Former Cal Micro Exec Gets Probation

The former chief accounting officer of California Micro Devices Corp., whose testimony led to the convictions of two higher-ups for securities fraud, has been placed on three years probation and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service for insider trading. Ronald Romito pleaded guilty to one count of insider trading in 1995 and had awaited sentencing since then as prosecutors proceeded against executives in a stock collapse that cost shareholders more than $100 million. He has already paid $106,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission in penalties for insider trading. Cal Micro, based in Milpitas, makes electronic components for silicon chips. The company is now operating under new management. Its stock price, which hit a peak of $23.12 a share in June 1994, plunged to $3.87 the following January after reports of accounting irregularities. Cal Micro shares lost 50 cents to close at $3.50 on Nasdaq.