British retail boss sorry for anti-French remarks

LONDON — It was a speech that got lost in translation.

The boss of British retail chain John Lewis apologized Friday for saying France is "in decline" and "finished."

The Times newspaper reported that managing director Andy Street had made the critical comments at an event for entrepreneurs in London this week.

It said he described France as "sclerotic, hopeless and downbeat," and said "nothing works and worse, nobody cares about it."

Street also described the Gare du Nord station in Paris — terminus for Eurostar trains from London — as "the squalor pit of Europe" and told his audience: "If you've got investments in French businesses, get them out quickly."

In a statement Friday, Street said his comments "were supposed to be lighthearted views, and tongue in cheek."

"On reflection I clearly went too far," he said. "I regret the comments, and apologize unreservedly."

The French embassy in London was unamused by the comments. It told the Times that France had the world's fifth-largest economy, with world-class public services, a first-rate health care system and higher workforce productivity than many other developed countries.

John Lewis operates upmarket department stores in Britain. It does not have any stores in France but is planning to launch a website for French customers.

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The Ticker

Woman charged in $1.7M theft from job

A grand jury has indicted a North Andover woman on larceny and other charges for allegedly stealing more than $1.7 million from her employer and using the money for vacations, luxury vehicles and furniture.

Authorities allege that while the office manager for Diamond Ironworks from 2007 until 2012, 44-year-old Dorothy Giard used company funds to pay personal credit card bills and stole through unauthorized charges to corporate credit cards, then falsified company records to cover her tracks. Diamond Ironworks is a steel fabricator in Lawrence. Authorities say she spent more than $114,000 in air travel to destinations including Las Vegas and London; $20,000 toward a Lincoln and a Mercedes Benz; $20,000 in spa services; and $13,000 in designer products.

Best Buy to close Fenway store

Consumer electronics chain Best Buy will shutter its 12-year-old Boston store at the Landmark Center in the Fenway neighborhood after the end of business Nov. 1.

The Minnesota-based company is taking advantage of an opportunity from landlord Samuels and Associates to terminate its lease early without penalty, according to Best Buy spokesman Jeff Shelman.

"It's been a challenging location for us," Shelman said. "There's some logistical challenges with the store, the biggest of which is the loading dock is about a quarter of a mile from the actual store."

Samuels did not give a reason for allowing Best Buy to vacate early, according to Shelman, but the Boston real estate development company is slated to start construction on the $650 million redevelopment of Landmark Center next summer. A Samuels spokeswoman declined comment on plans for Best Buy's approximately 30,000 square feet of space.

Oil spill area to be restored

Shellfishing areas will be restored and recreational activities will be enhanced under the second round of remediation projects to clean up the Massachusetts and Rhode Island shorelines damaged in a 2003 oil spill in Buzzards Bay, state and federal environmental officials said yesterday.

The nearly $4.3 million plan includes the restoration of shoreline resources, including tidal marshes and beaches; aquatic resources, including lobster, shellfish and fin fishing habitats; and recreational resources, including public access.

A barge owned by Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. struck a rocky ledge at the mouth of Buzzards Bay in April 2003, spilling 98,000 gallons of oil. It polluted about 100 miles of the New England coastline, killing birds and closing shellfish beds. Bouchard reached a $6 million environmental settlement.

• Baker Newman Noyes, one of the nation's top 125 accounting and consulting firms, announced that Mark A. Audi, CPA, left, has joined as principal-in-charge of the firm's Boston office. Prior to joining the firm, Audi served as assurance services senior manager at a Big 4 firm in Boston.

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Walsh eyes events fund that takes private donations

The Boston City Council will hold a public hearing Monday to consider creating a fund that would accept private donations to pay for special events.

In a letter to the council, Mayor Martin J. Walsh proposed the idea to support "civic, educational, recreational, literary, scientific, artistic, theatrical and musical functions throughout the city."

"In the climate of ever-decreasing state and municipal resources, it is more important than ever to maximize the support we can obtain from private sources to produce events that benefit not only the people of Boston, but also serve to elevate Boston's reputation and attract visitors," Walsh wrote.

"These would be large-scale events that typically envision fundraising needs and may be better supported by corporate donations and partners," Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said yesterday.

The so-called "Special Events Fund" would be controlled by a board of five people who would be appointed by the mayor for terms of no more than three years and who would serve without compensation.

