Anxious Bondholders Must Wait Awhile for Keating Trial to Start
Bondholders who lost more than $250 million in the collapse of Lincoln Savings & Loan will be wasting their money if they go to Tucson this weekend expecting to see the start of the civil trial against former thrift owner Charles H. Keating Jr. and others.
Though the trial had been scheduled to begin Monday, it is now essentially delayed a week, with no witnesses testifying until at least March 17, said Linda McNulty, court clerk for U.S. District Judge Richard M. Bilby.
“There’s going to be nothing to watch on March 2 and very little to watch on March 3,” McNulty said.
McNulty said her office has received calls from bondholders preparing to make the trip to Tucson to see the trial and support the first witnesses, who are expected to be fellow bondholders.
The judge and attorneys in the complex case will be going over pretrial motions and jury questionnaires starting Tuesday, which is the official start of the trial, but potential jurors will not be called for final questioning until March 9.
Opening statements are expected to start March 13 and end March 16.
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