By
The Associated Press
PHOENIX - Former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington was within days of pleading guilty to at least one felony charge in his fraud case prior to his presidential pardon over the weekend, according to media reports.
Anonymous sources told The Arizona Republic and Phoenix television station KTVK-TV that Symington was to plead guilty under a deal that would not require him to serve time in prison.
Reached Wednesday by The Associated Press, Symington refused to confirm or deny the report.
"I've been in negotiations ever since I won my appeal, but I can't comment about what was being negotiated. It's unfortunate that people are trying to leak information," Symington said.
"But this is all over now. The pardon took care of that," he added.
A jury convicted Symington in 1997 of using false financial statements to obtain several loans, forcing his resignation as governor. He was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison, but an appeals court overturned his convictions, and prosecutors were still pursuing the case against him.
Symington was pardoned by President Clinton on Saturday.
The two have been friendly for more than 30 years. Symington has said that during a Massachusetts boat ride in the late 1960s, he pulled Clinton out of the water after he got caught in a riptide.
Symington said the rescue was not necessarily a catalyst for the pardon but that both he and Clinton were against politically oriented legal prosecutions.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office, which was prosecuting the case, said the office would not comment on details of the case.
Symington and his lawyer would not confirm or deny the reported deal, saying the content of the negotiations was to remain secret.
Symington's attorney John Dowd said he would complain to the attorney general about the leaks, saying "someone has broken the rules."
While the pardon wipes out Symington's criminal liability in the case, he still faces a civil case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court stemming from a $10 million loan he received from six union pension funds.
