Vivendi Games continues to make strong headway with Blizzard Entertainment Inc. and World of Warcraft, adding 2 million incremental subscribers compared to end of March 2007. After reaching the 10-million-subscriber milestone at the end of 2007, World of Warcraft’s subscriber base grew to more than 10.7 million by the end of the first quarter of 2008.A comparison of the first quarters of 2007 and 2008 performances is not representative because the first quarter of 2007 included the hugely successful release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.Blizzard Entertainment’s second expansion, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2008. Consequently, Vivendi Games’ revenues for the first quarter of 2008 are 24.1% lower (-18.2% on a constant currency basis) when compared to the same period last year. Vivendi Games’ revenues was €221 million. [$341 million]Blizzard Entertainment’s revenues was €192 million [$297 million]. Sierra Entertainment, Sierra Online and Vivendi Games Mobile revenues were slightly higher than their performance for the same period last year; in the face of unfavorable currency exchange movements on all business segments.

“Obviously, Samueli is culturally important as a founder and highly respected engineer,” said Tim Luke, an analyst who follows Broadcom for Lehman Bros. “But he’s one guy. The CEO is still there. He had been less operational. He’s more of a technical consultant.”

In addition to founding Broadcom, Samueli owns the Anaheim Ducks. Nothing has changed “at the moment” as far as his good standing with the National Hockey League, spokesman Frank Brown said.

“He’s very highly regarded as an owner who puts the best interests of the team and players in the forefront — not to mention the interests of fans,” Brown said of Samueli, who bought the Ducks in 2005, two years before it won the 2007 Stanley Cup.

Friends and acquaintances of Samueli and his wife, Susan, said the accounting fraud allegations they have seen seem out of character.

“I’m not totally up-to-speed on the specifics of the stock option case, but based upon the history of our relationship, I feel confident that Henry will be vindicated thru our legal process. He’s one of the good guys!!” said Paul Folino, executive chairman of Emulex Corp., who has worked with Samueli on fundraising campaigns for Chapman University, U.C. Irvine, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Orange County High School of the Arts, the Orangewood Children’s Foundation and the New Majority.

“I think Henry is an outstanding human being. He’s been very helpful to our Israeli training program for young CEOs…I think he’s a tremendous philanthropist in terms of Orange County. He cares about the whole community. Beyond that he has begun and he has built one of the most outstanding companies in the whole country and it’s based here, it’s centered right here. I think Orange County owes Henry Samueli a lot,” said Marshall Kaplan, Executive Director of the Merage Foundations.

“I’ve found him to be not just generous, but remarkably kind, gentle, insightful and a very wise person. I’m deeply saddened by what’s happened to Henry and Susan as a result of this,” said Mark Chapin Johnson, a former medical products company executive who now runs a family foundation that supports arts and academic projects. “It’s a tragedy of immense proportions.”

Johnson invited Samueli to join the board of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in 1999. He recalled how Samueli paid a $10 million pledge to help build a new concert hall, even though Samueli had resigned from the board in 2002 after other board members sued Broadcom for securities fraud.

“He’s not just generous to the community with his money,” Johnson said. “When you create and possess as much wealth as he has, to be able to deal with it with wisdom and maturity is a skill I don’t have and I don’t know many people who do have it.”

Johnson said Orange County’s philanthropic community is very forgiving “as long as people continue to write checks.” But he said there is a lot more to Samueli than his money: “Henry is the kind of guy who if he lost it all, I’d still have a cup of coffee with him, no matter what.”

Rabbi Marc Dworkin, executive director of the American Jewish Committee of Orange County, praised Samueli as community leaders “with vision and commitment through his generous involvement that has been a great asset and a pillar in the Jewish and the general community. His efforts have helped Orange County grow and develop for all of its residents.”

The Samuelis have donated more than $180 million after Broadcom went public in 1998, including:

• $30 million to the School of Engineering at UCLA and $20M to the School of Engineering at UC Irvine, both of whchic bear Henry Samueli’s name
• $25 million to the Samueli Jewish Campus in Irvine that houses a K-12 day school and the Jewish Community Center

• $10 million to the Orange County Performing Arts Center for their new concert hall and $10M to support Opera Pacific
• $6 million to create a Center for Integrative Medicine at UCI, which bears Susan Samueli’s name
• $5 million to the Orangewood Children’s Foundation for their new foster home project.

