Our Team

As President and CEO of South Street Securities Holdings Inc., Mr. Tabacchi directly oversees all aspects of the business, including strategy, credit, market and liquidity risk, infrastructure, technology and clearing, compliance, finance, accounting and controls. In 2000, he raised the venture capital and founded South Street as an independent repo broker dealer and began building and expanding the franchise of products. Today, South Street remains one of the largest independent repo dealers and has added asset management of an Agency Mortgage REIT, an MBS TBA derivative dealer franchise, a fintech fixed income processing company, and an equity sec lending business. In 2018, He also invested in and continues to mentor a Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (DVOSB) and minority owned broker dealer called AmeriVet, which underwrites and distributes corporate debt and equity. He continues to look for opportunities to expand the South Street franchise in the mid-market dealer community.

Prior to founding South Street, Mr. Tabacchi joined Citicorp/Citibank in 1980. Over a period of 20 years he worked in various customer interface and business head positions within the Investment, Corporate, and Consumer Banking Divisions. In 1987 Mr. Tabacchi became the regional business manager for the Northeast Division of Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. In 1989, he was a Division Financial controller in Citicorp's North American Investment Bank. During 1990, Mr. Tabacchi was asked to manage the day-to-day operations of Citibank's Municipal Trust business. He revamped the product lines and packaged the business for sale, which was completed in 1992. He then joined the Finance Desk and was named Treasurer of Citicorp Securities in 1995, adding Co-Head responsibilities of the Primary Dealer Desk a short time later.

In addition to his Board responsibilities at South Street, ACM Trust REIT and AmeriVet, Mr. Tabacchi is Chairman of the Board of the Independent Dealer and Trader Association (IDTA) and is a member of BNYM’s GSS Industry Advisory Council. In 2021, Mr. Tabacchi was elected to the DTCC Board of Directors. Outside the office, he is Vice Chair of the Borough of Demarest Planning Board, a Trustee of the St. Joseph’s Catholic School Endowment Fund and a youth hockey coach for the Englewood Field Club’s ‘Learn to Play Hockey’ program.

Mr. Tabacchi graduated from Iona College with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting in 1977 and the John G. Hagen School of Business with an MBA in 1981. Mr. Tabacchi is FINRA Series 7, 63, 27 and 24 registered.

Mr. Vega joined Capital Markets Engineering & Trading LLC in 2005, where he has served the role of Chief Investment Officer of South Street Securities (SSS). He developed the MBS REIT finance platform and has spearheaded and advised on key strategic initiatives. His responsibilities include managing interest rate, liquidity and credit risk for the MBS repo portfolio.  

Prior to joining, Mr. Vega worked at the Royal Bank of Canada in the treasury of the New York branch focusing on asset liability management for the balance sheet, along with managing repo, corporate and money market securities portfolios. Mr. Vega began his professional career in the Global Finance and Arbitrage group at Citicorp Securities. He completed the Citibank NA Management Associate Program in 1990. He was a founding member of Dresdner Securities USA LLC, where he designed and traded the proprietary matched book portfolio, in addition to developing the fixed income finance module for the newly formed broker dealer. 

Mr. Vega graduated from Fairfield University with a degree in Finance and a minor in Information Systems. He is NASD Series 7,63 and 24 registered.

In 1999, Mr. Schuit co-founded Capital Markets Engineering & Trading LLC and in 2004, South Street Securities LLC (SSS). As CEO, he led the formation, infrastructure development and trading of SSS. As Co–Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Schuit is responsible for the firm's strategic trading decisions, term collateral trading and Hedge Fund financing. In 2018, Mr. Schuit was pivotal in the relaunch and recapitalization of AmeriVet Securities, Inc. and serves as the Lead Director of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Schuit joined Citibank's Management Associate Training Program in 1992. He spent the first three years supporting the fixed income business as part of the operations management group. Mr. Schuit later joined the Citicorp Securities Inc. Finance Desk in 1995 as Vice President and Senior Matched Book Trader. He was responsible for Finance, Futures and Arbitrage trading within the Capital Markets Group. In 2006, Mr. Schuit joined Cantor Fitzgerald as Managing Director of Finance where he successfully co-managed the Finance Desk through the financial crisis with record earnings. He rejoined SSS in 2011.

