Founding Member of the Keating FiveBack in the old days, defendants in famous trials got numbers -- the Chicago Eight, the Gang of Four, the Dave Clark Five, the
Daytona 500. McCain was one of the "
Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles
Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles
Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)
Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles
Keating after
Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on
Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to
Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a
Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."
original story courtesy of:
http://www.realchange.org/mccain.htm
"Keating Gets New Trial",
CNNfn Web Site, December 2, 1996