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

the House Post Office . House members are required to submit vouchers that must 

be signed by the legislators , certifying that they have paid for or received th

e postage specified on the voucher . From May 1985 through May 1987 , Rostenkows

ki personally obtained $ 11,500 from the House Post Office through the postmaste

r , the indictment states . The postmaster got the cash from the post office sup

ervisor of accounts , according to the charges . When that supervisor left in 19

87 , the postmaster allegedly told Rostenkowski that he was no longer able to ob

tain the cash . `` When the second supervisor of accounts left in 1989 , Congres

sman Rostenkowski personally intervened and insisted that one of his patronage e

mployees be promoted to the position , '' a Justice Department press statement s

aid . Then , during a 21-month period in July 1989 and April 1991 , Rostenkowski

 obtained $ 9,800 more in exchange for vouchers and stamps , prosecutors said , 

noting that the alleged scheme ended one month later when Capitol Police began i

nvestigating allegations of embezzlement . Prosecutors charge that Rostenkowski 

was able to develop a `` unique '' relationship with a suburban Chicago Ford dea

lership , enabling him to obtain immediate possession of and title to vehicles w

ithout a down payment , without taking out a loan , without signing a promissory

 note , without paying interest on the debt and without making regular payments 

. Rostenkowski submitted fraudulent lease agreements to the House Finance Office

 , which `` falsely '' represented that the payments would be for leasing the ve

hicles , prosecutors said . About $ 73,000 in government funds were used for the

 vehicles which were `` for the personal use of himself and his family . '' The 

indictment was issued after a two-week period of plea bargaining discussions wit

h Rostenkowski 's attorney , Robert S. Bennett. Last week the congressman declin

ed to accept an agreement that he plead guilty to at least one felony count and 

serve a limited time in jail . Rostenkowski was said to have entered the negotia

tions in effort to reduce or eliminate any prison sentence while avoiding a leng

thy court battle . He also wanted to retain his chairmanship . Such talks are co

nsidered normal and should not affect his trial . Holder said Rostenkowski 's at

torneys initiated the talks , and that the government 's only interest was in av

oiding a costly trial . The talks in no way , he said , were reflective of conce

rn on his part about the strength of the case . Sources said the talks ended wit

hout agreement because Rostenkowski maintained his innocence . There had been so

me tension between Rostenkowski and Bennett over the handling of his case and th

ere was speculation about whether Bennett would continue . Longtime friends had 

urged the lawmaker to fight , while defense attorneys urged him to weigh all opt

ions and even suggested that he get a second opinion about whether to accept a p

lea bargain .

 WASHINGTON In a step that eventually would eliminate paper Social Security , we

lfare checks and food stamps , Vice President Al Gore unveiled a program Tuesday

 that would allow electronic access to government benefits . Using a plastic aut

omated teller machine card , welfare recipients and Social Security pensioners w

ithout bank accounts would be able to walk up to any ATM terminal and withdraw t

heir share of the $ 500 billion in benefit payments that the federal government 

doles out annually . The electronic delivery system , designed as part of the Cl

inton administration 's `` reinventing government '' initiative , is projected t

o go on-line nationally in 1999 . Government officials from nine states Florida 

, Alabama , Georgia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , Kentucky , A

rkansas and Missouri will start phasing in the electronic transfer plan in their

 region this year . The system is expected to be running in those states in 1996

 . `` This card makes it much easier to deliver the right benefits to the right 

people with much less paperwork , '' Gore said at a ceremony here Tuesday . Appe

aring with him were Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala , Agric

