Plumber Joe: "I hope I'm not making too much of a fool of myself"

Too late. (conference on MSNBC)

McLame stooge! sack a hammers!

Did that detail emerge during his press conference?

New York Times archives, 1992:

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.
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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.


By RICHARD W. STEVENSON,

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.

Are you sure it's the same guy?

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What were you saying about all the elderly voters?