary power units.
Sikorsky is a division of United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford.
-Â Â Â Â Â Â Alexander Soule and Ryan Doran
