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The former general counsel of BATUS Inc., once the holding company for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., pleaded guilty for his role in an illegal wiretapping conspiracy. David Schechter, now chairman of Summit Capital Group Inc. in Louisville, Ky., faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15. Schechter’s 1995 arrest was part of the government’s ongoing probe of the illegal sale of bugging and wiretapping devices and was not related to any investigation of tobacco companies.