Raymond James axes Conn. broker amid SEC probe

Raymond James Financial Services Inc. early this month fired a broker who held key financial positions in local Connecticut politics after discovering he was under investigation for misappropriating clients' funds. Gregory Buchholz was fired after Raymond James learned he was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and local authorities for misconduct, said Anthea Penrose, a company spokesman. Mr. Buchholz worked for the brokerage in Southbury, Conn., and was also chairman of Bridgewater Township's finance board and a member of its board of trustees. “The firm is cooperating fully with authorities in the investigation of this matter,” Ms. Penrose wrote in an e-mail. She added it is not known how much money potentially is missing. She said Mr. Buchholz was a “relatively small” producer for the firm. A local paper, the Republican American, first reported the news today. John Heine, a SEC spokesman, said the SEC had no comment about Mr. Buchholz. This marks the second time a securities firm has fired Mr. Buchholz. In 1998, Edward D. Jones & Co. LP fired him because he was entering inappropriate trades in clients' accounts, according to Mr. Buchholz's record on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc.'s BrokerCheck system. He then joined Raymond James Financial Services, the independent-broker-dealer arm of Raymond James Financial Inc. Mr. Buchholz has not resigned from Bridgewater's board of finance, to which he was elected in 2001, or the board of trustees, to which he was appointed in 2007, said Cheryl Pinkos, the town clerk. She added that as far as she knows, the investigation does not involve Bridgewater funds. Mr. Buchholz could not be reached to comment.