Donations made for a particular event or function would have to be spent only for that purpose, and any money left at the end of the fiscal year would remain in the fund.

The city treasurer could deposit the fund's proceeds in a bank, trust company or federal savings and loan association, or invest it in securities allowed under state law, and any interest or revenue accrued or generated by the fund would be added to it.

"If the funds would be used for the benefit of the public, I'd have no objections to it," said Councilor Charles C. Yancey.

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Nearly century-old Lawrence business closes

LAWRENCE, Mass. — A nearly 100-year-old fish market in Lawrence is closing its doors for good later this month.

Siblings Tom Pappalardo and Mary Pappalardo-Raymond say they are getting old and want to step aside, and no one in their family wants to take over the business. The Boston Fish Market was founded in 1919 by their grandfather.

Tom Pappalardo is 68 and tells The Eagle-Tribune  he wants to retire. Mary Pappalardo-Raymond is 53 and has a career as a nurse.

They have sold the business but are not quite sure what the new owners have planned, but doubt it's a fish market.

The owners say the business has changed. All the seafood they sold 40 or 50 years ago used to be caught locally. Now most is imported.

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Information from: Eagle Tribune (North Andover, Mass.), http://www.eagletribune.com

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Wayfair has way good IPO

Shares of Boston-based online home furnishings retailer Wayfair gained as much as 35.9 percent yesterday in its first day of trading as a public company.

Wayfair's $319 million initial public offering ranks as the eighth largest U.S.-listed Internet-related IPO this year.

"We're excited to see it open so strong, and we were really happy ... we were able to price it above the range," CEO Niraj Shah, 40, said yesterday from New York, where he and co-founder and CTO Steve Conine, 42, rang the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. "Investors, we think, were really able to understand the opportunity at Wayfair and how well-positioned we are."

Wayfair's stock closed at $37.72 yesterday, up 
30 percent from the $29 offer price set Wednesday, which exceeded the company's expected $25 to $28 range. That first-day "pop" compares to an average of 13 percent for U.S.-listed IPOs this year and 26 percent for U.S.-listed Internet-related IPOs, according to New York IPO tracker Dealogic.

The 12-year-old Wayfair offers more than 7 million products, shipping most directly from distributors, through websites including Wayfair, Dwell Studio and Birch Lane and online flash sales site Joss & Main.

Investor meetings in the past couple of weeks prompted Wayfair to raise its initial offering price, according to Shah. "We met some great long-term-minded investors and saw that there was significant interest in being a Wayfair shareholder," he said. "Home (furnishings) is a very big market. It's growing nicely online, and ... Wayfair ... is growing at a significant multiple of that. That combination really makes us feel like ... Wayfair is in a really great spot."

Wayfair will use the bulk of its IPO proceeds primarily to bolster its balance sheet. "It's not necessarily earmarked for any special spending plans," Shah said. "It will put us in a great position to be flexible and take advantage of any opportunities we see over time. Our primary focus is growing the business."

The company went from 2.1 million active customers at the end of last year to 
2.6 million six months later. "We do a lot of brand-building using television primarily and ... we do a lot of online advertising," Shah said.

But Wayfair has yet to be profitable. While its revenue grew almost 50 percent in the first half of the year to $574.1 million, it lost 
$51.4 million, primarily due to its increased spending on advertising.

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JPMorgan breach heightens data security doubts

LOS ANGELES — New details on a cyberattack against JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s computer servers this summer add to increasing doubts over the security of consumer data kept by lenders, retailers and others.

The New York-based bank disclosed Thursday that the breach compromised customer information pertaining to roughly 76 million households and 7 million small businesses.

Among the customer data stolen were names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, though only customers who use the websites Chase.com and JPMorganOnline and the apps ChaseMobile and JPMorgan Mobile were affected, the bank said.

JPMorgan stressed that there's no evidence that the data breach included account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers or dates of birth. It also noted that it has not seen any unusual customer fraud stemming from the data breach.

The server breach follows data thefts that have hit financial firms and major retailers this year, adding to consumer concerns over the risk of identity theft and fraud.

The Chase heist is even more disturbing than the recent retail breaches because banks are supposed to have fortress-like protection against intruders, said Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan.

"This is really a slap in the face of the American financial services system," Litan said. "Honestly, this is a crisis point."

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's biggest bank by assets, has been working with law enforcement officials to investigate the cyberattack.

The bank discovered the intrusion on its servers in mid-August and has since determined that the breach began as early as June, spokeswoman Patricia Wexler said.

