Filed
by the Registrant:
|
¨
|
Filed
by a Party other than the Registrant:
|
¨
|
Check
the appropriate box:
|
|
¨
|
Preliminary
Proxy Statement
|
¨
|
Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
|
ý
|
Definitive
Proxy Statement
|
¨
|
Definitive
Additional Materials
|
¨
|
Soliciting
Material Pursuant to ss.240.14a-11(c) or
ss.240.14a-12
|
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
|
||
ý
|
No
fee required.
|
|
¨
|
Fee
computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and
0-11.
|
|
(1)
|
Title
of each class of securities to which transaction
applies:
|
|
(2)
|
Aggregate
number of securities to which transaction
applies:
|
|
(3)
|
Per
unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant
to
Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which the filing
fee is
calculated and state how it was determined):
|
|
(4)
|
Proposed
maximum aggregate value of transaction:
|
|
(5)
|
Total
fee paid:
|
|
¨
|
Fee
paid previously with preliminary materials.
|
|
¨
|
Check
box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act
Rule
0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was
paid
previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement
number,
or the Form or Schedule and the date of its
filing.
|
|
(1)
|
Amount
Previously Paid:
|
|
(2)
|
Form,
Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
|
|
(3)
|
Filing
Party:
|
|
(4)
|
Date
Filed:
|
(1)
|
The
election of five directors to serve until the 2009 Annual Meeting
of
Stockholders or until their successors are elected and
qualified;
|
(2)
|
To
ratify the selection of Horwath Velez & Co. PSC as the Company’s
independent certified public accountants for the fiscal year ending
October 31, 2008; and
|
(3)
|
The
transaction of such other and further business as may properly come
before
the meeting or any, adjournments or postponements of the
meeting.
|
|
|
By
order of the Board of Directors
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Nélida
Plaza
|
|
|
Secretary
|
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Position
with Us
|
|
Director
Since
|
|||
Elizabeth
Plaza
|
|
44
|
|
President,
chairman of the board and director
|
|
2006
|
|||
Kirk
Michel1,2
|
|
53
|
|
Director
|
|
2006
|
|||
Dov
Perlysky2
|
|
45
|
|
Director
|
|
2004
|
|||
Howard
Spindel1
|
|
63
|
|
Director
|
|
2006
|
|||
Irving
Wiesen1,2
|
|
52
|
|
Director
|
|
2006
|
1
|
Member
of the Audit and Compensation Committees.
|
2
|
Member
of the Mergers and Acquisition
Committee.
|
Name
|
Fees
Earned or Paid in Cash
|
Option
Awards (1)
|
Total
|
|||||||
Kirk
Michel
|
—
|
$
|
7,325
|
$
|
7,325
|
|||||
Howard
Spindel
|
—
|
$
|
7,325
|
$
|
7,325
|
|||||
Irving
Wiesen
|
—
|
$
|
7,325
|
$
|
7,325
|
(1)
|
Amounts
shown do not reflect compensation actually received by the directors.
Instead, the amounts shown are the compensation costs recognized
by us in
fiscal year 2007 for option grants that were made to directors as
determined pursuant to FAS 123R. The assumptions used to calculate
the
value of option awards are set forth under Note J - Stock Options and
Stock Based Compensation in our audited financial statements for
the
fiscal year ended October 31, 2007, included in our Annual Report
on Form
10-KSB for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. During the year
ended
October 31, 2007, each independent director was granted options to
purchase 10,000 shares of common stock.
|
|
•
|
in
the case of an annual meeting, not less than 120 days prior to the
anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of
stockholders, although if we did not hold an annual meeting or the
annual
meeting is called for a date that is not within 30 days of the anniversary
date of the prior year’s annual meeting, the notice must be received a
reasonable time before we begin to print and mail our proxy materials;
and
|
|
•
|
in
the case of a special meeting of stockholders called for the purpose
of
electing directors, the notice must be received a reasonable time
before
we begin to print and mail our proxy
materials.
|
|
•
|
as
to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election
as a
director (a) his or her name, age, business address and residence
address,
(b) his or her principal occupation and employment, (c) the number
of
shares of our common stock are owned beneficially or of record by
him or
her and (d) any other information relating to the nominee that would
be
required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required
to
be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election
of
directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, and the rules
and
regulations of the Commission thereunder; and
|
|
•
|
as
to the stockholder giving the notice (a) his or her name and record
address, (b) the number of shares of common stock of the corporation
which
are owned beneficially or of record by him, (c) a description of
all
arrangements or understandings between the stockholder and each proposed
nominee and any other person or persons (including their names) pursuant
to which the nomination(s) are to be made by the stockholder, (d)
a
representation by him or her that he or she is a holder of record
of our
stock entitled to vote at such meeting and that he intends to appear
in
person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the person or persons
named
in this notice and (e) any other information relating to the stockholder
that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other
filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies
for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange
Act and
the rules and regulations of the Commission
thereunder.
