U.S. Department of Justice Marcos Daniel Jiménez United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
	99 N.E. 4th Street Miami, FL 33132 (305) 961-9001

TWO JURORS FROM 1995-1996 MAGLUTA-FALCON COCAINE TRIAL
AND TWO OTHERS SENTENCED

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael S. Clemens, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; Thomas W. Raffanello, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Office; and Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced today that on January 14, 2004, Gloria Alba and Maria Penalver, both of whom were jurors in the 1995-1996 cocaine trial of Salvador Magluta and Augusto Guillermo “Willy” Falcon, as well as Raul Sarraff, Isael Alba, who is the husband of Gloria Alba, and Gerald Rodriguez, were sentenced by United States District Judge Paul C. Huck.

Raul Sarraff, who had pled guilty to obstruction of justice through offering cash bribes to Gloria and Isael Alba in return for Gloria Alba’s agreement to acquit Magluta and Falcon, was sentenced to a 60-month term of imprisonment. Gloria Alba and Isael Alba, both of whom had pled guilty to obstruction of justice through accepting the bribes offered by Sarraff, were sentenced to 60-month and 57-month terms of imprisonment, respectively. Maria Penalver, who had pled guilty to conspiracy to obstruct the due administration of justice through accepting cash bribes to acquit Magluta and Falcon, was sentenced to a 60-month term of imprisonment. Gerald Rodriguez, who had pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI in which he denied knowing that Penalver had received cash bribes to acquit Magluta and Falcon, was sentenced to a 6-month term of imprisonment.

In October 1991, Magluta and Falcon were arrested on a sweeping indictment that charged them with various cocaine trafficking and importation offenses, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. Trial against the pair commenced in four years later, in October 1995. On February 16, 1996, the jury acquitted Magluta and Falcon on all charges.

Prior to trial, the Court sent letters to the prospective jurors, informing them that they were being summoned for jury selection. Gloria Alba received a letter and notified Sarraff, who was a partner in a real estate business with Magluta-Falcon associate Jose Fernandez. Sarraff and Fernandez discussed a plan to bribe her. Fernandez, who by virtue of having a private investigator’s license, was able to visit Magluta in jail, then discussed the plan with Magluta, who approved it. Sarraff subsequently met with Gloria and Isael Alba. The Albas agreed that Gloria Alba, if selected as a juror on the case, would vote to acquit Magluta and Falcon, in return for $500,000, with an additional $500,000 if the case were to result in an acquittal. Gloria Alba voted to acquit Magluta and Falcon, even though she believed that the pair were guilty based upon the evidence offered against them at trial.

From October 1995 through mid-1998, Sarraff periodically would meet with the Albas and deliver cash payments in return for their agreement to the bribery scheme. By mid-1998, Sarraff had delivered $300,000 to the Albas. In February 2003, Sarraff agreed to cooperate with law enforcement. Acting under the direction of investigating agents, Sarraff met with the Albas in undercover taped meetings in which he elicit from them statements that both confirmed their receipt of the earlier bribe payments and requested additional payments. The undercover meetings resulted in the arrests and confessions of the Albas on March 27, 2003.

Penalver also was selected as a juror on the Magluta-Falcon trial. In January 1996 juror Miguel Moya, who later was selected by his fellow jurors to serve as foreperson, offered Penalver cash bribes in return for her agreement to vote to acquit Magluta and Falcon. Penalver accepted the offer and voted to acquit Magluta and Falcon, even though she, like Gloria Alba, believed that they were guilty based upon the evidence offered at trial. Following the verdict Penalver received from Moya cash payments totaling approximately $20,000. Penalver deposited some of the funds into bank accounts in her name and Rodriguez’s name. Penalver and Rodriguez had dated during the Magluta-Falcon trial and until sometime in 1999.

Between June 1998 and early 2001, agents had questioned Penalver on three separate occasions about her involvement in the juror bribery scheme, but each time she denied involvement. On June 27, 2003, agents approached her again and asked her to accompany them to the FBI Miami Field Office for questioning. Penalver agreed, and in response to questioning confessed.

In early 2001, while they were investigating evidence of Penalver’s involvement in the juror bribery scheme, FBI agents questioned Rodriguez as to his knowledge whether Penalver had received any money from anyone in relation to her jury service in the Magluta-Falcon case. Rodriguez falsely denied any such knowledge, even though he knew that Penalver had received cash bribes from Moya. On June 27, 2003, agents and detectives approached Rodriguez and asked him to accompany them to the Miami-Dade Police Department for questioning. Rodriguez agreed, and, like Penalver, confessed in response to questioning.

Yesterday’s sentencings arise out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s series of investigations and prosecutions following the corruption of the Magluta-Falcon cocaine trial. In July 1999, Moya was convicted by a jury of charges arising out of his acceptance of hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash bribes to vote for an acquittal in the case and was subsequently sentenced to a 210-month term of imprisonment. In August 2002, Magluta was convicted of obstruction of justice and money laundering charges that included a charge of obstruction of justice through juror bribery in his cocaine trafficking trial. In January 2003, Magluta was sentenced to a 205-year term of imprisonment. In December 2002, Fernandez was convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice, conspiring to launder drug proceeds, and perjury in a trial in which the government offered evidence of his role in the tampering with the jury in the Magluta-Falcon cocaine trafficking trial. In May 2003, Fernandez was sentenced to a 151-month term of imprisonment. In June 2003, Falcon pled guilty to conspiring to launder drug proceeds. As part of his guilty plea, Falcon admitted to knowing that members of the Magluta-Falcon organization had bribed Moya. In July 2003, Falcon was sentenced to a 20-year term of imprisonment. Since the corruption of the Magluta-Falcon trial, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office have obtained convictions of 47 individuals for obstruction of justice, money laundering, and drug trafficking offenses arising from the criminal activities of the Magluta-Falcon organization. Forty-one of the convicted defendants have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Miami-Dade Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Michael P. Sullivan and Assistant United States Attorney Michael Davis.

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