"We have identified and closed the known access paths," she said, declining to elaborate.

She also declined to comment on whether JPMorgan has been able to determine who was behind the cyberattack on its servers.

In response to the data breach, the company has disabled compromised accounts and reset passwords of all its technology employees, Wexler said.

In a post on its Chase.com website, the bank told customers that it doesn't believe they need to change their password or account information. It also noted that customers are not liable for unauthorized transactions when they promptly alert the bank.

The breach is yet another in a series of data thefts that have hit financial firms and major retailers.

Last month, Home Depot said that malicious software lurking in its check-out terminals between April and September affected 56 million debit and credit cards. Michaels and Neiman Marcus also have been attacked by hackers in the past year.

A data breach at Target in December compromised 40 million credit and debit cards. TJX Cos.'s theft of 90 million records, disclosed in 2007, remains the largest data breach at a retailer.

Chase's assurances that it hasn't found any evidence of the personal data being misused shouldn't be misinterpreted as a reason to rest easy. The information still could be used in a variety of ways to rip off people in the months and years ahead.

That means consumers and business owners need to be more vigilant than ever, making sure to pore over their financial statements each month for any sign of suspicious activity. People also should be more leery than ever of unsolicited phone calls from purported bank representatives, emails fishing for their financial information and even uninvited guests knocking at their doors.

"You have to be paranoid now. You can't slack off," Litan said. "There is no such thing as data confidentiality anymore. Everything is out there."

Jamie Dimon, the bank's CEO, said in this year's annual report that despite spending millions on cybersecurity, JPMorgan remained worried about the threat of attacks. By the end of this year, the bank estimates that it will be spending about $250 million annually on cybersecurity and employing 1,000 people in the area.

In August, the FBI said that it was working with the Secret Service to determine the scope of recent cyber attacks against several American financial institutions.

Last month, JPMorgan began notifying customers that it would reissue credit or debit cards in the wake of the data breach at Home Depot. Wexler said the bank doesn't plan to reissue cards as a result of the breach of its servers, noting that customer account information was not stolen.

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AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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Company proposes a safer Zohydro to FDA

The maker of the controversial painkiller Zohydro is seeking federal approval of a harder-to-abuse version, but its lawsuit against the state is "ongoing," even though a judge struck down Massachusetts' ban of the drug and some of the subsequent restrictions the state put on it.

San Diego-based Zogenix said it has submitted a supplemental application to the Food and Drug Administration for a new form of Zohydro extended-release capsules that is more difficult to snort or inject. If it is approved, as the company expects, in the first quarter of 2015, the drugmaker would replace the current version of Zohydro in the second quarter.

The company still, however, is challenging U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel's July 8 decision upholding a state Board of Registration in Pharmacy regulation requiring that only pharmacists handle Zohydro in a drug store.

"That legal action is ongoing in federal court, and the company will provide additional updates as it moves through the process," Zogenix said yesterday in a statement.

A hearing on the company's complaint is expected in December.

"Our office has urged the FDA as well as manufacturers to make abuse-resistant and tamper-resistant formulations of their drugs, especially potent opioids," Christopher Loh, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley, said in a statement yesterday. "That continues to be an important tool in the fight against abuse and a minimum safeguard that should be employed by manufacturers of painkillers."

The FDA approved Zohydro last October. But in late March, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency because of a growing number of opiate overdoses and banned the prescription and sale of hydrocone-only drugs, of which Zohydro is the only one.

The company sued, arguing that it was being singled out unfairly, and in April, Zobel lifted the ban. Within days, the boards of registration in medicine and pharmacy and the Board of Registration of Physicians Assistants passed regulations placing restrictions on how the drug could be prescribed and sold.

In July, Zobel struck down a requirement that doctors or physicians assistants certify in a "letter of medical necessity" that "other pain management treatments have failed" for a patient who has been prescribed Zohydro.

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Baker Chocolate complex has sweet condos

If you're looking for an alternative to the Hub's astro­nomical condo prices, you may want to stop looking along the Charles River and set your sights on the Neponset.

The Baker Chocolate complex, a 14-acre village of brick factory buildings along the Neponset River in Dorchester's Lower Mills, has some new high-end condos that start at just $450,000. Owners have access to an indoor lap pool with a hot tub, a fitness facility, a conference room and a dog park. Units come with deeded parking out back and condo fees include heat.

