HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Humphrey Keating Jr. (December 4, 1923 – March 31, 2014) was an American sportsman, lawyer, real estate developer, banker, financier, conservative activist, and convicted felon best known for his role in the savings and loan scandal of the late 1980s. Keating was a champion swimmer for the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
in the 1940s. From the late 1950s through the 1970s, he was a noted
anti-pornography Reasons for opposition to pornography include religious objections and feminist concerns (for specific sectors of feminism), as well as alleged harmful effects, such as pornography addiction. Pornography addiction is not a condition recognized ...
activist, founding the organization
Citizens for Decent Literature Citizens for Decent Literature was a pro-censorship advocacy body founded in 1956 in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio by the Roman Catholic anti-pornography campaigner Charles Keating which advocated reading classics, not "smut". Many priests were also ...
and serving as a member on the 1969
President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography In 1969, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''Stanley v. Georgia'' that people could view whatever they wished in the privacy of their own homes. In response, the United States Congress funded the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornog ...
. In the 1980s, Keating ran
American Continental Corporation American Continental Corporation was a Phoenix, Arizona-based p. 108. real estate company of the 1970s and 1980s. History The company was created in 1978 pp. 161–163. as a spin-off of American Financial Group, meant to do residential home const ...
and the
Lincoln Savings and Loan Association Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Lincoln (president), Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Neb ...
, and took advantage of loosened restrictions on banking investments. His enterprises began to suffer financial problems and were investigated by federal regulators. His financial contributions to, and requests for regulatory intervention from, five sitting U.S. senators led to those legislators being dubbed the "
Keating Five File:AlanCranston.jpg, Alan Cranston (D-CA) File:Dennis DeConcini.jpg, File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg, John Glenn (D-OH) File:John McCain.jpg, John McCain (R-AZ) File:Riegle2.jpg, Donald Riegle (D-MI) The Keating Five were five United States Sen ...
". When Lincoln failed in 1989 it cost the federal government over $3 billion and about 23,000 customers were left with worthless bonds. In the early 1990s, Keating was convicted in both
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
and state courts of many counts of
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
,
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...
and
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
. He served four and a half years in prison before those convictions were overturned in 1996. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to a more limited set of
wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...
and
bankruptcy fraud Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
counts, and was sentenced to the time he had already served. Keating spent his final years in low-profile real estate activities until his death in 2014.


Early life and military service

Keating was born on December 4, 1923, in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, into a devout Roman Catholic family. He was the son of Adele (née Kipp) and Charles Humphrey Keating. He grew up in the Avondale and
Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
neighborhoods of that city. His younger brother
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
was born in 1927. Their father came from
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and managed a
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 77. Charles Keating Sr. lost a leg in a hunting accident, and then fell into a long decline from
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
around 1931, and was nursed by his wife until his death in 1964. Keating began
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
at a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...
and became passionately involved in the sport. He attended St Xavier High School, where he was a good student, was on the swim team all four years, and also
ran track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...
and played football.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 78. In swimming he led the team to three
Greater Catholic League This is a list of high school athletic conferences in the Southwest Region of Ohio, as defined by the OHSAA. Because the names of localities and their corresponding high schools do not always match and because there is often a possibility of ambigu ...
championships, set several school records, was named all-state, and was captain of the team in his senior year. Keating graduated from St Xavier in 1941. After one semester at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
in fall 1941, Keating left because of poor grades, although he advanced to the
NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are annual college championship events in the United States. The meets take place in a 25-yard pool, except for the Division I meets in 2000 and 2004 which were swum in a 25-meter competi ...
in 1942, finishing sixth in the 200 yard
breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
. He enlisted in the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, where he would spend four years. He trained in the Navy Air Corps to become a
carrier-based Carrier-based aircraft, sometimes known as carrier-capable aircraft or carrier-borne aircraft, are naval aircraft designed for operations from aircraft carriers. They must be able to launch in a short distance and be sturdy enough to withstand ...
night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
pilot flying
Grumman F6F Hellcat The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American Carrier-based aircraft, carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier Grumman F4F Wildcat, F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United St ...
s.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 78–82. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Keating was stationed in the U.S., sometimes at Banana Creek in Florida, and flew
Hellcats ''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' b ...
to armed services swimming meets. He narrowly escaped serious injury one night at
Naval Air Station Vero Beach Vero Beach Regional Airport is a public airport one mile northwest of Vero Beach in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned and is the home of Piper Aircraft. History 1929–1941 In 1929, Bud Holman, whose so ...
when he neglected to lower the
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
on his Hellcat and wrecked the plane in an unexpected
belly landing A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device. Normally the term ''gear-up landing'' refers to incidents in which the pilot ...
. Due to additional training on new intercept methods and the vagaries of squadron transfers, the war ended before he would be deployed to any combat theater.


