Trial of 2 Bankers Ends in Hung Jury

MIAMI — The trial of two executives charged with using profits from illegal drugs to purchase a bank ended in a mistrial Monday after a federal jury that had deliberated five days said it could not reach a verdict.

However, the jury found two other defendants guilty and returned an innocent verdict for another man.

Jurors reported they were deadlocked in the case of Ray Corona, 37, chairman of the board and former president of Sunshine State Bank in South Miami, and his father, Rafael Corona, 64, managing director and former chairman of the institution.

U.S. District Judge James W. Kehoe declared a mistrial in the cases of the Coronas, who had been charged with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutors said they had no immediate decision on whether to seek a new trial.

The jury acquitted William Vaughn, 64, secretary-treasurer of Cumberland Management Corp., of racketeering conspiracy. During the trial, the government charged that Cumberland Management was a front for illegal activities by the defendants.

Gerardo Jorge Guevara, 42, was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to import marijuana, importation of the substance, various counts of wire fraud and travel in furtherance of the scheme.

Also found guilty was Miami lawyer Manuel Lopez Castro, 33, who the government said invested the illicit profits in foreign corporations solely to conceal the identity of the defendants.

The judge set sentencing for Dec. 16.

The verdict came after nine weeks of trial in which the government’s chief witness was Jose Antonio Fernandez, a brother-in-law of Guevara. Fernandez had earlier pleaded guilty to all 17 counts against him and has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison.

During the trial, prosecutors introduced hundreds of documents and testimony by witnesses in seeking to prove that the Coronas had used drug money to buy the bank.

In closing arguments two weeks ago, the government said the evidence showed the Coronas received the money to purchase the bank from Fernandez.