P.M. BRIEFING : Ethics Expert Backs Neil Bush
A government witness in the conflict-of-interest case against Neil Bush says the President’s son lost his ethical moorings--but did not try to deceive anyone--while he was a director of a Denver savings and loan.
In testimony released Tuesday by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, University of Colorado Prof. Edward J. Conry wrote that the 35-year-old Bush did not lie, try to conceal or mislead.
Still, Bush’s conduct was unethical because he “placed himself in situations where his self-interest or loyalty to others was in competition with the interests of depositors, shareholders, insurers and taxpayers,” wrote Conry, a professor of business law and ethics.
“He became ethically myopic, unaware that his perspective or conduct were biased,” he said.
Bush was a director of Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Assn. of Denver, which collapsed in December, 1988, at a cost to taxpayers of $1 billion.
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