ulture Secretary Mike Espy and Texas Comptroller John Sharp , who is overseeing 

what will be the largest state electronics benefits transfer project when it is 

fully phased in next year . Electronic delivery , once fully installed , is expe

cted to reduce the fraud and abuse that plague current assistance programs and s

implify labyrinthian federal and state benefits systems , saving taxpayers $ 195

 million annually , Gore said . With the electronic system , `` there 's conside

rably less paper . The flip side is that we 'll have an electronic audit trail f

or every transaction , making fraud much easier to detect and prosecute , '' Sha

lala said . For benefits recipients with bank accounts , having their payments d

eposited directly is still the most cost-effective means of delivery . But for t

he estimated 31 million people without bank accounts who are entitled to food st

amps , unemployment payments , Social Security payments , aid to families with d

ependent children or other benefits , the electronic system will bring convenien

ce and relief from the `` stigma '' associated with receiving government aid , a

ccording to Espy . Federal and state governments pay $ 111 billion in military a

nd federal pensions , veterans ' compensation , student loans and general assist

ance to recipients without bank accounts each year . In comparison , the annual 

fund flow for VISA , the nation 's most widely used credit card , approaches $ 1

80 billion , the Gore task force that came up with the plan said . Food stamp re

cipients would swipe the benefits card through a debit card machine in a grocery

 store instead of paying for their purchases with paper vouchers . The card woul

d block recipients from buying prohibited products and allow government fraud in

vestigators to track transactions more closely than does the current system . Ea

ch card user would have a personal identification number to prevent thieves from

 using stolen cards . Printing food stamps vouchers that grocery shoppers use in

stead of cash is wasteful because each voucher can only be used once , Espy said

 . In inner city areas , food stamp transactions can comprise as much as 40 perc

ent of a grocery store 's retail food sales , according to the task force . Once

 the food stamps are collected by grocery stores and shipped back to the Agricul

ture Department , they are burned . `` The food stamps program we 've been opera

ting in this country for the last 30 years belongs in the same place the dinosau

rs are , '' Sharp said . Texas state officials began developing their electronic

 system to pay veterans ' and old age benefits in 1991 , he said . But benefits 

recipients could be liable for a large chunk of the cost of goods purchased with

 pilfered cards and could be forced to pay ATM-user fees . Under a current feder

al law known as Regulation E , a consumer is entitled to reimbursement from his 

credit card company for all but the first $ 50 that is fraudulently charged on a

 stolen card if the theft is reported within two days . Earlier this year , howe

ver , the Federal Reserve Board exempted the electronic benefits system from the

 rule for three years . ( Optional add end ) Critics fear that the potential fra

ud losses may bar expansion of the system . Gore 's report says that the federal

 government will work with states and the banking industry to develop strategies

 to limit exposure to fraudulent claims and distribute the liability among all w

ho have a stake in the new system . Gore 's plan permits commercial banks to cha

rge welfare recipient fees for each transaction , and represents `` a kick in th

e teeth '' to poor people , said Michelle Meier , counsel for government affairs

 for the Consumers Union , which publishes Consumer Report magazine . `` We are 

very disappointed that the administration appears to be laying the groundwork to

 cut the safety net on poor people , '' Meier said . Pilot programs enacted so f

ar appear to have met with some success , however . Maryland is the only state n

ow fully operating the electronic delivery system . It pays about $ 55 million i

n food stamps , child support and other benefits each month to about 250,000 peo

ple .

 WASHINGTON Rep. Dan Rostenkowski , D-Ill. , was indicted on 17 felony counts of

 fraud and embezzlement Tuesday , a far broader set of charges than many expecte

d , for alleged acts that ranged from taking kickbacks of government funds from 

a son-in-law to buying cars for his family with public and campaign money . The 

lawmaker also is accused of personally tampering with a witness last September b

y instructing him not to reveal potentially incriminating information to the fed

eral grand jury investigating the case , and of using government wages to pay em

ployees who performed little official work but did such personal chores as photo

graphing one of his daughter 's weddings and mowing the lawn at his summer home 

. The indictment , which alleges corruption over more than 20 years , also charg

ed Rostenkowski , who has been in Congress nearly 36 years , with using postage 

vouchers to steal cash from Congress and cashing campaign fund checks at the Hou

se Post Office to disguise them as stamp purchases , an outgrowth of the House P

ost Office probe that led to the Rostenkowski case . U.S. . Attorney Eric H . Ho

lder Jr. announced the charges after plea-bargaining talks collapsed and Rostenk

owski defiantly proclaimed his innocence . Holder said Rostenkowski `` used his 

elective office to perpetrate an extensive fraud on the American people '' that 

amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars . ( Begin optional trim ) Holder sa

id the cost of the alleged misconduct `` must also be measured in terms of the c

orrosive effect it has on our democratic system of government and on the trust o

ur citizens have in their elected officials . `` The criminal acts of a few feed

 the cynicism which increasingly haunts our political landscape , '' Holder said

 . This causes `` too many of our citizens to assume that all persons in public 

office are motivated by greed and self-interest , and to succumb to the defeatis

t notion that we must resign ourselves to the fact that a certain level of polit

ical misconduct is a way of life . '' ( End optional trim ) House Speaker Tom Fo

ley , D-Wash. , contending that Rostenkowski `` clearly deserves the presumption

 of innocence , '' said the Chicago native has stepped aside as chairman of the 

House Ways and Means committee until the charges are resolved , in keeping with 

rules of the Democratic Caucus . Rep. Sam Gibbons , D-Fla. , ranking member of t

he panel which has a crucial role in handling health care reform , will become a

cting chairman , but Rostenkowski `` will continue to be fully involved , '' Fol

ey said . President Clinton tried to minimize the impact on health care , saying

 `` real momentum '' has been created and that he is confident the legislation w

ill pass this year . But the political fallout of the grand jury 's action appea

red substantial . Rarely have Rostenkowski 's legendary deal-making skills been 

more sorely needed than now , when Clinton is asking a Democratic Congress to ta

ke a risky leap on health care reform shortly before an election when many polit

ical futures are at stake . Following that battle , Ways and Means will be at th

e center of other issues that could be crucial to the success of Clinton 's pres

idency most notably , welfare reform , trade and , once again , revamping the So

cial Security system . Yet while Rostenkowski 's giving up the chairmanship will

 make the already difficult task of passing health legislation even harder , few

 believe that the survival of health care reform hinges on having him there to c

ut the deal . The political forces at work on the issue are so large that they t

ranscend any one person 's influence even one as important as Rostenkowski 's . 

