The Nation - News from Aug. 4, 1989

Thomas Root, the lawyer who was pulled from the Atlantic last month after a mysterious plane ride, was sued by a communications firm for allegedly failing to return $75,000 to a broadcast client. In a separate development, ABC News reported that Root bounced a check for $50,000 two days before his plane plunged into the waters off the Bahamas on July 13. Confronted with the check in a live, nationally televised interview, Root said he would not discuss his personal financial affairs. Liggett Broadcast Group Inc. of Williamston, Mich., said in its lawsuit that it had placed $75,000 in an escrow account under Root’s control. Root refused to give the money back when asked July 18 by Liggett’s lawyers, the company complained in a U.S. District Court suit.