*** Court backs FBI on alleged spies
(AP) - Three former student activists charged with spying for East
Germany and other countries lost their bid to suppress most of the
government's evidence against them. In a 21-page opinion released
Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton wrote that FBI agents
acted legally when they secretly wiretapped and searched the homes of
former Pentagon lawyer Theresa M. Squillacote, 40; her husband, Kurt
A. Stand, 43; and their college friend James M. Clark, 49. Defense
attorneys had argued that the FBI's search warrants and wiretaps were
invalid because East Germany no longer exists, so the trio could not
have been active spies. They also contended the FBI abused the
wiretaps by listening to conversations about personal matters. Hilton
wrote that the FBI had credible evidence to show the defendants were
agents of an existing country when they obtained the search warrants
in 1996 and 1997.
*** Bank fraud mastermind gets 17 years
(AP) - The mastermind of a computer leasing scam that bilked $350
million from a consortium of banks was sentenced today to 16 years
and 10 months in prison. Edward J. Reiners, of Somers, N.Y., pleaded
guilty to bank fraud and money laundering in June 1996. This morning,
U.S. District Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr. handed Reiners a 202-month
sentence. Merhige also gave Reiners five years probation and required
him to pay $250,000 in restitution. Reiners had faced a maximum of 50
years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. Reiners is a former Philip
Morris Cos. Inc. computer executive. After he had left Philip Morris,
he pretended he was still working for the company on a secret
research project that turned out to be bogus. He convinced Signet
Bank, NationsBank and six other banks to lend him about $350 million
to lease computers for his project. Signet Bank was acquired last
year by Charlotte, N.C.-based First Union Corp.
-o-
Subscribe: mail majordomo@sekurity.org with "subscribe isn".
Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
Received on Wed May 20 21:04:14 1998