MALIBU : Reputed Mob Figure’s Drug Case Goes to Jury
The federal drug conspiracy case against reputed mob figure Ronald A. Lorenzo went to the jury Friday after he admitted assisting in the sale of one kilogram of cocaine but insisted he was entrapped by an FBI informant.
“He was always bringing up drugs with me,” Lorenzo, 46, testified in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, referring to informant Robert Franchi, who secretly recorded numerous meetings with alleged Mafia contacts. Lorenzo said he was suffering financial hardships at Splash, the restaurant he owned in Malibu, and that “the pressure got more and more” to help Franchi buy cocaine from another restaurateur in 1989.
But Assistant U.S. Atty. Brad K. Sonnenberg argued to the jury that taped conversations show “Lorenzo was an enthusiastic participant” in the scheme.
The jury will begin formal deliberations Tuesday.
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