A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

1978 and 1991 , Rota often personally handed cash to Rostenkowski at the committ

ee chairman 's behest in return for federally paid stamps or vouchers , the indi

ctment claimed . Rostenkowski was accused of amassing at least $ 50,000 by maski

ng the cash handovers as stamp purchases . Holder said the post office investiga

tion is continuing .

 WASHINGTON A federal grand jury Tuesday charged Rep. Dan Rostenkowski , an old-

line Chicago politician who wields vast influence in the House , with 17 serious

 crimes , ranging from grand-scale fraud to petty money manipulation over a 20-y

ear span . In a 49-page indictment that threatens the Illinois Democrat with man

y years in federal prison and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in fi

nes , he was charged with making personal use of upward of $ 700,000 in money be

longing to the House or to his campaign committees . Depending upon how federal 

judges would figure the prison sentence they might give , the maximum Rostenkows

ki faces if convicted of all of the charges is 110 years in jail and $ 365,000 i

n fines . Eric H . Holder Jr. , the U.S. . Attorney for the District of Columbia

 , told reporters at a news conference that the charges `` represent a betrayal 

of the public trust for personal gain '' by Rostenkowski , who stood accused of 

using `` his elective office to perpetrate an extensive fraud on the American pe

ople . '' The indictment came after the breakdown of intense plea bargaining . W

hen a deal could not be reached , Holder was free to put the massive indictment 

to a vote in the grand jury . The congressman , who knew all of the accusations 

that prosecutors were preparing to make , said over the weekend : `` I did not c

ommit any crimes . '' Tuesday , the lawmaker who has represented the North Side 

of Chicago in Congress for the last 35 years , remained silent and out of sight 

in the wake of the indictment that he has vowed to fight . Already , however , t

he charges took away at least temporarily his power-laden post as chairman of th

e Ways and Means Committee a position outranked in influence by few if any posts

 in the House other than that of the speaker . Under the rules of the House Demo

cratic Caucus , made up of all the Democrats in that chamber , the congressman h

ad to step down as committee chairman because he was indicted for a felony that 

could lead to two years or more in prison . If he is later found not guilty , he

 may resume his chairmanship . He may go on serving in the House , and seeking r

e-election , while the charges are pending . In summary , the U.S. attorney said

 , Rostenkowski was being accused of `` abusing his congressional allowances whi

ch are paid for by American taxpayers '' in these ways : Putting people on the c

ongressional payroll `` who did little or no official work , '' but who instead 

did personal and family chores in return for more than $ 500,000 in payments . O

btaining `` at least $ 50,000 in cash from the House Post Office by disguising h

is transactions as stamp purchases . '' Charging Congress and the taxpayers `` m

ore than $ 40,000 for the purchase of valuable merchandise .. . handed out as gi

fts to his friends . '' `` Causing Congress to pay over $ 70,000 in taxpayer mon

ey for personal vehicles used by himself and his family . '' `` He obstructed ju

stice by instructing a witness to withhold evidence from the grand jury . '' Tha

t charge was based on allegations that the congressman directly told a House sta

ff member an engraver who was doing personal work for the congressman on gifts h

e was handing out not to say anything after getting a subpoena from the grand ju

ry . Rostenkowski 's `` elaborate scheme to defraud , '' prosecutors said , invo

lves the congressional payroll , the House Post Office , the House 's stationery

 store and the purchase of autos as a `` mobile district office . '' He was accu

sed specifically of embezzlement , mail and wire fraud , covering up key facts ,

 plotting to defraud , mail and wire fraud , and false reporting of campaign spe

nding . Rostenkowski is expected to plead not guilty before a federal judge here

 within the next 10 days . Holder said he expected the trial to be in Washington

 , but said he could not estimate when . The prosecutor conceded that if Rostenk

owski claims legal immunity under the Constitution to charges because they invol

ved actions as a legislator , `` that could have a delaying effect on how long i

t takes us to get to trial . '' Holder added that Rep. Joseph McDade . , R-Penn 

, was charged two years ago with taking bribes `` and has yet to come to trial .

 '' ( Optional add end ) President Clinton , whose legislative agenda including 

health care reform had appeared to be dependent on Rostenkowski 's influence in 

Congress , said in a statement that `` like all Americans , Chairman Rostenkowsk

i has the right to contest the charges made against him and to have his day in c

ourt . '' The president went on to praise Rostenkowski `` and others '' for help

ing to `` create real momentum for health care reform . '' Holder , asked if his

 office had come under any political or White House pressure in its investigatio

n of Rostenkowski , said `` no , not at all . '' The probe was `` free from any 

kind of outside interference and free from any kind of political pressure . '' D

istributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service .

