Becker acquires Davis Funeral Home

Becker acquires Davis Funeral Home

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Davis Funeral Home, 4996 Market St., has been acquired by Becker Funeral Homes, based in Lowellville. Former owner Fred Davis will stay on as the manager of the new firm, now known as the Becker-Davis Funeral Home. The firm recently was licensed by the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Becker Funeral Homes also operates the Davidson-Becker Funeral Home in Struthers and the Cunningham-Becker Funeral Home in Lowellville.

Businessman pleads guilty to tax count

NEW YORK

A New York businessman once accused of paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to Kazakhstan officials has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax count.

Businessman James H. Giffen left federal court in Manhattan on Friday smiling after his $10 million bail was reduced to $250,000.

He pleaded guilty to failing to note on his U.S. taxes that he controlled a bank account in Switzerland. He faces up to a year in prison and a $25,000 fine.

However, Giffen’s small New York merchant bank pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It admitted trying to influence Kazakhstan officials to favor it in contracts by sending two snowmobiles worth a total of $16,000 as a New Year’s gift in 1999.

HP’s CEO resigns after conduct probe

PALO ALTO, Calif.

Hewlett-Packard Co. said CEO Mark Hurd is stepping down after a sexual-harassment probe that found other violations of company standards.

HP said Friday that Hurd decided to leave after the investigation into a sexual- harassment claim made against him and the company by a former HP contractor. The probe concludes that the company’s sexual-harassment policy was not violated but that its standards of business conduct were.

Hurd and Robert Ryan, HP’s lead independent board member, stressed that Hurd’s departure has nothing to do with the company’s financial health.

The technology company named Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak as its interim CEO.

Saudi BlackBerry ban up in the air

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia

The status of Saudi Arabia’s ban on key BlackBerry services remained inconclusive Friday, with services still intact and negotiations reportedly under way with the smart phone’s manufacturer.

According to BlackBerry users in the kingdom — the first country to institute a ban after letting the device be sold to the general public — some key services, including messaging, were blocked during the early afternoon but then returned several hours later.

Media outlets in the area, quoting government officials, reported that the ban would enter into effect today, adding to the confusion.

A vice president of Research in Motion, the Canadian company behind the phone, was said to be in Saudi Arabia for talks with the authorities.

Vindicator staff and wire reports