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Robert SpindlerArizona State University LibrariesApril, [email protected]
ACCOUNTING FOR KEATING: PRIVACY, CORRUPTION AND DISCLOSURE IN THE
AMERICAN CONTINENTAL CORPORATION RECORDS COLLECTION
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THE KEATING TRIALS – THE MODERN COURT
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THE KEATING TRIALS – THE MODERN COURT
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THE KEATING TRIALS – THE MODERN COURT
• 3 million documents sent to Document Depository for discovery phase
• File level inventories of 6,000 boxes of records prepared
• Attorneys reviewed individual documents, had them scanned and digitally marked them with notes regarding their relevance to trial proceedings
• Digitized documents and videotaped depositions could be displayed and annotated in the court
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THE BEGINNING
• March, 1993 ASU enters negotiations with Ron Clifton and Attorney William Rose re: acquisition of American Continental Corporation (ACC) Records.
• ACC is bankrupt, Clifton and Rose are representing the entities managing ACC at the end of the Keating/ACC trials.
• In July 1993 the court authorizes ACC to continue negotiations with ASU.
• Spindler is asked to review descriptions of ca. 6,000 boxes of “Relevant” and “Irrelevant” corporate records. He selects all Relevant and 300 boxes Irrelevant files.
• Pearce-Moses is asked to recover data from I-PRO 1st generation digital imaging system used in the discovery phase of the trial.
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FIRST COURT ORDER – JUNE 1994
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FIRST COURT ORDER – JUNE 1994
• ACC is authorized to execute agreement with ASU and transfer to ASU 1,355 boxes of Relevant, 300 boxes of Irrelevant, 1,288 boxes of Grand Jury Original Documents and 9 Boxes of hearing and trial transcripts.
• ASU is directed to “Index and process” the documents and open them for research by January 1, 1995.
• The court recognized objections by attorneys for the accounting companies regarding access to 80 boxes of trial deposition videotapes and transcripts and would rule separately on the matter.
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SECOND COURT ORDER – JULY 1994
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SECOND COURT ORDER – JULY 1994
• Videotaped depositions and transcripts shall be “transported” to ASU and opened for research by January 1st, 1995
• BUT, public access to the “Accounting Defendants” depositions shall be denied for one year
• Accounting firms objecting to release of a specific depositions based on “trade secrets or competitive information” shall file with the court within one year a motion for exclusion
• Use of the deposition videotapes is specifically limited to viewing, and may not be “copied or shown” outside ASU until January 1, 2004.
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REACTION IN THE PRESS
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REACTION IN THE PRESS
• Resolution Trust Corporation and their attorney Michael Manning want the depositions released:
• to show how Keating, attorneys and accountants created a financial catastrophe
• to defend RTC against charges by members of Congress and others of overzealous prosecution and harassment of Keating and ACC
• Keating wants the documents released to show how the RTC engaged in “lies and outrageous claims” regarding ACC and Lincoln
• Accounting firms claimed the release would embarrass their clients and that they presumed the depositions would be confidential
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THIRD COURT ORDER – JULY 1995
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THIRD COURT ORDER – JULY 1995
• Accounting defendants placed no objections during the year
• All deposition videotapes and transcripts opened for viewing, but copying or reuse of videotapes still closed until 2004, EXCEPT
• The video deposition of accountant Jack Atchison will be available for copying and reuse *immediately*
• Atchison was Arthur Young's partner in charge of auditing the Lincoln account and pleaded the 5th in all trials
• Published book “Legal Extortion” in 1995 complaining about FHLBB harassment of Lincoln officials
• Directly intervened with federal regulators on behalf of Lincoln
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MEANWHILE BACK AT THE ARCHIVES• ACC Collection duly opened for research January 1, 1995.
• User agreement approved by Judge Bilby protects privacy of ACC/Lincoln customers
• Efforts to save the I-PROS imaging system failed, cost over $5,400.
• Novell Netware server and system was never restarted
• Files extracted from server hard drive by Ontrack Data Recovery mostly useless, “severe internal electro/mechanical problems and data structure damage” (1994)
• 103 940 MB optical discs contain document images with attorney notes re: discovery and assignment of Relevant and Irrelevant
• Consultants built new platform to run disc drives, 12 of 12 sample discs failed to read – “reformatted” (1999)
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TODAY, WE STILL HAVE THIS
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TODAY, WE ALSO HAVE THIS
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Robert SpindlerArizona State University LibrariesApril, [email protected]
ACCOUNTING FOR KEATING: PRIVACY, CORRUPTION AND DISCLOSURE IN THE
AMERICAN CONTINENTAL CORPORATION RECORDS COLLECTION