 WASHINGTON The United States has reached an agreement with Jamaica to set up a 

facility on the Caribbean island to process Haitian refugees , according to offi

cials close to negotiations that have been taking place between the two nations 

for several days . The agreement is likely to be announced Wednesday in Kingston

 , the officials said . This is the first time another government has offered to

 help the Clinton administration share the burden of handling those who flee Hai

ti 's military regime by taking to the sea , most of them seeking political asyl

um in the United States . Aside from providing a diplomatic boost to the adminis

tration 's efforts , Jamaica has helped resolve logistical problems that have be

deviled U.S. officials for weeks . The United States asked Jamaica to consider h

osting a refugee facility last week and since then U.S. and Jamaican officials h

ave been engaged in almost continuous discussions , here and in Kingston . The l

ikely agreement would allow the United States to anchor or dock large ships in a

 Jamaican port or at least close to shore , the officials said . The ships would

 be used to house Haitians picked up by the Coast Guard and would serve as a pro

cessing center where their applications for refugee status would be heard and ad

judicated . U.S. officials could be housed on land along with all facilities nee

ded to support the ships . President Clinton 's special advisor on Haiti , forme

r House member William H . Gray III , was to arrive in Jamaica Tuesday afternoon

 and begin meetings with top Jamaican officials today . Deputy Secretary of Stat

e Strobe Talbott is due to begin a visit to Kingston Thursday . A formal agreeme

nt on a processing facility could be announced during these meetings , officials

 said , and the first Haitians could be brought to Jamaica as early as the begin

ning of next week . `` We are encouraged by the progress that has been made in t

he talks and we are hopeful progress will continue and that we will be able to s

ay something more on this soon , '' a senior U.S. official said . In recent week

s Clinton repeatedly has emphasized his desire to pursue a policy on Haiti with 

international and especially regional support . He was able to win such backing 

for tighter economic sanctions against Haiti , which went into effect on May 21 

. But it has proved more difficult for Clinton to get help with the other half o

f his Haitian dilemma , the handling of boat people . After protests by civil ri

ghts groups and refugee advocates , Clinton on May 8 ended a policy of automatic

ally returning all Haitians picked up at sea without giving them a chance to see

k the shelter of refugee status . Instead he promised to set up facilities that 

would let the Haitians apply for refugee status , which entitles them to permane

nt resettlement in the United States . Clinton insisted , however , that most bo

at people were likely to be rejected and sent back . Although it has held discus

sions with a number of governments in the regions , the only expression of suppo

rt the administration had received thus far was an agreement with the U.N. . Hig

h Commissioner for Refugees to cooperate on handling the boat people . Last week

 the United States sought permission to locate a processing facility on the Turk

s and Caicos Islands , a British dependency , but has yet to receive a response 

.

 LOS ANGELES Los Angeles police officers staged day two of their mass sickout Tu

esday , causing minor disruption of public service , exasperating city officials

 and prompting Mayor Richard Riordan to call for a mediator to step in . In an u

nusual joint appearance designed to signal the seriousness and solidarity of the

 city 's leadership , Riordan appeared with six council members standing behind 

him as he spelled out the city 's budget woes . `` The city respects the police 

and wants to give them a raise and reward them for a job well done , '' Riordan 

said . `` ( But ) the city is facing the gravest fiscal situation since the Grea

t Depression . '' The mayor called on the officers ' union , the Police Protecti

ve League , to permit an impartial mediator to settle the two-year-old dispute .

 `` If mediation is rejected , the council will have no other choice in my opini

on and I believe they will vote for an impasse , '' Riordan said . Declaration o

f an impasse would allow the city to call in a mediator without the union 's app

roval ; if mediation fails , the city ultimately could impose a contract unilate

rally . Although officially unsanctioned by the officers ' union , the job actio

n known as `` Blue Flu II '' enjoyed wide support from the rank-and-file Tuesday

 : Of 548 officers scheduled to report to day watch duty , 248 or 43 percent cal

led in sick . Other officers were ordered to work double shifts to cover for the

ir `` ailing '' colleagues . The three-day sickout was scheduled to enter its fi

nal stretch with the Tuesday evening shift calling in sick . The union , legally

 barred from any official involvement in the sickout , denounced the mayor 's su

ggestion that a mediator be appointed , condemning it as a stalling tactic that 

would only escalate the dispute . Union leaders also decried the increasingly ra

ncorous tenor of the management-labor dispute . The city has offered 3 percent r

aises over the next two years . The union is seeking retroactive raises for the 

two years officers have worked without a contract . A rookie officer earns about

 $ 33,000 a year .

