MANHATTAN BEACH : Man Convicted in Bombing Death Won’t Get 4th Trial

A federal judge refused Monday to grant a fourth trial for an former Hawthorne real estate agent convicted in March of ordering a 1980 mail bombing that killed a secretary at a Manhattan Beach computer firm.

U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian ruled without comment after nearly an hour of arguments.

Defense lawyer Michael Abzug contended that a prosecutor made improper statements during cross-examination and closing arguments at William Ross’ third trial to make the 58-year-old defendant appear guilty.

He said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia Donahue questioned Ross about why he failed to inform investigators t(at he suspected his brother and now-deceased son were responsible for the July 17, 1980, attack.

The questioning covered the time between Ross’ first trial in 1988 and when he took the stand to testify at his second trial last summer. Juries in both cases deadlocked.

Abzug insisted that the prosecutor should have been barred from asking Ross about his failure to speak up, because he had invoked his Miranda right to remain silent from his arrest prior to the first trial in 1988 until his second arrest in the fall of 1993.

Donahue disagreed, saying Ross’ Miranda rights expired following the 6-6 hung jury after the first trial. The jury in the second trial deadlocked, 10-2, in favor of acquittal.