Michael Milken

In the 16 years since his release from prison, disgraced junk-bond king Michael Milken has beaten prostate cancer, raised hundreds of millions of dollars for medical research and reshaped an image tarnished by a 1990 conviction for securities fraud. One thing he's been unable to do is win a presidential pardon, despite the support of some of the country's most influential people. Before he left office Jan.

On his last full day in office, President Bush formally struck down the clemency petitions of junk-bond financier Michael Milken and some high-profile former politicians, including Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Edwin Edwards, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The former president also denied petitions for two men who became polarizing symbols of their eras.

Re: "Redemption still eludes Milken," Feb. 3: If and when a president pardons [convicted junk bond pioneer, financier and philanthropist] Michael Milken, shouldn't Major League Baseball also pardon Pete Rose? They're both gamblers, even if in a different arena and on a different scale. I'm sure if Pete had $350 million to spare, he'd donate it to a worthy cause too. Marion Claire Los Angeles -- It's absurd to blame Milken for the very problems he warned about. In the late 1980s, Milken repeatedly called for regulatory reform and warned companies and financial institutions to de-leverage their capital structures.

It's just past 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon and Michael Milken is on a roll. The man who once made financial markets quiver is facing an audience as tough as any on Wall Street--22 students at Mount Vernon Middle School near downtown Los Angeles--and he's in command. Milken is teaching the students how to do huge multiplication problems instantly in their heads. "What's 87 times 83?" he bellows to the adolescents who compete against each other in the exercise.

Michael Milken's punishment has been extended for a third time this year. Next Thursday was to have been the last day of a three-year probation for the ex-junk bond king, the central figure in one of Wall Street's biggest securities fraud scandals. But a federal judge this week extended Milken's probation by three more months to give the Securities and Exchange Commission additional time to investigate whether Milken's recent business dealings violated the terms of his punishment. U.S.

Michael R. Milken said Friday that the government's latest investigation of him will find no wrongdoing, saying "we didn't even get to the 50-yard line" in flouting restrictions on advice to friends such as Ted Turner. "We wanted to stay in our own end zone," Milken said in an interview with the Associated Press, his first since his probation for securities fraud was extended by three months.

Former junk bond king Michael Milken and Oracle Systems Corp. Chairman Larry Ellison said Wednesday they are forming a new company that will use advances in technology and entertainment to improve education. Possible projects for Educational Technologies could include the development of networked computer stations and education software to run on them, Milken said. "This is a passion with me.

On the eve of being freed from the criminal justice system, Michael R. Milken agreed Thursday to remain on probation for at least 90 more days while the Securities and Exchange Commission investigates whether he violated terms of a court settlement. In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood in New York, the former junk bond financier's lawyers agreed to federal prosecutors' request for the extension. Richard V.