Education and swimming

Keating was ready to return to college after finishing his Navy service in 1945. His abilities as a swimmer made him an attractive recruit, despite his having dropped out earlier. He cut a deal with the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
wherein it would accept for academic credit much of his Navy service,Day, ''S & L Hell'', pp. 129–131. then he would take six months of liberal arts courses before entering its law school.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 84. Keating won the 200-yard
breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
at the Ohio Intercollegiate Conference championship in 1945. On March 30, 1946, Keating competed in the 200-yard breaststroke at the
NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are annual college championship events in the United States. The meets take place in a 25-yard pool, except for the Division I meets in 2000 and 2004 which were swum in a 25-meter competi ...
, before a packed house of 2,500 spectators at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
's
Payne Whitney Gymnasium The Payne Whitney Gymnasium is the gymnasium of Yale University. One of the largest athletic facilities ever built, its twelve acres of interior space include a nine-story tower containing a third-floor swimming pool, fencing facilities, and a pol ...
. In an exciting, back-and-forth contest with Paul Murray of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
and future coaching legend
James Counsilman James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004)
P ...
of
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, he prevailed by a foot to win the championship with a time of 2:26.2. (The event was later reclassified as the
butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in NCAA records due to a definitional evolution involving the two strokes.) This was the first ever national championship in any sport for the University of Cincinnati. He and teammate Roy Lagaly become the first-ever Bearcats to be named
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
ns. Keating was an imposing 6 feet 5 inches, a natural leader and co-captain of the team with Lagaly. Of Keating, Lagaly said, "You could tell even then he was going to be very successful. He was very ambitious. Whatever he did, he did all the way." Keating followed this by swimming for Cincinnati Gym, finishing second to future Olympic gold medalist Joseph Verdeur in the 220-yard breaststroke at the April 1946 national AAU championships. Keating received his law degree from the
University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...
in 1948, and would later be named a member of the university's Athletic Hall of Fame. Charles Keating was a long-time supporter of U.S. swimming and beginning in 1969 he and his brother
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
donated $600,000 to St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati to build a state-of-the-art competition pool.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 98. The school's swimming team went on to win many state titles. St. Xavier named the Keating Natatorium after the brothers' father, and inducted Charles Keating into its initial Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1985. The University of Cincinnati's 2006 athletic building is named the Keating Aquatic Center, in honor of William Keating, and donations from the Keating family used to construct it. Charles Keating funded Cincinnati's Marlins swim club; six swimmers on the
1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
squad were from its roster, including future Olympic champion Mary T. Meagher. When he later moved to Phoenix, Charles Keating built the Phoenix Swim Club, where Olympians also trained.


Marriage and family

Keating married Mary Elaine Fette in 1949. She was an athletically minded Catholic from an established Cincinnati family. They had six children: daughters Kathleen, Mary, Maureen, Elaine, and Elizabeth, and a son,
Charles Keating III Charles Humphrey Keating III (nicknamed C3; born August 20, 1955) is an American former competitive swimmer and real estate executive. He represented the United States in swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec. He was convicted ...
. His daughter Mary married Gary Hall, who would go on to swim in the
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...
,
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, and
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
, winning a medal in each one. Charles Keating III swam in the 1976 Summer Olympics, finishing fifth in the 200-meter
breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...
. Keating's grandson
Gary Hall Jr. Gary Wayne Hall Jr. (born September 26, 1974) is an American former competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996, 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics, 2004 Olympics and won ten Olympic ...
competed in the
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
,
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, and
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
as a swimmer and won ten medals overall. Another Keating grandson,
Petty Officer 1st Class Petty officer first class (PO1) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations. Canada Petty officer, 1st class, PO1, is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of petty officer 2nd-cl ...
Charlie Keating IV, a
Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...
, was killed at age 31 in combat with
ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
in Iraq in 2016.


Early legal and business career

After law school graduation, Keating did spot legal work for the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, then joined a law firm doing corporate law.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 85. On the side, he entered the business world where his ventures involved selling
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
, running a
fruit stand A fruit stand is a primarily open-air business venue that sells seasonal fruit and many fruit products from local growers. It might also sell vegetables and various processed items derived from fruit. The fruit stand is a small business structure ...
, and working for
Roto-Rooter Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup (formerly called Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Service) is a Cincinnati-based company providing plumbing repair, sewer & drain services, and water damage cleanup services to residential and commercial customer ...
. In 1952, along with his brother,
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, and a mutual friend from law school, he became a founding partner of the Cincinnati law firm Keating, Muething & Keating.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 86. Beginning in the late 1950s they took on Carl Lindner Jr. as a client. Lindner was rapidly accumulating ice cream stores, supermarkets, real estate, and savings and loans, and soon essentially became Keating's sole client. In 1956, he filed requests for
Q clearance Q clearance or Q access authorization is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance required to access Top Secret Restricted Data, Formerly Restricted Data, and National Security Information, as well as Secret Restricted Data. Restri ...
s on behalf of a small company of former
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in ...
scientists with an office in
Newtown, Ohio Newtown is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in southeastern Hamilton County, Ohio, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, near Cincinnati. The population was 2,702 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Newtown was settled in 1792 and ...
; unknown to Keating, the FBI suspected the application was fraudulent and launched an investigation of him, but no charges were made.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 86, 89–92. Keating was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar in 1958. In 1960, Lindner and Keating created
American Financial Corporation American Financial Group, Inc. is an American financial services holding company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary businesses are insurance and investments. Lines of business American Financial Group's major insurance division operates ...
, a holding company of Lindner's disparate businesses that created further subsidiaries and financial instruments, all doing business with each other.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 93–94. Keating was named to the board of directors of the company in 1963.


