Lawrence King Jr.

Lawrence King Jr. (known as Larry King) was the operator of the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska. On November 4, 1988, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) shut down the credit union after determining that $39.4 million had been stolen. King pleaded guilty in February 1991 to conspiracy, embezzlement, and making false statements and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. He served approximately ten years.¹

Republican Party Profile

King developed a prominent profile within Nebraska and national Republican Party circles during the 1980s. He chaired the Nebraska Black Republican Council and served as vice chairman for finance of the National Black Republican Council, an affiliate of the Republican National Committee. In January 1985 he was an advisory committee member for President Ronald Reagan's second inauguration; his participation is documented in Reagan Presidential Library records (reaganlibrary.gov/public/2023-10/40-819-198416-K-LawrenceKingJr-002-2023.pdf). He performed the national anthem at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas; the performance is archived by C-SPAN (c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/user-clip-larry-king-sings-gop-convention-1984/4814862). He hosted parties at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans at an estimated cost of $100,000.¹

Federal Case

Following the NCUA raid, King was indicted on 40 counts including conspiracy, fraud, and embezzlement. He entered a guilty plea to reduced charges in February 1991. His sentence of 15 years in federal prison resulted in approximately ten years served before release in the early 2000s. His wife Alice King also entered a guilty plea to reduced charges relating to the embezzlement. The federal civil case is documented at GovInfo under USCOURTS-ned-8_88-cv-00819.¹

In parallel with the criminal proceedings, alleged victim Paul Bonacci filed a federal civil complaint against King. King declined to respond to the civil complaint. Senior U.S. District Judge Warren K. Urbom entered a default judgment against King of $1 million in February 1999. Default judgments under federal civil rules treat uncontested allegations as admitted for purposes of the default; the court did not conduct a contested evaluation of the underlying facts.²

Abuse Allegations

During the Nebraska Legislature's Franklin Committee investigation (December 1988 onward) and subsequent proceedings, multiple individuals alleged that King had operated a child prostitution network extending from Omaha to Washington D.C. Two separate grand juries - the Douglas County grand jury in July 1990 and a federal grand jury in September 1990 - found the abuse allegations to be unsubstantiated and characterized them as a "carefully crafted hoax." Alisha Owen was convicted of perjury in relation to her grand jury testimony in 1991.²

The investigation and its context are documented in the Franklin Credit Union Scandal entry.

Connection to Craig Spence

Contemporary Washington Times reporting connected King to Craig Spence, a Washington D.C. lobbyist documented in June-November 1989 journalism to have arranged late-night White House tours with male prostitutes and to have maintained connections in Republican Party social circles. The nature and extent of King's relationship with Spence was documented in contemporary reporting but not in any government record.³