Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 21, 1992 TAG: 9203210179
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I'm going to ask them to show me all their banking records from five years back and prove there have been no overdrafts," Pickett, a Democrat who represents Norfolk and Virginia Beach, said Friday.
Pickett was among four Virginia congressmen who acknowledged earlier this week that they overdrew their accounts in the now-defunct House Bank. Although their mistakes were trivial compared to the abuses of some of their colleagues, each is expecting fallout in this November's elections.
They were dismayed to learn that simple bookkeeping errors made years ago by them - and in some cases by the bank - have cast them in the same light as a few colleagues who kited thousands of dollars in checks at the House bank.
"It's terribly embarrassing for me to be on the same list as people who were irresponsibly taking advantage of the House bank," said Rep. Jim Olin, D-Roanoke, who is not seeking re-election. "Unlike some who abused the system, I honestly believed I had sufficient money to cover all of my checks. But the bank was so slipshod in recording deposit slips that it's impossible to know for sure."
Olin said his records show that he had a $201 balance before writing a $100 check that overdrew his account in 1988.
Pickett, who thought he would avoid the controversy, learned earlier this week that he once overdrew his account by $19.71 in 1989. The normally stoic congressman rushed to the phone to inform reporters. "I had told people that I didn't have any overdrafts and I didn't want anyone to think I had misinformed them," he said.
"It was a simple clerical error on my part," he said, adding that the House bank never informed him of the overdraft.
But that error could cause Pickett a major headache this fall. James Chapman, a lawyer competing for the Republican nomination, said Pickett should answer for the mistake.
"It's certainly irresponsible for Pickett to bounce a check, given his training as a lawyer and accountant," Chapman said. "What's more important is that he answer for the Democratic Party's oversight of the bank and the whole system of congressional perks."
While Pickett is accepting blame for his overdraft, the three other Virginia congressmen cited for bouncing checks are faulting slipshod bookkeeping at the bank. They say the bank frequently was several days late in recording deposits to their accounts.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, was briefly overdrawn in summer 1990. Boucher said he believed that his $4,000 bi-weekly paycheck had been deposited on the last day of July and he wrote a check for the same amount to a savings institution in Washington County. He learned this week that the paycheck was not issued until the first day of August and may not have been credited to his House account until several days later.
"I do not think I have been damaged by this issue and Republicans have said they will not use it against me during the campaign," Boucher said.
However, two of the three Republicans who are vying for the nomination to run against Boucher were not so kind in their comments this week.
Other House members predicted tough reactions this fall, particularly for Democrats, whose majority in the House gave them control of the bank. Several said House Speaker Thomas Foley had been apprised of irregularities several years ago and failed to place proper restraints on the bank.
"This clearly does not help the Speaker," Pickett said.
Even some members who had no bad checks said they are worried about being tinged by scandal. "There's fear up here," said Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg.
Sisisky, a millionaire beer and soft drink distributor before his election to Congress, said he never even maintained an account at the House bank. "I never put money where they don't pay interest," he explained.
by CNB