Anti-pornography activism

In 1956, Keating joined a priest leading a group of Catholics in Cincinnati who were concerned about the dangers of
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
, and he began giving talks on the subject to parents and other groups.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 87. In 1958, Keating testified before the
House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
on mail-order pornography, saying that it was "capable of poisoning any mind at any age and of perverting our entire younger generation", and that it was closely tied to juvenile delinquency, while also quoting a Senate Committee report that "part of the Communist conspiracy was to print (obscene materials)". Keating mentioned links between pornography and Communism at other times, but distanced himself from the more fervent anti-Communist groups of the early 1960s. He stated that 90 percent of obscene materials were produced for profit, not ideological reasons, and told Congress in 1960, "I had better say ..that I am not blaming obscenity in America on the Communists." Keating founded
Citizens for Decent Literature Citizens for Decent Literature was a pro-censorship advocacy body founded in 1956 in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio by the Roman Catholic anti-pornography campaigner Charles Keating which advocated reading classics, not "smut". Many priests were also ...
(CDL) in 1958 (later renamed a number of times, the best known of which is Citizens for Decency through Law), which advocated reading classics not "smut."Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', p. 88. It would grow to 300 chapters and 100,000 members nationwide and become the largest anti-pornography organization in the nation. It absorbed some other groups, such as National Citizens for Decent Literature and the Pittsburgh National Better Magazines Council.Strub, ''Perversion for Profit'', pp. 96–98. The structure of CDL was initially decentralized, but Keating grew frustrated with some local chapters taking aggressive actions he did not approve of, and so he gave it a more controlled focus with a national magazine, film production, and a greater role in legal actions.Strub, ''Perversion for Profit'', pp. 99–103. Over the next two decades, CDL mailed some 40 million letters on behalf of its position and filed a series of ''
amicus curiae An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
'' briefs before the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. Keating gained the nickname "Mr. Clean". pp. 264, 266. In 1964–65, Keating produced ''
Perversion for Profit ''Perversion for Profit'' is a 1963 Eastmancolor propaganda film financed by Charles Keating through Citizens for Decent Literature and narrated by news reporter George Putnam. The film argues that sexually explicit materials corrupt young ...
'', a film featuring announcer George Putnam. It was a survey of then-available prurient and obscene materials, and asserted that pornography led to moral decay. It, along with two lesser-known films produced or distributed by CDL, was screened frequently throughout the country and remained in print for a long time.Strub, ''Perversion for Profit'', p. 104. In 1969, Keating's national reputation on the issue led
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
to appoint him to the
President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography In 1969, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''Stanley v. Georgia'' that people could view whatever they wished in the privacy of their own homes. In response, the United States Congress funded the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornog ...
, which had been begun under Nixon's predecessor,
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
. The majority on the commission issued a report which concluded that pornography does not degrade the morals of adults or cause crime and recommended that all federal, state, and local laws preventing consenting adults from obtaining pornographic materials be repealed. Keating, Nixon's only appointee on the 18-person commission, was the leading commission dissenter from the report. In September 1970, Keating was granted a temporary
restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...
from the D.C. Federal District Court to delay publication of the report, stating that he needed access to all the report's backing materials and time to write a dissent. Several days later, Keating was given the desired materials and two weeks to write his report by the committee. Keating filed his dissent, saying, "At a time when the spread of pornography has reached epidemic proportions in our country and when the moral fiber of our nation seems to be rapidly unravelling, the desperate need is for enlightenment and intelligent control of the poisons which threaten us – not the declaration of moral bankruptcy inherent in the repeal of the laws which have been the defense of decent people against the pornographer for profit." Keating wrote, "One can consult all the experts he chooses, can write reports, make studies, etc., but the fact that obscenity corrupts lies within the common sense, the reason, and the logic of every man." The Nixon administration tacitly supported Keating's legal efforts, and Counsellor to the President
John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as the White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important ...
assigned White House speechwriter
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...
to help draft the dissenting report. The commission's majority report was denounced by congressional leaders of both parties as well as by the administration. The commission involvement earned Keating further national attention, which he used to push towards stringent behavior in Cincinnati. In 1969, Keating obtained an injunction preventing the showing in Cincinnati of softcore
sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...
master
Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...
's film ''
Vixen! ''Vixen!'' is a 1968 American drama film and satiric softcore sexploitation film directed by Russ Meyer and starring Erica Gavin. It was the first film to be given an X rating for its sex scenes, and was a breakthrough success for Meyer. The ...
'', claiming it was obscene, pp. 111–113, 116. and the film was seized by the police the first day it opened.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 104–105. Showing of the film was successfully stopped in other parts of Ohio as well, and Meyer spent $250,000 in defense against Keating legal actions. Keating said Meyer had done more to undermine morals in the nation than anyone else; Meyer responded that "I was glad to do it." The Cincinnati ''Vixen!'' case was appealed and in 1971 the
Supreme Court of Ohio The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...
upheld the prohibition. In 1970, Keating tried to block a closed-circuit showing of the musical ''
Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in London ...
'' in Cincinnati, saying that "it appeals to a prurient interest in sex." During 1972, a Keating legal action kept a sex film theater shut as a "public nuisance". He tried to prevent newsstands near his office from selling ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'' and '' Oui'' magazines. He denounced the
Ramada Inn Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...
chain for offering adult programming on cable television to guests. Other local actions involving shutting stores and removing books from public libraries were attributed by civil liberties advocates to the "oppressive" trend that Keating had set. Such was Keating and his organization's effectiveness that when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the 1973 ''
Miller v. California ''Miller v. California'', 413 U.S. 15 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court modifying its definition of obscenity from that of "utterly without socially redeeming value" to that which lacks "serious literary, artistic, politi ...
'' decision establishing that obscenity definitions be based upon local community standards, every adult bookstore and movie house in Cincinnati was closed within hours. Citizens for Decent Literature and Keating often warned about homosexuality as an example of what they saw as perverse behavior.Strub, ''Perversion for Profit'', pp. 113–114. The film ''Perversion for Profit'' had included a claim that homosexuals had a slogan saying that "today's conquest is tomorrow's competition"; in a 1977 speech in Miami, Keating repeated this phrase, concluding from it that homosexuality represented an endless "seduction of the innocent". In 1975, '' Oui'' magazine gave Keating the top spot on its "Enemies of pornography" list. Hamilton County prosecutor Simon L. Leis Jr. put Ohio pornographer
Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as ''Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three por ...
on trial in 1976 for pandering obscenity and for engaging in a form of organized crime. Local public opinion ran against Flynt. Flynt was convicted on both counts and received the maximum sentence of 7 to 25 years in prison. While the conviction was later overturned on appeal, the verdict again established Cincinnati's community standards in this regard, and even after Keating left for Arizona, his influence remained in Cincinnati being a center of anti-pornography fervor. In the 1996
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
, ''
The People vs. Larry Flynt ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'' is a 1996 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman, chronicling the rise of pornographer Larry Flynt and his subsequent clash with religious institutions and the law. It stars Wo ...
'', which reportedly exaggerated Keating's role in the prosecution and trial, Keating was portrayed by actor
James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...
. Attempts to show ''Vixen!'' in Cincinnati would continue, but by the late 1990s it was still illegal to do so. However, when in 1990, the Cincinnati
Contemporary Arts Center The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a contemporary art museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the first contemporary art institutions in the United States. The CAC is a non-collecting museum that focuses on new developments in painting, sculptur ...
and its director Dennis Barrie were prosecuted for obscenity for exhibiting Robert Mapplethorpe's traveling solo show ''The Perfect Moment,'' they were found not guilty by a jury.


