SECURITIES

Brokerage Ordered to Pay Ex-Client $1.55 Million: The largest brokerage firm in Orange County and one of its brokers was ordered to pay a Montana millionaire for losses he suffered after the 1987 stock market crash. The award against Cruttenden Roth Inc. and broker Richard Adler was handed down last month by a panel of arbitrators from the National Assn. of Securities Dealers. The former customer, Mel F. Pervais, reportedly lost $1.1 million of a $3.4-million investment after Adler began buying speculative securities and trading heavily in the account, generating $20,000 in extra fees, sources said. Cruttenden denied the allegations and is challenging the award in U.S. District Court. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26. Adler remains on the board of directors at Cruttenden and still owns a stake in Cruttenden Roth.