2 at Waste Firm Quit on News of Stock Probe

The general counsel and chief financial officer of Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. resigned Thursday, after news of a federal inquiry into stock sales that they made weeks before a disappointing company financial report.

The board of Browning-Ferris, the nation’s largest publicly held waste services company, accepted the resignations of Howard S. Hoover Jr., senior vice president and general counsel, and R. John Stanton Jr., senior vice president and chief financial officer.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating stock sales that Stanton and Hoover made in August. Stanton sold 60,000 shares on Aug. 12 at $27.61 a share; Hoover sold 15,000 shares on Aug. 23 for $27 a share.

On Sept. 3, the Houston company reported that third- and fourth-quarter results would be below analysts’ projections. Browning-Ferris shares fell to $21.75 that day, and hit a low of $19.125 on Tuesday.