Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994 TAG: 9405290065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
His attorneys, who are urging him to accept the agreement, have told federal prosecutors of the decision but asked them not to consider it final until the government's deadline Tuesday. They hope he will change his mind over the weekend.
There appeared to be no firm reason for thinking he might do so, they said.
"He's not giving up, he's going to fight it," one associate said of the powerful 18-term congressman.
Federal prosecutors, in reply to the defense team, have said they were prepared to wait through the holiday weekend for Rostenkowski, D-Ill., to reconsider. They repeated their warning, however, that he faces imminent indictment if he does not accept their terms by early Tuesday.
Prosecutors who have been investigating Rostenkowski for more than two years plan on that day to seek a federal grand jury indictment accusing him of more than a dozen corruption charges, attorneys in the case said Saturday.
Rostenkowski has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesman said Saturday that he had no immediate comment on the matter.
The charges include taking thousands of dollars in cash payments from the House post office disguised as stamp purchases, converting a government-leased vehicle to his personal use, putting people on his office payroll who did no work and using his congressional expense account to buy chairs and other personal gifts from the House stationery shop.
Once indicted, Rostenkowski, 66, would have to step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee under House Democratic rules, but he still could remain as a member of the tax-writing panel. The committee has been considering President Clinton's health care plan.
If he were acquitted of the charges, he could then regain his chairmanship.
His lawyers have advised Rostenkowski that a plea agreement would enable him to avoid the humiliation of a public trial and the prospect of conviction and a prison sentence longer than the one-year term understood to be part of the agreement.
Such negotiations are considered normal and cannot be used against Rostenkowski should the case go to trial. However, the talks are acknowledgment on both sides that there might be weaknesses in their positions.
There was no sign that his lawyers were seeking better terms, nor any evidence that prosecutors were considering concessions.
Prosecutors are said to be confident of gaining an indictment but harbor concerns that Rostenkowski might prove likable to jurors and benefit from assumptions that most officeholders commit similar acts.
by CNB