Pubdate: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2006 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Tammy Fonce-Olivas, El Paso Times FORMER FBI CHIEF OF EP FOUND GUILTY ON TWO CHARGES Hardrick Crawford, the former special agent in charge of the FBI office in El Paso, was convicted on Wednesday by a jury in U.S. District Court in El Paso on two of five charges stemming from his friendship with a JuA!rez racetrack owner suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering. "We are very disappointed. ... It's hard to accept anything but a complete victory. Our defense was that he is a good man and he knew the rules and he followed the rules," said Mary Stillinger, Crawford's lawyer. Jurors deliberated for six hours before announcing to U.S. District Judge Philip Martinez that they had a verdict. Jurors found Crawford guilty of concealing material facts from the FBI on June 6, 2003, regarding his association with the track owner, Jose Maria Guardia, and making false statements in an Office of Government Ethics Public Financial Disclosure Report submitted to the FBI for calendar year 2002 regarding gifts he received. Crawford was acquitted on three counts alleging that he made a false statement on June 6, 2003, in an FBI electronic communication regarding his association with Guardia; that he made a false statement on Nov. 5, 2003, to the Office of the Inspector General during an agency investigation; and that he made a false statement in an Office of Government Ethics Public Financial Disclosure Report submitted to the FBI for calendar year 2003 regarding gifts allegedly received. In a written statement released after Wednesday's court proceedings, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, whose office prosecuted Crawford, said Crawford was held accountable for his actions. "FBI special agents carry the tradition of one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the world," Sutton wrote. "When a special agent betrays those he is entrusted to protect, he will be held accountable." Crawford didn't show much emotion when the verdict was read, but his wife cried for several minutes. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 9 by Martinez. Each count is punishable by probation or up to five years in prison. He may also be fined $250,000 for each count. In court Wednesday, Martinez told Crawford he would "hopefully assess a sentence that is reasonable and fair." not jailed after Wednesday's court proceedings. He will remain free on a signature bond until his next hearing. His lawyer said he could be sentenced to probation in November. The verdict makes Crawford the first special agent in charge of the FBI office in El Paso to be indicted and convicted of a crime, FBI spokeswoman Andrea Simmons said. Crawford was the special agent in charge of the El Paso FBI office from July 2001 through November 2003. During his trial, he testified that he was introduced to Guardia in February 2002 by Special Agent Art Werge. At the time, Guardia was an FBI informant. They eventually became good friends. "I called him brother," Crawford told jurors. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Blankinship tried to show jurors through evidence and testimony that Crawford continued his relationship with Guardia even after FBI agents told him about Guardia's alleged involvement with drug trafficking and money laundering. In the indictment, Crawford was accused of socializing with and inappropriately accepting gifts from Guardia -- including a job for Crawford's wife, a membership at the Coronado Country Club and three family trips to Las Vegas. Stillinger, Crawford's lawyer, maintains that nothing was improper about Linda Crawford's employment by Guardia or about the former FBI official's relationship with Guardia. In his testimony, Crawford told jurors that he paid Guardia back for his portion of the trips and that the membership in the country club was a benefit his wife received for working for Guardia. In December 2003, a month after Crawford retired, the Mexican federal attorney general's office announced it had no evidence supporting criminal allegations against Guardia. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath