U.S. drops charges against Fla. lawyer in drug case
MIAMI (AP) – The Justice Department dropped all charges Wednesday against a prominent attorney whose indictment for dealings in a Colombian drug kingpin case was viewed nationally as a crucial test of an accused person’s constitutional right to a lawyer.
Prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss money laundering and other charges against Ben Kuehne, 54, who represented Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 Florida vote recount and was a member of the Florida Bar board of governors.
The filing came after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in October that Kuehne could not be criminally prosecuted under money laundering conspiracy law because of an exemption for defense attorneys. Kuehne was accused of falsely verifying that drug baron Fabio Ochoa had enough money untainted by cocaine profits to pay bills for his legal defense.
Although the appeals court dismissed the conspiracy count, Kuehne had still faced obstruction of justice and wire fraud charges. Now those are gone as well.
In a statement, Kuehne said he was “gratified” by the Justice Department’s decision and said it set an important precedent for the Sixth Amendment right to legal representation.
“This ruling deals with an area of law that is close to my heart. It is to the right of counsel in criminal cases that I have dedicated much of my career,” Kuehne said.
Prosecutors said in court papers the dismissal “is in the interests of justice.” They declined further comment.
The case revolved around $5.2 million in fees Ochoa paid to defense attorney Roy Black. Kuehne was hired to vet the fees for Black and wrote letters in 2002 and 2003 verifying that the money was clean. Kuehne was paid $200,000 for his work. Ochoa, a former leader of the Medellin cartel, was convicted and is serving a 30-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors charged that Kuehne knew that Ochoa’s money stemmed from drug profits and that he and others prepared false documents to make it look otherwise. Kuehne’s attorneys argued that even if true, the most that could happen is that a defense attorney could be forced to forfeit the tainted fees – not face criminal indictment.
“This case should never have been brought. Justice has been done,” said David O. Markus, who represented the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in the case.