Clifford Will Be Tried First on N.Y. State BCCI Charges

WASHINGTON — A federal trial of former Defense Secretary Clark M. Clifford and his law partner was postponed Thursday, ensuring that they will first face more serious New York state charges for their alleged involvement in the Bank of Credit & Commerce International scandal.

By granting the postponement sought by the Justice Department, U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green cleared the way for the state trial to begin in Manhattan in early January. Depending on the outcome of that trial, expected to last six weeks, the more limited federal case eventually could be dropped.

Clifford and his partner, Robert A. Altman, face an array of state and federal charges centering on allegations that they helped BCCI illegally gain control of Washington’s First American Bank. The two served as attorneys for BCCI while they were top officers for First American, the capital’s largest bank.

Banking authorities around the world shut down BCCI 14 months ago amid charges of widespread international fraud. Auditors said the bank had sought to conceal losses of several billion dollars as it financed international terrorism, gun running and narcotics smuggling. Federal and state prosecutors initially made competing bids to be the first to try Clifford and Altman, and the federal trial was originally scheduled for Oct. 26.

But federal officials recently deferred to New York authorities, partly because the state has a broader indictment against the two men. In addition, New York has a stringent “double jeopardy” law that probably would have barred its trial if the federal case had been tried first.

The judge said she had received “absolute assurance” from New York State Supreme Court Judge John A. K. Bradley that his trial would begin no later than Jan. 4. “Should the New York trial be postponed through no action of the defense, my decision (to postpone the federal trial) may well be reconsidered,” Green said.

In another development Thursday that could affect both trials, Green said she would name a cardiologist to examine the 85-year-old Clifford, who suffers from a heart condition, and to determine his fitness to stand trial.

Clifford’s attorneys, who had hoped that the federal trial would occur first, argued that their client’s health would be endangered by the strain of a lengthy out-of-town trial in New York City. Clifford, who lives in Washington, suffered a heart attack in 1977.

A heart specialist who reviewed Clifford’s medical records on behalf of the Justice Department agreed with defense attorneys last week that a trial could prove fatal for him. The department said it would take that finding “heavily into account” in deciding whether to proceed with its prosecution.

“Courts are not insensitive to the health of defendants and to the financial burden of two separate trials,” Green said after announcing her ruling.

Clifford, once the confidant of Democratic presidents from Harry S. Truman to Jimmy Carter, and his 45-year-old protege have maintained their innocence of all charges, which were returned in indictments on July 29.

During Thursday’s hearing they sat alongside their lawyers in the courtroom. Altman’s wife, actress Lynda Carter, sat in the front row.

The 12-count state indictment, obtained by longtime Manhattan prosecutor Robert M. Morgenthau, charges the two men jointly with fraud, conspiracy and accepting $40 million in bribes from BCCI. Altman is charged with an additional six counts of making false written statements.