Syrian analysts expect the government to hand over any low-level figures indicted in the investigation.

Lawyers for the other defendants characterized Mr. Pardo's plea as a practical decision by a low-level figure that would have little effect on their clients' prospects for acquittal.

The five prospective witnesses, who have all made clear that they will not testify without immunity, are relatively low-level figures in the inquiry.

But the Sharon government dismissed the detentions, saying they involved low-level figures and not the several dozen key radicals Israel wants to see jailed.

For a low-level but pivotal figure in the investigation of Fannie Mae, it all began with an e-mail message sent in July 2003 to a supervisor.

His technique is the standard one, bringing cases against low-level figures in the hope they will "flip" and testify against those higher up.

But the inability of the committee to call even low-level figures to testify could hamper investigators' efforts to link Democratic Party officials to illegal fund-raising activities, including money-laundering.

Vivekananda warned that the statesmen and generals and tycoons who seem so big to us are really low-level figures.

Mr. Sihpol, while a relatively low-level figure, was the first executive to be brought to trial in that investigation.

Although considered a "low-level figure" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Facchiano has an extensive arrest record.