BANKING & FINANCE - Sept. 26, 1992

Prosecutors Urged to Reduce Charges Against Keating: A federal judge has urged prosecutors to reduce the number of charges and witnesses in their 77-count case against Lincoln Savings owner Charles Keating Jr. and his son. U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer said those witnesses who don’t testify should put their complaints in writing. Keating, 68, was convicted of California state charges of swindling investors and is serving a 10-year prison sentence. He and his son, Charles Keating III, now face trial on the federal charges. The collapse of Lincoln was the costliest thrift failure in U.S. history, with a tab to taxpayers that regulators estimated at $2.6 billion.