Related stories …

Poll: Is Samueli’s reputation hurt permanently?

Samueli, Henry Nicholas and 2 others named in SEC complaint

Billionaire’s aide jailed for contempt in Broadcom hearing

Broadcom to pay $12 million to settle SEC backdating charges

Samueli and his wife, Susan, have donated more than $180 million since Broadcom went public in 1998. Gifts include: $30 million to the School of Engineering at UCLA and $20 million to the School of Engineering at UCI, both of which bear Samueli’s name; $25 million to the Samueli Jewish Campus in Irvine; $10 million to the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s concert hall, $10 million to support Opera Pacific and $6 million to create a Center for Integrative Medicine at UCI, which bears Susan Samueli’s name.

Now that Samueli is facing allegations of violating the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws and falsifying books and records, we’d like to hear from you.

• Henry Samueli, Broadcom’s chairman and chief technical officer
• Henry T. Nicholas III, the former chief executive officer and co-founder.
• William Ruehle, the former chief financial officer
• David Dull, Broadcom’s current general counsel

“As alleged in the complaint, the executives at Broadcom perpetrated a massive, five-year scheme that involved fraudulent backdating of dozens of option grants, falsifying corporate records, intentionally false accounting, and lying to shareholders,” said Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “This egregious misconduct resulted in the largest accounting restatement to date arising from stock option backdating and warrants the significant sanctions sought from these individuals.”

THE SEC press release IS HERE and the entire complaint IS HERE.

Attorneys for Samueli, Ruehle and Dull said their clients should not be punished. Click HERE to see their statements.

In April, Broadcom agreed to pay $12 million to settle a complaint the company backdated employee stock options.

The previous local record for a gallon of regular was $3.873, held since May 1. Diesel has been creeping up daily.

The cost of a gallon of regular has jumped 15 cents in a month and 41 cents since this time last year. The price of a gallon of diesel rose 18 cents in a month and — get this –  $1.48 in the past year.

The biggest factor behind rising prices has been the steady upward march of the cost of crude oil, which hit a record $126.98  a barrel trading in New York on Monday.

Historically, gasoline prices peak toward the end of May, just in time for Memorial Day. But this year is one for the books.

Click HERE to see the latest gas prices from AAA.

Click HERE to find prices at stations in your area.

Other gasoline stories …

O.C. Metrolink ridership up with gas prices

Crude breaks $120 a barrel barrier

Poll: Should there be a gas tax holiday?

Californians used 4.5% less gas in January

That’s down from March, when the Consumer Price Index for Orange County-Los Angeles-Riverside rose 1.0 percent. The 12-month increase through March was 3.3 percent.

Nationwide, the CPI increased 0.6 percent in April and 3.9 percent in the 12 months through April, BLS said.

In April, prices for food consumed at home rose 1.5 percent, “reflecting substantial increases in all six major grocery store food groups,” BLS said. (For more news on soaring grocery prices, click here.)

Prices for petroleum-based energy fell 1.6 percent in April, even as prices for energy services rose 2.5 percent, BLS said.

The indicment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, accuses Bradley Birkenfield, 43, a U.S. citizen living in Switzerland, and Mario Staggl, 43, a resident and citizen of Liechtenstein, of conspiring to defraud the United States of taxes by helping a billionaire real estate developer create bogus companies to conceal his assets.

Birkenfeld made his initial appearance in court when the indictment was unsealed Tuesday. Staggl remains at large.

The 12-page indictment identifies the billionaire real estate developer, “I.O.,” as an unindicted co-conspirator. Olenicoff’s attorney, Edward Robbins, said: “Not only is it obviously Igor Olenicoff. It is Igor Olenicoff.”

In April, Olenicoff, 65, pleaded guilty in court to income tax evasion, agreeing to pay $52 million in back taxes and penalties and to repatriate all of his overseas accounts. He blamed his decision on setting up overseas bank accounts on “bad advice and me not thinking about it.”

