Wurzelbacher, Wurzelbacher, where do I know the name from? It sounds so familiar....Oh! Now I remember, Robert Wurzelbacher pleaded guilty to fraud in connetion with the savings & loan scandal. Gosh, wonder how common that name is?
******** A son-in-law of Charles H. Keating Jr. pleaded guilty today to three Federal fraud counts in connection with the collapse of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Assocation and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue their case against Mr. Keating. The guilty plea was the sixth from executives and business associates of Lincoln and its parent company, but was the first crack in what until now had been a united Keating family defense against the charges in the case. Mr. Keating and a son, Charles H. Keating 3d, still face an array of fraud and racketeering charges brought against them in a 77-count Federal indictment issued last year. Their trial is scheduled for August in Federal District Court here. Mr. Keating was convicted last year on separate fraud counts in a California state court and is serving a 10-year prison sentence. Bad Loans to a Hotel The guilty plea today was from Robert M. Wurzelbacher Jr., who had been a senior vice president of Lincoln's parent company, the American Continental Corporation of Phoenix, and the chief executive of an investment firm owned by Lincoln Savings. Mr. Wurzelbacher, who is 38 years old, is married to the former Elizabeth Keating, one of Mr. Keating's daughters. Mr. Wurzelbacher pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer to three felony counts of misapplication of federally insured funds. The charges were not among those made against Mr. Wurzelbacher in last year's Federal indictment. His guilty plea involved charges arising from $13 million in loans and advances made by Lincoln Savings, which was based in Irvine, Calif. The money went to a limited partnership that owned and operated the Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit. Mr. Wurzelbacher and other officers and employees of Lincoln and American Continental, including Mr. Keating and his son, were partners in the limited partnership, according to court documents. The prosecutors said that in pleading guilty Mr. Wurzelbacher admitted that he and other Lincoln and American Continental executives had made the loans and advances knowing that they probably would not be repaid and were not in Lincoln's best interests. Prosecutors said that the hotel suffered large losses, but that the limited partnership generated substantial tax benefits for Mr. Wurzelbacher and the other limited partners. In all, Lincoln suffered losses of more than $23 million on loans to the hotel, according to a civil suit against Mr. Keating filed last year by the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Federal savings and loan bailout agency. Mark Beck, a lawyer for Mr. Wurzelbacher, said that in pleading guilty to three counts his client would not be subject to the strict sentencing guidelines that would apply to the charges in the indictment. "It was not an easy decision, but he had to keep in mind that as the father of two grade-school children he faced substantial consequences if the defense was unsuccessful at trial," Mr. Beck said. Lincoln was seized by Federal regulators three years ago just after American Continental filed for bankruptcy protection. Lincoln's collapse is expected to cost taxpayers $2.6 billion. Mr. Keating, unfairly in his view, has come to embody the political influence peddling, mismanagement and fraud that pervaded the savings and loan industry. As part of his plea, Mr. Wurzelbacher agreed to cooperate with the continuing investigation of Lincoln by the United States Justice Department and a host of state and local law-enforcement and regulatory agencies, said David A. Sklansky, an assistant United States attorney who is prosecuting the case. Mr. Sklansky said the Government had also agreed to move for dismissal of all the counts against Mr. Wurzelbacher in the Federal indictment. Mr. Wurzelbacher could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in prison and fined as much as twice the loss caused by his actions. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DF173DF935A25756C0A964958260 On Oct 16, 10:50�am, Kamakazee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Joe The Plumber: Obama Tax Plan 'Infuriates Me' > > ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: > > John McCain may have found a blue-collar face to help him argue that > no American -- not even the richest 5 percent -- should pay higher > taxes. > > "Joe The Plumber" has weighed in on Wednesday's presidential debate > and he says that Barack Obama's tax plan "infuriates me." > > "To be honest with you, that infuriates me," plumber Joe Wurzelbacher > told Nightline's Terry Moran. "It's not right for someone to decide > you made too much---that you've done too good and now we're going to > take some of it back." > > "That's just completely wrong," he added. > > Wurzelbacher, who says no one from the McCain campaign got in touch > with him before Wednesday, was a centerpiece of the third and final > presidential debate. > > The plumber's brush with fame began on Sunday when he confronted > Barack Obama outside of Toledo, Ohio. Wurzelbacher challenged the > Democratic candidate on his plan to raise taxes on the top five > percent of earners -- a policy which would, by the Obama campaign's > own estimation, mean higher taxes for 184,000 small businesses. > > "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand > dollars a year," Wurzelbacher told Obama. "Your new tax plan is going > to tax me more, isn't it?" > > Under Obama's plan, individuals making more than $200,000 per year, > or > couples making more than $250,000 per year, would pay higher taxes on > income, capital gains, and dividends. Starting ten years from now, > Obama supports an additional 2-4 percent tax on individual income > above $250,000 per year to help shore up the Social Security system. > > To evaluate how Wurzelbacher and his wife would fare under Obama, one > would need to know his wife's income (if any) plus what the plumber > meant when he told Obama that the company he is getting ready to buy > "makes" $250,000 - $280,000 per year. > > Was Wurzelbacher referring to gross revenue or net profits? > > Obama's higher taxes on small businesses would be leveled against > those whose net profits exceed $250,000 per year, according to > Obama's > campaign. > > While at least 184,000 small businesses would face higher taxes under > Obama, the Illinois Democrat is also proposing a series of tax > credits > that could aid small businesses. > > Obama has proposed a $3,000 tax credit for every new job that > companies create in the United States over the next two years, a > small > business health tax credit on up to 50 percent of employee premiums > paid by employers, and elimination of capital gains taxes on > investments in small and start-up businesses. > > Regardless of how Wurzelbacher would personally fare under the > candidates' plans, he suggested to ABC News' Nightline that he is > against all forms of progressive taxation. > > During his telephone interview with ABC News, the Ohio plumber argued > that the government should not tax some more than others and argued > that this principle should extend not only to Americans at his > income- > level but also to the world's richest man. > > "I don't like it," said Wurzelbacher. "You know, me or -- you know, > Bill Gates, I don't care who you are. If you worked for it, if it was > your idea, and you implemented it, it's not right for someone to > decide you made too much." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
