Mass. man gets 5 years in payroll fraud scheme

Charles J. Wallace of East Bridgewater was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a fraud scheme that enabled temporary employment agencies to avoid payroll taxes and worker's compensation premiums on $39 million in wages. In 2005, Wallace, 57, pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme, in which workers were paid in cash so temp agencies could avoid paying the taxes and premiums. According to the office of US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, Wallace was an accountant and helped run several temp agencies in Southeastern Massachusetts involved in the scheme. (Jeffrey Krasner)

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurer, said it will not seek to offer coverage through the Group Insurance Commission, the state agency that provides coverage to employees and retirees of the state and some cities and towns. Instead of offering plans through the commission, Blue Cross said, it will continue to sell health plans directly to municipalities. A new law allows cities and towns to insure employees for the first time through the insurance commission, which previously had been restricted to state employees. (Jeffrey Krasner)

The Massachusetts Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation will today present its 17th annual lifetime achievement award to Ellen Zane, chief executive of Tufts-New England Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children. The award recognizes a local leader who has "made a profound contribution to the community," said Ellen Lutch Bender, chairwoman of the foundation's local chapter and chief executive of Bender Strategies LLC, a consultant to healthcare institutions. Zane joined Tufts-NEMC in 2004 and is credited with stabilizing the hospital and devising a strategy for growth. Previously, she was network president for Partners HealthCare System Inc. (Jeffrey Krasner)

Paul H. Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, received a 7 percent raise last year, according to documents released by the business group. In 2006, Guzzi earned $331,258, plus $95,000 in deferred compensation and other benefits, for a total of $426,258. That's up from $400,000 the year before. (Todd Wallack)

The proposed $8.2 billion buyout of the Tribune Co. could receive a regulatory green light as soon as tomorrow under a plan put forth by Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin. Martin said he has circulated a plan to the other four commission members that would grant Tribune Co. waivers that would allow it to own both a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market until the commission votes on a permanent rule. Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and 23 television stations, is the subject of an $8.2 billion buyout led by real estate investor Sam Zell. (AP)

The parent corporation for American Airlines reported that it is planning to sell or spin off its American Eagle regional carrier sometime next year. The company's shares rose 6.9 percent. Investors have been pressing Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. to sell the regional airline and other assets, which they say would raise needed money and help to lift AMR Corp.'s stock price. American Airlines is the nation's biggest airline. Shares of AMR jumped $1.42 to $21.98. (AP)

Three former British bankers pleaded guilty to a single wire fraud charge each in an Enron-related case as part of a deal with US prosecutors. David Bermingham, Giles Darby, and Gary Mulgrew, dubbed the "NatWest Three" by the British media, had previously faced seven counts each of wire fraud. Under a plea agreement, the three agreed to serve 37 months. The men, all 45, pleaded guilty to conspiring with former Enron Corp. finance chief Andrew Fastow to defraud National Westminster Bank of $19 million. (Reuters)

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