18 Nov 2000

Yes, I should have posted this also, my error:

The New York Times - December 6, 1980

Niece of Senator Eagleton
Given Indeterminate Term

ST. LOUIS. Dec. 5 (AP)--

Elizabeth Eagleton Weigand today was given on indeterminate sentence that could result in a maximum term of four and a half years for an extortion attempt against her uncle, Senator Thomas F. Eagleton.

Federal District Judge H. Kenneth Wangelin said that Mrs. Welgand's sentencing would be turned over to the United States Parole Comission under the Young Adult Offender Act. Mrs. Welgand is 24 years old.

Her former attorney, Stephen Poludniak, was sentenced to four years tn prison and three years probation for conspiring to extort $220,000 from the Eagleton family business, the Missouri Pipe Fittings company, days before the August primary election. Mr. Eagleton, Democrat, won nomination and was re-elected last month.

Mr. Poludniak testified that he and Mrs. Weigand had tried to blackmail Mr. Eagleton with a fictitious document accusing him of being bisexual in order to force him to buy back Mrs. Weigand's stock.

On 17 Nov 2000 19:33:09 -0500, them@no-spam.org (unusual) wrote in
<3a15ce45.0@news2.lightlink.com:

The Rev. Larry Worstell, of the Church of Sclentology, said he was shocked both by the charges against Mrs. Weigand and Poludniak and what he called Eagleton's "totally erroneous" charges against the Church of Sclentology...Mrs. Weigand and Poludniak have been suspended from the church pending the outcome of the church's own investigation.

Fast forward to 1993, from their IRS application:

...

rooted out and condemned in the disbanding of the GO. Nonetheless a certain amount of fall-out litigation from the years of GO criminality had to be expected. Cases falling into this category -- i.e., cases which were not against the Church but which present allegations about the GO -are as follows: (... large list of cases...); United States v. Stephen E. Poludniak, Libby Wiegand No. 80-00143 CR (1), United States District Court for the Second District of Missouri (defendants plead guilty).