3 CHARGED IN ALLEGED JURY-TAMPERING PLOT

FT. LAUDERDALE -- Tiny cameras hidden in fake briefcases and document boxes
captured the signal that the fix was in.

First, at the defense table, the defendant took a sip of water and put his
empty glass on the table upside-down. Then, Juror No. 11 took off her green
jacket and folded it neatly over her chair.

That was the signal, federal agents said, that the juror had agreed to take
a bribe to fix the case.

Juror Angela Chiles, 27, and two men face 30 years in prison and $1 million
fines for allegedly seeking a $175,000 bribe in exchange for a hung jury.

Thomas Schwab, 43, who was on trial for allegedly laundering $770,000 in
drug profits through his demolition business, was approached Aug. 21 by Ray
Hernandez and Ricardo Canword during a break in the trial, investigators said.

Hernandez told Schwab he had a cousin on the jury, someone who could
deadlock the jury and deliver a mistrial, investigators said.

Schwab notified his lawyer, who alerted the court and prosecutors. Schwab
then agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation.

"I've never seen anything like this in 27 years on the bench," U.S.
District Judge Norman Roettger said. "What you have here is a man who by
day is defending himself against these very serious charges at trial and by
night he's wearing a wire and working with his prosecutors."

In a meeting Sunday with Hernandez and Canword, Schwab agreed to pay the
men $175,000, but he first wanted proof the men could deliver.

They allegedly agreed that Chiles, a bartender-waitress, would wear a green
jacket to court Monday and remove it when Schwab signaled her with the
glass of water.

When Chiles did her part, cameras hidden in files on the prosecution and
defense tables and in fake briefcases caught her on videotape,
investigators said.

Schwab paid Hernandez and Canword $5,000 Monday night and $20,000 the next
day during meetings at a restaurant, investigators said. After the second
payment, agents arrested the two men.

Chiles was arrested Wednesday on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of
justice and bribery. Canword and Hernandez, both 24, face identical
charges. All were in custody pending a hearing Monday.

The judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in Schwab's money-laundering trial.
He faces a retrial on the charges.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan