The three men acquitted last summer on charges of covering up the murder of Washington lawyer Robert Wone are keeping silent in a related civil wrongful death suit, saying they fear future prosecution stemming from the unsolved homicide.

Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward have said very little to the lawyers representing the Wone estate, refusing to answer most of the 504 deposition questions presented to them in recent months and declining to respond to interrogatories. In the criminal case, the men denied any involvement in the murder.