Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004130046
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA. LENGTH: Medium
Moore could be sentenced to 36 years in prison and fined $1.2 million, said U.S. Attorney Michael Carey, who announced the plea agreement and the five-count indictment at a news conference.
The indictment accused Moore, a Republican, of committing illegal acts relating to his 1984 campaign, his third term as governor from 1985 to 1989 and his unsuccessful 1988 campaign.
It was the second time Moore was indicted for alleged improprieties in office. He and his 1972 campaign manager were indicted in December 1975 on a charge of extorting $25,000 from the president of a shaky financial holding company trying to get a state charter for a new bank. He was acquitted in 1976.
Moore is the second West Virginia governor to encounter legal trouble.
Former Democratic Gov. W.W. "Wally" Barron, who served from 1961 to 1965, and several of his associates were tried on bribery conspiracy charges in 1968.
Barron was acquitted but later Moore went to prison for bribing the foreman of the U.S. District Court jury that acquitted him.
Moore is accused of blocking a federal grand jury investigation of him last year and this year, Carey said.
The obstruction of justice charges allege that Moore falsified documents and tried to persuade witnesses to commit perjury, Carey said. He also lied in an interview with federal investigators, the indictment alleged.
The indictment alleged Moore used his office to extort approximately $573,000 in 1985 from H. Paul Kizer and Maben Energy Corp., Carey said.
It also accused him of filing false income tax returns in 1984 and 1985, Carey said.
Moore also was charged with scheming to defraud the state of his salary and benefits by funneling approximately $100,000 in cash into his 1984 campaign fund, Carey said.
Carey said he did not know when Moore would be arraigned, but said it probably would be within 10 to 14 days.
Moore, whose 67th birthday is Monday, was the first West Virginia governor elected to two four-year terms and the first elected to three, serving from 1969 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1989.
He served one term in the state House of Delegates from 1953 to 1954 and was elected to Congress in 1956. At 33, Moore was the youngest freshman in the 85th Congress.
In 1968, Moore gave up his House seat to run for governor. Two days before the election he was injured when his helicopter crashed at a political rally in Hamlin. But he made a brief statement to the crowd before being transported to a hospital and many credited that gesture with helping him win.
He was prevented from seeking a third consecutive term by a provision of the state Constitution and was succeeded by Democrat Jay Rockefeller in January 1977.
In 1984, Moore won the governorship for the third time. However, Moore presided over a state government in financial difficulty, unable to pay its bills and forced to borrow heavily.
His tenure ended in dramatic defeat when Democratic newcomer Gaston Caperton routed him in the 1988 election.
by CNB