2. The Parties

Alliance Group Services Inc. (AGS) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business located in Westport, Connecticut. AGS provides service in California solely on a wholesale basis to other long distance companies pursuant to its CPCN authorizing the provision of limited facilities-based and resold interexchange services.³ AGS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AGS Acquisition, Inc. (AGS Acquisition), which is also a privately held corporation.

DiPasquale is the President and CEO of AGS. According to the application, DiPasquale has managed the operations of AGS since late 2004. As a result of the transactions described in this application and the amendment to the application, DiPasquale has a 100 percent ownership interest in AGS.

Before the transactions described in this order occurred, DiPasquale owned 15 percent of the stock of AGS Acquisition, the parent company of AGS. The other 85 percent of AGS Acquisition was owned by Alliance Group Holdings, Inc. (AGS Holdings). As a result of the transactions described in this order, DiPasquale now owns 100 percent of the stock of AGS Acquisition.

AGS Holdings is also a privately held company. The majority of the shares of AGS Holdings are owned by the Coughlin Family Trust, an irrevocable family trust of which Sharon Coughlin, the spouse of Coughlin, is trustee. The remaining shares of AGS holdings are owned by five individuals who are unrelated to the Coughlin family.

Coughlin was the Chief Executive Officer of Vista Group International, Inc., doing business in California as an inter-exchange carrier known as Vista Communications (Vista), and the Coughlin Family Trust was the majority stockholder of this company. In D.01-09-017, the Commission imposed sanctions against Vista in the amount of $7 million for failing to adequately supervise its telemarketers, so that thousands of customers switched long distance providers after receiving misleading solicitations and inadequate information about rates and switching charges. To date, Vista's $7 million fine remains unpaid and is uncollectible.

The Commission Consumer Protection and Safety Division represented the interests of utility consumers and the public in this proceeding.

³ The Commission granted this CPCN to AGS in D.07-04-037.