Lawyers for Cali Cartel Are Acquitted

In a major defeat for prosecutors, a jury Monday failed to convict two lawyers for Colombia’s Cali cocaine cartel on charges they crossed the line and actually took part in the drug trade.

Jurors acquitted the two lawyers on the most serious charge of racketeering and deadlocked on all four other drug-related charges.

Michael Abbell, a former Justice Department extradition expert who lives in Bethesda, Md., and William Moran of Miami had been charged with funneling hush money to defendants, relaying threats from the cartel chiefs and preparing false affidavits to exonerate the cartel bosses.

The case was closely watched in legal circles because of the government’s bold strategy of charging lawyers with the same crimes as their clients.