Gaf Corp

Two former jurors in the GAF Corp. stock manipulation trial disclosed that a number of jurors doubted the truthfulness of the government's main witness, Boyd L. Jefferies, the former chairman and chief executive of the Los Angeles-based securities firm Jefferies Group Inc. Joann Crawford, 51, a management employee at New York Telephone Co.

GAF Corp. and its vice chairman were indicted Wednesday on criminal charges of using a Los Angeles stock brokerage to manipulate the price of Union Carbide Corp.'s shares in 1986. The federal charges were said to result from cooperation with prosecutors by Boyd L. Jefferies, former chairman of the Los Angeles-based brokerage firm Jefferies & Co., who pleaded guilty in March, 1987, to charges arising from the Ivan F. Boesky scandal.

The second mistrial in the GAF Corp. stock manipulation case isn't likely to affect two other big, upcoming Wall Street trials in which the former head of the Los Angeles brokerage firm Jefferies & Co. is also due to be the main prosecution witness, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday. Boyd L. Jefferies was the key witness in the GAF case, which the government now says it hopes to try a third time in early April.

Even after pleading guilty to a pair of felonies nearly two years ago, Boyd L. Jefferies enjoyed a cleaner reputation than others caught in the securities industry corruption scandal. The word from his lawyers, colleagues and Jefferies himself was that his crimes were minor violations of arcane laws, an innocent reflection of the master trader's zeal to accommodate clients. "These were extremely technical, really closer to civil violations," Jefferies, the founder of Jefferies & Co.

GAF, which had offered to acquire the company for $3.31 billion, said it will sell its 19.9% stake in the company to a rival bidding group led by Merrill Lynch. GAF, a specialty chemicals and roofing materials maker based in Wayne, N.J., said it expected to earn more than $190 million before taxes on its investment in Borg-Warner, a Chicago-based manufacturing, chemicals and services concern.

As preparation for "A Government in Desert Exile" (Part I, Nov. 13), Times staff writer William Trombley interviewed me as mayor of Barstow. While the article is, in fact, a fair representation of the opinions of the people living in the High Desert, it unfortunately attributes a quote to me that is grossly incorrect. The sentence in question reads, "Our roads are poorly maintained, and we get lousy service from the Sheriff."

A federal grand jury has indicted GAF Corp. and a top company officer for manipulating the stock price of Union Carbide Corp., which GAF tried to take over in 1985, federal officials said today. The grand jury indicted the Wayne, N.J., chemicals company, two of its subsidiaries and its vice chairman and chief administrative officer, James T. Sherwin, in an alleged scheme to artificially hike Union Carbide's stock price during the takeover battle.

GAF spokesman Shellie Roth said the company sold 5.8 million shares on Monday, but she declined to elaborate on the sale. Roth said GAF, which manufactures chemicals and building materials, retains 4.6 million shares of Union Carbide, or 4.9%. In 1985, GAF failed in a takeover attempt of the much bigger Union Carbide, based in Danbury, Conn.