Keating Posts $300,000 Bail, Will Be Released Today : Indictments: A federal judge refused to lower bails for the former thrift owner and his son Charles H. Keating III. The younger Keating remains in jail.

Former Lincoln Savings & Loan owner Charles H. Keating Jr. posted bail late Monday and will be released today, after a federal judge in Los Angeles had refused to lower the $300,000 bail of the former thrift owner charged with fraud and racketeering in the failed Irvine-based company, said a source close to the case.

U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer also denied a motion to reduce the bail of Charles H. Keating III, who was indicted with his father and three others Dec. 12. The younger Keating is being held on $150,000 bail and will remain in jail in Los Angeles.

Thomas Mulhern, one of the elder Keating’s sons-in-law, posted the final $14,000 of the bail to free him. But because bail was posted late, the paper work could not be completed and Keating was to remain in the Metropolitan Detention Center overnight. He was to be released today, the source said.

Earlier in the day, attorneys for the Keatings had asked the judge to lower their bail because they were unable to post bond. Both Keatings say they are destitute, although prosecutors allege that they may have hidden assets.

“I am not going to reduce either of the bails,” Pfaelzer said after a brief hearing.

Bail for the elder Keating, the former chairman of American Continental Corp. who has become a national symbol of the savings and loan debacle, was originally set at $2 million. Prosecutors asked for the high bail claiming that he was a flight risk. Last week, however, the judge lowered the elder Keating’s bail to $300,000 and his son’s bail from $300,000 to $150,000.

Stephen C. Neal, Keating’s attorney, asked Pfaelzer to reduce the bail to $286,000, an amount that would equal the equity in three properties that Keating family members had agreed to post. Assistant U.S. Atty. Alice Hill on Monday opposed the latest bail reduction request and argued that there is new evidence that the elder Keating has property in the Bahamas.

Public Defender Dennis Landin, assigned to represent the younger Keating, said his client has no assets and would not be able to post bail. Landin also said people are reluctant to come forward to help his client because of the notoriety of the case.

“They’re not coming forward because their names would be in the paper tomorrow,” Landin said.

The 77-count federal grand jury indictment alleges that Keating, his son and three others--Robert M. Wurzelbacher Jr., Judy J. Wischer and Andrew L. Ligget--engaged in various illegal activities to siphon money from Lincoln Savings.

The failure of Lincoln in April, 1989, is is expected to cost taxpayers $2.6 billion.

Earlier this month, Keating was convicted of state securities fraud charges stemming from the sales of bonds at Lincoln branches. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.