Raymond L Arthun

Former S&L Chief Acquitted: Robert A. Ferrante, the target of a five-year FBI investigation, was acquitted of all charges stemming from the operation of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine. Three co-defendants were also acquitted, but two close associates, Ottavio A. Angotti and Raymond L. Arthun, were convicted of conspiracy and fraud counts relating to $4 million in loans that Consolidated made to Pyrotronics Corp., an Anaheim fireworks manufacturer.

Former S&L Chief Acquitted: Robert A. Ferrante, the target of a five-year FBI investigation, was acquitted of all charges stemming from the operation of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine. Three co-defendants were also acquitted, but two close associates, Ottavio A. Angotti and Raymond L. Arthun, were convicted of conspiracy and fraud counts relating to $4 million in loans that Consolidated made to Pyrotronics Corp., an Anaheim fireworks manufacturer.

Federal prosecutors, lacking evidence after three weeks of trial, dropped 11 of 14 criminal counts Thursday against Robert A. Ferrante as the government rested its case against the former owner of Consolidated Savings Bank and five others. On their own motion, prosecutors dropped all charges against Ferrante relating to a series of loans that the now-defunct Irvine thrift made to Pyrotronics Inc. in Anaheim, once the state's biggest maker of so-called safe and sane fireworks.

Federal prosecutors, lacking evidence after three weeks of trial, dropped 11 of 14 criminal counts Thursday against Robert A. Ferrante as the government rested its case against the former owner of Consolidated Savings Bank and five others. On their own motion, prosecutors dropped all charges against Ferrante relating to a series of loans that the now-defunct Irvine thrift made to Pyrotronics Inc. in Anaheim, once the state's biggest maker of so-called safe and sane fireworks.

Ferrante Associates Win New Trials: Two business associates of Robert A. Ferrante, the former owner of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank, have been granted new federal trials on fraud and conspiracy charges. U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer granted defense motions for new trials for Raymond L. Arthun and Ottavio A. Angotti because neither the court nor federal prosecutors followed proper procedures in obtaining their waivers of a jury trial.

Former thrift owner Robert A. Ferrante and five others, indicted after a five-year, top-priority FBI investigation, will go on trial today in federal court on conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from the operation of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine. The six have decided to forgo a jury trial and, instead, will be tried before U.S. District Court Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer in Los Angeles on a 17-count indictment accusing them of criminal wrongdoing in two deals involving $13.

A former Orange County savings and loan executive, on the run for three years after his conviction for defrauding an Irvine thrift, has been captured and is awaiting an extradition hearing in Hong Kong. Ottavio A. Angotti, former chief executive of the now-failed Consolidated Savings Bank, is expected to fight his return to California at a Nov. 4 hearing in Hong Kong.

A former Orange County savings and loan executive, on the run for three years after his conviction for defrauding an Irvine thrift, has been captured and is awaiting an extradition hearing in Hong Kong. Ottavio A. Angotti, former chief executive of the now-failed Consolidated Savings Bank, is expected to fight his return to California at a Nov. 4 hearing in Hong Kong.

Ottavio A. Angotti, former chairman of an Irvine savings and loan, has dropped out of sight after being convicted of falsifying thrift records and indicted in a separate case alleging fraud in helping his son obtain a home loan. A federal judge issued a fugitive warrant for the arrest of Angotti, a La Habra resident. Angotti, 56, hasn't been seen since Memorial Day when he was supposed to check into Scripps Hospital in San Diego for surgical tests to determine if he has cancer.

A fugitive Orange County savings and loan executive, captured in Hong Kong in June after three years on the run, has agreed to return to the United States for sentencing on his bank fraud conviction, his lawyer said Monday. Ottavio Antonio Angotti, who was chief executive of Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine, faces a maximum 25-year prison sentence as well as indictments for jumping bail and for loan fraud and money laundering involving a separate thrift.

Robert A. Ferrante, the target of a five-year, top-priority FBI investigation, was acquitted Monday of all criminal charges stemming from the operation of now-defunct Consolidated Savings Bank in Irvine. Three co-defendants were also acquitted, but two others, Ottavio A. Angotti and Raymond L. Arthun, were convicted on conspiracy and fraud counts relating to $4 million in loans that Consolidated made to Pyrotronics Corp.