The Nation - News from Dec. 2, 1988

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-N.Y.) and his wife pleaded innocent to federal bribery and extortion charges stemming from the Wedtech corruption scandal. Garcia, 55, his wife, Jane Lee Garcia, 48, and a lawyer from Puerto Rico, Ralph Vallone Jr., 41, were indicted last week for an alleged conspiracy to obtain $185,000 in cash, interest-free loans and jewelry from the Wedtech Corp. The indictment came just a few days after former Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-N.Y.) and four others were sentenced to prison for their conviction in a Wedtech-related racketeering trial. Wedtech, a now-defunct South Bronx defense contractor, grew from a small machine shop into a multimillion-dollar business through a series of no-bid government contracts obtained through a federal minority business program.