FORMER FBI CHIEF OF EP FOUND GUILTY ON TWO CHARGES

Hardrick Crawford, the former special agent in charge of the FBI
office in El Paso, was convicted on Wednesday by a jury in U.S.
District Court in El Paso on two of five charges stemming from his
friendship with a JuA!rez racetrack owner suspected of drug
trafficking and money laundering.

"We are very disappointed. ... It's hard to accept anything but a
complete victory. Our defense was that he is a good man and he knew
the rules and he followed the rules," said Mary Stillinger, Crawford's
lawyer.

Jurors deliberated for six hours before announcing to U.S. District
Judge Philip Martinez that they had a verdict.

Jurors found Crawford guilty of concealing material facts from the FBI
on June 6, 2003, regarding his association with the track owner, Jose
Maria Guardia, and making false statements in an Office of Government
Ethics Public Financial Disclosure Report submitted to the FBI for
calendar year 2002 regarding gifts he received.

Crawford was acquitted on three counts alleging that he made a false
statement on June 6, 2003, in an FBI electronic communication
regarding his association with Guardia; that he made a false statement
on Nov. 5, 2003, to the Office of the Inspector General during an
agency investigation; and that he made a false statement in an Office
of Government Ethics Public Financial Disclosure Report submitted to
the FBI for calendar year 2003 regarding gifts allegedly received.

In a written statement released after Wednesday's court proceedings,
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted Crawford, said
Crawford was held accountable for his actions.

"FBI special agents carry the tradition of one of the finest law
enforcement agencies in the world," Sutton wrote. "When a special
agent betrays those he is entrusted to protect, he will be held
accountable."

Crawford didn't show much emotion when the verdict was read, but his
wife cried for several minutes.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 9 by Martinez. Each count is
punishable by probation or up to five years in prison. He may also be
fined $250,000 for each count.

In court Wednesday, Martinez told Crawford he would "hopefully assess
a sentence that is reasonable and fair."

not jailed after Wednesday's court proceedings. He will remain free on
a signature bond until his next hearing.

His lawyer said he could be sentenced to probation in
November.

The verdict makes Crawford the first special agent in charge of the
FBI office in El Paso to be indicted and convicted of a crime, FBI
spokeswoman Andrea Simmons said.

Crawford was the special agent in charge of the El Paso FBI office
from July 2001 through November 2003.

During his trial, he testified that he was introduced to Guardia in
February 2002 by Special Agent Art Werge. At the time, Guardia was an
FBI informant.

They eventually became good friends. "I called him brother," Crawford
told jurors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Blankinship tried to show jurors through
evidence and testimony that Crawford continued his relationship with
Guardia even after FBI agents told him about Guardia's alleged
involvement with drug trafficking and money laundering.

In the indictment, Crawford was accused of socializing with and
inappropriately accepting gifts from Guardia -- including a job for
Crawford's wife, a membership at the Coronado Country Club and three
family trips to Las Vegas.

Stillinger, Crawford's lawyer, maintains that nothing was improper
about Linda Crawford's employment by Guardia or about the former FBI
official's relationship with Guardia.

In his testimony, Crawford told jurors that he paid Guardia back for
his portion of the trips and that the membership in the country club
was a benefit his wife received for working for Guardia.

In December 2003, a month after Crawford retired, the Mexican federal
attorney general's office announced it had no evidence supporting
criminal allegations against Guardia.