Philadelphia Business Today (PBT) Transcript 2/21/2008

MIKE ARMSTRONG: Coming up - if you think your 401K is being mismanaged, you might have legal recourse, thanks to the Supreme Court. We continue our exclusive conversation with Neil Stein, and Inquirer reporter Michael Klein has some new developments on that story. And City Council may put a temporary hold on sheriff sales. Philadelphia Business Today starts now.

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MIKE ARMSTRONG: Hi, I'm Mike Armstrong, and welcome to Philadelphia Business Today. A new ruling from the Supreme Court protects employee's rights to their 401K plans. The nation's highest court says workers can sue if the money in their account is mishandled. About 50 million people have nearly $3 trillion in those types of accounts. Malvern's Vanguard is one of the largest administrators of those, and says that it agrees with the court's ruling. And that it's never faced that kind of lawsuit.

Morristown's own Lockheed Martin has reasons to celebrate this morning. The company designed the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, which guided the missile that destroyed a dying and potentially deadly spy satellite Wednesday night. Apparently the system worked. It looks like the missile destroyed the satellite's toxic payload of rocket propellant.

Philadelphia residents who have fallen behind on their mortgages may get more relief today. A city council committee will consider stopping sheriff's sales of properties bought using sub-prime mortgages, and Philadelphia mortgage insurer Radian Group said it's trying to help borrowers stay in their houses, or get out from under their loans more easily. But those efforts may not be enough to stop the bleeding. There are too many struggling borrowers, and it's not clear whether the industry can handle all the calls for help.

Yesterday we began our exclusive conversation with restaurateur Neil Stein as he talked about his life after serving ten months in prison for tax evasion. Inquirer reporter Michael Klein's here with more information on that.

MICHAEL KLEIN: Well, the Attorney General's office told me yesterday that Neil Stein, as of this moment, is scheduled to report to Dauphin County Prison on February 28th, to begin serving his sentence. By the way, the judge has put off his sentence numerous times before, as Neil's promised to make restitution. Now, Neil's attorney Nino Tenari told me that full restitution would be made by next week. That's about $155,000. That, in theory, should keep him out of prison. But the next thing is, the City of Philadelphia has not even tried to collect any of the debts, as far as I know, and he still owes well over $1 million to the city.

MIKE ARMSTRONG: Well, he may be having some trouble with the city and the state, but he has big plans for a restaurant in town, and here's what he said.

MICHAEL KLEIN: Well, Michael, you know, for the last couple months now, the project has been right here at the Morris Hotel. And being that we are sitting right outside a garden that is just unbelievable here on the east side of Center City, Philadelphia, I just want you to know that my next project will be right here, and it's going to be called Cabaret. And it's going to have an incredible outdoor dining experience, along with an indoor dining experience, of course.

MIKE ARMSTRONG: Well, Neil Stein's been away from the business for a couple of years, and he's not the biggest name in town. That would be Stephen Starr . How does he feel about the competition?

MICHAEL KLEIN: I don't think Neil begrudges Stephen Starr's success, and it doesn't seem to be an issue. It's funny, in the ironic sense, Stephen Starr now owns Striped Bass, which Neil helped create.

MIKE ARMSTRONG: And here's what he said about what makes a successful restaurant.

NEIL STEIN: I think it's really lots of fun to be able to walk into a restaurant with a great environment, and eat or dine on a cheeseburger and French fries and at the same time be able to eat a $40 steak or striped bass that just came directly out of the water. And when you think about putting a young chef, whether it be a female chef or a male chef, in a kitchen, who knows how to do these things, I think that's what the public wants today.

MIKE ARMSTRONG: So, does he really have a shot at pulling this off?

MICHAEL KLEIN: It's all about money. If he has the money to keep himself out of prison, and he has the financial backing, there's every indication that something like this will work.

MIKE ARMSTRONG: Well, thanks, Michael. I appreciate it. Tomorrow, as we get ready for the Academy Awards, we'll talk to a man who's bringing a film studio to the Delaware Valley. For The Inquirer, I'm Mike Armstrong, for Philadelphia Business Today.