JUNE 12, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 23

Milestones
BY PENNY CAMPBELL

DIED. MAURICE "THE ROCKET" RICHARD, 78, Canadian ice hockey star considered one of the sport's greats; in Montreal. Richard, who earned his nickname for his speed and aggression on the ice, played all of his 18 seasons as a professional for the Montreal Canadiens, leading them to eight Stanley Cups. His 544 career goals were an nhl record at the time of his retirement in 1960.

DIED. TITO PUENTE, 77, flamboyant bandleader and percussionist who helped define the sound of Latin jazz; in New York. Born in the U.S. to Puerto Rican parents, he recorded more than 100 albums in a six-decade career, winning his fifth Grammy earlier this year. Known as the "King of Latin Music," he inspired stars such as rock legend Carlos Santana, who had a huge hit with a version of Puente's classic Oye Como Va.

DIED. GORDON "TEX" BENEKE, 86, singer and sax player with the Glenn Miller Orchestra who helped make hits of songs like Chattanooga Choo Choo; in Costa Mesa, California. Beneke, who owes his nickname to his Texas origins, joined the Orchestra in 1938, rapidly gaining popularity for his tenor sax solos and singing voice. He starred in many Miller-based films, including Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives. Beneke recreated the band after Miller's death in 1944 and scored a string of Top 10 hits.

ELECTED. MEHDI KARROUBI, 63, moderate reformist and ally of President Mohammed Khatami, to the powerful position of speaker of Iran's first reformist-dominated parliament; in Tehran. A former Islamic radical who now heads the liberal Association of Militant Clerics, Karroubi was elected after Khatami's Islamic Participation Front decided not to field an opposing candidate. With his Islamic and liberal credentials, he may be able to bridge the divide between the reformists and religious hard-liners.

SENTENCED. MOU QIZHONG, 58, flamboyant tycoon who was once China's richest man, to life imprisonment for fraud; in Wuhan. Mou was found guilty of defrauding a state bank of $75 million from 1995 to 1996. A political prisoner during the 1966-'76 Cultural Revolution, he was sentenced to death for criticizing the communist leadership but released in 1979. He made his fortune in 1992 by trading factory-surplus goods for four Soviet passenger planes, which he sold for an $11 million profit.

RESIGNED. CHUNG JU YUNG, 84, founder of South Korea's largest conglomerate, Hyundai, from his position of honorary chairman; in Seoul. Family-run conglomerates like Hyundai have come under pressure in recent years to professionalize management and improve transparency. Chung's resignation suggests that the power of these families is on the wane.