A jury Monday acquitted former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos and Saudi Arabian businessman Adnan Khashoggi on all counts in their racketeering and fraud trial.
As the jury forewoman gave the verdict, the courtroom erupted into cheers, with Marcos supporters dancing for joy and hugging each other.Marcos, on her 61st birthday, stood before the judge appearing stunned, with tears streaming from her eyes. She smiled and hugged her lawyers. Others in the courtroom were hugging and crying.
The prosecutors sat facing the judge, eyes downcast.
The verdict came after two long weekend deliberating sessions during which the jury repeatedly asked for rereading of testimony, and U.S. District Judge John Keenan urged them to exercise their memories more.
It was a tremendous 61st birthday present for Marcos, who had been smiling and vivacious Sunday night as she greeted hundreds of fans and followers at a huge birthday party at a Philippine restaurant. Khashoggi was one of the guests and gave her a hearty kiss.
Marcos had faced up to 50 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Khashoggi faced up to 20 years.
The jury cleared Marcos of racketeering, conspiring to racketeer, fraud and obstruction of justice by plotting with her late husband, ousted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, to divert more than $200 million stolen from their homeland's treasury into real estate and art investments in New York.
Khashoggi, 53, a former arms merchant once considered the world's richest man, had been charged with obstruction of justice and fraud by helping the Marcoses conceal the purchase of four Manhattan skyscrapers.
The judge had called the trial in Manhattan's federal court "an unprecedented prosecution" because it involved world figures, including a former head of state who was a major U.S. ally.
Ferdinand Marcos also was indicted in October 1988 but died in Hawaii last September.
Marcos' flashy attorney, Gerry Spence, of Jackson, Wyo., conceded she was a "world class shopper" but said she did not know the source of her husband's wealth. In his closing argument, Spence said she was guilty only of loving and supporting her husband.
The government's claim was to the contrary, saying not only did Marcos know about her husband's dealings, she was "the driving force" in the scheme to skim the millions of dollars from the Philippine treasure.
Khashoggi's defense was that he didn't do it.
The testimony was highlighted by witnesses' accounts of Marcos' shopping habits, including spending sprees at Bloomingdale's and numerous New York jewelry stores. Witnesses also said she used close friends and a secretary to handle purchases and deliveries of large amounts of cash for her expenses.
The New York branch of the Philippine National bank was described as her "personal piggy bank," and its manager called himself the "satchel man" who carried a valise containing $100,000 when he accompanied Marcos' entourage to a state funeral in South Korea.
Witnesses testified that the money was funneled to the United States through numbered bank accounts in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Manila and Los Angeles and was used to secretly buy the buildings for the Marcoses through nominees and offshore corporations.
The alleged offenses took place in the latter part of Marcos' two decades as president of the Asian nation. Marcos was deposed in February 1986 by a "people's revolution" led by Corazon Aquino, widow of a murdered Marcos opponent.
Khashoggi, a financier and arms dealer who divides his time between homes in New York, France, Saudi Arabia and other locales. He played a middleman role in the Iran-Contra affair, in which U.S. arms were secretly sold to Iran by officials of the Reagan administration and the profits diverted to the U.S.-backed Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
The trial, which began in late March, involved 95 witnesses, all called by the government.
It filled 5,900 pages of transcript and included bank records, receipts, letters, diaries and phone logs as evidence. Some of the key documents were recovered at Manila's Malacanang Palace after the Marcoses fled.
The trial was clearly an ordeal for Marcos, who wore black dresses to court every day, in observance of mourning for her husband.
The trial was interrupted three times because she fell ill with stress-related ailments. She was hospitalized for four days after collapsing in the courtroom with a stomach problem and was treated for high blood pressure.
In Manila Monday, Aquino said she would not allow Marcos to return to the Philippines even if the former first lady is acquitted of racketeering charges in New York.