Battle Said to Cost Lincoln $55 Million:...

Battle Said to Cost Lincoln $55 Million: Lincoln Savings & Loan Assn. spent $55 million--more than Phoenix millionaire Charles H. Keating Jr. paid for the thrift--in an 18-month fight with federal examiners over its loans and investments, Keating’s key aide said in Washington. Judith Wischer, president of the thrift’s holding company, American Continental Corp., testified in U.S. District Court that an examination expected to be a routine six-month audit escalated into a “battle of experts.” Testifying on Keating’s suit to undo the government’s takeover of the Irvine-based thrift last April, Wischer said the government auditors had little or no experience with Lincoln’s investments in bonds or large loans for commercial real estate and construction projects.