|
Description
of services:
|
Fiscal
2007
|
Fiscal
2006
|
|||||
Audit
fees
|
$
|
39,900
|
$
|
22,427
|
|||
Audit
related fees
|
24,624
|
18,971
|
|||||
Tax
fees
|
—
|
830
|
|||||
All
other fees
|
5,295
|
40,144
|
|||||
$
|
69,819
|
$
|
82,372
|
|
·
|
each
director;
|
|
|
|
|
·
|
each
officer named in the summary compensation table (“Named Executive
Officers”);
|
|
·
|
each
person owning of record or known by us, based on information provided
to
us by the persons named below, to own beneficially at least 5% of
our
common stock; and
|
|
·
|
all
directors and Named Executive Officers as a
group.
|
Name
|
Shares
of
Common Stock Beneficially Owned at July 11, 2008 |
Percentage
|
|||||
Directors and Named Executive Officers | |||||||
Elizabeth
Plaza(1)
|
6,687,115
|
32.23
|
%
|
||||
Dov
Perlysky(2)
|
2,328,393
|
11.01
|
%
|
||||
Kirk
Michel(3)
|
548,406
|
2.62
|
%
|
||||
Howard
Spindel(4)
|
37,500
|
*
|
|||||
Irving
Wiesen(4)
|
37,500
|
*
|
|||||
Nelida
Plaza(4)
|
31,361
|
*
|
|||||
All
Directors and Named Executive Officers as a group
(six
persons) (5)
|
9,670,275
|
45.07
|
%
|
||||
5%
or Greater Shareholders
Venturetek,
L.P.(6)
|
4,697,990
|
21.05
|
%
|
||||
San
Juan Holdings, Inc.(7)
|
4,686,443
|
20.23
|
%
|
||||
Barron
Partners LP(8)
|
3,899,174
|
17.63
|
%
|
||||
Pentland
USA, Inc.(9)
|
1,532,719
|
7.21
|
%
|
||||
Fame
Associates(10)
|
1,532,719
|
7.21
|
%
|
* |
Less
than 1%.
|
(1)
|
Includes
1,616,667 shares owned by Ms. Plaza directly and 5,070,448 shares
subject
to a voting proxy in favor of Ms. Plaza. In conjunction with certification
as a minority controlled business, Ms. Plaza received irrevocable
proxies
(“Voting Proxies”) to vote an aggregate of 5,070,448 shares of the
Company’s common stock from Venturetek LP, Krovim, LLC and LDP Family
Partnership. These Voting Proxies are effective until July 1, 2009,
unless the business certification expires sooner.
|
(2)
|
The
shares of common stock beneficially owned by Mr. Perlysky include
(i)
1,164,554 shares of common stock owned by Krovim, LLC, (ii) 772,791
shares
owned by LDP Family Partnership and 386,048 shares issuable upon
exercise
of warrants held by the LDP Family Partnership (iii) options issued
to Mr.
Perlysky to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock, which are vested
as of
July 11, 2008. Elizabeth Plaza exercises voting power over the shares
owned by Krovim pursuant to a Voting Proxy and Mr. Perlysky as the
manager
of Nesher, LLC, which is the manager of Krovim, may be deemed to
exercise
dispositive power over these shares. Mr. Perlysky disclaims beneficial
interest in the shares owned by Krovim. Elizabeth Plaza exercises
voting
power over the shares owned by the LDP Family Partnership pursuant
to a
Voting Proxy and Mr. Perlysky’s wife, the general partner of LDP Family
Partnership, is deemed to exercise dispositive power over these shares.
Mr. Perlysky disclaims beneficial ownership in the securities owned
by his
wife.
|
(3)
|
The
shares of common stock beneficially owned by Mr. Michel consist of
37,500
shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options, which are
vested
as of July 11, 2008, 340,706 shares of common stock owned by KEMA
Advisors, of which Mr. Michel is managing director, and 170,200 shares
issuable upon exercise of warrants held by KEMA Advisors.
|
(4)
|
The
shares of common stock owned by each of Ms. Nelida Plaza, Mr. Spindel
and
Mr. Wiesen represent shares issuable upon exercise of options, which
are
vested as of July 11, 2008.
|
(5)
|
Includes
148,861 shares issuable upon the exercise of options, which are vested
as
of July 11, 2008 and 170,200 shares issuable upon exercise of
warrants.
|
(6)
|
This
information was obtained from a Schedule 13D filed by Venturetek,
L.P.
