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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

The TSX Venture Exchange fell a fraction of a point to 679.59 Thursday. Richard Silas's capital pool shell, Crest Petroleum Corp. (CTP), is now controlled by two families, the Awdes and the Keasts. Last November, Crest rolled back 1:5, shrinking its share count to 1.75 million shares, then in April it appointed Mr. Silas as its new president, and now it has sold a private placement of three million shares at 5.5 cents to a group of subscribers, most of whom we will name below. Following the private placement, Crest has 4.75 million shares outstanding, a tightly held shell.

Crest's Mr. Silas is a director of Gold Standard Ventures Corp. (GSV: $0.61), a Nevadan gold explorer managed by Jonathan Awde, who long ago worked as a broker at Wolverton Securities but has since become a stock promoter. Mr. Awde acquired 456,000 shares from Crest's three-million-share financing, while his wife, Kristin Awde, acquired 450,000 shares, and his mother, Emma Ross, also acquired 450,000 shares, for a total of 1,356,000 shares controlled by the Awde family. Medalist Capital Ltd., an investment company owned by three Keasts -- brothers Riley, Branden and Michael -- plus Stephen Sandusky, was the other large subscriber, acquiring 470,000 Crest shares from the private placement. Riley and Branden Keast, formerly with Casimir Capital (Riley was president of the Canadian operations), as well as Mr. Sandusky, each separately acquired 298,000 Crest shares from the private placement, for a total of 1,364,000 shares controlled by the Medalist men. Michael Keast, an avid golfer originally from Winnipeg, is also on the board of Crest.

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