BUSH PARDONS 3 MOONSHINERS, DENVER LAWYER WITH GOP TIES

During 5 Years in Office, He's Granted 69 Clemency Orders

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has granted 11 pardons, bringing to 69
the number of clemency orders he has issued since taking office five
years ago, the Justice Department said.

Three moonshiners and a bank robber are among those pardoned, as is a
Denver attorney with Republican political ties. The pardons were
issued Tuesday, in keeping with a tradition of granting clemency
during the holiday season.

"These are individuals who all applied for clemency, and their
applications were reviewed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney and
forwarded to the president, who makes the final decision on whether to
grant clemency," said Justice Department spokesman John Nowacki.

One of those pardoned, Wendy St. Charles, is a lawyer for a Denver
homebuilder, MDC Holdings, parent of Richmond American Homes, The
Denver Post reported. St. Charles was convicted on drug charges in
1984 and sentenced to four years in prison.

MDC's chairman, Larry Mizel, has contributed more than half a million
dollars to Republican campaigns along with his wife, Carol, according
to the Center for Responsive Politics. A company spokeswoman did not
immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.

One of the moonshiners, Carl E. Cantrell of Monteagle, Tenn., said he
was arrested at his still without ever selling a drop. He was
convicted of federal liquor law violations in 1967 and sentenced to
three years' probation.

Also pardoned was Donald Lee Pendergrass of Ramona, Calif., who was
convicted of bank robbery with a dangerous weapon in 1964.

The Constitution provides the president with the power to grant
clemency. A presidential pardon can't expunge a conviction, but it can
help regain rights such as voting and owning guns.

Those granted pardons are:

- -Jimmy Lee Williams of Mesquite, Texas. Sentenced to five years
probation and a $5,000 fine for making a false statement on a loan
application.

- -Carl E. Cantrell. Sentenced in 1967 to three years' probation for
violation of IRS liquor laws.

- -Charles Winston Carter of Hanna City, Ill. Sentenced in 1964 to two
years' probation for conspiracy to steal U.S. property.

- -Harper James Finucan of Charleston, S.C. Sentenced in 1980 to 39
months' imprisonment and five years' special parole for possession
with intent to distribute marijuana.

- -Bobby Frank Kay Sr. of Suffolk, Va. Sentenced in 1959 to two years'
incarceration and a $1,003 fine for operation of an illegal distillery.

- -Melvin L. McKee of Surprise, Ariz. Sentenced in 1982 to five years'
probation conditioned upon 400 hours of community service and a $2,500
fine for conspiracy to make and cause the making of false statements
in loan applications and aiding and abetting the making of a
materially false statement in a loan application.

- -Charles Ellis McKinley of Pall Mall, Tennessee. Sentenced in 1950 to
two years' probation for violation of IRS liquor laws.

- -Donald Lee Pendergrass. Sentenced in 1964 to 12 years' imprisonment
for bank robbery.

- -Charles Blurford Power of Fort Pierce, Fla. Sentenced in 1948 to one
year and one day in prison for interstate transportation of a stolen
motor vehicle.

- -John Gregory Schillace of Hammond, La. Sentenced in 1988; sentence
amended in 1989 to 20 months' imprisonment and three years of
supervised release for conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to
distribute.

- -Wendy St. Charles. Sentenced in 1984 to four years imprisonment, four
years of special parole and four years of probation, consecutively,
for conspiracy to conduct a narcotics enterprise and distribution of
cocaine.