Mr. Schuit attended Hofstra University where he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Public Accounting. He is also FINRA Series 7, 24 and 63 registered..

Mr. DeBlase joined South Street Securities Holdings Inc. (SSSHI) in 2001 and is currently Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the wholly owned broker dealer subsidiary South Street Securities LLC (SSS). He oversees financial activities of the broker dealer as well as implements and monitors risk parameters. Mr. DeBlase is responsible for all regulatory reporting and compliance programs at SSS.

Prior to joining SSS, Mr. DeBlase worked at Citibank in 1992 managing the operation staff for the Government and MBS trading desks. In 1995, he was promoted to Vice President responsible for running the middle office. His last assignment was project management and system implementation for Citibank Corporate Treasury.

Mr. DeBlase holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Hofstra University. He is also FINRA Series 7, 63, 24 and 27 registered.

Mr. Webbe joined South Street Securities Holdings, Inc. (SSSHI) in June 2001 as the Head of Operations. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) responsible for the company’s Operations and Technology departments. Mr. Webbe manages the middle and back office operations for the broker/dealer South Street Securities (SSS) and for Matrix Applications' Managed Services (outsourced operations) clients. He also oversees the technology infrastructure, system support and software development.

Prior to joining SSSHI, Mr. Webbe worked at Citigroup from 1986 until 2001. As a Vice President at Citigroup, he was responsible for a range of middle and back office functions. His responsibilities included oversight of finance, funding, futures and emerging markets operations for both domestic and international settlement. He was integral to several highly sophisticated securitization projects and had extensive interaction with foreign exchange and derivatives operations.

Mr. Webbe is also FINRA Series 27, 7 and 63 registered.

Mr. Ma co-founded South Street Securities LLC (SSS) in 2000 and currently runs as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). He coordinates multiple aspects of South Street’s business including Risk and Regulation management, as well as capital raising with a focus on equity finance since 2021. In the 2000's and 2010’s, he was primarily in charge of Mortgage Trading, U.S. Treasury and Repurchase Agreement business development.

Prior to SSS, Mr. Ma spent his early career at Citibank credit card treasury division and participated in credit card securitization market in the1980's. He joined Deutsche Bank derivatives trading group in the early 90's and returned to Citicorp in the mid-90's for structured derivatives. In his last six years as a financial engineer at Citicorp Securities, Inc., Mr. Ma successfully developed a securitization program to assist the foreign exchange and derivatives businesses in managing their counterparty exposure and capital utilization.

Mr. Ma holds an MBA degree in Finance from NYU and undergraduate degree in Accounting from Pace University (Magna Cum Laude). He also completed Accounting training at Price Waterhouse Coopers. Mr. Ma is FINRA Series 7, 63 and 24 registered. 

Mr. Mellert oversees business development and acts as client advocate for Matrix Applications, promoting the firm’s fixed income collateral management and margining platforms along with the company’s Managed Services for the back office.

In 1999, Mr. Mellert co-founded Capital Markets Engineering & Trading LLC. And in 2000, he and the team launched Matrix Applications, a technology service bureau whose clients span from small broker / dealers to asset managers to global banks. He was responsible for the formation and infrastructure development of South Street Securities (SSS), which launched in 2004. 

In 1989, Mr. Mellert spent two years in Citibank’s Global Custody division, followed by three at The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Funds Transfer and Electronic Securities divisions. He re-joined Citibank in 1993, in the Reserve Management division before moving to the Treasury Finance Desk where he traded US, Canadian and high yield repo.

Mr. Mellert is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.  

