"I have never been one to linger and I don't intend to start now," a tearful Symington said in a resignation speech after the verdict. His lawyer, John Dowd, said the two-term Republican would leave office tomorrow.
Symington, 52, would have been forced under the state constitution to leave office anyway when his felony conviction became official at his Nov. 10 sentencing, where he faces a lengthy prison term and $6.25 million in fines.
His resignation sets the stage for him to be replaced by the secretary of state, Republican Jane Hull.
"The future lies ahead of us, not behind us," said Symington, "and others will now be entrusted to lead us there."
Symington, who was elected on a promise to run the state with the same business acumen he brought to real estate, stared blankly at the table in front of him as the bank fraud verdicts were read. Muffled sobs were audible in the courtroom from spectators, and one juror wiped a tear.
"What is truly unfortunate is that Fife Symington will never be tried for his most serious offense - deceiving and lying to the voters of Arizona," said state Democratic Party Chairman Mark Fleisher.
The jury found Symington guilty on seven counts alleging he filed false financial statements to banks. He was acquitted of three counts, including a charge that he tried to use his political muscle as governor against a pension fund he owed $10 million.
U.S. District Judge Roger Strand declared a mistrial on the remainder of the 21 counts because the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Prosecutor David Schindler said he would consider whether to try Symington again on those charges.
In 1987, Republican Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached and removed by the state Senate. He was later acquitted of charges related to a questionable campaign loan.
"What we need is an honest governor in this state. Enough is enough," said Tuscon resident Fred Ortiz, who watched live TV coverage of yesterday's verdict in an electronics store. "There's too much corruption. First it was Ev Mecham, now it's Symington."
Symington, a Harvard-educated great-grandson of U.S. Steel co-founder Henry Clay Frick, was indicted last year on federal charges alleging that he repeatedly lied about the health of his troubled real estate businesses when applying for loans in the late 1980s.
Several jurors said a key to their convictions were financial statements that showed Symington overstated or understated his net worth, depending on what was necessary to get loans.
But juror Robert Bamond said he would still vote for Symington.
"I think he's doing a good job as governor," Bamond said. "As a businessman, he didn't do as well. I think he got caught up in desperation."
The verdict came after a total of 17 days of tumultuous deliberations. The jury had to start all over again after seven days when one of the jurors, a 74-year-old woman, was dismissed because other jurors complained she was unable to concentrate on the case and refused to discuss her opinions. An alternate was added and the deliberations began anew.
Prosecutors in the nine-week trial contended Symington was nothing more than a swindler, taking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in developer fees while creating office buildings and shopping centers that never turned a profit.
They said he misled lenders about the shaky state of his real estate empire for glory, to create the illusion he was a successful real estate developer.
In seven days on the stand, Symington insisted the errors were honest mistakes that were missed by his accountants. And he angrily denied abusing the power of his office to get the loans.
He was convicted of misleading a Japanese bank that loaned nearly $130 million to finance his crown jewel, the Camelback Esplanade office-hotel complex. He also was convicted of submitting false financial statements to a local bank and overstating his net worth to a consortium of union pension funds that loaned him $10 million to finance the Phoenix Mercado, a downtown office-retail project.
Symington's lawyer promised to appeal. "We're going to keep fighting, mainly because this case is without merit," Dowd said.
The case harkened back to the heady days of the 1980s, when easy money in the form of loans and credit gave rise to project after project that later floundered along with the real estate market.
Questions about his financial dealings were mere murmurs when Symington ran for governor in 1990.
When his sorry financial state became public knowledge well into his first term, Symington argued he was a good businessman caught up in Arizona's collapsing real estate market.
"The question you should be asking is: 'How has Fife Symington remained standing through this real estate depression?'" he told reporters.
In 1994, Symington and other former directors of the failed Southwest Savings and Loan Association agreed to a $12 million settlement of a $200 million lawsuit filed by government regulators after the thrift's collapse.
A criminal investigation of the S&L's failure delved into Symington's other business dealings.
These included financial statements prepared for lenders in 1989 and 1991 showing a $35 million shift in his net worth, from a high of $12 million to a low of negative $23 million.
Less than a year into his second term, Symington was bankrupt.
Symington built about two dozen office buildings and shopping centers in the 1980s and early '90s - all but one of which were sold at a loss, foreclosed upon or returned to lenders.
Symington still faces a separate federal bankruptcy trial on charges he gave false financial information to a group of union pension funds to get a $10 million loan.
AP PHOTO
Arizona Gov. Fife Symington (right) shakes hands yesterday with his attorney John Dowd, following a news confrence at the state capitol in downtown Phoenix. Symington was convicted this week of getting millions in illegal loans.