FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  97-89


          SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES 
          THAT CHARLES V. SENATORE, SOUTHEAST REGIONAL 
          DIRECTOR, TO LEAVE THE SEC FOR MERRILL LYNCH


     Washington, D.C., October 8, 1997 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission announced today that Charles V. Senatore,
Regional Director for the agency's Southeast Region, will be
leaving the Commission in early November 1997.  Mr. Senatore will
join Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in New York on
December 1, 1997 as First Vice President and Assistant General
Counsel, with senior level responsibility for regulatory matters
worldwide.

     Mr. Senatore joined the Southeast Regional Office as its
first Regional Director on March 1, 1994.  He oversaw the
enforcement and regulatory operations in the Regional Office in
Miami, as well as those in the Commission's Atlanta District
Office.  During his tenure, Mr. Senatore presided over the
establishment of the region's headquarters in Miami and increased
significantly the size of that office.  Under his direction, the
Southeast Region pursued a number of significant enforcement
actions involving municipal finance and broker-dealer regulation. 
He spearheaded an increase in criminal securities investigations
and prosecutions, and devised an "early intervention" program to
deal with questionable microcap issuers, through suspension of
trading in their securities.  The Southeast Region also developed
a successful track record in pursuing emergency relief for
investors, and was a leader in staff productivity.  In December
1994, Chairman Levitt presented Mr. Senatore with the
Commission's Stanley Sporkin Award for his contributions to the
SEC's efforts to enforce compliance with the federal securities
laws and the Commission's rules.

     Chairman Levitt said, "Chuck has served the Commission with
great energy, dedication and resourcefulness.  Ahead of him lie
new opportunities and challenges, while behind he leaves a legacy
of a job very well done.  We will miss him greatly."

     SEC Director of Enforcement Bill McLucas said, "Chuck
Senatore brought an aggressive and creative brand of leadership
to the Commission's regional office program.  His prosecutorial
background and private practice experience energized the
enforcement and regulatory programs.  His leadership will be
greatly missed."

     Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Senatore practiced law in
South Florida, as well as serving in the Southern District of
Florida as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Public
Corruption Section.  He graduated cum laude from Williams College
in 1976 with a B.A. degree in economics, and earned his J.D. in
1980 from the University of Chicago Law School.

     A copy of Mr. Senatore's letter of resignation is attached.

  
     --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- x --- 



                       October 8, 1997
                              
                              
                              
The Honorable Arthur Levitt
Chairman
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20549

Dear Chairman Levitt:

     Please accept this letter as my notice of resignation
from the Commission and as Regional Director of the
Southeast Regional Office, effective early November 1997.
As I promised, I will remain to assist in the transition to
the new Regional Director, Randy Fons.  I have spoken with
Randy, and he assures me that he can be up and running by
early November.  You can rest assured that this will be a
model of an orderly transition, and you have my commitment
to make certain that it occurs.

     When you entrusted me with stewardship of the Southeast
Region over three years ago, I knew that I was embarking on
a professional challenge few have the opportunity to
experience.  We created a new regional operation in Miami,
growing our office by over one-third, and followed your
direction that we protect the individual investor.  With
that mandate, we brought the first Rule G-37 municipal pay-
to-play case and brought the first case mandating a review
of the municipal finance procedures at a major firm.  We
attacked broker-dealer abuses at firms of all sizes, and
brought precedent setting supervision cases.  We tried to
solve problems proactively, bringing numerous emergency
action cases, and devised a pilot for attacking microcap
issuers through trading suspensions.  In response to your
concern that egregious violators be severely punished, we
increased the level of criminal securities investigations
and prosecutions.  Over time, we directed our efforts to
more sophisticated matters.  With all this, we were able to
become a leader in producing cases and results for
investors.

     Mr. Chairman, I am happy to report that your staff in
the Southeast remains poised under new leadership to serve
you and the Commission.  They remain eager to address
aggressively the problems that concern you, the Commission,
and the investing public.  We in the Region are grateful for
the support and confidence that you and Bill McLucas have
shown in us over the years, and I know that, under its new
leadership, the Region will accomplish even greater things.

     I have enjoyed serving you these three and one-half
years.  This experience will always be a highlight of my
professional and personal life, and I thank you for having
given me the opportunity to work with such excellent
colleagues as I had in this agency.


                                   Sincerely,



                                   Charles V. Senatore
                                   Regional Director