 WASHINGTON Welfare recipients , unemployed workers and military pensioners move

d closer to joining the cashless society Tuesday as Vice President Gore announce

d plans for a new nationwide system of delivering federal and state benefits ele

ctronically . In five years , Gore said , the governments will be delivering mor

e than $ 111 billion in benefits annually to recipients through electronic trans

fers , with recipients using magnetically encoded `` benefit security cards '' t

o make transactions at bank automatic teller machines and to receive food stamp 

credit when buying groceries . The new system , one of the `` reinventing govern

ment '' proposals in Gore 's National Performance Review last year , will save u

p to $ 195 million a year in paperwork and greatly reduce fraud and theft of ben

efit checks , the vice president said . Pilot electronic transfer programs for f

ood stamp distribution will be gradually expanded from the few states already in

volved Maryland , Texas and New Mexico among them to cover Aid to Families With 

Dependent Children ( AFDC ) , the main state-federal welfare program , Veterans 

Affairs compensation , military pensions , civil service retirement programs , S

upplemental Security Income ( SSI ) , unemployment insurance and other benefit p

rograms . An electronic benefits task force , headed by Elizabeth Sawhill , asso

ciate director for human resources at the Office of Management and Budget , is w

orking with the Southern Alliance of States to develop the first federal-state p

rototype of the new benefits system . Gore said thousands of automatic teller ma

chines and supermarkets across the country will be linked to federal and state a

gencies by commercial computer networks so that by 1999 food stamps and paper ch

ecks will be virtually eliminated in most government benefit programs . The vice

 president said bank executives had expressed support for the program because it

 will give them opportunities to add new customers . He said recipients of 12 pr

ograms who receive $ 31 million a year in benefits but do not have bank accounts

 would still be able to withdraw cash benefits through automatic teller machines

 by using the benefits card and a personal identification number . Agriculture S

ecretary Mike Espy , who joined Gore in a news conference to announce the plan ,

 said his department spends $ 75 million a year printing and distributing $ 22 b

illion worth of food stamps and another $ 22 billion to retrieve and destroy the

 used coupons and reconcile them . He said welfare recipients still would not be

 able to purchase excluded items such as alcohol with food stamp credit because 

the computer automatically would reject such purchases . The Consumers Union , h

owever , criticized the plan , calling it a `` disaster for public assistance re

cipients '' and accusing the government of `` bowing '' to banks seeking to make

 more profits and state governments wanting to cut administrative costs . Michel

le Meier , counsel for the union , said welfare recipients not only will have to

 pay a withdrawal fee for each automatic teller machine transaction , but will b

e exempted from regulations that require other consumers to bear only a portion 

of the loss when funds are stolen from their account .

 WASHINGTON A federal grand jury Tuesday charged Rep. Dan Rostenkowski , D-Ill. 

, with misappropriating more than a $ 500,000 , tampering with a witness and usi

ng taxpayers ' money to enrich himself , his friends and his family . `` The all

egations contained in today 's indictment represent a betrayal of the public tru

st for personal gain , '' said U.S. . Attorney Eric H . Holder Jr. `` .. . Congr

essman Rostenkowski used his elective office to perpetrate extensive fraud on th

e American people . '' The 17-count indictment charges that Rostenkowski , 66 , 

chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee , engaged in a pattern of corrupt

