US LAWYER FAGAN REJECTS SWISS SETTLEMENT OF HOLOCAUST CLAIMS AT NEWS CONFERENCE IN JERUSALEM, 1998-06-22...

New York attorney Ed Fagan (R), representing 31,000 Holocaust victims and relatives suing Swiss banks, threatened to step up U.S. court action next month if no settlement can be reached, at a news conference June 22. Fagan is holding copies of claimant Michal Schonberger's documentation for Holocaust era claims. "It's 55 years they've been using our money, our father's and mother's money. This is long enough," said Schonberger. Fagan repeated his rejection of an offer by three Swiss banks last week to settle Holocaust-era claims for $600 million. The banks face potential claims of billions of dollars in suits filed in a U.S. federal court. EH/ME