The Lofts at Lower Mills were transformed into one- and two-bedroom market-­rate apartments with historic preservation tax credits five years ago, and now Hub owner Winn­ Develop­ment has been converting them to condos as the credits expire.

Three buildings are being transitioned into 77 condos, with 58 of them in a six-story Romanesque Revival building built in 1891 and known as the Baker Mill. The developer is adding hardwood floors, some updated appliances, and even opening up some unused loft spaces on the top floor.

The condos have 13-to- 18A-foot-high wood-beam ceilings, tall windows, exposed brick walls and lots of original detailing.

We took a look at model Unit B-601, a 2,000-square-foot one-bedroom-plus duplex that's on the market for $660,000. The sixth-floor unit's living room has soaring 18A-foot ceilings and a large multipart arched window that overlooks the river. Its one bedroom, reachable by a newly added steel and wood staircase, is a remarkably large 750 square feet. The unit has two full bathrooms with glass-enclosed showers and a soaking tub, an in-unit washer/dryer, a dining room/den space and an open kitchen with quartz countertops, wood cabinets and stainless-steel appliances.

The Baker complex is within a short walking distance of Dorchester's Lower Mills retail area and Milton Village just across the Neponset, but it feels self-contained. Out back there's the picturesque Baker Dam and you can connect with Neponset River Walk that leads down to the Pope John XXIII park. There's a Red Line trolley stop to Ashmont just across the street, making for an easy city commute.

"It's got a neighborhood feel, and it's affordable," said Jonathan Keith of Keith Brokerage in Canton, who is exclusively marketing the units. The building was rehabbed into apartments by his family's construction company.

Condo fees range from $600-$900 a month, and include gas heat from a central system. Owners also get access to the complex's renovated lap pool and fitness facility.

"We're attracting a lot more empty nester buyers than we thought we would," said Keith, who said 32 units have closed. "We're getting people from suburbs like Hingham and Cohasset who want to be close to the South Shore but are looking for a city feel. The complex has really developed into a friendly neighborhood with a great mix of people."

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Activists demand WGBH dump David Koch

Nearly 100 environmental activists protested outside WGBH's Brighton studios yesterday calling for conservative billionaire David Koch's ouster from the public broadcaster's board of trustees.

"I am here today because David Koch is a climate denier and 'GBH has scientific programs and he should have absolutely no influence on PBS and public broadcasting," said Nate Goldshlag of Arlington.

Some protesters dressed as Sesame Street characters Elmo, Big Bird and the Count joined the crowd. Dozens then packed the board of trustees meeting.

A Herald videographer was not allowed to record the meeting, but Emily Southard of Forecast the Facts said that though they weren't allowed to address the board, some protesters interrupted the meeting to complain about Koch's involvement.

Koch has contrib­uted millions of dollars to WGBH — and specifically to its science-based "NOVA" program — over the past 30 years.

WGBH officials have insisted that trustees don't influence the content of programming and that Koch will remain on the board.

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Ebola, manufacturing woes shake Wall St.

The first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the U.S. sent ripples through Wall Street yesterday, as airline stocks slid while shares of drugmakers with potential treatments soared.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down more than 200 points as it was hit with disappointing economic news in addition to Ebola worries.

At first stocks were driven lower by word that German manufacturing had slowed last month. The selling accelerated after a separate survey indicated U.S. manufacturing slowed as well.

News that a Liberian man visiting family in Dallas had been diagnosed with Ebola caused investors to dump airline stocks out of fear that people would be reluctant to travel.­ JetBlue, Delta, American and Southwest Airlines all fell by more than 3 percent.

"The worse the news headlines get about this, the more risk there is to airlines," Joe Denardi, a Stifel financial Corp. analyst, told Bloomberg.

But shares of drug­makers with potential vaccines or treatments for Ebola rose. Shares of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, whose TKM-Ebola drug was given to Holden physician Richard Sacra after he contracted the disease in West Africa, soared more than 18 percent. Meanwhile, shares of Cambridge-based Sarepta Therapeutics, whose experimental drug AVI-7537 showed promise before federal funding dried up, rose 3.70 percent.

Other companies that fared well due to the Ebola news included Lakeland Industries, which makes hazmat suits, and Alpha Pro Tech, which makes face masks and eye shields. Lakeland shares soared 29.64 percent, while Alpha Pro Tech rose 10.46 percent.