American Financial Corporation

While officially an outside lawyer, Keating functioned as a public face for Carl Lindner and
American Financial Corporation American Financial Group, Inc. is an American financial services holding company based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary businesses are insurance and investments. Lines of business American Financial Group's major insurance division operates ...
and the two were close associates on business as well as legal matters; Lindner would sometimes refer to Keating as a "founder" of American Financial. The company had easy access to credit lines, which allowed it to continually grow. The web of transactions involving the company and its subsidiaries was large and complex, and one stock analyst stated in 1977 that he had "never come across a company that has so much strange paper on its books." Keating left his law practice in 1972 and formally joined American Financial Corporation, by now a $1 billion enterprise, as executive vice president. Keating became Lindner's person in charge of firing employees from newly acquired companies. Within business circles Keating gained a reputation for aggressiveness and arrogance. He took on an operational involvement in ''
The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, alth ...
'', the town's only morning newspaper. He interfered in editorial decisions, such as adding coverage to high school sports that he or Lindner's sons were involved in. The paper was then sold to a group including his brother, William, who had been a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
congressman from
Ohio's 1st congressional district Ohio's 1st congressional district is represented by Republican Steve Chabot. This district includes the western four-fifths of Cincinnati, and borders both Kentucky and Indiana. This district was once represented by President William Henry Harr ...
in the early 1970s. Charles Keating was involved in American Financial's 1974 sale of
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
, and its decision that year not to enter the
investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...
field. In 1975 and 1976, several stockholder lawsuits were filed against American Financial, and Keating was under fire for aspects involving unsecured loans, stock warrants, and the sale of the ''Enquirer''. The
Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) launched a major investigation of the company and charged Lindner, Keating and others with having defrauded investors and filing false SEC reports. At particular issue was a $14 million loan that the SEC said was made on preferential terms. Keating resigned from American Financial in August 1976, with conflicting stories as to whether or not Keating and Lindner had remained close or whether they had fallen out.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 130–31.


American Continental Corporation

Keating moved to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
in 1976 to run the
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
firm American Continental Homes, a struggling, millions-losing homebuilding spin-off of American Financial that was given over to Keating for $300,000 as part of his departure package. The move was completed when his family followed him in 1978. In 1979 the SEC case with American Financial was settled, with Keating signing a consent agreement where he neither admitted nor denied guilt but agreed not to violate federal fraud and securities statutes. In practice, Keating was blamed for much of the irregular financial practices that had gone on and his reputation was significantly damaged.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 139–140. Keating reaped benefits from the move to Arizona, a wide-open territory in both a physical and business sense that allowed someone a fresh start.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 18–19, 136–138. He turned the now-renamed
American Continental Corporation American Continental Corporation was a Phoenix, Arizona-based p. 108. real estate company of the 1970s and 1980s. History The company was created in 1978 pp. 161–163. as a spin-off of American Financial Group, meant to do residential home const ...
around, adding various operations and divisions in a structure somewhat reminiscent of American Financial. As chairman and controlling stockholder, Keating relied heavily upon family members, employing his son and four of his sons-in-law in prominent positions. Charles Keating III had a fast career rise within the company. In 1979, Keating served as head of fundraising in the Southwest for
John Connally John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917June 15, 1993) was an American politician. He served as the 39th governor of Texas and as the 61st United States secretary of the Treasury. He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican ...
's campaign for the 1980 Republican Party presidential nomination. Connally was a favorite of the business community, but his campaign had difficulty parlaying its fundraising successes into popular support. In early December 1979, Keating was named campaign manager, with the existing manager being demoted to campaign strategist. Keating's first action was as a "pruner" who immediately fired twenty workers at the campaign's Virginia headquarters. The campaign continued to struggle, and, by late February 1980, Keating was out as manager, with Connally taking the role. Connally's campaign ended two weeks later, famously known for having spent $11 million and gaining only one
delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...
. Having won the 1980 election, President
Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
contacted Keating about becoming U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, where Keating had spent considerable time. When Keating's run-in with the SEC resurfaced in press reports, however, he was dropped from consideration. This dismayed Keating, who subsequently said, "To keep people like me out of positions like that because of yellow journalism, I don't know what good it does." By the early 1980s, American Continental's profits were in the millions and it had become the biggest single-family home builder in Phoenix and
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. At its peak it would have $6 billion in assets, a large number of subsidiaries, 2,500 employees, and a headquarters complex on Phoenix's
Camelback Road Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard ...
. It had three corporate jets and a helicopter. He was a very hard worker and a strong presence to his employees; one later said, "It's almost magnetic. When he moves, things happen. The office would come alive when he walked in." He inspired both camaraderie and fervent loyalty in them. While he demanded long hours, he often rewarded employees monetarily and with gifts. Businesspeople outside his company often found Keating arrogant and difficult to deal with. Congressman William Keating, who was well-liked, said of his brother: "Charlie is impatient, aggressive, always on the move. He has clearly defined goals. I don't think he worries about the popularity of his positions." A ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' profile in 1977 reported, "It seems almost impossible to find anyone who actually likes Charlie Keating." The story rankled Keating, who later had over five thousand large yellow "I Like Charlie Keating" buttons made up which he handed out to employees and visitors.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 39, 131. Keating said, "There are a lot of people that would say nasty things, I'm sure, about me, but it ain't true that nobody ever liked Charlie Keating." A devout Catholic, Keating became a heavy donor to charity when he moved to Phoenix, donating $100,000 to the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...
, more than $1 million to
Covenant House Covenant House is a large, Catholic, privately funded agency in the Americas, whose primary purpose is to promote Catholicism. It provides shelter, food, immediate crisis care, and other services to homeless and runaway young people. Covenant H ...
, and another more than $1 million to
Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
's operations, including lending her his helicopter when she was in Arizona so that she could visit remote Indian reservations in the state. Covenant House's Father Bruce Ritter said of Keating, "He makes you believe in Providence." In 1983, Keating and his companies made legal but unusually large campaign donations in races for the
Phoenix City Council The Phoenix City Council is the governing body of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The council is made up of nine members, including a mayor and eight council members representing individual districts. While the mayor is elected in a citywide electi ...
, who were responsible for approving his building projects including water usage for residential developments built around artificial ponds. The scale of donations represented a change from past practice in local Phoenix politics; some council figures opposed the trend, while others readily asked for the funds.