Mr. Murray joined South Street Securities (SSS) in September of 2008. He is principally responsible for repo trading and sales while managing the firm's overall day-to-day funding requirements and customer flows. Mr. Murray plays a key role in positioning the repo portfolios and is point on integral relationships in the REIT’s and Hedge Fund space. He is actively involved in strategic decision making and new business development.

Mr. Murray joined SSS from Countrywide Financial Corporation, where from 2006 to 2008 he worked on the Institutional Rate Sales Desk, in addition to experience trading on Countrywide's Financing Desk. He was previously employed by Banc of America Securities' Broker Dealer Services division, where for two years he served as a Relationship Manager for both fixed income and equity accounts, including monitoring all operational issues. Prior to getting his start in finance, Mr. Murray served 1 year in the NYPD, where he was a Police Officer in PS8. 

Mr. Murray has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and a minor in Information Systems from Marist College. He is also FINRA Series 7, 63 and 3 registered.

Ms. Pucci joined South Street Securities (SSS) in January of 2001 and is responsible for the repo Sales and Marketing activities of the firm. She works with firms to find solutions for their clients through various repo programs within SSS and its affiliates and manages a sales team dedicated to these tasks.  

Ms. Pucci was previously employed by Citicorp from 1994 and worked on both the Government Securities Cash Desk and Treasury Finance Desk. While at Citibank, her duties included responsibility for US general collateral and the Canadian dollar books. She also oversaw Citibank’s non-dollar repo desks (Italian and German) in while in London. 

Ms. Pucci completed her MBA with St. John’s University in Rome, Italy. She is also FINRA Series 7, 63, 24 and 27 registered.

Mr. Snyder joined South Street Securities (SSS) as a Managing Director in 2016 and was tasked with developing the firms mortgage business. He created both a TBA Pipeline Hedging Business for Mortgage Originators and South Street Capital Management (SSCM). SSS provides trading lines and liquidity to mortgage originators to help them hedge their origination pipelines. SSCM is a Registered Investment Advisor that focusses on opportunities within the mortgage market. Mr. Snyder is now responsible for overseeing both SSCM and the TBA hedging business.

Mr. Snyder brings over 20 years of Mortgage Backed Securities trading experience. He began his career structuring Agency CMO deals at Goldman Sachs and Co. Mr. Snyder went on to spend 14 years within the Mortgage Trading group at Goldman, rising to the level of Vice-President. While at Goldman, he was responsible for the market-making and position management for a variety of MBS products. He worked extensively in Specified Pools, TBA’s, and Adjustable Rate Mortgages. Mr. Snyder also spent time trading Mortgage Derivatives and Non-Agency RMBS. He left Goldman Sachs to start the Agency MBS trading desk at Societe Generale, where he became a Director. At Societe General, he was responsible for trading Specified Pools and Agency ARMs.

Mr. Snyder graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Economics.

Mr. Levy joined South Street Securities (SSS) in 2017 as Managing Director of the MBS team to build out access to the capital markets for Mortgage Originators needing to hedge, finance and pool/sell their mortgage pipelines.

Prior to joining SSS, Mr. Levy worked at buy-side asset managers Tricadia Capital Management and SAC Capital (Sigma). Previously, Mr. Levy worked on MBS, Corporate Credit and Rates sales teams at Atlas One, BNP Paribas, PaineWebber & Co. (UK) and Cantor Fitzgerald (UK). Mr. Levy began his professional career at Euroclear at JP Morgan Brussels and completed the Sales & Trading Associate Program at Toronto Dominion Bank in NY.

Mr. Levy graduated with an MBA in Finance from the Johnson School at Cornell University, a Master's in International Management from the Universite Catholique de Louvain (UCL) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Haverford College. He is NASD Series 7 and 63 registered.

Ms. Greenland joined South Street Securities (SSS) in 2016 to manage the growing UK Repo financing business relationships and our newly founded Representative Office. Her role encompasses exploring strategic partnerships and investments for SSS in the UK and Europe. Additionally, she acts as the senior relationship contact for clients in the UK and mainland Europe.

