Keating Judge Unmoved

The federal judge who threw out Charles H. Keating Jr.’s state fraud convictions said Monday he isn’t inclined to change his mind but would review the prosecution’s arguments once more before making a final ruling.

U.S. District Judge John G. Davies had prepared a tentative order rejecting the state’s request to reconsider his April 3 decision, which stunned Los Angeles County prosecutors. If he makes his tentative order final, prosecutors plan to appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In his tentative ruling, Davies said the government had failed “to present any grounds for granting the motion for reconsideration.”

Keating, the former Arizona land baron who operated Lincoln Savings & Loan in Irvine, remains in a federal prison in Tucson for his separate federal court convictions on racketeering, conspiracy and fraud. The appeal in that case already is pending before the 9th Circuit.