Keating, 2 Other Lincoln Executives Plead Innocent to Fraud Charges

Charles Keating Jr., former chairman of Lincoln Savings & Loan, and two other former Lincoln executives pleaded innocent Monday to charges that they transferred nearly $1 million from the thrift’s parent company just two months before it declared bankruptcy.

Judy Wischer, former president of American Continental Corp., former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Ligget and Keating were arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on an indictment from Arizona, Keating’s home state and site of American Continental’s former headquarters.

The charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud stem from the collapse of Lincoln, the largest thrift failure in history with a cost to taxpayers of $2.6 billion. Keating has already been convicted of securities fraud in state court.

The federal indictment alleges that the three executives transferred $975,000 from American Continental to the Keating family in February, 1989, two months before American filed for bankruptcy. Keating is charged with one count each of conspiracy, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud. Wischer is charged with one count of bankruptcy fraud and one of conspiracy. Ligget is charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count each of conspiracy and bankruptcy.

Keating, Wischer, Ligget and two others have already pleaded innocent to another federal indictment.

In that indictment, Robert Wurzelbacher, Keating’s son-in-law, and Keating’s son, Charles Keating III, are charged with racketeering, conspiracy, bank fraud and securities fraud.

They are scheduled to be tried on both indictments Aug. 4. U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer has not yet ruled on whether separate juries will hear the charges in the two indictments.