Ms. Greenland has 18 years of financial services experience. She ran the EMEA Relationship Management teams of the Bank of New York Mellon's Broker Dealer Services and Global Product and Communications Strategy for Global Collateral Services. She was also a member of the European Operating Committee. Ms. Greenland has an active dialogue with European trade bodies and academics who focus on Financial Services and Market structure. Prior to this, she ran sales for the Raiffeisen Zentral Bank's Securities Lending and Repo division, having trained on the Repo trading desk.

Ms. Greenland holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Oxford, St Anne's College and a Diploma in Organisational Leadership from the University of Oxford.

Mr. Venditti joined South Street Securities (SSS) in February 2020 as a Managing Director and Senior Executive. He joined SSS with over 35 years of experience in the securities industry. As Head of Equity Finance, Mr. Venditti has spearheaded the expansion of SSS into the U.S Equity Finance and Trading business. He is also responsible for seeking out strategic partnerships and/or acquisitions.

Prior to joining SSS, Mr. Venditti spent 10 years with Nomura Securities from 1995-2005. In his time at Nomura, he held various roles such as the Global Head of Equity Finance in London where he also oversaw the Structured Equity Group. He also served as Nomura’s Co-Head of U.S. Equity Sales business in New York. In 2006, Mr. Venditti joined Paloma Securities as President and was responsible for expanding the firms’ sales, trading and financing capabilities. He remained at Paloma Securities until BMO acquired the Global Securities Lending business in 2009. Mr. Venditti was the Co-Head of BMO Global Prime Finance and Delta 1 trading business. His group was responsible for growing all aspects of BMO’s financing and trading capabilities globally until he departed in 2019. In addition, Mr. Venditti was an active Board Member of the Canadian Securities Lending Association from 2012 to 2019.

Mr. Venditti attended the College of Staten Island. He is also FINRA Series 17, 24 and 63 registered.

Mr. Wilkinson joined South Street Securities (SSS)  in October 2020. As Vice President, he manages processes and operations for the stock loan department.

He began his career in 1996 at Morgan Staley Trust for two years, followed by working a year in Securities Lending at Smith Barney. Mr. Wilkinson then served as Securities Associate Director for Securities Lending at UBS for 17 years. Finally, he served as Vice President at Cantor Fitzgerald from 2017 to 2020, where he oversaw the daily operations of securities lending that included collateral, settlements, trade bookings, billing, recalls and daily balancing.

Mr. Wilkinson is a graduate of St. John’s University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. He is also FINRA Series 99 registered.

Mr. Giusti joined South Street Securities (SSS) in 2020 as Director of Equity Finance. He has been building out the Securities Lending Match Book, focusing on specials and equity funding. Prior to joining SSS, he gained experience managing the specials book at Soc Gen.

Mr. Giusti began his professional career at UBS supporting their equity derivative desk. He was then introduced to the stock loan/equity finance space during his five years at Newedge USA LLC. In 2013, Frank was hired as Vice President of the Securities Lending desk at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, now known as MUFG Securities. He was responsible for growing and maintaining both the firm's Securities Lending and Repo Tri Party books. For his final two years at Mitsubishi, Mr. Giusti worked out of London in their EMEA office. While in London, he not only managed the firm's Securities Lending and Equity Finance Books, but also provided coverage on US Treasuries and French and German Government Bonds.

Mr. Giusti graduated from Fairfield University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He is also FINRA Series 7, 55 and 63 registered.

Mr. Veeramallu joined South Street Securities in January 2021 as the Lead Technology Officer and Head of Product Development for the equity stock loan business. He has been an Investment Banking IT Executive with over 19 years of experience in building complex trading systems and high-performance teams across trading, operational and various support functions, primarily in Hedge Fund, Prime Brokerage and Securities Lending.

