06 Cr. 550 (JS), E.D.N.Y.

Mr. Brooks was the founder and CEO of DHB Industries, Inc., a publicly traded company that supplied body armor to the United States Army and the United States Marines Corp. Mr. Brooks was charged with Securities Fraud, and a 196 million dollar insider-trading scheme. The defense’s motion requesting a rare evidentiary hearing on Mr. Brooks’ violation of his attorney-client privileges was granted.

Web site makes saying ‘sorry’ easy

July 1, 2009 8:00 PM

Newsday

We have seen some unusual Web sites in recent years, but Allison Skottof Locust Valley has come up with one of the most unusual yet. Oops . . . I’m Sorry (oopsimsorry.com) is getting “a few thousand” hits a day from people across the world, Skott said, including some who demand South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford issue a stronger apology to his wife, Jenny.

Skott, a New York City medical examiner’s physician assistant, came up with the idea in 2007 after she heard two people at work “ranting” at one another. She thought of establishing a place where people could post apologies for things they did or people they hurt.

“It’s a healthy way to get past things,” said Skott. She worked at Ground Zero, and, she said, “Otherwise, I never would have fully appreciated how tentative life could be.”

Skott said she spent “a substantial amount of money” hiring a graphic artist and putting her Web site together. She hopes to make money, but added, “It’s not a driving factor. People value money too much in life.”

Trial of ex-DHB chief on hold

David H. Brooks was to be on trial now on charges of looting the Westbury-based body armor company he founded to pay for a lavish lifestyle. But his trial has been put off until Sept. 14. Defense lawyers told U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert that they had just been handed the case.

Brooks has fired nine lawyers since he was indicted in 2007, according to papers filed with Seybert’s office in Central Islip. Brooks, who founded DHB Industries Inc. – the company has been renamed Point Blank Body Armor Inc. and moved to Pompano Beach, Fla., since the indictment – has hired a Dream Team.

Brooks, who is under house arrest at his Upper East Side apartment after posting a $400-million bond, is now represented by five attorneys: Kenneth Ravennelland William Murphy Jr., both of the Murphy Firm in Baltimore; James LaRossa, John C. Meringolo and Richard Ware Levitt, all of Manhattan.

The team has had some famous, or infamous, clients. Meringolo was part of a group that defended mobster John Gotti. Levitt defended reputed Bonanno crime captain Patrick DeFilippo. Murphy, once a Baltimore Circuit Court judge, defended fight promoter Don King.

As far as Brooks is concerned, LaRossa said he “can’t wait to get the case to the jury to prove his innocence.”

Far from being a start-up

Anyone who thinks it’s impossible to start a home-based business and turn it into a multimillion-dollar operation should talk to Eugene Stafford. Stafford and his wife, Delores, started a computer consulting company in 1981, Stafford Associates in Selden.

“It was a real mom and pop,” said Stafford, a computer science professor at Iona College in New Rochelle who credits the company’s success to hard work. “We worked out of our house.” Their son, Kenneth, joined them in 1989. And Kenneth brought some friends with him. They hired more employees.

“By 1999 we no longer could operate out of the house,” Stafford said. “The basement, the dining room, the living room – everything was being used for the business.” They took property in Setauket that was supposed to be temporary. It was temporary for 10 years.

With about 30 employees, Stafford Associates, now a network integrator that consults on how computers interact with one another, is about to make its biggest expansion yet. By the end of summer, the company will move into a 32,000-square-foot, $15-million building in Setauket, not far from the temporary offices. The company has some 500 clients, including Capital One Bank, Nikon, Brookhaven Laboratory, Newsday and some school districts. Annual sales range from $6 million to $10 million.

“Looking at this massive building under construction, I have to pinch myself,” said Stafford.