Belesis pulling up stakes: Report

John Thomas Financial chief executive Anastasios “Tommy” Belesis may soon be moving his office furniture — including his trademark Red Bull soda machine —to Wall Street's curb. Mr. Belesis has been under the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. over the past few months. Now he is in danger of losing his fancy digs on 14 Wall Street, where John Thomas occupies the entire 23rd floor, according to a report in the New York Post. “The 38,705-square-foot space has been on the market for two weeks through real estate brokerage CBRE [Inc.], according to the real estate listing service CoStar Group,” the Post reported. John Thomas is also suffering a recent “slew of employee defections,” according to the Post. Those heading out the doors include head of research Wayne Kaufman. Mr. Belesis has garnered attention over the past few years for a number of reasons. He built an independent broker-dealer across the street from the New York Stock Exchange. He is a flamboyant, sharp-dressed executive with a yen for an “old school” type of Wall Street featuring hard-charging brokers, and he had 15 minutes of fame with a walk-on roll in an Oliver Stone movie. A call to Mr. Belesis office today seeking comment was not returned. A call to his attorney, Robert Bursky, was also not returned. The brokerage boss is currently facing intense pressure from regulators. In March, the SEC charged Mr. Belesis and a Houston radio host with deceiving investors in two hedge funds. Then Finra filed a complaint in April alleging that Mr. Belesis had harassed John Thomas brokers. Mr. Belesis opened John Thomas in 2007 and moved to 14 Wall Street two years later, according to the Post. At its peak, the firm had 200 brokers. To motivate its sales force, John Thomas in the mornings blasted “Eye of the Tiger” and other “Rocky” themes, according to the Post. Perhaps the song played in the John Thomas office this morning was “King of the Road.”