Lincoln Savings and the Keating Five

In 1984, American Continental Corporation bought
Lincoln Savings and Loan Association Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Lincoln (president), Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Neb ...
for just over $50 million. Up through the early 1980s, Lincoln had been a conservatively-run enterprise, with almost half its assets in home loans and only a quarter of its assets considered at risk. pp. 162–163. It made slow growth at best, and had shown a loss for several years until it made a profit of a few million dollars in 1983. Once he took over, Keating fired the existing management.
Savings and loan association A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. The terms "S&L" or "thrift" are mainly used in the United States; simi ...
s had been
deregulated Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
in the early 1980s, allowing them to make high-risk investments with their depositors' money, a change of which Keating and other savings and loan operators took advantage. pp. 289–290. When Keating later was asked why he got into savings and loans, he said, "I know the business inside out, and I always felt that an S & L, if they'd relax the rules, was the biggest moneymaker in the world." Over the next four years Lincoln's assets increased from $1.1 billion to $5.5 billion. Lincoln's particular investments took the form of buying land, taking
equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...
positions in real estate development projects, and buying high-yield
junk bonds In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events ...
. A sales document from this period urges staff to, "always remember the weak, meek and ignorant are always good targets." Beginning in 1985 the
Federal Home Loan Bank Board The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) was a board created in 1932 that governed the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB or FHLBanks) also created by the act, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and nationally-chartered savings ...
(FHLBB) feared that the savings industry's risky investment practices were exposing the government's insurance funds to huge losses. It instituted a rule whereby savings associations could hold no more than 10 percent of their assets in "direct investments", and were thus prohibited from taking ownership positions in certain financial entities and instruments. Lincoln had become burdened with bad debt resulting from its past aggressiveness, and by early 1986 its investment practices were being investigated and audited by the San Francisco office of the FHLBB: in particular whether it had violated these direct investment rules; Lincoln had directed accounts insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...
into commercial real estate ventures. By the end of 1986, that office of the FHLBB had found that Lincoln had $135 million in unreported losses and had surpassed the regulated direct investments limit by $600 million. Keating believed that the regulators were against him because he opposed their rules. He also told his staff that some of the San Francisco regulators were likely "homos" who were "out to get him" for his strong moral views. Keating took measures to oppose the FHLBB, including recruiting a study from then-private economist
Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. ...
saying that direct investments were not harmful, trying to hire FHLBB members or their wives, and getting President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to make a recess appointment of a Keating ally, real estate developer Lee H. Henkel Jr., to the FHLBB. By March 1987, however, the ally had resigned upon news of his having large loans due to Lincoln. It appeared as though the government might seize Lincoln for being insolvent. Starting in January 1987, Keating looked for help from what would become known as "the
Keating Five File:AlanCranston.jpg, Alan Cranston (D-CA) File:Dennis DeConcini.jpg, File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg, John Glenn (D-OH) File:John McCain.jpg, John McCain (R-AZ) File:Riegle2.jpg, Donald Riegle (D-MI) The Keating Five were five United States Sen ...
": Democratic U.S. Senators
Alan Cranston Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as a President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1 ...
of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Dennis DeConcini Dennis Webster DeConcini (; born May 8, 1937) is an American lawyer, philanthropist, politician and former Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona. The son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini, he represented Arizona in the Unit ...
of
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...
of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, and Donald W. Riegle of
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
U.S. Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
of Arizona. Keating had, or would soon make, legal political contributions of about $1.3 million to the senators, and he called on them to help him resist the regulators.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 275–279. Keating became a personal friend of McCain following their initial contacts in 1981, and McCain was the only one of the five with close social and personal ties to Keating. McCain and his family had made several trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard American Continental's jet, for vacations at Keating's opulent Bahamas retreat at
Cat Cay The Cat Cays are two islands in the Bahamas, North Cat Cay and South Cat Cay, approximately south of Bimini. North Cat Cay is a privately owned island and is run as a private members club by the Cat Cay Yacht Club. South Cat Cay is currently ...
. Keating asked that Lincoln be given a lenient judgment by the FHLBB, so it could limit its high risk investments and get into the relatively safe
home mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
business, allowing the business to survive. A letter from audit firm Arthur Young & Co. bolstered Keating's case that the government investigation was taking a long time.Alexander, ''Man of the People'', pp. 108–111. McCain initially refused to meet with Keating over the FHLBB matter and Keating called McCain a "wimp" behind his back. The two had a heated, contentious meeting in which McCain said he had not spent years in North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camps to have his courage or integrity questioned; the friendship ended and they would not speak again. In April 1987, the group of senators met twice with FHLBB members who were investigating American Continental Corporation and Lincoln, in an attempt to end the investigation. Meanwhile, Keating filed a lawsuit against the FHLBB, saying it had leaked confidential information about Lincoln. The outgoing head of the FHLBB in Washington deferred judgment and the new head was more sympathetic to Keating. In May 1988, the FHLBB agreed to an unprecedented memorandum of understanding giving Lincoln a clean slate and forgiveness for any violations up to that point. (In 1991, the senators would be rebuked to various degrees by the
Senate Ethics Committee The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee. Senate rules require the ...
, with Cranston receiving the harshest verdict and Glenn and McCain the least. McCain later testified against Keating in a civil lawsuit brought by Lincoln bondholders, while the other four refused to testify.)


