JURY CONVICTS TOP DRUG LORDS IN TRIAL THAT ROCKED CITY HALL

CAMDEN - A federal jury convicted Jose "JR" Rivera and Luis "Tun Tun"
Figueroa on Tuesday of conspiring to distribute large amounts of
cocaine, ending the biggest and most troubling drug trial in city history.

The implications could reach well beyond the doors of the federal
courthouse and rock the city's political and law enforcement landscapes.

Thirteen drug dealers testified during the eight-week trial of Rivera
and Figueroa, leaders in a violent syndicate that dominated the city's
cocaine trade in the 1990s.

Five admitted dealers named Mayor Milton Milan - a boyhood friend of
Rivera's - as a mid-level North Camden drug dealer before he became
mayor. One testified that Rivera bragged he "put up the money" to
finance Milan's mayoral win in 1997.

Milan is the focus of a grand jury investigation, but has not been
charged with any wrongdoing.

The dealers who testified also named more than a dozen city, county
and federal law enforcement authorities they said tipped them to
raids, shook down drug dealers or were routinely in the casual company
of known drug dealers at the auto parts store and gym Rivera owned and
operated in East Camden.

"We're pleased with the verdict," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T.
Smith said. "It's a bad day for the defendants here."

The syndicate authorities call "The Organization" netted millions of
dollars a year through two open-air drug markets in East Camden.

Rivera's attorney, Marc Neff, said his client was "devastated."

"I don't think he knows what he wants to do next," Neff said of
Rivera. "I don't think JR in his wildest dreams would have ever
thought he would be convicted in this case. I don't know how much he
was hoping and how much he doesn't believe he committed a crime."

Figueroa's attorney, Carlos A. Martir Jr., said he told his client
before the jury returned that he expected a guilty verdict. Martir, a
former assistant U.S. attorney, said he based the assumption on
secretly recorded tapes played for the jury. On the tapes, statements
made by drug dealers implicated Figueroa.

Defense attorneys had argued to the jury of nine women and three men
that drug dealers testifying under oath for the government were lying
about their clients' involvements in the drug trade in hopes of
getting reduced sentences.

Rivera, 40, of Cherry Hill, and Figueroa, 34, of Ciales, Puerto Rico,
face 30 years to life in prison. U.S. District Judge Joseph H.
Rodriguez has not scheduled sentencing.

Rivera, confident and smiling during the trial, grew noticeably
dejected as the jury foreman said jurors unanimously found the pair
guilty on all counts. Rivera bowed his head as a standing-room crowd
of family, friends, law enforcement officials and the curious looked
on.

Figueroa's toddler daughter wailed as if on cue, breaking the silence
and causing her crying mother to whisk her from the courtroom.

A shaken Figueroa looked back and nodded his head, as if to tell his
family not to worry.

Distraught friends and family of the defendants declined comment, but
emotions ran high. A woman identified by a family friend as Rivera's
sister collapsed and was helped from the courtroom following a
subsequent forfeiture hearing to decide if Rivera's property, cash and
investments will be seized by the government.

"It's not fair," the woman cried repeatedly, her wails echoing down
the hallway.

The forfeiture issue remained unresolved when jurors were dismissed at
4:30 p.m. The jury will resume deliberations today.

Rivera faces the loss of his two business properties, JR's Custom Auto
Parts and Jay's Gym, both at 2601 Carman St. He also could lose
$650,000 in cash seized from his safe and personal investment accounts
if jurors determine the businesses and assets were gains from his
involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Jurors on Tuesday found Rivera and Figueroa guilty of one count each
of conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms (11 pounds) of
cocaine from January 1989 through February 1998 as members of The
Organization.

Local, county, state and federal law authorities arrested 15 members
of the syndicate in 1998. Most were snared in a sweeping raid on Feb.
25 by local, county, state and federal law enforcement authorities.
Figueroa was later arrested in Puerto Rico.

The syndicate controlled two notorious drug markets, "The Alley" and
the 33rd Street drug set, both in East Camden. The two drug operations
flooded city streets with tons of cocaine from Colombia, Puerto Rico,
Florida and New York.

Smith, the prosecutor, called the amount of drugs the syndicate
brought into the city "frightening."

Prosecutors convinced jurors that Rivera was a financier for syndicate
members, gave them advice, helped them launder money, and hid assets
through property and vehicle titles he put in his own name.

Rivera was also found guilty of two counts of money laundering for his
role in helping undercover informant Juan Marquez change $15,000 into
large bills on two separate occasions during a 1997 FBI sting
operation. The jury found Rivera believed the money was from illegal
drug sales.

Figueroa was second-in-command of The Alley and an enforcer who
allegedly shot another dealer to death. Figueroa still faces a state
murder charge in the death of rival Manuel "Manoling" DeJesus, a hit
man recruited from Puerto Rico.

The verdicts reached Tuesday have broader implications because much of
the government's case depended on whether jurors found the 13
convicted drug dealers who testified to be credible.

The convictions Tuesday could mean some of those same drug dealers
might be called to testify if Milan is indicted, as his own attorney
anticipates. Milan's home and City Hall office were raided Aug. 26 by
federal agents searching for evidence of racketeering and other crimes.

The drug trial that ended Tuesday was also notable for spelling the
demise of the syndicate that not only controlled two drug markets, but
neighborhoods around them.

In the end, prosecutors say, the jury's verdicts should serve as a
warning to dealers seeking to fill the void.

"They can ask, 'Are we next? Or is it time to fill the void?' " Smith
said. The prosecutor urged them not to chose the latter.

"It would be fair to say that would be a mistake."