Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 9, 1993 TAG: 9307090065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
The sentence will run concurrently with a 10-year state prison sentence Keating already is serving, said U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer. He has served about 15 months of that sentence, meaning he could be paroled in less than 10 years.
The judge also ordered Keating to pay $122.4 million restitution to the government for losses caused by sham property sales that prosecutors said propped up his shaky empire.
Keating, convicted of 73 counts of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, came to epitomize the nation's savings and loan debacle through his risky investments, ceaseless battles with regulators and lavish lifestyle.
He walked into court with a large grin, smiling at a daughter in the courtroom and joking with his attorneys. But he stood grimly as Pfaelzer pronounced sentence.
Edwin Gray, former chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, which regulates the savings and loan industry, said the sentence will do little to soothe the pain Keating caused thousands of bondholders.
"Given the magnitude of the crime . . . this appears to be a very light sentence indeed," Gray said in a telephone interview from Miami.
Some of the small investors who lost money trading insured certificates of deposit for risky junk bonds issued by Keating's American Continental Corp. also said the sentence was too short.
"It's not enough. Standing up there and receiving the sentence he still showed no remorse," said Sam Epstein, who bought $65,000 worth of American Continental bonds.
by CNB