Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991 TAG: 9103050069
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PLEASANTON, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Attorneys for the former Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. junk-bond king on Monday temporarily withdrew a court appeal of the stiff term pending a request for a sentence reduction.
Milken, 44, of Los Angeles, reported to a minimum-security work camp about 40 miles east of San Francisco at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, one day earlier than required, said Janice Killian, executive assistant to the warden.
Prison officials wouldn't say why he checked in early. But Milken gets credit for the extra day and it enabled him to avoid further publicity upon arrival at the prison.
The event was another milestone in the scandals that gripped Wall Street in the late 1980s, producing a string of indictments, trials, guilty pleas and lurid revelations about corruption in the nation's financial markets.
Milken became the focus of the government investigation in late 1986 after speculator Ivan Boesky agreed to plead guilty in connection with illegal insider trading. Boesky had been an important Milken client and supplied prosecutors with damning information in exchange for a short sentence.
Milken and his brother, Lowell, in March 1989 were named in a 98-count fraud and racketeering indictment, Wall Street's biggest ever. Last year, Milken agreed to plead guilty to six lesser counts; all charges against his brother were dropped.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood sentenced Milken in November to 10 years in prison and three years' probation, by far the longest term in the scandals.
At the Pleasanton facility, Milken is identified by his federal prisoner number, 16126-054. He will be paid up to 40 cents an hour for manual labor. The tiny work camp, a 5-month-old facility with few recreational activities, is on an Army base across the street from a women's prison and a federal detention center.
Milken is expected to be eligible for parole after three years, but Wood has said his sentence could be reduced if he cooperates with prosecutors investigating related cases.
Milken's attorneys are expected to file a motion soon requesting the sentence reduction. They had 120 days from the day the judgment formally was entered in court shortly after the Nov. 21 sentence to make that request, but the judge can delay acting on it.
Wood has said Milken received a longer prison term than other Wall Street felons partly because he refused to cooperate.
Milken pleaded guilty to six felonies, including conspiracy with Boesky and another client, David Solomon, an investment-fund manager.
Among the counts, Milken admitted hiding stock for Boesky to help him file false information with the government and to allow him to avoid minimum capital requirements for an investment firm. Milken also pleaded guilty to falsifying books and records, and to helping Solomon evade income taxes.
by CNB