Baptist Group’s Leader Steps Down

The Rev. Henry J. Lyons resigned last week as president of the National Baptist Convention USA, following his conviction this month on theft and racketeering charges in a Florida state court.

Mr. Lyons’s five-year term as head of one of the nation’s largest black churches was scheduled to expire in September. The Rev. S. C. Cureton, a convention vice-president, was named interim president until a new leader is elected in the fall.

A Florida jury had found Mr. Lyons guilty of swindling as much as $4-million from corporations that wanted to do business with church members. He was also convicted of pocketing $244,500 that the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith had given to him to distribute to local churches.

Last week Mr. Lyons pleaded guilty to five federal counts of tax evasion and fraud as part of a plea deal in which 49 other charges against him were dropped.