Reports of Level 3 CEO's Death Greatly Exaggerated (LLL, LVLT)

We came upon this yesterday via Dealscape:

The unexpected death of L-3 Communications Holding Inc. CEO Frank Lanza is, of course, terribly sad. But after a decent interval, this news release will undoubtedly find its way into sales pitches from corporate branding consultants:

BROOMFIELD, Colo., June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT) today issued the following statement to respond to an incorrect media report concerning the company’s CEO, James Q. Crowe. “There was an incorrect media report today stating that Level 3’s CEO had passed away. The report was in fact incorrect and CEO Jim Crowe is well.”

What a macabre twist to the very same mistake we pointed out last week.

In the meantime, LLL's stock was up nearly 5% in trading yesterday. LVLT's was not (it dropped nearly 7%).