Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 8, 1994 TAG: 9402080071
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Sculley also filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against the man who invited him to become Spectrum's chairman and chief executive officer last fall, saying the decision to accept had blemished his career.
The news of the prominent executive's departure sent Spectrum's stock reeling. The company lost more than half its market value as 36 million of its shares, half the total, were traded on the Nasdaq market.
Sculley surprised many in high technology by joining little-known Spectrum after departing as Apple Computer Inc.'s chairman in October. He said at the time he was intrigued by a demonstration of Spectrum technology that company president Peter Caserta gave him using an Apple Newton hand-held computer.
The company's core asset is a series of patents it holds for the transmission of computer data over cellular phone lines. Sculley knew of patent licensing disputes heading into the job and resolved most.
Then came revelations of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission into the upheaval in Spectrum stock last April, insider trading by top executives and an accounting method that led to an overstatement of profits.
The company made no comment about Sculley. Caserta did not return calls for comment.
In a statement, Sculley said he would not have joined the company had he known about the SEC probe and questionable accounting practices. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, Sculley accused Caserta of wanting to profit from his reputation by selling Spectrum stock when its price rose after he was hired.
by CNB