Ariz. Governor Takes Stand to Defend Actions

PHOENIX — With his freedom and political career at stake, Gov. Fife Symington took the stand Thursday to deny charges that he misled lenders to get millions of dollars in loans and used his office to avoid paying them back.

Looking relaxed and confident, the second-term Republican repeated firmly, “I did not,” when his attorney raised the federal government’s accusations point by point.

Prosecutors contend that Symington claimed either sufficient net worth or indebtedness, depending on whether he needed a loan or concessions from a creditor, as his Phoenix real estate development business crumbled in the 1980s.

But Symington testified that he was open with his lenders. He claimed that his net-worth statements contained “honest mistakes” that should have been corrected by his accounting firm.

Asked why he submitted financial statements bearing the same “as-of” date but listing widely varying net worths, Symington replied: “They were different statements prepared at different times. They were updated statements.”

If convicted, Symington, 51, could face a lengthy prison sentence and would be the second Arizona governor kicked out of office in a decade. Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached in 1987 over a questionable campaign loan but was later acquitted by a jury.