Juror Suspected of Taking Bribe in Case

Federal prosecutors believe a juror who served in the 1996 trial of two reputed cocaine kingpins received $500,000 to secure at least a hung jury. A man who bought a Cadillac and a Rolex watch after serving on the jury in the trial of Salvador “Sal” Magluta and Augusto “Willie” Falcon is accused of accepting a bribe to cast not-guilty votes, the Miami Herald reported, citing law enforcement sources. Magluta and Falcon were acquitted of 17 counts of drug smuggling in 1996. It was a stunning defeat for the government in the face of what prosecutors and agents considered overwhelming evidence.