Businessman. The son of a Brooklyn candy store owner from Kiev, Russia, he was cofounder of Blinder Robinson and Company, a now defunct penny stock brokerage firm. After returning from military service during World War II where he earned a Purple Heart in Normandy, France, he started a photo-supply business and later joined his brother Morris, in operating a coffee vending company. In 1969 he and his brother went into the stock brokerage business and opened Blinder, Robinson and Company in Jersey City, New Jersey. The business was moved to Denver, Colorado in 1977. By 1982 he had become a millionaire with the largest penny stock broker-dealer operations in the United States. Also in 1982, based on investigations initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and prosecuted by the Department of Justice, a Denver federal judge found that Blinder, Robinson and Company deceived investors and the ruling was appealed. Blinder was known as a flamboyant character who made significant contributions to charitable organizations and had a soft spot in his heart for small pet businesses. In February 1990 he and four others from Blinder, Robinson and Company were indicted by a federal grand jury for racketeering and securities fraud. In 1992 in a nationally followed trial in Las Vegas, Nevada, he was tried for a penny stock scam and eventually found guilty on six counts. As a result he was sentenced to 46 months in the federal penitentiary and in 1995 was released six months early for good behavior. At one point Blinder was noted as the highest paid executive in Colorado. By the time he entered prison, he was penniless as a result of the Securities and Exchange Commission seizing all of his assets. In later years he had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. (bio by: Fred Beisser)  Family links:  Spouse:  Lillian Blinder (1923 – 1999)* *Calculated relationship