Lukens Convicted of Taking Bribes
Former Ohio Rep. Donald E. “Buz” Lukens was convicted Friday of taking $15,000 in bribes from the operators of a trade school while he was a congressman.
The U.S. District Court jury deliberated for just one hour before reaching the verdict. Sentencing was set for June 10.
Lukens said he had no comment. His lawyer, Harvey Volzer, promised to appeal.
Lukens was being retried on one count each of bribery and conspiracy after a previous jury acquitted him of three bribery counts but deadlocked on the others.
Volzer said Judge Gladys Kessler should have allowed the jury to be told of the acquittal and should have refused to let prosecutors include evidence concerning those three bribery counts.
The defense has maintained that the businesspeople--operators of Cambridge Technical Institute, a trade school which was about to be kicked out of the federal student loan program--were lending Lukens money as an act of charity.
Lukens, a Republican, represented Ohio in Congress for almost four terms, ending in 1990.
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