 activity for more than 20 years . He personally directed the House Finance Offi

ce to place at least 14 `` ghost employees '' who performed little or no officia

l work on the payroll , the grand jury said . Instead , they mowed the lawn of h

is vacation house in Wisconsin , picked up his laundry , took pictures at his da

ughters ' weddings and supervised the renovation of Rostenkowski 's house , the 

indictment charges . In one instance , Rostenkowski 's future , now former , son

-in-law was required to return most of his government salary to the congressman 

in cash kickbacks , the indictment said . The government also alleges that Roste

nkowski obtained seven cars valued at more than $ 100,000 from a Chicago dealers

hip , while paying only $ 5,294 from the bank account of his daughters . The rem

ainder of the debt was paid by the government and his campaign committee , prose

cutors allege . The charges were leveled one day after Rostenkowski rejected a p

roposed plea agreement with prosecutors and went on the offensive , denying all 

charges and vowing to fight in court. `` I have always fought for what I believe

 in , '' Rostenkowski said in a statement faxed around the country Monday evenin

g . `` I strongly believe that I am not guilty of these charges and will fight t

o regain my reputation in court. .. . This will be a difficult fight . The gover

nment has vast resources at its disposal . '' A Rostenkowski spokesman said the 

36-year veteran of Congress would have no comment Tuesday and that his earlier s

tatement would suffice . Holder called the actions `` offensive and reprehensibl

e , '' stating that such official misconduct had a `` corrosive effect '' on the

 nation 's `` democratic system of government and on the trust our citizens have

 in their elected officials . '' Rostenkowski is expected to be arraigned within

 the next 10 days , but a trial date is uncertain , prosecutors said , because o

f the time required to respond to expected defense motions . If the charges were

 taken separately , Rostenkowski would face a maximum penalty of more than 100 y

ears in prison if convicted , but federal sentencing guidelines would prescribe 

much less confinement . Holder said Rostenkowski faced `` several years . '' The

 indictment alleges that Rostenkowski abused his congressional payroll account ,

 his House Stationery Store privileges , his House Post Office prerogatives and 

his expense allotment for vehicle leasing . Holder said that Rostenkowski `` reg

ularly put people on his congressional payroll who did little or no official wor

k , but who instead performed a variety of personal services for him , his famil

y , his family insurance business , and his campaign organizations . '' Holder s

aid that payments to them exceeded $ 500,000 . The government charges that betwe

en July 1971 and July 1992 , Rostenkowski placed 14 people on his congressional 

payroll who performed personal services for him and his family . One person alle

gedly received $ 20,000 in federal funds for taking photographs at the congressm

an 's daughters ' weddings , political fund-raisers and parties held at Rostenko

wski 's family vacation house . A second person allegedly received $ 48,400 duri

ng a four-year period while performing no government work . The father of that s

ame `` ghost employee '' paid two of Rostenkowski 's daughters a total of $ 48,0

00 through the payroll of the Illinois State Senate Office , the indictment char

ges . Another person , identified as Rostenkowski 's 17-year-old godson , collec

ted $ 1,500 in government salary in 1976 for `` mowing the grass .. . at defenda

nt Rostenkowski 's summer home . '' During much of this period , Rostenkowski al

legedly maintained `` close '' control over his payroll , personally determining

 each month who should be added to the accounts , how they long they would remai

n and how much they should be paid , the indictment charges . Further , Rostenko

wski instructed the House Finance Office not to disclose any payroll information

 to members of his staff . The indictment charges that Rostenkowski kept the sam

e `` payroll counselor '' to assist him in `` payroll matters '' for 10 years in

 violation of House policy that required such staff to be rotated every two year

s in an effort to prevent fraud . Rostenkowski 's office created an `` untraceab

le '' supply of cash by instructing several employees to cash their checks and r

eturn them to the Chicago district office manager , prosecutors alleged . `` The

n , as these people performed services whether personal , official or campaign r

elated they were paid in cash in substantially smaller amounts than the checks t

hat initially had been issued to them . '' The indictment also alleges that Rost

enkowski obstructed justice by instructing a witness to withhold evidence from t

he grand jury . In 1991 , Rostenkowski asked a House employee whom he had earlie

r placed on the congressional office payroll to engrave 50 brass plaques and to 

place them on the bases of 50 sculptures of the U.S. Capitol , prosecutors said 

. The plaques and the sculptures had been bought at the House Stationary Store a

nd charged to his official account . The employee was asked to engrave the names

 of recipients , followed by a phrase such as `` friendship '' or `` our pal , '

' and then followed by the first name of Rostenkowski and his wife . The employe

e did the work for no charge . In September 1993 , the employee was asked to tes

tify before a grand jury investigating Rostenkowski . `` The engraver ( employee

 ) went to see the congressman 's administrative assistant in Washington , who h

ad earlier told him that Rostenkowski 's campaign committee was paying for lawye

rs for people called before the grand jury , '' Holder said . `` After putting t

he engraver in contact with an attorney , the administrative assistant told the 

engraver that Rostenkowski wished to speak with him . Over the telephone , Roste

nkowski instructed the engraver not to say anything about the crystal sculptures

. . . . ' ' Rostenkowski obtained some $ 40,000 in merchandise from the House St

ationery Store , the bulk of which he distributed as gifts to friends and associ

ates , prosecutors said. `` He charged the items to his official expenses allowa

nce , causing Congress to pay for them based on his false representation that th

e items were being purchased for official use , '' Holder said . The list of ite

ms purchased included : 60 wooden armchairs , handpainted and inscribed with his

 name for $ 379 each , 60 crystal sculptures of the U.S. Capitol at total cost o

f $ 12,000 , 250 pieces of china at $ 5,000 and 22 pieces of luggage valued at $

 2,200 . Prosecutors charge that Rostenkowski obtained at least $ 50,000 in cash

 from the post office by `` disguising the transactions as stamp purchases . '' 

Members of Congress have `` franking privileges '' that enable them to send offi

cial mail without postage . However , the frank cannot be used for certified , i

nsured or express mail , and for these letters lawmakers can purchase stamps at