The Pro and the Cons

Besides cold cash, anyone with ideas about making money in the stock market needs to spend quite a bit of time studying the past performance and future prospects of companies in which he would like to invest. Even when they have the cash, not too many people have the time; among the few who do are men who happen to be in prison. So three years ago, Ira Distenfield, a 26-year-old stockbroker who has studied criminology, began teaching investment courses to inmates of the Stateville Prison in Joliet, Ill., and Chicago's Cook County Jail. Since then, Distenfield has become the convicts' Pied Piper of legitimate gain. Inmates and prison officials at 23 institutions around the country, including such fortresses as San Quentin, have asked Distenfield to teach similar courses about the stock market.

Double Profits. Taking Distenfield's twelve-week course can earn a convict double profits. First, during a 21-hour weekly session, Distenfield teaches how to profit by investing in stocks. In a final exam the students must answer questions on such subjects as stock market terminology and the characteristics of a well-managed company. In addition, some get a stake. The top scorer receives $500, and the four runners-up get $100 each. Recently, Distenfield also began giving $50 to each convict who attends 80% of his classes. Out of his own pocket, Distenfield has paid $2,000 in cash awards and another $800 for course materials such as the Wall Street Journals that he sometimes buys and sometimes collects from his office at Paine, Webber, Jackson and Curtis in Chicago. With the help of the Illinois state department of correction, Distenfield has persuaded Playboy's Hugh Hefner, Governor Richard Ogilvie and Publisher Marshall Field to attend the classes as guest speakers.

Distenfield now handles accounts for at least 25 convicts. Most trade in low-priced stock, but "they are doing about as well as anyone else playing the market today," says their teacher. One prisoner bought Outboard Marine at 12, sold at 21; then he bought Kaiser Aluminum at 16, sold at 26. Another invested $900, in Kaiser Aluminum and American Motors, and eight months later had an investment worth more than $1,400. Still, other customers have not done so well. One of Distenfield's students bought 20 shares of a Chicago real estate investment company, only to see its price drop by 75%. The loss was of no immediate importance because, says Distenfield, "he doesn't get out for eleven years."

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