Man Convicted in Jewelry District Drug Money Case
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An Argentine man was convicted Monday of conspiracy to launder $350 million in drug profits through downtown Los Angeles jewelry firms.
In its second day of deliberations, a federal jury convicted Raul Vivas, 39, on the single conspiracy count before returning to deliberate on numerous other charges against him and eight other defendants.
It was the first verdict returned following a lengthy trial in which prosecutors alleged that Vivas spearheaded the money-laundering organization through a currency exchange in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The money exchange, Cambio Italia, was a front for moving profits to South American drug lords under the guise that the money was from sales of gold and other precious metals, prosecutors said.
The charge on which Vivas was convicted carries a five-year prison term. If convicted on the other counts, he faces a life term.
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