Dismissed Henley Juror Faces Judge : Courts: Michael D. Malachowski pleads not guilty to attempting to bribe a fellow juror.

A dismissed juror in the cocaine trafficking trial of former Ram cornerback Darryl Henley appeared in federal court here Monday on charges that he attempted to pay a $50,000 bribe to another juror to secure a not-guilty verdict in the case.

The dismissed juror, Michael D. Malachowski of San Bernardino, pleaded not guilty to two counts of jury tampering and obstruction of justice during a brief arraignment hearing before U. S. Magistrate Judge Elgin Edwards.

The charges against Malachowski diminish prospects for a new trial being sought by Henley and four other men convicted last March of running a cocaine trafficking ring that stretched from Orange County to Memphis and Atlanta.

Malachowski, who was a juror for three weeks before being dismissed from the case, was expected to be a key witness for defense lawyers asking U. S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor for the new trial.

In their bid for a new trial, the defense attorneys claim that another juror, Bryan Quihuis, told Malachowski that he would be willing to vote for the defendants’ acquittals in exchange for a $50,000 bribe.

The defense lawyers also claim that a third juror was guilty of misconduct, discussing the case frequently while car-pooling to court with Quihuis and Malachowski, and repeatedly referring to the defendants using a racial slur for African-Americans.

But in court papers, FBI Special Agent James Blanchard said Malachowski has admitted lying when he previously stated that Quihuis offered to “throw the case” if Henley and co-defendant Rex Henley, the football player’s uncle, paid him a $50,000 bribe.

Instead, Blanchard said, FBI officials discovered that Malachowski, “who has been unemployed for some time and experiencing money shortages,” deposited $3,500 cash in his bank account on June 30, 1995--about three months after the guilty verdicts in the case.

Blanchard said the FBI launched an investigation into allegations of jury tampering after Quihuis reported to Taylor that Malachowski had approached him on behalf of the football player. Malachowski asked if Quihuis would take $25,000 in exchange for a not-guilty verdict, but Quihuis refused, Blanchard said.

At another point, when Darryl Henley believed that Quihuis was trying to get off the jury, Malachowski said that Henley would double the bribe if Quihuis remained a juror and held out for a not-guilty verdict, according to Blanchard.

Henley and his lawyer have repeatedly denied the allegations.

But Blanchard said Malachowski admitted that he lied about Quihuis’ solicitation of bribes after FBI agents produced telephone records and other evidence disproving the dismissed juror’s account.

Assistant U. S. Attys. Deirdre Z. Eliot and John Rayburn told Edwards on Monday that the government takes the charges against Malachowski “very seriously.”

If convicted, Malachowski faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

His attorney, John W. Barton of Newport Beach, said he had not had an opportunity to discuss the case with his client, who was released on a $25,000 bond.

The motion for a new trial is scheduled to be heard by Taylor Oct. 27.