Candidates tangle over SEC inquiry - Sanchez spokesman: "Rick Perry is lying"

The Dallas Morning News ^ | September 24, 2002 | By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

[MeekOneGOP]

Candidates tangle over SEC inquiry

Sanchez campaign says company not being investigated

09/24/2002

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News

SAN ANTONIO - Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Democratic opponent Tony Sanchez's ties to a company questioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission raise doubts about whether he is fit to be governor.

Mr. Perry said his opponent owes Texas voters an explanation of "questionable accounting practices" at Zix Corp. of Dallas, an Internet security company on whose board Mr. Sanchez sits.

A Sanchez spokesman said Zix is not the target of an SEC inquiry and accused Mr. Perry of "twisting the facts in hopes of political gain."

"Rick Perry is lying," Sanchez spokesman Mark Sanders said.

Last Friday, Zix Corp. reported that the SEC made an "informal telephone inquiry" regarding the accounting treatment of certain revenues. Mr. Sanchez owns a 13 percent stake in the company.

Tax returns sought

Raising the specter of recent corporate accounting scandals, the Republican governor on Monday repeated his call for Mr. Sanchez to release his compete income tax records so that voters can better assess his business dealings.

"Having seen the corporate irresponsibility that's occurred in some businesses, I am greatly concerned that an individual who wants to be governor of the state of Texas has got a corporation that could have the same problems as Enron," Mr. Perry said.

"Texas employees and investors deserve better than that. And I urge Mr. Sanchez to lead by example and release relevant business records," the governor said. "He needs to come clean."

According to documents filed Friday with the SEC, Zix said the SEC asked about $4.25 million of payments due to the company over four years from Entrust Inc. of Addison, another Internet security firm.

Zix officials have declined comment beyond the government filing.

Mr. Sanders said Monday the inquiry deals with Entrust, not Zix.

"This is just another Rick Perry lie," he said. "The SEC is not looking at Zix."

Kenneth Kracmer, an Entrust spokesman, disputed Mr. Sanders' statement, saying the SEC has not contacted his company.

Zix posted a net loss of $17.7 million in the first six months of 2002 on revenue of less than $700,000, according to SEC filings.

In the last year, Zix shares have fallen from a peak of $9.92 last October to $3.70 Monday.

Zix said in the Sept. 16 SEC filing that, as part of its November 2000 deal with Entrust, Zix's secure e-mail system was integrated into Entrust's e-commerce software. Terms of the deal call for Entrust to make minimum payments to Zix from 2001 through 2004.

Zix said in the filing that the SEC enforcement division called on Aug. 22 to ask about the guaranteed payments. It said the company responded with correspondence from another SEC office that previously reviewed the accounting in May and did not ask for revisions.

SEC officials in the Fort Worth regional office did not return a telephone call seeking comment on Monday.

E-mail wslater@dallasnews.com

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/092402dntexperry.29cd.html

[MeekOneGOP]

Governor Rick Perry (Left) & Tony Sanchez

[MeekOneGOP]

fyi......

[Bad~Rodeo]

Raising the specter of recent corporate accounting scandals, the Republican governor on Monday repeated his call for Mr. Sanchez to release his compete income tax records so that voters can better assess his business dealings.

Sighs~, it's reported that Rick accepted a 1 mil. contribution from trial lawyers. Think i'll take my placard and go home....L~

[Dallas]

There is an article in this weeks Reader's Digest about three states where doctors can no longer afford malpractice insurance premiums (Texas is one of those three). The doctors are therefore retiring, or moving out of state. This is the result of the power of trial lawyers. Even New Jersey has a cap, but Texas doesn't.

The scary part, this has/is creating a shortage of doctors in Texas......somebody needs to shake Perry's tree.

[Diddle E. Squat]

There is a great ad out by the US Chamber of Commerce that is about excessive lawsuits and their costs to the average person. Ran during the NFL games this Sunday. Might be effective in shifting some of the election debate if it can get broad airplay in the next few weeks.

[Bad~Rodeo]

Sounds interesting, any link or number to call on where to get more info?

[Bad~Rodeo]

Although i have not read the article, Dr's in South Texas recently held a protest.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I dunno. Maybe watch football next Sunday.

Perhaps the US CofC has a website with more info.

[Dog Gone]

it's reported that Rick accepted a 1 mil. contribution from trial lawyers.

Reported where? I think that's highly unlikely to be true.

[Bad~Rodeo]

It's a recent ad Slam by Tony (barf) Sanchez

[writmeister]

And in the Sanchez Ad, it is a million dollars from insurance companies -- not from trial lawyers.

[Dog Gone]

Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. I thought the ad was claiming that Perry had received donations from HMOs and insurance companies.

[Dog Gone]

Good, we've seen the same ads.

[PhiKapMom]

Trial lawyers did not donate one million dollars to Rick Perry's campaign. What I want to know is why you would post what is so obviously wrong information? According to Open Secrets the following are the amounts by Lawyers to the entire Country:

Total: $12,894,224
To Democrats: $9,582,574 (74%)
To Republicans: $3,311,650 (26%)

NOTE: That is for the entire Country and you want us to believe out of $3 million, that Rick Perry received 1/3 of that! Not to mention this was for all types of law firms.

[Bad~Rodeo]

Calm down PKmom, all i said was that in a RECENT TV slam by Tony Sanchez, HE's saying that Rick accepted it. More dis-info obviously

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks! I thought you were for Sanchez! And were taking this as fact on the trial lawyers. I have sufficiently calmed down! LOL!!!!!!!

[Bad~Rodeo]

Spitting out Coffee Me for Sanchez?..LOL~

[PhiKapMom]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! I am getting paranoid around here!

[Bad~Rodeo]

The ad i saw said Trial Lawyers. Sanchez is rumored to accept large donations from private insurance companies

[AlaninSA]

Mr. Sanchez didn't just accept donations from large insurance concerns...

The hypocrite IS an insurance company profiteer himself!!! He's been raking in the cash by making profits off "the little guy," redlining and credit scoring -- all things he's claimed to vehemently oppose.