With a prison term of indefinite length bearing down on him Friday, the elder partner of the Ben-Mar Investments scam of the early 1990s came up with $48,933 in back restitution, guaranteeing his freedom for at least another month.

        Ben Schmidt, a 68-year-old former resident of Crestview Hills, had been found in contempt of court on June 11 by U.S. District Judge Sandra Beckwith and ordered to make restitution payments overdue since September 2000. If he didn't pay the overdue sum by 5 p.m. Friday, he was supposed to surrender to the U.S. Marshal's Service.

        Mr. Schmidt, who had claimed that a negative net worth prevented him from making his $2,333 monthly restitution payments, has until Monday evening to disclose the source of the $48,933.

        When he was placed on a payment schedule, Mr. Schmidt argued that he could only afford to pay $200 a month toward a total restitution demand of $2.9 million. When he failed to pay even that amount, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked that he be held in contempt of court.

        Now that he is current on his restitution program, Mr. Schmidt must abide by the $2,333-a-month payment plan, lest he risk another contempt order and potential prison stay. An SEC lawyer handling the case said it has not yet been determined how the money will be shared by Ben Mar victims, who lost $12.2 million.

Regional tourists keeping hotels afloat
Banks, builders seek defenses
Bankruptcy court OKs condo sale
We're clean, Procter tells its investors
Takeover makes firm tops in flavor
'Ben' of Ben-Mar coughs up $48,933
Tax settlement benefits GE
HIGGINS: Personal Finance
Rate report
Savvy Strategies
Tristate Summary
What's the Buzz?