Scott McCabe, The Examiner
2008-03-14 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys Thursday agreed to extend the deadline on indictments in the case of the woman charged as the mastermind of the largest corruption scandal in D.C. history.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. faced a deadline of March 18 to indict or dismiss charges against Harriette Walters. But lawyers from both sides told U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola they needed 90 more days to

prepare due to the complex, far-ranging nature of the investigation.

It is the second 90-day extension in the case against Walters, 54, who was arrested in November on charges that she conspired to embezzle millions of dollars from the D.C. property tax office.

Federal investigators continued to pore over large volumes of government and financial records covering a significant period of time, the government officials said in court filings. Sources have told The Examiner that the records go back to the 1980s.

The joint motion was filed a week after a judge agreed to extend the deadline of co-conspirator and former tax office employee Diane Gustus by another 45

days.

Prosecutors in Maryland and D.C. have been in intense plea discussions with all 10 defendants in the case, sources told The Examiner.

Although Walters and her co-defendants have been formally charged with stealing more than $20 million, independent auditors commissioned by the District have told lawmakers that $43 million was stolen in the long-running scam.

The scandal has embarrassed D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi and opened questions about the outside accounting firms that gave a clean bill of health to Gandhi’s shop.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com