PATRICK HALLINAN SUES EX-CLIENT FOR FALSE ARREST

D.A.'s Brother Was Acquitted In 1995 Case

San Francisco lawyer Patrick Hallinan has made a name for himself by
representing scores of criminal defendants. But this week, he is in court
on a personal quest for justice.

The lawyer has sued a former client who, he said, falsely implicated him in
an international drug-smuggling operation that led to Hallinan's arrest.
Hallinan was tried and acquitted of all charges in 1995.

Hallinan said he is not looking for revenge against his former client, who
is serving a nine-year sentence in a federal penitentiary. He said he is
suing him to send a message to informants and the government that if they
make shady deals, they should be held accountable.

"(Informants) are going to be held civilly responsible for trying to buy
their way out of hell with someone else's soul," Hallinan said. The veteran
lawyer, the brother of San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan,
said he does not know of a similar case that has gone to trial.

Hallinan has sued former client Ciro Mancuso, a Squaw Valley developer and
mastermind of a $140 million marijuana-smuggling ring, for false arrest and
malicious prosecution. Hallinan said the government also should shoulder
some of the blame, although he noted that it is immune from being sued.

The case is being tried in San Francisco Superior Court before a jury of
six men and six women. Last week, the jury heard Hallinan, 64, testify in
detail about his relationship with Mancuso.

In 1989, Mancuso was arrested on drug charges. As part of a plea bargain,
he agreed to cooperate with federal officials and accused Hallinan of
helping suppress evidence and launder money.

In exchange, Mancuso, 51, received a reduced sentence and was allowed to
keep $4 million in assets. Hallinan estimates that Mancuso has as much as
$9.5 million in assets.

In 1993, Hallinan was indicted by a federal grand jury in Reno, Nev., on
drug-conspiracy charges and obstruction of justice. After an intense
six-week trial, he was acquitted of all charges in March 1995.

After his acquittal, Hallinan accused federal prosecutors of abusing their
power in the war against drugs. He said the prosecutors were using him as
an example to warn other lawyers who vigorously defend their clients.

Robert Moore, Mancuso's lawyer, denied that his client was instrumental in
Hallinan's arrest, noting that 34 people testified against Hallinan at his
1995 trial. ``But if it comes down to that, we'll retry Pat Hallinan,"
Moore said, adding that it will be up to Hallinan to prove that Mancuso was
lying.

"Not only did Hallinan know, but he helped plan the money laundering part
of it," Moore said. He also said federal drug agents set their sights on
Hallinan long before they talked to Mancuso. "The decision to prosecute was
the U.S. attorney's," Moore said.

He said Mancuso paid Hallinan $1.2 million for services he provided from
1974 to 1990, which included helping launder $180,000 in drug proceeds
through a bogus land sale in Mexico.

Moore said he will call to the stand many of those who testified at
Hallinan's 1995 trial, including Mancuso, who is at a federal detention
center in Yankton, S.D.

In his suit, Hallinan said Mancuso had assured him in 1977 that he was no
longer involved in any drug smuggling. In ensuing years, Hallinan handled
some tax and real estate matters for Mancuso. He was surprised and dismayed
when Mancuso was arrested in 1989 for running an international
marijuana-smuggling operation.

He negotiated a plea bargain for his client, but then, he said, Mancuso
turned on him. The developer, who was facing a life term for drug
smuggling, agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors and implicated
dozens of people, including Hallinan.

As a result, 20 federal agents arrested Hallinan at his Marin County home
on a Friday night, seized his property and threw him in jail.

After his release, Hallinan said in his suit, he went through "a two-year
period of virtual hell" during which he was unable to practice law. The
nightmare ended with his acquittal.

Hallinan is asking for $900,000 in compensatory damages, including the
$400,000 in legal fees he spent defending himself, as well as an
unspecified amount in punitive and emotional distress damages.

Terence Hallinan dropped by the courtroom last Monday to lend some moral
support.

"Hang in there, Patrick," he said to his brother as he walked into the
courtroom after a recess. "I think what he is doing is the right thing,"
said San Francisco's top prosecutor.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.