Failure of Lincoln and American Continental

Lincoln stayed in business; from mid-1987 to April 1989, its assets grew from $3.91 billion to $5.46 billion. Following Keating's past practices with Lindner, American Continental amassed a large collection of confusingly connected subsidiaries in real estate, banking, and insurance businesses; these numbered at least 54, and there were some overseas ones that auditors were not aware of. Keating was triumphant in having defeated the regulators, whom he despised as useless relics from an outmoded financial past, and defended his high salary and business practices. He spent about $500,000 on radio advertisements in the Phoenix area to improve his public image; the commercials stressed his real estate projects and his family-oriented values. A 1988 ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' profile assessed Keating as "a businessman without apparent peer in Arizona in terms of riches, clout and color." While Keating had taken Citizens for Decency through Law with him, he had generally de-emphasized his anti-pornography work when he moved to Arizona. Nevertheless, X-rated movies and ''Playboy'' magazine were banned from his hotels. In October 1988, Keating opened his most extravagant real estate project ever, the , 600-room The Phoenician Resort at the base of
Camelback Mountain Camelback Mountain ( ood, Cew S-wegiom) is a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The English name is derived from its shape, which resembles the hump and head of a kneeling camel. The mountain, a prominent landmark of the Phoenix metro ...
. Its construction cost $300 million, included many opulent, imported features, and saw a number of instances of Keating or his decorator wife making wholesale late design changes at great expense. His other grand project was Estrella, a mixed-use development outside of Phoenix in
Goodyear, Arizona Goodyear (O'odham: ''Valin Thak'') is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is a suburb of Phoenix and at the 2020 census had a population of 95,294, up from 65,275 in 2010 and 18,911 in 2000. It was the third-fastest-growing ci ...
, in the direction of the
Sierra Estrella The Sierra Estrella ( ood, Komaḍk, mrc, Vii Lyxa, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchasa) is a mountain range located southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Much of the range falls within the Gila River Indian Reservation, but of BLM land is protected as the Sier ...
. Incorporating homes, offices, industrial buildings, schools, shopping, a resort and a hospital, it was intended to eventually house 200,000 people and become a model 21st-century city. American Continental wrote rules saying that Estrella homeowners could not "intentionally terminat a human pregnancy" or possess "adult material", but removed them once Keating was informed that such covenants were unconstitutional. A late 1980s downturn in the
Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel. Several climates can be found in the region — des ...
real estate market put Estrella in jeopardy before much building could be done. Asked in an interview if he ever worried about going broke, Keating responded, "All the time, every day. I come into the office with this hollow feeling in my stomach lots of time.... You get trapped almost. You get too many responsibilities. It's a bellyfull to carry. It's risky. Dangerous. There's the possibility of failure with it every day and every night. But in a way, it's a challenge. It's invigorating. There isn't any point in not being a player – you're here.... It's not only the money. It's the disgrace, yourself, your manhood. I'm not sure I'd have a big problem with that. On the other hand I'm not sure I wouldn't." As Lincoln grew, money was siphoned from Lincoln to the parent American Continental Corporation under a variety of schemes, and American Continental spent lavishly on speculative investments and personal expenses. A new regulatory investigation began in July 1988. After Arthur Young & Co indicated doubts about some accounting practices, Keating fired them in September 1988 and switched to
Touche Ross Touché, Touche, Latouche, La Touche, or de la Touche may refer to: Sports * Touché (fencing), French for "touched", a term used to acknowledge a hit Arts and entertainment * ''Touché'' (Hush album), by Australian band Hush, 1977 * ''Touch ...
. American Continental was desperate for cash inflow to make up for losses in real estate purchases and projects. Lincoln's branch managers and tellers convinced customers to replace their federally insured
certificates of deposit A certificate of deposit (CD) is a time deposit, a financial product commonly sold by banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions in the United States. CDs differ from savings accounts in that the CD has a specific, fixed term (often one, th ...
with higher-yielding bond certificates of American Continental; the customers later said they were never properly informed that the bonds were uninsured and very risky given the state of American Continental's finances. The regulators had already adjudged the bonds to have no solvent backing. pp. 233, 235. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair
L. William Seidman Lewis William Seidman (April 29, 1921 – May 13, 2009) was an American economist, financial commentator, and former head of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, best known for his role in helping work to correct the Savings and Loan ...
would later write that Lincoln's push to get depositors to switch was "one of the most heartless and cruel frauds in modern memory". In late 1988, Keating began desperate attempts to sell Lincoln; regulators rejected one $50 million potential sale due to the buyers not meeting federal requirements. A December 1988 audit by the FHLBB found Lincoln in violation of many regulations and in danger of default. The following month they ordered Keating to stop transferring cash from Lincoln to American Continental, which imperiled the latter's survival strategy and caused its stock price to nosedive. Keating tried to arrange
junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...
deals with
Michael Milken Michael Robert Milken (born July 4, 1946) is an American financier. He is known for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds ("junk bonds"), and his conviction and sentence following a guilty plea on felony charges for vio ...
and place bets in the global currency markets to generate cash, but the moves failed and he lost $11 million in one month alone. Keating got Senators DeConcini and Cranston to pressure the regulators to let a sale go through, but this time the lawmakers were ignored. American Continental went
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
in April 1989, and Lincoln was seized by the FHLBB. About 23,000 customers were left with worthless bonds. Many investors, often ones living in California retirement communities, lost their life savings, and later claimed to have suffered emotional
trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...
for having been duped on top of their financial devastation. The total bondholder loss came to between $250 million and $288 million.p. 51
The federal government was eventually liable for $3.4 billion to cover Lincoln's losses when it seized the institution. In talking to reporters in April 1989, Keating maintained that he was the victim of a federal government that had spent years trying to destroy him, and then said, "One question, among many raised in recent weeks, had to do with whether my financial support in any way influenced several political figures to take up my cause. I want to say in the most forceful way I can: I certainly hope so." In September 1989, Keating was hit with a $1.1 billion fraud and
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...
action, filed against him by the regulators. He proclaimed that, "We've lost everything in this thing, my wife and I. It's devastating." In November 1989, Keating was
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed to testify before the House Banking Committee, but refused to answer questions, invoking his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. Also in November, his Phoenician Resort was seized by the FBI; under their operation it became known as "Club Fed" before later being sold to a
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
i group.Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 370–371, 406. The vastly ambitious Estrella project would remain deserted and was sold in 1993 to an investment group. By November 1989, the estimated cost of the overall savings and loan crisis had reached $500 billion, and the media's coverage often highlighted Keating's role as part of what became a
feeding frenzy In ecology, a feeding frenzy occurs when predators are overwhelmed by the amount of prey available. The term is also used as an idiom in the English language. Examples in nature For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks, such a ...
. pp. 69–72. Keating and Lincoln Savings became convenient symbols for arguments about what had gone wrong in America's financial system and society,Binstein and Bowden, ''Trust Me'', pp. 388–389. as well as for 1980s greed in general, and were featured in popular culture references. A deck of
playing cards A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...
would be marketed, called "The Savings and Loan Scandal", that featured on their face Charles Keating holding up his hand, with images of the Keating Five senators portrayed as puppets on his fingers.


