Pardon for Felon Considered After Kin Paid Roger Clinton (Published 2001)

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In late January, in the final days of the Clinton administration, the White House told the Justice Department that it was considering a presidential pardon for Rosario Gambino, a convicted heroin trafficker and reputed organized crime figure.

A law enforcement official said that a lawyer in the White House counsel's office faxed a request to the Justice Department for background information on Mr. Gambino, who is serving a 45-year sentence.

The department, which received dozens of similar requests that month, sent back a copy of Mr. Gambino's criminal record. President Bill Clinton granted no pardon.

That exchange has taken on new significance in recent days as Congressional investigators have begun to examine a $50,000 payment from a company controlled by the children of Rosario Gambino to Roger Clinton, the president's half brother.

A person close to Tommy Gambino, Rosario Gambino's son, said that Roger Clinton had led the family to believe he could help obtain a presidential pardon. ''Whatever he said to him made Tommy Gambino think it was a lock,'' this person said in an interview.

Roger Clinton's lawyer, Bart H. Williams, acknowledged yesterday that his client had received money from the Gambino family. ''Tommy Gambino is a friend of Roger Clinton's and has been for many years,'' Mr. Williams said. ''I'm not going to comment on what the payment is for or about. I am going to say it was not related to Roger Clinton's assisting Tommy Gambino's father in his parole efforts or any other effort.''