JURY CLEARS LAWYERS IN FEDERAL CASE

TAMPA - A federal jury acquitted two lawyers charged with conspiring
to get a drug dealer an illegal sentence reduction.

Five days of deliberations ended Monday with vindication for two
lawyers who said they were wrongly charged with conspiring to get a
drug dealer a sentence reduction he didn't deserve.

A federal jury acquitted Paul D. Lazarus of Miami and Howard Freidin
of Fort Myers after a three-week trial that pitted the attorneys
against a former client and his mother.

Lazarus and Freidin were charged with conspiracy and obstruction of
justice as a result of their work in the case of Daniel Hostetter, a
cocaine dealer who is serving a 16- year prison sentence. Hostetter,
32, was arrested in 1991 after he bought cocaine from an undercover
officer.

After Hostetter's conviction, the inmate and his mother, Beth Solberg,
began cooperating with law enforcement. Their motive was simple. In
the federal system, where there is no possibility of parole, an inmate
is required to serve nearly all of a sentence.

But there is one way out: Rule 35. If an inmate provides ``substantial
assistance,'' prosecutors can return to the judge and ask for a
sentence reduction.

During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Ruddy contended that
Freidin, Lazarus and two crooked DEA operatives planned to mislead
authorities by falsely saying Hostetter provided the information that
led to a heroin arrest. In exchange for the help, he said, Hostetter's
family was supposed to pay $40,000.

Two DEA operatives - Leonardo Velazquez, a dealer-turned-government
informant, and Michael Woods, a former Collier County deputy who had
been assigned to a DEA task force - previously pleaded guilty to the
charges against them. They are awaiting sentencing.

But Lazarus and Freidin denied wrongdoing. In closing arguments on
April 5, their attorneys attacked the government's case.

``I respectfully suggest there are more reasons to doubt in this case
than you can possibly imagine,'' said Lazarus' lawyer, Ed Shohat.

Shohat told jurors that agents investigating the allegations against
the lawyers came to incorrect conclusions based on their preconceived
notions.

``The natural instinct for them is to find snakes under rocks, to find
the bogyman,'' he said.

Shohat and Freidin's attorney, Jack Denaro, argued that their clients
didn't realize Hostetter had nothing to do with the arrest. Neither of
the attorneys received any portion of the $40,000 and both said they
merely responded to Solberg's persistent requests for help.

``Usually you find your criminals active, not passive,'' Denaro said.
``You find them evil, not compassionate. You find them motivated by
money ... but money had nothing to do with this.''

Neither the lawyers nor Ruddy could be reached for comment late
Monday, but a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said
prosecutors were ``very disappointed'' by the verdict.

``The fact that the jury deliberated for five days is an indication
that they struggled to reach a decision,'' Monte Richardson said.
``Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a high standard to meet,
particularly in a case of this nature.''