Indeed , despite the negotiations surrounding the impending indictment , Rostenk

owski has devoted himself to the health care bill with a single-mindedness that 

many of his colleagues have found remarkable . `` Rostenkowski 's ( bill ) is da

mn near ready , '' said one administration official . ( Begin optional trim ) Be

cause he did not agree to a plea-bargain that would have forced his resignation 

from Congress , Rostenkowski will remain on the committee . As long as it remain

s possible that he will return to the chairmanship , he can still exert some inf

luence among Democrats . And because the committee Democrats will be drafting th

eir bill behind closed doors , Rostenkowski may still find a way to operate as t

he panel 's de facto chairman , while Gibbons assumes the public role . If Roste

nkowski were convicted of all the felony counts , he theoretically could be sent

enced to 110 years in prison and fined a maximum of $ 365,000 , excluding any re

stitution he was ordered to pay . But all the charges are subject to the federal

 sentencing guidelines , which prescribe ranges of punishment depending on such 

factors as whether the crime involved an abuse of trust . ( End optional trim ) 

Holder said he expected the trial to take place here and last several weeks . Wh

ile arraingment will be held within 10 days , Holder would not forecast when the

 trial would begin . The 49-page indictment alleged that Rostenkowski created an

 elaborate scheme to defraud Congress and taxpayers through the misuse of congre

ssional allowances involving payroll , the House Stationery Store , the House Po

st Office and purchase of vehicles . He also was charged with embezzlement , con

spiracy , obstruction of justice and concealing material facts from Congress and

 the Federal Election Commission . In the payroll allegations , Rostenkowski was

 charged with misappropriating approximately $ 500,000 in taxpayer funds by plac

ing at least 14 people on his payroll who did little or no congressional work . 

The workers included a former son-in-law who allegedly received $ 10,400 in gove

rnment salary but performed no work in the congressional office and was required

 to give most of the money back to his former father-in-law as cash kickbacks . 

In another arrangement , prosecutors say the son of an Illinois state senator , 

not identified in the indictment , drew about $ 48,400 in salary from Rostenkows

ki 's congressional office , though he did no official work . Over the same 1983

-1986 time period , the indictment charged , the state senator paid two of Roste

nkowski 's daughters a total of $ 48,000 through his payroll . In the House Stat

ionery Store scheme , Rostenkowski allegedly obtained more than $ 40,000 worth o

f valuable merchandise , most of which he handed out as gifts to personal friend

s and associates . But he was accused of charging the items to his official expe

nse allowance , which Congress paid . ( Optional Add End ) The obstruction of ju

stice count involved a House engraver whom Rostenkowski allegedly put on his pay

roll to engrave 50 brass plaques and attach them to 50 crystal sculptures of the

 Capitol that he obtained from the House Stationery Story and charged to his off

icial expense allowance . Last September the engraver was subpoenaed to testify 

before the federal grand jury looking into Rostenkowski . Before testifying , ho

wever , the engraver , whom Holder declined to identify , was instructed by Rost

enkowski during a telephone call not to tell the grand jury about the Capitol sc

ulptures he had engraved for the congressman . Holder declined to discuss the pr

ovisions of the plea bargain that Rostenkowski rejected , against the advice of 

his lawyers . But a source familiar with the negotiations said it involved admit

ting some elements of the stationery store allegations , the acquisition of vehi

cles on false grounds and the ghost employee charges . The proposed deal also ca

lled for Rostenkowski to resign from Congress and to serve a six-month jail sent

ence , the source said . The plea-bargaining put a strain on relations between R

ostenkowski and his lawyers , Robert S. Bennett and Carl Rauh , but Bennett was 

still representing him Tuesday morning , Holder noted .

