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Politics : Did Slick Boink Monica? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MulhollandDrive who wrote (15385)	5/28/1998 11:25:00 AM
From: Zoltan!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20981

'SECRET' WITNESS COULD K0 PREZ By JOHN CRUDELE A KEY figure in the Arkansas financial community could turn out to be Kenneth Starr's secret weapon in the investigation of President Clinton. Sources say William McCord, who took over as head of Lasater & Co. after Clinton friend Dan Lasater went to jail for drug distribution, signed a plea agreement in May 1995 after being accused of financing a massive gambling operation. McCord has moved out of Arkansas and refused to be interviewed for this article. Through a former attorney, McCord says he expected to be subpoenaed and would cooperate. He also makes the improbable claim that Starr's people have somehow lost track of him. But sources close to Starr say prosecutors have been in touch with McCord and have pumped him for information. Starr's involvement in the plea agreement with McCord has been kept secret all this time. McCord could be Starr's ace in the hole when he presents evidence of wrongdoing to Congress in the impeachment report that is now expected within a few weeks. And McCord's cooperation would make the assistance of Webster Hubbell and Susan McDougal much less important to Starr, who nonetheless has been courting the two. Arkansas banker David Hale and ex-Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker are among those known to be cooperating with Starr. Clinton's former Whitewater partner, the late Jim McDougal, also is said to have cooperated. McCord's closeness to Lasater could fill in a lot of blanks for Starr. And McCord apparently has been very willing to talk. In fact, he was so helpful to Starr and other probers that the government asked an Arkansas court to reduce his sentence. There is no indication in the plea-bargain - a copy of which was recently found unsealed in an Arkansas courthouse - as to what specific information McCord has provided. From his background, he could be very helpful to Starr in the racketeering case he is fashioning against the president. Starr's team of FBI investigators and prosecutors has been putting together a case alleging Clinton used financial institutions in Arkansas for his own benefit in a pattern of organized corruption. Starr will present a case to Congress claiming that Clinton's actions, and their alleged coverup, justify impeachment proceedings. This process is separate from possibly criminal allegations against First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. McCord's cooperation would be priceless to Starr because it is believed that the securities firm of Collins, Locke & Lasater was deeply involved in the financial maneuvering that became ingrained in the Arkansas political system. Starr's investigators have questioned people about the improper use of funds that were earmarked for state projects, such as the building of prisons. Lasater's firm sold bonds for the state when it needed to raise money for such projects. McCord purchased Lasater's company soon after Lasater pleaded guilty in 1986 to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He served six months of a 30-month prison sentence before being pardoned by then-Gov. Clinton. When McCord got into trouble with regulators in 1988, Lasater financed the sale of the company, which McCord had renamed United Capital Corp., to a concern that later became a partner of Lasater's. Starr didn't return a telephone call and McCord's attorney declined to answer any questions. Michael Johnson, the U.S. attorney in Arkansas, said, "I don't talk about anything like that. That's beyond the bounds." In a plea agreement submitted to Arkansas federal district court Judge Betsy Wright, McCord's deal "includes cooperation with the Office of the Independent Counsel ^OIC_ Kenneth Starr." The agreement adds that "cooperation with the OIC includes, but is not limited to, making a proffer to the OIC regarding all subject matters about which they wish to inquire." The agreement was open ended about what prosecutors wanted. The deal said McCord had to provide "truthful disclosure concerning all information and knowledge regarding any other criminal conduct in Arkansas and elsewhere by himself and any and all other persons." If all McCord did was give Starr information about how money was being diverted in Arkansas, that would be a lot of trouble for the president. But if McCord is able to connect Clinton in any way with Lasater's drug dealings, the testimony would be devastating. nypostonline.com