Another Federal Grand Jury Indicts Keating : Thrifts: Five charges in Phoenix are added to 77 in Los Angeles.

The troubles of former Lincoln Savings & Loan owner Charles H. Keating Jr. continued Wednesday as a federal grand jury in Phoenix indicted him on five counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

The indictment accuses Keating and former American Continental Corp. executives Judy J. Wischer and Andrew F. Ligget of fraudulently transferring $975,000 in company money to themselves or their families for personal use. The transfers allegedly occurred in the two months before American Continental went bankrupt in April, 1989.

Keating, 68, who has become a national symbol of excess in the thrift industry, was American Continental’s chairman until his resignation in August, 1990. Wischer, 43, the company’s president, and Ligget, 34, its chief financial officer, resigned at the same time.

The Phoenix indictment stems from some of the same facts alleged in a 77-count federal bank fraud and racketeering indictment filed last month against Keating and four others by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles.

Lincoln, the nation’s biggest S&L; collapse to date, is expected to cost taxpayers $2.6 billion. Thousands of small investors, mostly elderly Lincoln customers, lost more than $250 million after American Continental went bankrupt.

Ligget’s attorney, Peter K. Rosen of Los Angeles, said his client will plead not guilty to the charges. He pointed out that neither the Los Angeles nor the Phoenix indictment alleges that Ligget benefited from the alleged schemes.

The Phoenix indictment is “a tag-team type of complaint,” Rosen said. “To us, it’s just a colossal waste of judicial resources to bring essentially the same charges in Arizona as in Los Angeles.”

None of the other defendants or their lawyers could be reached for comment. They have previously denied wrongdoing in connection with the transfer of funds.

The federal indictment in Los Angeles alleges that Keating and the other defendants used five criminal schemes--including the transfer of American Continental funds--to further a racketeering enterprise.

The Phoenix indictment says the scheme was carried out this way:

Facing possible bankruptcy in early 1989, the defendants directed the transfer of American Continental funds to a Lincoln subsidiary, Medema Homes of Utah, a shell company. Over a several-month period, Medema loaned $975,000 to Keating, his son, a son-in-law and Wischer’s husband.

The same day that Keating’s son and son-in-law received a total of $250,000, they gave Keating a total of $228,700. Keating allegedly used $200,000 of that money to make a payment on a personal loan.