FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1995 (202) 616-2008

TDD (202) 514-1888

FORMER CONGRESSMAN DONALD E. LUKENS INDICTED FOR BRIBERY

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice announced

today that former Congressman Donald E. "Buz" Lukens, of
Middletown, Ohio, has been indicted on five felony counts,
including bribery, by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.
Lukens and another defendant in a related indictment, John P.
Fitzpatrick, also of Middletown, were taken into custody today by
Special Agents of the FBI, Lukens in Dallas, Texas, and
Fitzpatrick in Kent, Ohio.
Count one charges Lukens, 64, with conspiracy to solicit and
receive bribes and conspiracy to deprive the United States of his
honest and faithful services, in violation of 18 U.S. C. ​ 371.
This count involves Lukens' acceptance of $27,500 in payments
from Ohio businessman, John P. Fitzpatrick and Henry Whitesell, who
is now deceased, in return for using his Congressional office to
assist them in connection with a trade school they operated in
Ohio, the Cambridge Technical Institute (CTI).
Counts two through five of the indictment charge Lukens with
soliciting and accepting four bribery payments, ranging $2,500 to
$15,000 between May and September 1990, while he was a Member of
Congress., in violation of 18 U.S.C. ​ 201 (b) (2).
Lukens served in the U.S. House of Representatives most
recently from January 1987 to October 1990. He faces a maximum
penalty of 65 years in prison and a $1,250,000 fine if convicted of
the offenses.
A related indictment charges Ohio businessman John P.
Fitzpatrick, 40, with one count of conspiracy to bribe Lukens, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. ​ 371, four counts of bribery in violation
of 18 U.S.C. Section 201(b)(2) and one count of conspiracy to
defraud the United States by concealing and covering up fraud by
CTI in connection with Department of Education loan and grant
programs for post-secondary Education student aid, in violation 18
U.S.C. ​ 371.
Fitzpatrick faces a maximum penalty of 70 years in prison and
a $1,500,000 fine if convicted of the offenses.
The indictments 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 U.S. 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. The task force was formed in
December 1992, continue the work of the preliminary inquiry into
the House Bank that Malcolm R. Wilkey, retired Judge of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, conducted as
a Special Counsel to the Attorney General in 1992.
These charges represent the eighth and ninth to be brought by
the task force. Former Congressman Mary Rose Oakar, of Cleveland,
indicted on February 22, 1995, on charges of conspiracy to defraud
the Federal Election Commission (FEC), conversion of government
funds, filing a false financial disclosure report, and making false
statements to the FBI. She is currently awaiting trial. Oakar's
nephew Joseph DeMio, was also charged in the indictment with
conspiracy to defraud the FEC. Another nephew Ignatius DeMio, was
charged in an information with conspiracy to violate the federal
election laws, and has agreed to plead guilty.
Former Kentucky Congressman Carroll Hubbard, Jr. pled guilty
to conspiracy to defraud the FEC, theft of government property, and
obstruction of justice, and is currently serving a three year term
of imprisonment. Carol Brown Hubbard, wife of former Congressman
Hubbard, pled guilty to taking property without right and was
sentenced to five years probation. Former Sergeant At Arms of the
House of Representatives, Jack Russ, pled guilty to conversion of
government funds, wire fraud filing false financial reports, and is
currently service a two year term of imprisonment. Former
Congressman Kentucky Carl C. Perkins pled guilty to bank fraud,
conspiracy to file false statements with the FEC, and filing a
false financial disclosure form, is scheduled to be sentenced on
March 13, 1995. Martha Amburgey, Perkins's secretary, pled guilty
to aiding and abetting bank fraud, and conspiracy to file false
statements with the FEC, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March
14, 1995.
The investigation by the House Bank Task Force is continuing.
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