
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 10, 1990                   TAG: 9007100103
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: DENVER                                LENGTH: Medium

BUSH SON DENIES S&L MISCONDUCT

An angry, embattled Neil Bush on Monday defended his conduct as a director of a failed Denver savings and loan, as well as his acceptance of what he conceded was "an incredibly sweet deal" in the form of a $100,000 loan from a Denver investor that he did not have to repay.

President Bush's 35-year-old son, who faces a disciplinary hearing this fall before federal thrift regulators, decided this weekend to launch a one-man public relations campaign in connection with his role as a director of the defunct Silverado Savings and Loan, whose collapse is expected to cost taxpayers about $1 billion.

He issued a combative eight-page response to the charges against him and began inviting reporters to his spartan Denver office to hear his version of the events that have made him a figure in the largest financial scandal in U.S. history.

Bush acknowledged in an interview Monday that he got "an incredibly sweet deal" in 1984 when Denver investor Kenneth Good lent him $100,000 and then forgave the debt. Bush also revealed that he has decided to report that six-year-old payment as income on his 1990 tax return. But that loan, Bush insisted, was "totally unrelated" to his work as a director of Silverado.

Other charges against him, Bush complained, stem from political "opportunism" and "press sensationalism."

Bush's response also challenged the federal Office of Thrift Supervision's contention that he violated regulations by voting to approve Silverado loans to Bill Walters, a Denver developer who had invested in Bush's oil company. Bush said there was no conflict of interest in his votes because other bank officials knew of his ties to Walters.

"I'm sure there was a disclosure made. . . . That was looked at by legal counsel," Bush said Monday. However, he did not mention his business connection with Walters on required conflict-of-interest forms, records show.

Bush's long response also discussed dealings between Silverado and Good. "Bush abstained from voting on this matter and all transactions relating to Ken Good," according to the written response.

by CNB