by DON CHANEY
Democrat-Gazette Business Writer

The president and chairman of the board of Exsorbet Industries Inc. resigned Wednesday amid an investigation by the NASDAQ Stock market into his securities activities in Canada during the 1980s

Floyd Leland Ogle, who joined the Fort Smith environmental cleanup company in April 1995, resigned effective immediately. Charles E. Chain Jr., the company's chief financial office, will succeed Ogle as president and chairman, according to a company news release.

The company said in a new release that the resignation was part of a deal between Ogle and the NASDAQ to protect Exsorbet listing on the Exchange.

"This kind of came as a slap in the face to me, "Ogle told the Arkansas-Gazette. "But you have to take the well-being of everyone concerned into account. I would be remiss in my responsibilities to take a position that was detrimental to the shareholders."

Founded in November 1993, Exsorbet began trading on the NASDAQ bulletin board in February 1994, which carries no minimum requirements and has restricted trading rules. The company began trading with a full listing on the NASDAQ Stock market in November 1995.

During Ogle's brief tenure as president of the company, Exsorbet acquired Central Environmental Services Inc. of Little Rock - which included subsidiaries SpilTech Service Inc. and Cierra Inc. - and Eco-Systems Inc. Estimate 1995 revenue for Exsorbet is $8 million, compared with $799,000 in 1994.

Ogle said the securities activities NASDAQ was looking into took place in Canada more than 10 years ago.

He said he didn't recall many of the details. Ogle said he pleaded guilty to the charges because he didn't want to spend the time or money to fight it in court. Of those charged, Ogle said he was the only one convicted.

"What it involved was a series of charges that involved what they called a conspiracy to manipulate the stock market," Ogle said.

"Had I stayed there and fought it, I image I would have been acquitted, as was everyone else', he said. "I look at that now and it may have been a very bad decision at the time.

The SEC has been investigating NASDAQ and its automated computer-based trading operation following investor complaints about slow posting of stock trades.

"They have to take an above reproach attitude," Ogle said of NASDAQ. "Anything remotely off color is in their best interest to not have it around them.

Gary Cotten, chief of operations for Exsorbet, said the company has known of Ogle's past troubles sine he was hired in April, but didn't think it would be a problem.

"It was disclosed to our staff attorney and everybody in the company, but it was our legal counsel's opinion that it did not matter because it happened outside of the U.S. and longer than 10 years ago,: said Cotten. "It's never been a secret within this company.

Cotten said the company learned at the beginning of February of the NASDAQ's review of Ogle. Ogle submitted proposal last week to the NASDAQ under which he agreed to resign and to reduce his stock holdings in the company, and NASDAQ's Listing Qualifications Committee accepted the proposal.

Ogle owns 21.67 percent of the company's common stock. he said about 80 percent of his holding will be transferred to a trust at an undisclosed bank, where the shares will be sold off during a two year period.

The resignation cameos on the same day that Exsorbet announced a new biological technology intended to reduce hazardous hydrocarbon contamination in water and soils to levels below these established by the Environmental Protection Agency, the company said

The technology is the result of  joint research between the company and the Millsap's College Sorbets Laboratory in Jackson Miss. Ogle said the new technology is revolution and of more importance than his resignation.

"It's a shame that both of these items had to come out on the same day," he said. "The resignation on my part overshadows the importance of our discovery."