Jury in Case Against Keating, His Son to Convene After Christmas Break : Trial: Deliberations will begin after nearly two months of testimony and legal arguments.
The case against former Lincoln Savings & Loan operator Charles H. Keating Jr. and his son goes to a jury Monday after nearly two months of testimony and legal arguments.
U.S. District Judge Mariane Pfaelzer said Wednesday that she will give the jury their instructions after the Christmas break, following a day of closed-door legal arguments.
Keating and his son, Charles Keating III, are charged in a 77-count federal indictment with racketeering, bank and securities fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen goods related to the collapse of American Continental Corp. and its Lincoln subsidiary in Irvine.
Keating was chairman of both companies. His son was vice president.
Assistant U.S. Atty. David Sklansky argued in his rebuttal statement Wednesday that there were several contradictions between what the two defendants said in court and the evidence that was presented.
He said the senior Keating displayed a “rampant disregard for the truth,” and he urged the jurors not to be fooled “by the same pack of lies” that bondholders fell for.
Keating, 69, and his son, 36, are accused of setting up sham land deals to create false profits for American Continental, thereby bolstering its profits on paper and attracting unwitting investors.
American Continental and Lincoln collapsed in April, 1989, at a cost to the taxpayers of $2.6 billion, making the thrift’s failure the largest in U.S. history.
If convicted, the elder Keating could be condemned to life in prison, as the charges against him carry a maximum penalty of 510 years.
He is already serving 10 years in prison on a California conviction of bilking nearly 25,000 investors, most of them elderly, out of $268 million by persuading them to buy worthless American Continental junk bonds sold through his Lincoln institutions.
Charles Keating III faces more than 400 years in prison if convicted on all the charges against him.
