U.S. Government to Retry Keating and Son

The federal government said it will retry former Lincoln Savings & Loan chief Charles H. Keating Jr. on charges that he defrauded customers by selling them millions of dollars in worthless bonds. The case of Keating and his son, Charles Keating III, was returned to U.S. District Court in Los Angeles after an appellate court threw out their federal convictions and said they deserved a new trial. During a brief hearing, Assistant U.S. Atty. Brad Sonnenberg told Judge Mariana Pfaelzer that the government intended to retry the Keatings. In a conference afterward, Sonnenberg and the Keatings’ attorneys tentatively agreed on a Sept. 14 trial date, which the judge still must approve. Sonnenberg declined to comment. Stephen Neal, an attorney for the elder Keating, said, “I think it’s a waste of time and money, but I wasn’t surprised” at the decision to retry the case.