Arizona Governor Says He Made ‘Mistakes’ in Finance Statements

Gov. Fife Symington testified Tuesday that he made numerous mistakes in financial statements he gave to lenders but said he was qualified as a developer to use his own estimates rather than those of appraisers.

Symington often answered “I made a mistake” or “I made an error on that” when federal prosecutor David Schindler asked him to explain why he listed incorrect figures for such things as the sale price of his home or omitted outstanding loans.

Symington justified his refusal to use appraisers’ estimates of his projects’ market values, saying he was equally qualified as a developer to assign his own values--which were often dramatically higher and helped increase his net worth.

It was the governor’s first full day under cross-examination in his bank fraud trial. Fifteen of the 22 charges he faces accuse him of falsifying financial statements he supplied to lenders from 1986 to 1991.

Schindler spent much of Tuesday dissecting Symington’s 1986 and 1987 financial statements, which federal banking laws required him to supply quarterly to lenders.

As he had under defense questioning last week, Symington asserted that he didn’t pay much attention to his financial statements because he was too busy erecting office buildings and shopping centers. He insists the errors weren’t intentional.

“The financial statement was not the focus of my life,” he said, adding that he relied on a sometimes faulty memory to compile the documents.

Symington’s trial on charges of bank fraud, attempted extortion and perjury is in its 12th week.

Closing arguments are set to begin next Tuesday.