Sentencing Date Delayed for Top Keating Aide

A sentencing date for a top aide to imprisoned Arizona businessman Charles H. Keating Jr. was delayed Monday as she continues to help prosecutors in the ongoing investigation into the collapse of Lincoln Savings & Loan, the nation’s costliest S&L; failure.

Judy J. Wischer, the former president of the Irvine thrift’s parent company, American Continental Corp., is scheduled to return to court March 7, when the date of her sentencing will be set. A federal prosecutor refused to discuss the reason for the delay except to note that there is a continuing investigation.

Prosecutors have won awards of $122.4 million in restitution and $265 million in forfeitures against Keating, and have said they will try to find assets that Keating might have hidden, perhaps overseas. Keating has said he is broke.

Keating is serving up to 12 years and seven months in prison on convictions in state court for securities fraud and in federal court for racketeering, conspiracy and fraud. The collapse of Lincoln Savings is expected to cost taxpayers $3.4 billion to clean up.

Wischer had been the key witness against Keating in the federal trial, which ended in January. She had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors in May, 1992, pleading guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one of securities fraud in return for her cooperation and testimony.

She also pleaded guilty to securities fraud in state court, which is expected to give her a term concurrent with any sentence she receives in federal court.

Separately, the sentencing of former corporate lawyer Mark S. Sauter, who pleaded guilty to embezzling $1.6 million and to conspiracy to defraud regulators by altering loan files, was postponed Monday to Dec. 20. No reason was given for the delay.