Accounting Firm Marks Paneth & Shron LLP Adds Director to Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group

Market Wire, November, 2008

A leading New York area accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron LLP (MP&S) announced today that John M. Bonora, CPA/ABV, CFE, 58, has joined the firm as a director in the Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group where he will focus on commercial litigation and economic damages, valuation and bankruptcy services. He will be based in the MP&S Manhattan office.

Mr. Bonora comes to MP&S from a large New York accounting and business advisory firm. There, he was a director in the firm's Litigation Consulting, Valuation and Bankruptcy Services Group, responsible for client development and managing litigation consulting, forensic accounting, valuation, bankruptcy, and restructuring services engagements.

"We are excited to welcome John Bonora to the firm," said Arthur E. Cannata, CPA and Mark Levenfus, CPA, managing partners of Marks Paneth & Shron. "The addition of John to the Litigation and Corporate Financial Advisory Services Group reflects our commitment to broadening the firm's capability to service the legal community.

"In addition, John's expertise and know-how will strengthen our ability to meet the challenges faced by our clients in the current economic environment," added Mr. Cannata and Mr. Levenfus.

John M. Bonora

Mr. Bonora has over 30 years of experience working in both professional services firms and in industry. Throughout his career, he has directed numerous engagements and prepared expert reports related to alleged fiscal improprieties, the valuation of shareholder interests and the calculation of economic damages. Mr. Bonora has also worked on numerous bankruptcy-related issues such as the determination of solvency, the formulation of plans of reorganization, and the recoverability of alleged fraudulent transfers and preferential payments. He has advised litigation counsel, the courts, Chapter 11 Debtors, and Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 Trustees, and has served as a troubled business workout specialist, including directing the turnaround and successful reorganization of an equipment distributor.

Mr. Bonora has provided both grand jury and trial testimony at the state Supreme Court level, and has testified in Federal Bankruptcy Court.

Mr. Bonora is Accredited in Business Valuation by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. He is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, and the Turnaround Management Association. He is also an Associate Member of the American Bar Association; Business Law and Litigation Sections.

Mr. Bonora holds a Master's in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University. He resides in Stamford, Connecticut.

About Marks Paneth & Shron

Marks Paneth & Shron LLP (MP&S) is an accounting firm with nearly 500 people, approximately 70 of whom are partners and principals. The firm provides businesses with a full range of auditing, accounting and tax services, as well as litigation and corporate financial advisory services to domestic and international clients. The firm also specializes in providing tax advisory and consulting for high net worth individuals and their families, as well as a wide range of services for international, real estate, media, entertainment, nonprofit, professional and financial services and energy clients.

The firm also provides information technology consulting services through its Tailored Technologies subsidiary. In addition, its membership in JHI, the leading international association for independent business advisers, financial consulting and accounting firms, facilitates service delivery to clients throughout the United States and around the world.

Marks Paneth & Shron, whose origins date back to 1907, is among the 30 largest accounting firms in the U.S., and the 15th largest in the New York area. Its headquarters are in Manhattan. Additional offices are in Westchester, Long Island and the Cayman Islands. For more information, please visit www.markspaneth.com .

Contact: Adria Greenberg Sommerfield Communications, Inc. 212-255-8386 adria@sommerfield.com