Fallen Master of the Universe: Michael Milkin

The junk-bond king pleads guilty, but he's getting off light

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"I transgressed certain of the laws and regulations that govern our industry. I was wrong in doing so and knew at the time, and I am pleading guilty to these offenses." With those contrite but carefully crafted words, | deposed junk-bond king Michael Milken, 43, began a tearful confession before a federal judge in Manhattan last week. The man whose deals revolutionized Wall Street and convulsed corporate America read a 15-min. statement detailing his role in securities fraud that involved recently paroled speculator Ivan Boesky and investment banker Dennis Levine. "My plea is an acceptance of personal responsibility for my own failings and actions," the once defiant Milken said in closing, weeping audibly. "I am truly sorry."

The settlement raised an issue that will be debated for years to come: Is Milken getting off light? Of 98 counts originally filed against him, the financier pleaded guilty to just six, including conspiracy and mail fraud. He will pay fines of $600 million, the most ever assessed against an individual, and he faces a potential 28 years behind bars. But in the settlement, prosecutors dropped their most serious charges, including insider trading and racketeering, which carried a potential prison sentence of more than 500 years. Moreover, with a personal fortune estimated to be in excess of $1 billion, Milken is likely to retain a sizable nest egg. "Justice wasn't served," declares Albert Sindlinger, who runs a stock market-research firm catering to small investors. "Considering all the damage he did to stockholders, taxpayers and the public's confidence in the stock market, Milken is getting off easy."

The most regrettable aspect is the lack of a trial. While the settlement will save the Government the cost of a lengthy proceeding, the deal will deprive the public of a chance to hear all the evidence in the largest white- collar case in U.S. history. "This is like the Nixon pardon," charges Michael Harkins, a New York City money manager. "We needed this case to go to trial because the charges against Milken went to the heart of our financial system."

Milken's cadre of supporters, however, think he has suffered enough. Melvin Brosterman, a Manhattan securities lawyer, contends that nothing will be gained by sending Milken to jail. "Prison would be superfluous. For the last four years ((of the federal probe)), Michael Milken has been serving a sentence, being hounded and living under a cloud. I'd give him credit for time served." Milken's attorney, Arthur Liman, is expected to plead for leniency on the ground that his client made an "enormous" contribution to the U.S. economy by using junk bonds to help finance hundreds of companies and create thousands of jobs.

% Milken's sentencing is delayed until Oct. 1, in part to allow the court to deliberate on the prison term. But that will not be the end of his legal problems. Milken has already been hit by a dozen class-action civil suits filed by investors who claim they lost money as a result of his wrongdoing. The Securities and Exchange Commission is setting up a fund for investor claims, using $400 million of Milken's fine. When that money runs out, investors will be free to try to collect directly from Milken, a process that is likely to dog him for years to come.