NEWS ANALYSIS : Spiegel’s Defense Likely to Develop on 4 Fronts : Thrifts: One element in his trial is expected to be the contention that his perks at Columbia S&L; were related to business.

Lawyers for former Columbia Savings & Loan Chief Executive Thomas Spiegel, who faces 55 criminal counts alleging that he squandered the thrift’s money to support a luxurious lifestyle, are likely to launch an aggressive defense on four broad fronts, people familiar with the case said Thursday.

Spiegel’s legal team, they said, will contend that numerous perks he received were related to business purposes.

They will also try to show that he was routinely advised by lawyers and accountants, that he was not rewarded personally for Columbia deals he engineered, and that a key prosecution witness may lack credibility.

Several people familiar with the case, who requested anonymity, suggested Thursday that some of the government’s charges may have a hard time meeting the high standard of proof required in a criminal case.

One charge, for example, alleges that Spiegel improperly received--at a huge discount--valuable securities from the Drexel Burnham Lambert investment bank as a reward for having the now-defunct Beverly Hills thrift make a risky investment as a favor to Drexel.

But Spiegel later gave the securities to Columbia, which reaped an estimated $7-million profit from them, according to public filings. Assistant U.S. Atty. John F. Walsh, who is prosecuting the case, acknowledged that Spiegel did not profit from the securities. But, Walsh said, Spiegel gave them up only after he was told to do so by Columbia lawyers.

Spiegel, 46, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles in one of the nation’s biggest S&L; criminal cases. Spiegel plans to plead innocent at an arraignment Monday.

People familiar with the issues in the case, who are not connected to either Spiegel or the prosecution, added that two things clearly are working against Spiegel.

The first is that he has a huge number of counts to beat. The other is that a jury may be unsympathetic to him after prosecutors list numerous perks he allegedly enjoyed, including rides to Palm Springs in a Gulfstream IV jet, a $1-million condo and an extensive gun collection.

But Richard Marmaro, one of Spiegel’s defense lawyers, said the number of charges is not important because so many of them involve similar issues.

“Once we show that what Tom was doing was appropriate, these charges are going to fall by the wayside,” Marmaro said.

Spiegel’s lawyers will probably argue that his perks fall into the category of legitimate business and security expenses. For example, it will probably be argued that Spiegel’s numerous trips by corporate jet to a luxury $1-million condo in Palm Springs were necessary because Columbia was an active developer in the area.

In addition, another argument expected to be made is that as a controversial, highly paid thrift executive, Spiegel needed to fly in a private jet for security reasons.

But prosecutor Walsh said the case is strong because there is a clear pattern of excess and because Spiegel enjoyed his perks without the knowledge of regulators and Columbia directors.

“We are not charging him for every flight he took on the plane, or even that he had to report each one. It’s the pattern of conduct that is significant,” he said.

One key witness expected to testify against Spiegel is Santa Barbara auto dealer Howard Schneider, who made a deal with the government and agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of defrauding Columbia.

Prosecutors allege that Columbia lost between $10 million and $20 million by lending to Schneider’s Gregg Motors as part of a scheme to allow Spiegel access to luxury cars and a 50% stake in the business.

But Spiegel’s lawyers are likely to challenge Schneider’s credibility, especially now that his guilty pleas make him an admitted felon.