Best of Boston

In a one-week period in September 1985, Florence then CEO of Towle Manufacturing, sold 43,600 shares of the East Boston silverware manufacturer at prices ranging from $8.37 to $9 a share. Two months later, the 54-year-old Florence was asked to resign. Last March the 296-year-old company filed for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. The company’s stock is currently hovering around $3.50 a share.