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Insurer taps techies for fresh ideas, apps

The largest insurance company in the state is tapping more than 100 techies and entrepreneurs to create apps that will help solve some of the biggest health care issues.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will hold a one-and-a-half month program with as many as 120 "innovators" to tackle health care for millennials, the rising­ number of elderly who will need health care and how to improve community engagement, said Jason Robart, senior vice president and head of human resources for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

"We want fresh perspective coming at these issues," Robart said. "We want to tap into the expertise and experience in a way we don't (normally) have an opportunity to."

The U.S Census estimates there are more than 80 million Americans between 13 and 32, many of whom soon will be in charge of their own health care.

Robart said getting ideas from people who are not entrenched in an insurance company will hopefully pay dividends.

"These are people who are thinking about new and innovative ideas in their leisure time," he said.

One of the main goals of the program, which will pair up techies to work on one of the issues until mid-November, will be to produce an app — or something like an app.

Chris Edell, CEO of Elevar, which is helping Blue Cross with the program, said health care doesn't have the same one-stop app as banks.

"It's not as simple as building an app and saying use it," Edell said. "(We want) health insurance and your visits to the hospital to have the whole end-to-end experience."

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Asian stocks down on recovery, Ebola worries

SEOUL, South Korea — Asian stocks fell Thursday amid worries about the strength of U.S. and European recoveries and the first American case of Ebola.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.7 percent to 15,815.45 points and South Korea's Kospi fell 0.9 percent to 1,973.31. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7 percent to 5,295.7. Stocks in Southeast Asia also lost ground. Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a public holiday.

SLOW GERMAN DATA: A survey showed German manufacturing unexpectedly contracted in September for the first time in 15 months, the latest sign Europe is being hurt by sanctions imposed on Russia over its role in Ukraine.

US MANUFACTURING: A closely watched monthly survey by the Institute for Supply Management came in below expectations, helping to drive a selloff on Wall Street.

EBOLA: U.S. airlines were among the hardest hit as investors fretted people would be discouraged from traveling after reports of the country's first case of Ebola.

ANALYST TAKE: "Confirmation of a case of Ebola in the U.S. has joined a growing list of bad news stories with geo-political tensions in Ukraine and Hong Kong, and growth concerns around China and Europe sapping risk appetite," said Niall King of CMC Markets in a commentary.

WALL STREET: The Dow Jones industrial average index lost 1.4 percent to 16,804.71. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 declined 1.3 percent to 1,946.16 and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.6 percent to 4,422.09.

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK FOCUS: Caution prevailed among investors ahead of a meeting of European Central Bank policymakers. Though no change in interest rates is anticipated, there will be great interest in what ECB President Mario Draghi says about possible monetary stimulus following recent weak economic news in Europe.

US DATA: The U.S. Labor Department is due to report the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. Economists forecast that weekly applications rose a slight 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000. The Commerce Department will report August factory orders. Orders in July rose 10.5 percent in their biggest one-month gain since 1992.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. oil added 17 cents to $90.90 per barrel in electronic trading in New York. The contract fell 43 cents to settle at $90.73 on Wednesday. The price of oil was pushed down by plentiful supplies and a rise in the U.S. dollar — in which oil sales are priced — against other currencies.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 108.65 yen from 109.07 yen. The euro rose to $1.266 from $1.262.

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Jeep’s brake rotors seem to be failing at warp speed

I have a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 160,000 miles on it. The problem is with the brake rotors warping. Every time I've had the brakes worked on, they start to pulsate again after a few thousand miles. Last time the dealer installed new pads and rotors, but the same thing happened. Are there certain types of rotors or pads I can use to prevent this?

First, let's review the primary causes of brake rotor warping — excessive heat or manufacturing defect. Seems unlikely you and the many other Jeep owners who've complained about the same problem would continually get faulty replacement rotors.

Thus, focus on excess heat. If a driver consistently brakes late and hard for stops or drags the brakes while driving, the heat buildup in the rotors can eventually cause distortion, uneven wear and warpage. Always brake early and brake lightly whenever possible. And here's a little tip. Once stopped for a light, let the car roll a foot or so forward to move the pads off the "hot spot" on the rotor. During a long stop, do this a couple of times — safely, of course. This reduces "heat soak" in the rotors, where one section is significantly hotter than the rest of the rotor.

