U.S. Appeals Keating Retrial Ruling

Federal prosecutors who saw their conviction of Charles H. Keating Jr. thrown out because of jury misconduct have appealed a court ruling granting the former Lincoln Savings & Loan operator a new trial. The U.S. Attorney’s office is asking an appellate court to reinstate Keating’s conviction on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud. Judge Mariana Pfaelzer threw out the conviction on Dec. 2 after determining that jurors learned before or during trial that Keating had been convicted previously in state court of securities fraud stemming from the Irvine thrift’s collapse in 1989. The state case was thrown out last April. Prosecutors had vowed to retry the federal case, but decided instead to appeal Pfaelzer’s ruling. The judge had scheduled a hearing today to set a new trial date, but called off the session. Keating, who served more than 4 1/2 years, is out on bail. He had been sentenced to 12 years, 7 months on charges that he looted Lincoln Savings and defrauded investors.