93 lines
3.9 KiB
Plaintext
93 lines
3.9 KiB
Plaintext
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The De Lorean Case
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...typed for you by The Cruiser
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De Lorean case will go to jury
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Former sports car maker John Z. De Lorean's fraud and racketeering trial
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moved with the speed of a Model-T Ford down a rutted country lane until
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his lawyer last week called a single witness and rested the defense.
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After closing arguments, scheduled for today in Detroit, U.S. District
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Judge Julian A. Cook Jr. was to order jurors to decide whether the former
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General Motors Corp. vice president illegally siphoned $8.5 million of
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investors' money from his sports car company before it failed.
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The only defense witness called was an FBI agent who sat at the prosecutors'
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table throughout the trial. De Lorean's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, grilled
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agent Richard Eggleston for three days last week, his questioning punctuated
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by numerous objections from prosecutors.
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The government had spent five weeks presenting its case, including 27
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witnesses and 4,000 pages of documents.
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De Lorean, a former star executive at GM who parlayed life in the fast lane
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into a car company all his own, did not testify. A 15-count federal indictment
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last year charged De Lorean, 61, with stealing the $8.5 million from
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De Lorean Research Limited Partnership.
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...
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. .
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...
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Thursday, December 18, 1986
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De Lorean found innocent
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Jury clears maker of defunct sports car of racketeering, fraud
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DETROIT - Former carmaker John De Lorean, accused of stealing millions of
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dollars from investors in his defunct sports car business, was found innocent
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yesterday of all charges of racketeering and fraud.
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On the sixth day of jury deliberations, the former General Motors executive
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proclaimed "Praise God" and embraced his defense lawyers when the verdict was
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read in the U.S. District Court.
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De Lorean, 61, in 1984 was acquitted of cocaine conspiracy charges after a
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sensational trial in Los Angeles. He had been accused of stealing at least
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$8.5 million from 140 investors in his car company, which briefly built
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gull-winged cars in Northern Ireland.
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De Lorean, who has said he intended to announce a new car venture if cleared,
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shook his head in relief and wiped tears from his eyes as the jury foreman
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responded "not guilty" for 15 findings.
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The silver-haired De Lorean, who was indicted in September 1985 on charges
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that he stole investors' money through an elaborate scheme involving money
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transfers between European and U.S. banks and corporations, was defended by
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flamboyant Los Angeles lawyer Howard Wietzman, who won the businessman's
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acquittal on the drug charges.
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Yesterday's verdict would appear to end the governmant's criminal case
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against him, but De Lorean is still fighting claims by creditors, including
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the British government.
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London and other creditors have frozen about $20 million of De Lorean's
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assets in bankruptcy proceedings in Detroit, which are expected to resume
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Jan. 21.
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As in the Los Angeles trial, De Lorean was found innocent without taking the
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stand in his own defense.
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In the 10-week trial, the government presented a stream of former De Lorean
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associates from the United States and Europe. The government hoped to support
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its contention that De Lorean masterminded an elaborate scheme to syphon
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investors' money under the guise of a purported loan that the prosecution said
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was a fraud.
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De Lorean's defense argued that the $8.5 million in question was recieved
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as part of a legitimate loan. Weitzman said the loan came from Colin Chapman,
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the deceased founder of the British auto group Lotus, which did engineering on
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the De Lorean car.
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Weitzman told jurors in his closing argument eight days ago that the
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government has persecuted his client.
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Had he been convicted on all counts, De Lorean would have faced maximum
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sentences of up to 87 years in prison and fines of up to $82,000.
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