Former Illinois Banker Indicted Over Premerger Insider Trading

A Chicago federal grand jury has returned a 14-count indictment against a former Illinois banker, alleging insider trading.

The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, James B. Burns, announced last week that Richard Joutras had been charged with one count of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and seven counts of securities fraud relating to his alleged premerger stock trades.

Mr. Joutras had previously settled Securities and Exchange Commission civil claims relating to the trades but did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

Mr. Burns announced the charges along with Ida L. Gillis, who heads the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago.

Mr. Joutras is former chairman of FNW Bancorp in suburban Mount Prospect, Ill., which was bought by NBD Bancorp, Detroit.

The indictment alleges that from June 1990 through March 1991 Mr. Joutras used confidential information from FNW merger talks to buy stock and reap a big profit.

Neither Mr. Joutras nor his attorney, Robert Stephenson, could be reached for comment.

In the period in question, FNW Bancorp was discussing merger possibilities with two bank holding companies, First Illinois Corp. and NBD Bancorp.

Mr. Joutras allegedly bought more than $1 million worth of FNW and First Illinois stock and made a profit of $326,718, the Justice Department said.

NBD agreed in 1991 to acquire $1.3 billion-asset FNW in a deal valued at about $208 million. The deal closed in October 1991.

In 1994, Mr. Joutras paid $571,322 to settle the SEC civil charges of insider trading.

Mr. Joutras will be arraigned after a federal judge is assigned to the case, said Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Conway.

Each count of the indictment carries a maximum sentence, upon conviction, of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Mr. Joutras was an outside director of FNW Bancorp until the retirement in 1990 of the previous chairman.

He also helped organize First National Bank of Zurich, Ill., in 1976 and co-founded Bradley Printing Co., according to information released when he became chairman.