Legal consequences

Keating blamed government regulators for the failure of Lincoln Savings and sued for control over the bank. The suit was dismissed in August 1990, with the judge calling the seizure fully justified., Keating's legal fees were running at $1 million per month. In September 1990, Keating and his associates were
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...
by the
State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
on 42 counts related to having duped Lincoln's customers into buying worthless
junk bond In finance, a high-yield bond (non-investment-grade bond, speculative-grade bond, or junk bond) is a bond that is rated below investment grade by credit rating agencies. These bonds have a higher risk of default or other adverse credit events, ...
s of American Continental Corporation. Keating went to jail when he could not post a $5 million bond. He was convicted in December 1991 of 17 counts of
fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
,
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...
, and
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
.
Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
asked the court to show leniency to Keating, in recognition of the considerable sums he had donated to her charitable operations. In April 1992, California Superior Court Judge
Lance Ito Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is a retired American judge best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995. Early life and career Ito was born ...
gave Keating the maximum 10-year prison sentence, quoting
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
, to wit "More people have suffered from the point of a fountain pen than from a gun." Keating was sent to the medium-security
Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson The Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson (FCI Tucson) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates with an administrative facility for male and female offenders. It is part of the Tucson Federal Correctional Complex (FCC ...
to serve his time. In May 1992, Keating's son-in-law, Robert M. Wurzelbacher Jr., a senior vice president of American Continental, and chief executive of an investment firm owned by Lincoln Savings, was also implicated, pleaded guilty to three federal fraud counts in connection with the collapse of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and agreed to testify against Keating. (In December 1993, Wurzelbacher was sentenced to a 40-month prison term.) In January 1993, a federal conviction followed, on 73 counts of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy. In July 1993, Keating was given a 12 year sentence. The judge ordered Keating to pay restitution of $122 million to the government, but Keating said he was $10 million in debt and had no assets to sell. One case filed by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
was settled in 1994: Keating said he was bankrupt but agreed to repay millions should any hidden assets be discovered. A third case filed by the Resolution Trust Corporation resulted in a
summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...
of $4.3 billion against Keating and his wife in 1994, the largest judgment ever against a private person. The judgment was overturned on
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
in 1999, on grounds that Keating could not be held personally liable to the government without a specific criminal conviction or some other decision at trial. Throughout his incarceration, Keating maintained his innocence, saying he was a "
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
" of the U.S. government and a scapegoat for the largest banking scandal in the nation's history. In April 1996, the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
ruled that state trial judge Ito had given the jury faulty instructions about the law regarding fraud. The conviction was overturned. In December 1996, the same Court of Appeals ruled that some of the jurors in the federal case might have been influenced by their knowledge and discussion of the results of the state case, and threw out the federal conviction. Keating was freed after 4 years in prison; he later said that staying tough during his incarceration was the thing he was proudest of. He was said to have gotten along well with other prisoners and served as best man at weddings for some that he met there. In April 1999, on the eve of the retrial of the federal case, Keating entered a
plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
. He admitted to having committed four counts of
wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...
and
bankruptcy fraud Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
by extracting nearly $1 million from American Continental Corp while already anticipating the collapse that happened weeks later. The federal prosecutors dropped all other charges against him and his son, Charles Keating III. He was sentenced to time served. In October 2000, the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
refused to hear the government's appeal of the overturning of the state conviction. This left Keating without any convictions other than that from his plea bargain. State prosecutors declined to move for a retrial, saying it would bring no more than a six-month jail sentence and that many witnesses had died in the interim or were in bad health. Keating replied that if the government had left him alone, investors "would all be rich."