 RIVERSIDE , Calif. . The former Nation of Islam minister who is suspected of sh

ooting Khallid Abdul Muhammad on Sunday night was seen outside a Los Angeles the

ater the previous night while Muhammad was speaking inside , sources said Tuesda

y . Several Nation of Islam members knew the shooting suspect , 49-year-old Jame

s Edward Bess , of Tacoma , Wash. , and recognized him as he sat in his parked c

ar , then walked back and forth outside the theater , said various sources , who

 spoke on condition of anonymity . Police investigators said they were trying to

 learn whether Muhammad , one of the most controversial figures within the Natio

n of Islam , was being stalked by Bess . ( Begin optional trim ) Inside of Bess 

' vehicle , which was parked near the University of California , Riverside , gym

nasium where Sunday 's shooting occured , police found a scope-equipped , high-p

owered rifle and ammunition . Outside the gymnasium , police recovered a backpac

k containing two additional semi-automatic handguns , similar to the one they sa

y was used in the shooting . ( End optional trim ) Police said Tuesday they rema

ined clueless about Bess ' motives and had little information about Bess ' falli

ng-out with the Nation of Islam . `` We 're not dealing with a whodunit , '' sai

d UC Riverside Police Chief Hank Rosenfeld . `` We know whodunit . What we 're d

ealing with is , why ? '' ( Optional Add End ) Bess was arraigned Tuesday aftern

oon before Riverside Municipal Court Judge Gary Tranbarger . He was formally cha

rged with one count of attempted premeditated murder , with the use of a gun and

 inflicting great bodily injury . Bess also was charged with five counts of assa

ult with a firearm with infliction of great bodily injury . The most serious cha

rge carries a possible life prison term . Bess remains hospitalized at Riverside

 General Hospital for injuries he sustained from a beating he took in the melee 

following the shooting . Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Bill Mitchell

 said doctors gave the go-ahead for Bess to be taken by wheelchair from the hosp

ital to the courtroom , dressed in blue pajamas and his left arm bandaged to his

 side to protect a broken shoulder . Abrasions on his face and head were apparen

t . Answering the judge 's inquiries in a soft voice , Bess pleaded not guilty t

o the six counts and was assigned a public defender , Mitchell said . His prelim

inary hearing was scheduled for June 14 , and he was being held without bail and

 under police guard . Muhammad , who was suspended as spokesman for the Nation o

f Islam by Louis Farrakhan after a verbal assault on Jews , Arabs and whites was

 roundly denunciated , underwent surgery Tuesday night at Riverside Community Ho

spital to remove a bullet lodged in his leg . Persons familiar with Bess charact

erized him as a generally loyal follower of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakh

an , despite having been removed as minister of a Seattle mosque about four year

s ago , and later ousted altogether from the Nation of Islam . One source said B

ess lost his ranking because he ran an `` unproductive '' mosque , where attenda

nce had slipped to an all-time low and was making no money .

 CAPE CANAVERAL , Fla. . With high hopes for her future , marine scientists retu

rned Inky the whale to her Atlantic Ocean home Tuesday after recovering from an 

overdose of pollution . The well-traveled whale , rescued from a New Jersey beac

h on Thanksgiving and nursed back to health in a five-month stay at Baltimore 's

 National Aquarium , was taken into deep water about 35 miles east of Cape Canav

eral by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel and given her f

reedom . Inky immediately dispelled the fears of aquarium officials that she wou

ld be slow to adapt and simply swim around in circles waiting for a food handout

 . `` She just took right off , '' said aquarium veterinarian Brent Whitaker aft

er Inky nosed into the ocean carrying a small radio transmitter and a microcompu

ter so marine experts can keep track of her activities over the next few days . 

The pygmy sperm whale 's last trip with human caretakers began at the Marineland

 park south of St. Augustine where she and another stranded female of her specie

s , nicknamed Blinky , had occupied round holding pools about 20 feet apart . In

ky was carried in a custom-fitted canvas sling by a backhoe and loaded onto a fo

am bed in a borrowed refrigerated seafood company truck , while Blinky was moved

 in like fashion into a Marineland truck for a predawn , 112-mile ride to Cape C

anaveral under police escort . Blinky , having overcome a small infection at Mar

ineland , was transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Drummond , while Inky was ta

ken aboard the Relentless a 226-foot former Navy submarine surveillance vessel m

aking its maiden mission for NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service . Bl

inky , unencumbered by equipment , was lowered in a sling from the side of the c

utter and vanished in the sea swells . Cmdr. Patrick Ruttan said NOAA 's coopera

tion was part of its mandated mission to educate the public on ocean pollution l

ike the plastic trash that Inky swallowed and nearly died from in November , eme

rging as a living symbol of that environmental problem . With the whale 's story

 being turned into a documentary film for young people , Ruttan said the benefit

s `` will far outweigh the costs so far of getting Inky released . '' Aquarium o

fficials said those costs could be close to $ 500,000 most of it in donated serv

ices from government agencies and the private sector , but not including some 40

,000 hours of labor provided by the dozens of volunteers in its marine animal re