Never a dull moment at Mace Security International Inc. (
NASDAQ: MACE) of Mount Laurel. Ronald R. Pirollo, of Langhorne, Pa.,
has resigned as chief accountant and controller of the troubled Mount Laurel seller of the self-defense spray. The one-line annnouncement comes about a week after CEO Louis D. Paolino Jr. announced the surprise purchase of an online services company called Linkstar. It comes barely a month after Pirollo
himself won a guarantee of extra pay in the event of a board takeover or removal of Paolino. And that step came on the heals of Paolino's own embezzlement allegations against a former employer and shareholder demands that Paolino's board open itself up to new members.
Andrew Shapiro, whose Lawndale Capital Management is Mace's largest shareholder, reviewed the possible reasons, or mysteries, for Pirollo's sudden departure after eight years at Mace in an e-mail to PhillyInc: "It is unclear if this immediate resignation was as a result of embezzlement by the company's Florida division controller, historical internal control questions leading to late regulatory filings, problems with last week's acquisition of Linkstar or other factors." Further confusing the situation were recent comments by Paolino about his frustration with the security business and his growing interest in the online world.
- Jonathan Berr
