Schwab Fined for Lax Employee Screening

It's not quite a case of the inmates running the prison, but securities regulators have found that Charles Schwab(SCH Quote) did a poor job screening out brokerage employees with criminal records.

The New York Stock Exchange fined the San Francisco-based firm $250,000 for failing to comply with several regulations governing the hiring of employees with criminal convictions.

A regulatory investigation found that from February 1997 to September 2003, Schwab failed to promptly notify the NYSE that it had hired 55 full-time and temporary employees with criminal records. Big Board rules require brokerages to get permission before hiring a "statutorily disqualified individual," which includes anyone with a felony conviction in the past 10 years. ...