He began his finance career by working for global banks namely UBS and Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, Singapore and New York. Soon after, he became the Vice President at Nomura Int’l Securities, managing the Domestic Securities Lending Technology team. He then moved up to head Prime Services Delivery and Production Services group at Bank of Nova Scotia, New York/Toronto.

In his most recent position, Mr. Veeramallu was managing the Global Production Services Group at S3 partners for about 5 years where he was handling production services, client onboarding, data collection & distribution (financing rates, real time short interest, disclosure, etc.) and predictive analytics in the securities lending space.

Mr. Veeramallu completed his Executive MBA at Rutgers Business School and holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from India.

Mr. Berlage joined South Street Securities Holdings Inc. (SSSHI) in June 2021 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He is responsible for all the company’s financial functions, including accounting, audit, treasury, corporate finance and investor relations. He also oversees human resources, compliance and governance activities. Mr. Berlage served on our Board of Directors from 2009 to 2021.

Prior to joining SSSHI, Mr. Berlage was Head of Allianz Risk Transfer, Americas (ART) from 2008 to 2021. During his time at ART, he built a global climate risk solutions business to industry leading scale and reputation, managed the alternative asset business, and his team was responsible for Allianz structured insurance solutions and distribution of insurance risks to the capital markets. From 1994 to 2008, Mr. Berlage was at UBS in various leading structured finance and capital markets roles.

Mr. Berlage holds Master’s Degrees in Finance from Zurich University, Switzerland (Magna Cum Laude) and in Law from Fordham Law School (Summa Cum Laude). He also completed an Executive Education Program.

Mr. Freydburg joined South Street Securities (SSS) as a Vice President on the MBS desk in February 2020 and has over 8 years of experience in the Mortgage-Backed Securities space. He works with Mortgage Originators to provide liquidity in TBA and Specified Pools.

From 2016-2020, Mr. Freydburg worked at Compass Analytics where he focused on advising mortgage origination clients on trading, hedging and capital markets strategies. Prior, he worked on the Adjustable-Rate Mortgage trading desk at Brean Capital from 2012-2015.

Mr. Freydburg holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Syracuse University. He is also FINRA Series 7 and 63 registered. 

Mr. Valkai joined South Street Securities (SSS) in September of 2016. He is principally responsible for repo trading while managing the firm's overall day-to-day funding requirements and customer flows. Mr. Valkai plays an essential role in positioning the broker-dealer’s portfolio during key periods across the repo, MBS and equity securities lending desks. He is also actively involved in outreach to regulators through organizations like the Independent Dealers and Traders’ Association (IDTA) and SIFMA.

Mr. Valkai joined SSS from Finance Concepts, where from 2013 to 2016 he worked as a Quant. He consulted central clearers and broker-dealers on the development and implementation of risk management systems for equities and fixed income products. Mr. Valkai still oversees the systems that were produced for South Street Securities during that time.

Mr. Valkai has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics from New York University. He is also FINRA Series 7 and 63 registered.

Mr. Leone joined South Street Securities (SSS) in September 2021 as Managing Director of Equity Finance. He is imperative in cultivating the Equity Finance and Delta 1 trading business.

Prior to joining SSS, Mr. Leone spent 6 years with Nomura Securities from 1998-2004. At Nomura, he managed trading for securities lending and various strategies in equity products. In 2004, Mr. Leone joined Satellite Asset Management, a multi-strategy Hedge Fund as Head of Securities Lending and Equity Derivatives. While at Satellite, he co-managed and traded a 500mm SPAC portfolio and worked on Special Situations. He was also responsible for funding the firms credit positions through various structures until the fund was unwound in 2008. In 2010, Mr. Leone joined MUFG where he successfully built out the securities lending and equity derivatives platform. Over his 10 year tenor, he was responsible for managing securities financing team and their activities until departing in 2021.

Mr. Leone attended Villanova University. He is also FINRA Series 7, 24, 55 and 63 registered.