MAN CONVICTED OF GROWING POT

TAMPA - Federal jurors on Wednesday convicted a city businessman of
conspiring to grow marijuana inside upscale homes in the Tampa Bay
area.

Herbert Ferrell Jr., 54, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10
years and up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced in December.

Jurors reached the verdict after about four hours of deliberations
over two days.

On hearing the jury's verdict, Ferrell closed his eyes and briefly
bowed his head. After the hearing, he walked out of the courtroom in
tears with his wife and a friend following him.

Ferrell was one of 11 people named in an indictment last year accusing
them of growing the drug inside at least 10 houses in the Tampa Bay
area. The other 10 people pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with
prosecutors.

Ferrell said he was manipulated and coerced by government
informants.

Jury foreman Patrick Healey, 37, a railroad conductor, said jurors
struggled with the testimony of unsavory witnesses from the
prosecution.

"It was the fact that the state case and presentation was ...
colorful," Healey said, pausing for a few moments before settling on
the adjective.

When a reporter mentioned the name of informant Harvey "Duke" Faglier,
Healey quipped sarcastically, "What a treat he was."

Healey stressed that the jury was thorough in its review of the
evidence. "We definitely went over everything," he said.

Defense attorney Joseph Bodiford portrayed Faglier as a "monster" and
a "beast." A musician who has played and recorded with Jerry Lee
Lewis, Faglier has a tattoo of a dollar sign on his palm. He has
worked as a government informant for various law enforcement agencies
since as far back as 1973.

He was paid $15,000 for his work in this case, but stands to get much
more by receiving a portion of the money the government will seize
through forfeiture proceedings against Ferrell and the other 10
defendants in the case.

Healy said the prosecution's strongest evidence was recordings made by
Faglier and other informants. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Porcelli
played recordings showing Ferrell deeply involved in the running of
the ring, including going on a shopping trip to buy supplies, giving
potential investors a tour of an indoor pot farm and giving a detailed
list of what was needed to build an indoor farm.

Ferrell also discussed the finances of the operation on the
tapes.

In addition to Faglier, three of the ring members who pleaded guilty
testified for the government.

Healey, however, said the government witnesses' effect was "zero. They
were less than one."

He said jurors struggled over whether Ferrell had the intent to grow
and distribute marijuana, and ultimately concluded he did.

Porcelli asked U.S. District Judge James Moody to revoke Ferrell's
$50,000 bail after the verdict, but the judge refused and allowed
Ferrell to remain free until his sentencing.

Porcelli argued that Ferrell had committed perjury in his trial
testimony, which Porcelli said was offensive and "an assault on our
system."

Ferrell refused to talk to reporters after the verdict.

Bodiford said, "I'm just really sad about [the verdict] for
him."

He said Ferrell has "always felt 100 percent like he was set up. He
never wavered from that."

Bodiford pointed to Ferrell's business, Dermal Screening Center, which
screens people for skin cancer. "The guy's a gold star in the
community," he said.

Bodiford also noted that Ferrell is being treated for lymphoma. "I'm
extremely worried about his health" in prison, he said.

Bodiford said Ferrell will appeal.