2 MIAMI JURORS ACCUSED OF TAKING BRIBES IN COCAINE-COWBOY CASE

Two jurors were charged Wednesday with selling their votes in a high-
profile federal drug trial in Miami -- bringing to three the number of
jurors accused of taking bribes for acquittals in an infamous 1996 trial.

It is the only case in U.S. legal history in which so many members of a
single jury have been prosecuted for corruption, federal authorities said.

The 1996 acquittals of Salvador "Sal" Magluta, 48, and Augusto "Willy"
Falcon, 47, were one of the U.S. Justice Department's biggest black eyes
and led to the resignation of the top federal prosecutor at the time. Soon
there were charges the jury foreman had been bribed, marking one of the
darkest chapters in Miami's legal history. Other jurors were suspected of
taking bribes, but until Wednesday, none had been charged.

The investigation involved exhaustive reviews of jurors' spending habits,
tax returns and bank records. Brian Wimpling, who heads the Internal
Revenue Service's Miami office, said the arrests send a clear message that
federal law enforcement officials consider the integrity of the criminal
justice system nothing short of sacred.

"Don't mess with it," he said. "If you do, there will be a price to pay and
you will pay it."

Jurors Gloria Alba, 31, and Maria Penalver, 30, surrendered and pleaded not
guilty during brief court appearances on Wednesday afternoon.

Alba's attorney, Ruben Oliva, said she and her husband, who is also charged
in the case, are cooperating with authorities and hope to negotiate a plea
deal.

In court, Alba turned and mouthed an apology to prosecutor Pat Sullivan.

"This is one for the record books," he said afterwards.

His boss, U.S. Attorney Marcos Daniel Jimenez, agreed. "In modern times,
there has never been a case where more than one juror was convicted" of
taking a bribe. "We couldn't find one and believe me, we looked."

Alba and her husband, Isael, 41, were charged with obstruction of justice.
They admit they accepted slightly less that $300,000 in bribe money,
including one delivery of moldy cash in a Bloomingdale's shopping bag,
Oliva said outside the courtroom. Oliva added that the Albas, who have
young children, hope to negotiate plea bargains for reduced sentences in
exchange for their cooperation. Under sentencing guidelines, they face 10
years in prison if convicted.

Penalver was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and faces five
years in prison if convicted. She was accused of accepting more than
$20,000 in bribe money from the jury foreman, Miguel Moya. Her lawyer
declined comment.

Moya, who made $35,000 a year when he was called to jury duty, already has
been convicted of taking $500,000 in bribes and is serving a 17- year
sentence for his role in corrupting the jury.

Two others charged in the scheme, Raul Sarraff, 48, and Gerald Rodriguez,
are expected to surrender later, authorities said. Rodriguez, Penalver's
former boyfriend, is accused of lying to federal agents to help her cover
up her crime and faces five years in prison if convicted. Sarraff, the
alleged go-between, is charged with obstruction of justice and faces 10
years in prison if convicted.

"What these people did was reprehensible," said Jimenez. "It strikes at the
very heart of our criminal justice system."

Hector Pesquera, who runs the FBI's Miami office, said the juror corruption
showed the power once wielded by the Magluta-Falcon organization, which
federal authorities began investigating in 1986.

"Here we are 17 years later. Their tentacles reached far and wide. Nothing
to them was sacred or off-limits, including our justice system," said Pesquera.

Besides tampering with jurors, the organization also gunned down,
intimidated and paid off witnesses.

Magluta is serving life in federal prison after being convicted last year
of tampering with witnesses and jurors in the 1996 drug trial. Falcon was
sentenced earlier this summer to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty
to laundering money used to corrupt his jury.

Moya's spending spree after the trial made his arrest easy. He bought a
house in the Florida Keys, expensive sports tickets, vacations, and a
sports car. Penalver testified in his case, and has long been under suspicion.

A criminal complaint filed in the case reveals how the Magluta-Falcon
organization was able to get to a juror.

Sarraff, a family friend of the Albas, shared a business with South Beach
real estate agent Jose Fernandez, a boyhood friend of Magluta and Falcon.
Fernandez was convicted in May of helping Magluta hide from authorities in
the 1980s and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

According to the complaint, Alba mentioned to Sarraff that she had been
summoned to serve on the drug trial jury. Sarraff told Fernandez, who had
obtained a private investigator's license to visit Magluta at Miami's
federal detention center as a member of his legal team. Magluta told
Fernandez to instruct Sarraff to offer the bribe to Alba.

She was to be paid $500,000 if she got on the jury and voted for acquittal
and another $500,000 if Magluta and Falcon actually were acquitted.

Alba was cooperating with investigators, but did not disclose that she also
had taken bribe money until confronted by an FBI agent. She promptly
confessed, Oliva said outside the courtroom.Her lawyer said it was because
she feared for her life. But Jimenez said, "I'm not aware of anybody being
scared into taking money."