Silverado Figure Cleared by Jury

The former chairman of the failed Silverado savings and loan was acquitted Friday of charges he illegally used about one-third of a $1.45-million loan from the thrift for personal use.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Denver took 4 1/2 hours to acquit Michael Wise of two bank fraud counts--misapplying a loan from a federally insured thrift and making a false entry in Silverado’s accounts.

“I’m thrilled. That’s all I want to say right now,” Wise said after the verdict. As the jurors left the courtroom, he mouthed the words “Thank you” to them.

Prosecutors alleged that Wise used $458,879 of the loan obtained in June, 1986, to pay off a mortgage on one home and remodel a second. He testified that he never intended to defraud Silverado.

The verdict ended a two-week trial that revived memories of the Silverado Banking Savings & Loan debacle, which ended with the thrift’s collapse in 1988 at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $1 billion.

The thrift achieved national notoriety because one of its former directors was President Bush’s son, Neil.

U.S. District Court Judge Jim Carrigan on Thursday had dismissed a third charge, that Wise lied to Silverado executives about what he intended to do with the loan.