The former chief executive and financial officer of Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. were sentenced Friday to three years on probation for trying to destroy evidence in an options backdating fraud, according to Bloomberg News. Louis Tomasetta, co-founder and former chief executive, and Eugene Hovanec, former chief financial officer, were fined $30,000 each in addition to the probation. Prosecutors recommended that the men not serve time in prison. In August, Tomasetta and Hovanec each pleaded guilty to conspiracy on charges of backdating stock options and inflating sales figures. The sentencing comes one day after the Camarillo maker of integrated circuits filed its quarterly and full fiscal year report. For the year, the company reported a net loss of $22 million (-55 cents a share) compared to loss of $1.1 million (-4 cents) for the previous year. Revenue fell 8 percent to $101 million. Analysts on average expected a full-year loss of 14 cents a share on revenue of $123 million. Shares of Vitesse closed down 7 cents, or 2.5 percent to $2.72 in trading on the Nasdaq.
