Big U.S. drug trial ends in near stalemate

MIAMI (Reuters) One of the biggest U.S. prosecutions against Colombia's
Cali drug cartel ended in a near stalemate Monday as jurors failed to reach
verdicts on most of the charges against the two lead defendants.

After a fouryear investigation and a fivemonth trial, the federal jury
returned a not guilty verdict on one racketeering charge against two former
U.S. prosecutors who became lawyers for the cartel, but failed to reach
verdicts on drug trafficking and other charges against the two lawyers.

The jury deliberated for more than 11 days before delivering the partial
verdict.

``We have spent a lot of time on this, but we are hung,'' the panel said
in a note sent to presiding U.S. District Judge C. Clyde Atkins.

The best known defendants in the case were Michael Abbell, a former top
official in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration, and
William Moran, also a former prosecutor.

The government charged that the two men crossed a line from giving legal
representation to the notorious drug gang to participating in its cocaine
trafficking enterprise.

The 12member jury failed to reach verdicts against Moran and Abbell on
charges including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine,
conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute and money
laundering.

In addition to Abbell and Moran, four other defendants faced charges in
the trial for allegedly helping to store and ship drugs. The jury found
Luis Alfredo Grajales and Eddie Martinez guilty on drugrelated charges,
and acquitted Ramon Martinez and Jose Luis PereiraSalas.

Atkins ordered the attorneys involved in the case not to discuss it with
anyone. He told the jury to return to the courthouse Wednesday morning.

A court official said the jury had been called back to discuss a legal
issue. She did not elaborate, but said there would be no further
deliberations.

The complex trial resulted from a investigation known as Operation
Cornerstone, which federal officials said uncovered shipments of hundreds
of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States hidden in everything
from fence posts to coffee and frozen broccoli.

Abbell's Washington law firm specialized in criminal defense of foreign
clients, including cartel chieftains Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela and his
brother Gilberto. He was chief of the Justice Department's Office of
International Affairs during the Reagan administration.

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