The Nation - News from July 11, 1989

Former U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III testified in New York that his longtime friend and former lawyer E. Robert Wallach never sought preferential treatment for the Wedtech Corp. Meese also testified at Wallach’s racketeering trial that Wallach never asked him to intervene in the investigation of the now-defunct military contractor. Wedtech, once a small machine shop in New York City’s South Bronx, grew into a $100-million government contractor through a Small Business Administration program that set aside no-bid contracts for minority-controlled companies. Wallach; W. Franklyn Chinn, 47, a former Wedtech board member and one-time Meese financial adviser; and an associate of theirs, R. Kent London, are charged with extracting almost $2 million in illegal payoffs and payments from Wedtech to influence Meese and other government officials.