Fed Orders Bank Chairman To Step Down

Fed Orders Bank Chairman To Step Down
April 10, 2012
By Jessica Holzer

The Federal Reserve ordered Louis A. DeNaples to step down from his position as chairman of the board of First National Community Bancorp of Dunmore, Pa., following a settlement he reached with prosecutors following perjury charges.

DeNaples must also submit a plan for selling his controlling stakes in First National and another bank.

A person who has been convicted of certain crimes involving dishonesty or who has settled such charges may not sit on the board of a bank holding company or participate in its affairs without the consent of the Fed.

In 2009, DeNaples settled 2008 charges he lied under oath to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board while trying to obtain a gaming license for a casino he owned, according to an order released by the Fed on Tuesday. The Fed said the agreement called for the district attorney agreed to withdraw all of the criminal charges, though the DA reserved the right to reinstate the charges upon a material breach of the agreement.

DeNaples is currently the chairman and a director of First National and owns a roughly 10% stake in the bank, the Fed said. He owns roughly 45% of the shares of Urban Financial Group of Bridgeport, Conn.

The Fed said DeNaples didn’t ask the central bank for permission to continue his ties to the banks.

DeNaples couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.