Design, manufacturing and mechanical issues can certainly contribute to warped rotors. Undersized calipers and rotors may not be able to dissipate heat fast enough during aggressive braking to prevent eventual warpage. Better quality replacement rotors and pads may help this type of issue. If a mechanical or hydraulic issue is preventing the brake proportioning valve or rear brakes from doing their share, the front brakes can be overworked and overheated in "normal" driving.

Sticky caliper pistons and/or binding caliper slider pins are a primary cause of rotor warpage and uneven rotor wear. An often overlooked cause for warped rotors is improper or uneven torque on the wheel lug nuts. Always — every single time — make sure the wheels are tightened in a symmetrical order in stages to the proper torque specification. Similarly, rust or corrosion between the hub face and rotor can lead to uneven brake wear.

Remember, you will feel a vibration in the pedal or steering wheel when rotors have much more than two-thousandths of an inch of lateral run-out — that's .002"!

A final thought. Proper rotor and pad "bedding" or break-in when new can significantly affect brake performance and life expectancy. Here's how I do it: Find a lightly traveled 45- to 50-mph road. With no vehicles behind you, accelerate up to 45 mph, then brake very firmly down to rolling speed. Repeat this a few times until you smell the tinge of brake heat or feel the beginning of brake fade. Then just cruise along at the speed limit, allowing the brakes to cool back to normal temperature. This process "beds" the brakes, making the pad and rotor surfaces "happy" with each other. Once properly bedded, the brakes should perform well for their full service life.

Need some advice for my daughter and her husband. They bought a 2006 Nissan 350Z — smart folks, 'cause they won't let me drive it. No problems with it, but a headlight quit working. The Nissan dealer wants $1,300 to replace it. Any comment or suggestions? This seems sort of excessive.

I'd suggest that you offer a much less expensive fix in exchange for driving privileges! According to my Alldata automotive database, this Nissan is fitted with xenon HID headlamps. Nissan service bulletin NTB10-061A dated June 2010 suggests that a failed headlamp bulb, about $180, or HID control unit, $400-$500, is the most likely cause of an inoperative headlight. Even with an hour or so of labor, that's a far cry from $1,300 to replace the entire headlight assembly. There's a very good chance you can solve the problem, save them money and, most important, end up with driving privileges! Remember, I'm an instructor for the Skip Barber Racing School — you'd have lots of fun learning how to properly drive that performance car!

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@
startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number.

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Cuba hands Canadian businessman 15-year sentence

HAVANA — A Canadian automobile executive has been sentenced to 15 years in Cuban prison on corruption-related charges that officials here call part of a broad campaign against graft, his company said Saturday.

Ontario-based Tokmakjian Group said the charges against its president, Cy Tokmakjian, 74, were concocted as an excuse to seize the automotive firm's $100 million in assets in Cuba. The company described the case Saturday as "absurd" and a "travesty of justice."

The company's Cuban offices were raided in 2011 as Cuba launched an anti-graft drive that has swept up foreign business executives from at least five nations as well as government officials and dozens of Cuban employees at key state-run companies.

Foreign business people have long considered payoffs ranging from a free meal to cash deposits in overseas accounts to be an unavoidable cost of doing business in Cuba. President Raul Castro has said that rooting out rampant corruption is one of the country's most important challenges.

More than 150 foreign business people and dozens of small South American and European companies have been kicked out of the country under the anti-graft drive. Several dozen defendants have ended up in jail, including a few foreigners and high government officials accused of influence-peddling and taking bribes.

Such cases, and questions about their fairness, have chilled many current and potential investors in Cuba, which is trying to attract foreign capital to jumpstart the stagnant economy.

Cuba's judicial system is known for speedy proceedings behind closed doors with little or no media access. Cuban officials have said little about the Tokmakjian case beyond announcing last year that the Tokmakjian Group's operating license had been rescinded due to unspecified actions "that are contrary to the principles and ethics that should characterize commercial activity, and contravene Cuban judicial order."

Tokmakjian managers Claudio Vetere and Marco Puche got 12- and 8-year sentences, respectively, company vice president Lee Hacker told The Associated Press. He said the company's lawyers were notified of the sentences on Friday.

The Canadian company said its president had been allowed to call only four of the 18 expert witnesses he wanted to testify.

"The deception taking place in Cuba is beyond imagination," the company said. "Lack of due process doesn't begin to describe the travesty of justice."

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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein

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APP helps EMTs alert hospitals

For emergency medical technicians, every bit of information can be the difference between life and death.