Final years and death

Following his release from prison, Keating separated from his wife Mary. He moved in with his daughter Mary and son-in-law Gary Hall Sr. in the Paradise Valley neighborhood of Phoenix. During the 2000s, Keating worked as a
business consultant A business consultant (from Latin ''consultare'', "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice or service in a particular area such as security (electronic or physical), management, accountancy, law, human resources, ma ...
and as of 2008 was involved in some successful real estate developments in the Phoenix market. He kept a low profile in his business operations, and declined comment during John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign when the Keating Five scandal was brought up again by the press. During his final years, Keating maintained good physical shape through swimming and walking and was able to go out in public without being recognized. Charles Keating died in a Phoenix hospital on March 31, 2014, at age 90, after an undisclosed illness of several weeks.


Legacy

The ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
s lengthy profile of Keating in 1990 said in summary:
To say that Charles Keating is a complex man seems a gross understatement. Some see him as an aggressive man who got desperate when the real estate market bottomed out and crossed the line between "business as usual" and fraud. Others see him as a con artist who finally got caught, a hypocrite who masked his greed with phony piety.
Michael Binstein and
Charles Bowden Charles Clyde Bowden (July 20, 1945 – August 30, 2014) was an American non-fiction author, journalist and essayist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Background He attended the University of Arizona and then the University of Wisconsin, where h ...
's 1993 book, ''Trust Me: Charles Keating and the Missing Billions'', also presents Keating as a complex individual with contradictory tendencies, and concludes:
Charlie Keating built things, and, at some level that haunts anyone who looks over his records, he thought his schemes would work. He did not simply rob a bank. He broke a bank with his dreams. If he is simply a thief, why did he put the money into deals and projects instead of into his own pocket? If he is just a hardworking businessman simply trying to make a profit and create jobs, why the need for jets, fancy meals, big paychecks to his family? If he is such a devout communicant of his faith, why did he peddle hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of junk bonds to old people when he knew his empire was in serious jeopardy?
Keating steadfastly maintained that it was not his mistakes or criminal deeds but regulators' actions that were responsible for the major losses. Some of Keating's 1980s judgment as a developer was later vindicated. The Phoenician became a successful hotel in the luxury segment, and the Estrella project achieved at least some of Keating's vision and was acquired again in 2005.


In popular culture

In the novel ''
Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agelad ...
'', author
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
uses the names of various anti-pornography crusaders to take the place of swear words. One of the names is "keating", which is used many times throughout the book as a synonym for "
shit ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British an ...
". Keating, portrayed by
James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...
, appeared in Miloš Forman's 1996 film ''
The People vs. Larry Flynt ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'' is a 1996 American Biographical film, biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman, chronicling the rise of pornographer Larry Flynt and his subsequent clash with religious institutions and the law. It stars Wo ...
'', leading a
Citizens for Decent Literature Citizens for Decent Literature was a pro-censorship advocacy body founded in 1956 in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio by the Roman Catholic anti-pornography campaigner Charles Keating which advocated reading classics, not "smut". Many priests were also ...
charge against Flynt's ''
Hustler Magazine ''Hustler'' is a monthly pornographic magazine published by Larry Flynt Publications (LFP) in the United States. Introduced in 1974, it was a step forward from the '' Hustler Newsletter'', originally conceived by founder Larry Flynt as cheap a ...
''.


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Charles Keating's federal campaign contributions 1979–1990
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keating, Charles 1923 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American bankers American businesspeople convicted of crimes American construction businesspeople American consulting businesspeople American chief executives of financial services companies American financiers American investors American law firm executives Political scandals in the United States United States Navy pilots of World War II American newspaper publishers (people) American people convicted of fraud American real estate businesspeople American social activists American male swimmers American white-collar criminals Anti-pornography activists Businesspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Businesspeople from Cincinnati Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Cincinnati Bearcats men's swimmers Military personnel from Cincinnati Lawyers from Cincinnati Roman Catholic activists Savings and loan crisis Swimmers from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni United States Naval Aviators University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Keating family People from Avondale, Cincinnati Catholics from Ohio