PHOTO: ACQUITTED: Michael Abbell, with his wife, Joyce, leaves federal court
in Miami on Monday after being acquitted of racketeering charges GREGORY
SMITH Associated Press

COURTS: The U.S. attorneys said they were doing legitimate legal work for
the drug runners.

MIAMI Two former lawyers for Colombia's Cali cocaine cartel were acquitted
Monday of racketeering charges accusing them of crossing the line and taking
part in the drug trade.

Jurors deadlocked on four other drugrelated charges, and the defendants
could be retried on those.

The case was closely watched in legal circles because of the government's
bold strategy of charging lawyers with the same crimes as their clients.

Michael Abbell, a former Justice Department extradition expert who lives in
Bethesda, Md., and William Moran of Miami had been charged with funneling
hush money to defendants, relaying threats from the cartel chiefs and
preparing false affidavits to exonerate the Colombian bosses of the cartel.

Jurors heard five months of testimony. Their verdict came after 10 days of
deliberations over three weeks. The charges carried sentences of 10 years to
life.

Prosecutors charged that Abbell's expertise was crucial in influencing
Colombian lawmakers to shield druglords from extradition. His lawyers tried
to show that he was doing legitimate legal work.

Moran testified he never conspired to smuggle drugs.

Bill Genego, a former law professor from Santa Monica who is an official
with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the verdict
shows the government's strategy may have been too ambitious.

"I think it was a case of overcharging by the government and they may have
paid the consequences," he said.

Jurors were to return Wednesday for "unfinished business," likely related to
the conviction of two nonlawyer defendants. Two other nonlawyer defendants
were acquitted.