American Notes Investigations

When a subdued Geraldine Ferraro announced in December that she would not run for the U.S. Senate from New York this year, she put the blame on an unresolved Justice Department investigation into her finances. "If this investigation were still pending, the issue would be Geraldine Ferraro," she said. Now Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, may soon have her name cleared. Justice Department spokesmen disclosed last week that the investigation is all but complete and that Ferraro will apparently be cleared of any wrongdoing. The probe has concentrated on allegations that her husband John Zaccaro made illegal contributions to her first congressional campaign, in 1978, and that Ferraro acted improperly when she failed to report on her husband's business dealings in a financial-disclosure statement she made as a Congresswoman.

While the inquiry must still be reviewed by top Justice officials, it should be completed and released in a few weeks. "Someone could still go out and turn something up in an interview," said a Justice Department spokesman, "but I don't think that's likely." It remains to be seen whether Ferraro will revoke her "final and unequivocal" decision to stay out of the 1986 race.