(“Venturetek”) on July 10, 2008. Includes 1,565,058 shares issuable upon
currently exercisable warrants. Mr. David Selengut, the manager of
TaurusMax LLC, which is the general partner of Venturetek has sole
dispositive power and Elizabeth Plaza has sole voting power over
these
shares pursuant to a Voting Proxy. The shares beneficially owned
by
Venturetek do not include 200 shares of common stock held by Mr.
Selengut
and 200 shares held by Mr. Selengut’s wife. Mr. Selengut disclaims
beneficial ownership of the shares held by his wife. The mailing
address
for Venturetek, L.P. is 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
10017.
|
(7)
|
This
information was obtained from a Schedule 13D filed by San Juan Holdings,
Inc. on July 11, 2008. Includes 2,417,315 shares of common stock
issuable
upon exercise of warrants. Messrs. Ramon Dominguez and Addison M.
Levi III
have voting and dispositive power over these shares. The mailing
address
for San Juan Holdings, Inc. is 255 Ponce de Leon Ave., Hato Rey,
PR
00917.
|
(8)
|
This
information was obtained from a Form 4 filed by Baron Partners on
March
27, 2007. Includes 1,361,600 shares issuable upon exercise of currently
exercisable warrants. Mr. Andrew B. Worden, president of the general
partner of Barron Partners, has sole voting and dispositive power
over
these shares. The mailing address for Barron Partners LP is 730 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
|
(9)
|
This
information was obtained from a Schedule 13D filed by Pentland USA,
Inc.
on May 15, 2006. Includes 510,600 shares issuable upon exercise of
currently exercisable warrants.
|
(10)
|
This
information was obtained from a Schedule 13D filed by Fame Associates
on
May 17, 2006. Includes 510,600 shares issuable upon exercise of currently
exercisable warrants.
|
Name
|
|
|
Age
|
|
|
Position
|
|
Elizabeth
Plaza
|
|
|
44
|
|
|
President,
chairman of the board and director
|
|
Nélida Plaza
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
Vice
president and secretary
|
|
Pedro
J. Lasanta
|
|
48
|
|
|
Chief
financial officer and vice president - finance and
administration
|
|
Name
and Principal Position
|
Fiscal
Year
|
Salary
|
Bonus
|
Option
Awards ($)(1)
|
All
Other Compensation
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||
Elizabeth
Plaza, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
2007
|
$
|
250,000
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
24,828
|
$
|
274,828
|
|||||||||
2006
|
173,378
|
—
|
—
|
34,423
|
207,801
|
||||||||||||||
Nélida
Plaza, Vice President
|
2007
|
150,000
|
—
|
6,481
|
11,592
|
168,073
|
|||||||||||||
2006
|
130,120
|
—
|
—
|
17,094
|
147,214
|
(1)
|
Amount
shown do not reflect compensation received by the officers. Instead,
the
amounts shown are the compensation costs recognized by us for option
grants as determined upon our adoption of FAS 123R in Fiscal
2007.
|
|
Years
Ended October 31,
|
||||||
Description
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||
Housing
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
4,428
|
|||
Life
insurance
|
—
|
2,005
|
|||||
Automobile
allowance, including lease payment
|
11,592
|
10,660
|
|||||
|
$
|
11,592
|
$
|
17,093
|
Name
|
Number
of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options Exercisable
|
Number
of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options Unexercisable
|
Option
Exercise Price
|
Option
Expiration Date
|
|||||||||
Elizabeth
Plaza
|
—
|
||||||||||||
Nelida
Plaza(1)
|
94,083
|
$
|
0.7344
|
1/27/2011
|
|||||||||
37,372
|
$
|
0.7344
|
1/27/2011
|
|
|
By
Order of the Board of Directors
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/
Elizabeth Plaza
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elizabeth
Plaza
|
|
|
President
and Chief Executive
Officer
|
·
|
management
of the Company and the Outside Auditor, under the oversight of the
Audit
Committee and the Board, to plan and conduct financial audits and
to
determine that the Company’s financial statements and disclosures are
complete and accurate in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations and fairly
present, in all material respects, the financial condition of the
Company;
|
·
|
management
of the Company, under the oversight of the Audit Committee and the
Board,
to assure compliance by the Company with applicable legal and regulatory
requirements; and
|
·
|
the
Internal Auditors, if any, under the oversight of the Audit Committee
and
the Board, to review the Company’s internal transactions and accounting
which do not require involvement in the detailed presentation of
the
Company’s financial statements.
