Pubdate: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/ Author: Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer S.F. LAWYER LOSES LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER CLIENT Drug Smuggler Hadn'T Acted From Ill Will, Jury Found San Francisco lawyer Patrick Hallinan suffered a personal defeat yesterday when a jury rejected his suit accusing a former client of falsely implicating him in an international drug smuggling ring. After a three-week trial in a San Francisco Superior Court, a jury found that convicted drug smuggler Ciro Mancuso did not act out of malice toward Hallinan when he provided information to federal agents that led to the lawyer's arrest in 1993. Hallinan was acquitted of all charges two years later. Hallinan charged that his ex-client, who is serving a nine-year sentence in a federal penitentiary, lied to the government about Hallinan's involvement in the drug operation as part of a plea bargain with prosecutors. Hallinan was seeking $900,000 in damages for the attorney fees he paid to defend himself as well as the money he lost during the two years he was forced to close his practice while the charges were pending against him. Mancuso was a Squaw Valley developer and mastermind of a $140 million marijuana-smuggling ring. He was arrested on drug charges in 1989. Facing a life term for drug smuggling, Mancuso struck a plea bargain in which he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and accused Hallinan of helping suppress evidence and launder money. In exchange, Mancuso, 51, received a reduced sentence and was allowed to keep $4 million in assets. Hallinan estimates that Mancuso has as much as $9.5 million in assets, due, in part, to the plea bargain he struck with prosecutors. Hallinan had to prove that Mancuso acted with ill will toward him when the drug dealer set him up for indictment by lying to federal agents. After yesterday's verdict was announced, jurors told the lawyers that they believed Mancuso had lied about Hallinan's involvement in the drug operation in an effort to save himself but was not out to get Hallinan. ``I`m disappointed,'' Hallinan said following the verdict. He said he was gratified that the jury had found that Mancuso had made a false statement to federal agents, lending credence to Hallinan's 1995 acquittal. ``They found that Mancuso lied, and I didn't,'' said Hallinan, the brother of San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan. He said the jurors told him that they ultimately ruled against him because they found that the government and not Mancuso made the decision to prosecute him. Hallinan said he blamed both Mancuso and federal agents, but was barred from suing the government because it is immune from lawsuits. The criminal defense lawyer said he is considering whether to appeal the verdict. (c)1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page A22 - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D