The indictment says Staggl and Birkenfield falsified documents for Swiss bank account and the Internal Revenue Service dating back at least to 2001 as part of a conspiracy to “market the advantages of Swiss and Liechtenstein bank secrecy to wealthy United States clients interested in attempting to evade United States income taxes.”

The alleged scheme also used a network of accounts and shell companies in the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Denmark, Gibraltar and Panama. Staggl and Birkenfield also allegedly advised Olenicoff to register a 147-foot yacht in Gibraltar.

Olenicoff, owner of Olen Properties, was also advised to use money from Swiss bank accounts as collateral for his real estate investments, according to the indictment. Forbes magazine estimated Olenicoff’s personal fortune at $1.7 billion, making him No. 286 among America’s wealthiest individuals.

Related stories …
No prison time for billionaire in tax case
Billionaire pays IRS $52 million in back taxes

Natalia Olenicoff’s father wanted her to be involved with the family business

Certified Tire did not admit fault in reaching the settlement with district attorneys in the four counties, which calls for the company to pay $550,000 in fines and reimbursements for the cost of the investigation.

The investigation came in response to more than 400 complaints filed to the Bureau of Automotive Repairs and the Better Business Bureau.

The settlement, signed in Superior Court in San Bernardino on May 8, calls for the Riverside-based repair chain to send mailings to all customers who filed complaints against the company and to offer a refund or restitution. Certified Tire must show proof to the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office that the mailing has been sent and all legitimate claims have been paid.

To be eligible, customers must have filed a complaint with the state Bureau of Automotive Repair, the Better Business Bureau, county prosecutors or with Certified Tire between January 2002 and March 2008. In Orange County, Certified Tire outlets are located in Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana.

Customers who believe they are eligible can call Certified Tire headquarters at 951-369-0025.

More stories …

• Auto Club to refund $22.5 million to insurance customers

• Centro Natural settles FTC suit around soap-based weight-loss plan

• FTC fines Costa Mesa telemarketer

• Auto dealer sued for ID theft

More than 40 percent of the 2,400 Lamborghinis made last year in Italy were sold in North America and Lamborghini Orange County unloaded about 10 percent of the total, said Vik Keuylian, owner of the dealership in Santa Ana.

And while sales of most autos have suffered in the face of soaring gas prices and sinking economic indicators, Lamborghinis seem to still be in demand, at least locally.

“This April was better than April ‘07,” said Keuylian, who also owns a Lamborghini outlet in Calabasas. “Other dealers are turning down cars and we’re picking them up and selling them at a profit.”

The cheapest Lamborghini, a Gallardo coupe, sells for $225,000.

Keuylian said the corporate move would help him work with executives in the same time zone. It would also enable his customers to get better acquainted with Lamborghini’s executives who could attend more dealer events.

At a party at Orange County Lamborghini last month, Pietro Frigerio, chief operating officer of Lamborghini America, handed out business cards with his business address as Auburn Hills, Mich. But Frigerio already lives in the Los Angeles area, so for him the office relocation is a matter of convenience.

“At this time we can confirm that Santa Monica is the new location for Automobili Lamborghini America LLC with Mr. Frigerio as the COO heading up the U.S. entity but can not confirm the exact location,” Soon Nguyen, a Lamborghini PR rep, emailed in response to questions from the Register.

Automotive News first reported the relocation with the clever lead: “Turns out you can’t spell Lamborghini without LA.”

More articles …

Own a Lamborghini for just $3,299
O.C. auto sales tumbled 20% through March
Survey: Affluent cut spending plans
O.C. luxury auto dealers report strong 2007

Orange County negotiations for 2,000 local janitors are scheduled to resume Wednesday, the union said.

In Los Angeles, janitors have tentatively agreed to a 25% increase in total compensation including annual salary of $26,728 by 2012. Employers will continue to pay the full cost of family health insurance and pension and under the new contract will pay for vision coverage.

Related stories:

Janitors go back to work in L.A.; O.C. talks canceled

Janitors strike in L.A., but not yet in O.C.