|
·
|
to
discharge the Board’s responsibilities relating to compensation of the
Company’s directors and executive officers, including approving individual
executive officer compensation;
|
·
|
to
review and recommend compensation plans, policies and benefit programs
for
employees generally; and
|
·
|
to
prepare the report on executive compensation for inclusion, if required,
in filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its annual proxy statement and periodic
reports.
|
·
|
if
the Board designates the Committee as the committee responsibility
for
administering one or more stock options, long-term incentive or other
plans, the Committee shall have the responsibilities accorded such
committee under the applicable
plan.
|
·
|
The
Committee will consist of not fewer than three members, each of whom
shall
be a director who (i) satisfies the independence requirements of
the
principal market or exchange on which the Company’s common stock is
traded, or, if the common stock is not traded on a market or exchange
which requires a standard of independence, the independence standard
required by the Nasdaq Stock Market, (ii) is s non-employee director
as
defined in Rule 16b-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as
amended, and (iii) is an “outside director” as defined by Section 162(m)
of the Internal Revenue Code.
|
·
|
One
member shall serve as chairman of the Committee. The members of the
Committee shall serve one-year terms, and shall be appointed annually
by
the Board. The Chairman shall likewise be determined by the Board
annually.
|
·
|
Members
of the Committee may be removed or replaced by the Board. Any member
who,
subsequent to his or her appointment, ceases to be an independent
director, a non-employee director or an outside director shall resign
from
the Committee, and if such member fails to resign, the Board shall
replace
such member.
|
·
|
The
Committee shall meet with such frequency and at such intervals as
it shall
determine is necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities,
but
in any case, at least once each
year.
|
·
|
Meetings
of the Committee may be called as needed by the Chairman of the Committee.
The Company’s chief executive officer or other senior executive officers
may request that the Committee meet for a specific
purpose.
|
·
|
The
Committee may meet by telephone or videoconference and may take action
by
written consent.
|
·
|
The
Committee may engage compensation consultants to assist in the evaluation
of director, CEO or executive officer compensation, and, in connection
therewith, shall have the authority to determine the terms on which
such
firm is engaged.
|
·
|
The
Committee shall have the authority to obtain advice and assistance
from
any officer or employee of the Company or from any outside legal
expert or
other advisors.
|
·
|
The
Committee may request that members of Senior Management or outside
consultants and advisors of the Committee, be present to assist the
Committee in performing its duties.
|
·
|
If
the Committee shall consist of more than three directors, the Committee
shall have the authority to delegate any of its responsibilities
to
subcommittees as the Committee may deem appropriate provided that
the
subcommittee is comprised of not less than three directors all of
whom are
independent directors.
|
·
|
Provide
oversight and guidance for compensation and benefit philosophy for
all
employees of the Company.
|
·
|
Review
and approve corporate goals and objectives relevant to CEO compensation,
evaluate the CEO’s performance in light of those goals and objectives and
have the sole authority to determine the CEO’s compensation level based on
this evaluation. This includes salary, annual incentive and long-term
incentive programs, whether stock, stock options or other equity-based
incentive or cash, and determinations relating to the deductibility
of
compensation under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
|
·
|
Review
and approve other significant terms of employment for the
CEO.
|
·
|
Review
and approve the compensation, including base salary and incentive
awards,
including awards under any plans, and other significant terms of
employment, for individuals who either report directly to the CEO
or
holding a position classified as vice president or higher and or
any other
officer of the Company who is subject to the reporting requirements
of
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
such
officers, together with the CEO being referred to as “Senior
Management.”
|
·
|
Review
and make recommendations to the Board with respect to incentive
compensation plans and equity-based
plans.
|
·
|
Review
the performance of Senior
Management.
|
·
|
Review
and make recommendations to the Board on matters concerning the directors’
annual retainer, as well as any other compensation programs relating
to
the Board.
|
·
|
Prepare
the report on executive compensation for inclusion in the Company’s proxy
statement in accordance with applicable rules and
regulations.
|
·
|
If
the Committee also serves as the committee under any plans, set the
criteria for awards under each plan and determine the nature of the
awards
and the terms of any award. With respect to awards to any employees
who
are not Senior Management, the Committee may consult with Senior
Management in granting awards under the
plan.
|
·
|
Review
and reassess the adequacy of this Charter annually and recommend
any
proposed changes to the Board for
approval.
|
·
|
Conduct
an annual performance evaluation of the
Committee.
|
·
|
Take
such further actions or provide such further advice as the full Board
may
from time to time delegate to the
Committee.
|