Source: www.usdoj.gov\opa\pr\Pre_96\March95\153.txt.html

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1995

FORMER DELEGATE FAUNTROY IS CHARGED, AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice announced today that Walter E. Fauntroy, former Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District of Columbia, has been charged with one federal felony in an information filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and that Fauntroy has agreed to plead guilty to the charges.

The information charged Fauntroy, 64, who served in Congress from 1971 to 1991, with violating the false statements statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001, based on a false statement regarding a charitable contribution and the omission of a material liability on his U.S. House of Representatives Financial Disclosure Statement for calendar year 1988, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1001 and 2.

The information alleges that Fauntroy filed a false financial disclosure statement required by the Ethics in Government Act with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives in May of 1989. Under the provisions of that Act and under the Rules of the House of Representatives, each member of the House is required to file a financial disclosure statement annually. Fauntroy is charged with having falsely claimed on the financial disclosure statement for 1988 that he had made an end of the year charitable donation in the amount of $23,887.46 to the New Bethel Baptist Church where he serves as pastor to make it appear that he had complied with the Rule of the House of Representatives imposing a cap on outside earned income. Under the rules of the House of Representatives for 1988, no member was permitted to earn more than 30 per cent of the member's salary.

Fauntroy also is charged in the information with failure to disclose on the financial disclosure statement a loan he had obtained in June of 1988 in the amount of $24,200. The provisions of the Ethics in Government Act required that Fauntroy disclose the loan.

Fauntroy faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Under the terms of the plea agreement filed with the court, Fauntroy has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and the government has agreed to recommend that he be sentenced to probation.

The information and plea agreement stem from the Department of Justice's ongoing investigation of the House Bank. This case is being handled by attorneys assigned to the House Bank Task Force, Criminal Division, composed of an Assistant United States Attorney from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a Senior Litigation Counsel from the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, a Senior Counsel in the Criminal Division, and Special Agents of the FBI, Washington, D.C. The Task Force was formed in December 1992 to continue the work of the preliminary inquiry into the House Bank that Malcolm R. Wilkey, retired judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, conducted as a special counsel to the Attorney General in 1992.

This is the 10th criminal charge filed to date by the Task Force. The former Sergeant At Arms, Jack Russ, pled guilty to three felonies and is serving a 24-month prison term. Former Member of Congress Carroll Hubbard Jr. pled guilty to three felonies and was sentenced to 36 months in prison. Former Congressman Carl C. Perkins pled guilty to three felonies and was sentenced recently to 21 months in prison. Carol Brown Hubbard, the wife of former Congressman Hubbard, pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to five years probation. Martha Amburgey, the secretary to former Congressman Perkins has pled guilty to two felonies and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 1995. Ignatius DeMio, the nephew of former Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar has pled guilty to one misdemeanor and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12, 1995. Former Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar was recently indicted for seven felonies, including conspiracy and filing false statements, and is awaiting trial. Former Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was recently indicted on five felony counts alleging acceptance of bribes and is awaiting trial. John P. Fitzpatrick was recently indicted on eight felony counts alleging bribery, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and giving false testimony before the grand jury. The investigation of the House Bank Task Force is continuing.