A MassChallenge finalist called Twiage has developed a mobile app that can help. With just the touch of a button or voice-activated Google Glass, EMTs can use the app to send hospitals videos of patients and any injuries, voice memos with their symptoms and vital signs, and electrocardiograms, or EKGs, a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of the heart.

All of the information is then pre-transcribed on a dashboard for doctors and nurses to see before patients arrive at the hospital.

"With a two-way radio, 20 percent of the time the hospital couldn't hear what I was saying, so they couldn't prepare for the patient until we arrived," said Crystal Law, an MIT-trained engineer and former EMT. "I thought, what if we could use the technology people use today for fun, for something as important as an emergency?"

Law teamed up with Dr. YiDing Yu, a Harvard physician, and John Rodley, an Android and Google Glass developer, to found Twiage, one of 128 finalists now competing for a share of more than $1 million in prize money through the MassChallenge start-up accelerator.

For the past two months, the app has been tested by South Shore Hospital and three paramedics, with plans to expand it to more, said Eugene Duffy, emergency medical services manager.

"It's been fantastic," Duffy said. "The quality of information coming from ambulances now is second to none."

Dr. William Tollefsen, the hospital's medical director of emergency medical services, said Twiage has proven especially useful in cases such as acute stroke, where doctors have only a 4 1⁄2-hour window from the time a patient was last seen normal to administer a "clot-busting" drug to prevent damage such as loss of speech or the ability to walk.

"The faster I can get information like the severity of the symptoms and the last time the patient appeared normal, the faster I can activate a neurologist, nurses and a pharmacist," Tollefsen said. "It can make all the difference between a good outcome and results that can be catastrophic."

Twiage also can save hospitals thousands of dollars in false alarms and save patients and their insurers thousands more in unnecessarily long hospitalizations, Law said.

Advance notification of a stroke, for example, can allow hospitals to prepare and reduce the cost of hospitalization by half, or by $10,000, said Dr. Yu, Twiage's chief medical officer.

Twiage will be offering the app to five other hospitals through the end of this year, Law said, and it will be available to all hospitals for a subscription fee by next summer.

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Groceries from local producers

There's a new player in the grocery delivery game, and it's mixing the tech-savvy of Instacart, local sourcing of Whole Foods and low prices to attract Hub consumers.

It's called Watershed Exchange and was launched this month.

"The way we differentiate ourselves from everyone else, is that we want to be a platform for local producers to sell direct to consumers. It's taking a farmer's market to another level. Why shouldn't you be able to access farmed products seven days a week 24 hours a day?" said Ryan Schoen, 32. He and Jeremy Stanfield, 34, came up with the idea while living in New York and working in operations for upscale grocer Dean & DeLuca. They greenlighted the idea in April, raised about $200,000 from angel investors in August and officially launched Watershed Exchange.

Here's how it works: Consumers order food from such vendors as Red's Best Seafood in Boston, or Maple Heights Farm in Westminster from Watershed's mobile-enabled website and then set a delivery window, typically between noon and 5 p.m.

Anything Watershed can't source directly is fulfilled by Pemberton Farms in Cambridge — mainly items such as beer, wine and spirits as the startup doesn't have a liquor license.

When they do source items that are not local, such as oranges, avocados or coffee, their aim is to use Fair Trade products.

"This (service) appeals to anyone who wants to connect more with their food," said Stanfield.

Schoen and Stanfield fill the orders and deliver the goods themselves in a custom bright blue and wood paneled refurbished school bus. So far, they've delivered more than 100 orders in their first three weeks.

Convenient, tech-savvy, local — but how are the prices?

Right now they have fresh Cape Cod scallops on their site for $13-per-lb. vs. Costco's $18-per-lb. frozen. They also have local apples for $1 per lb. "You shouldn't have to pay a premium for convenience," said Schoen.

Local farmers and artisans get 75 cents on the dollar versus the industry standard of 20 cents.

Chalk it up to seriously low overhead. Technology handles most of the transaction, there's no expensive real estate, store front, food waste, register clerks, shelf stockers, etc. And they reduce the distribution cost by dealing directly with the artisan.

"We are trying to create an alternative system to other food delivery services where it's better for the producer of the food to communicate their products directly to the consumer," said Schoen.

Delivery areas include Boston, Metro West, Somerville and Cambridge, with a plan to expand to more communities. The delivery is free for September but will be $5-$10 after the introductory promotion is over.

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