Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990 TAG: 9003082169
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: DOUGLAS L. PARDUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Mason, operator of a Roanoke television and appliance store, quietly remained in his seat after many of Lucion's other victims left cheering. He stayed silently seated as the attorneys packed their briefcases and left.
Norman Mason lost so many thousands to Lucion that he's embarrassed to admit how much. He knows he'll recover next to nothing, so he sat there savoring every moment of Lucion's imprisonment.
"That was the essence of justice," Mason said, and left the courtroom.
Mason and the other investors have been waiting three years to see Lucion put away.
Peggy Gibbs couldn't stop smiling. She lost $150,000, all that she and her husband had saved for retirement. "I'm just tickled to death," she said. "I've known I wouldn't get any money back. This is the best I could have hoped for."
Her comments were echoed by two dozen other victims of the fraud who crowded into the federal courtroom in Roanoke on Wednesday waiting for a jury to return with its verdict after a three-week trial. The jury took more than 12 hours over two days to find Lucion, 40, guilty of racketeering and three counts of mail fraud. He was found innocent on three other counts of mail fraud.
The deliberation lasted so long victims feared that the jurors were hung, necessitating a new trial, or worse: Lucion would be acquitted.
When the court clerk announced the guilty verdicts, smiles popped like flashbulbs across the victims' faces.
"It's been a long time coming," Marvin Foster said. Foster, who lost $125,000, was the one who discovered three years ago that he and the others had been cheated. He said he won't be satisfied until he sees Lucion and Elmer Craft, Lucion's partner in the fraud, sent away for long prison sentences.
Lucion faces a possible 35 years. Craft, 42, pleaded guilty to racketeering and testified against Lucion in a plea bargain with the government. He faces 20 years.
No date for sentencing has been set for either man.
Craft, a certified public accountant in Vinton, is free on bond. His wife said he would have no comment on Lucion's conviction.
Each had tried to put the blame on the other.
The two were convicted of running a fraud scheme between 1982 and 1988 in which they set up investment partnerships to buy six shopping centers in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
They cheated investors by arranging to buy each center at one price and then telling the partners the prices were actually much higher. The two then split the difference, getting about $1 million each.
Losses from the failed centers could end up costing the investors between $5 million and $12 million.
Lucion showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read. He had expected to be released on bond pending sentencing. However, U.S. District Judge James Turk ordered Lucion locked up immediately.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser, who headed the prosecution, said the government was afraid Lucion would flee the country.
"If Mr. Lucion walks out of this court, we'll never seen him again," Strasser said.
"That's a right-strong statement," Turk responded.
"It's a right-strong statement . . . and I firmly believe it," Strasser replied.
Strasser said Lucion moved from Roanoke to Miami when the fraud scheme began falling apart. He is a high risk to flee because he no longer has any reason to remain, Strasser said. "The ballgame is over."
All of Lucion's cash and property, including a condo overlooking Miami, are subject to seizure by the government to be returned to the victims as restitution, Strasser said. "He has zero."
Strasser also pointed out that when Lucion was ordered to turn in his passport several months ago, he reported that it was lost in the mail.
"His passport disappears into the air, and we're supposed to believe that?" Strasser asked. "We know this man lies."
Turk said he was reluctant to lock someone up until formal sentencing, and might consider releasing Lucion if Lucion could come up with enough friends to put up a $250,000 bond.
Joel Hirschhorn, Lucion's Miami attorney, told Turk the only person who might put up anything is Lucion's mother, who lives in Roanoke. But, he said, she doesn't have enough.
"As you can fairly well imagine, Mr. Lucion has precious few friends in this community," Hirschhorn said.
Lucion, who did not testify at his trial, took the stand and promised that he would not flee. He also said he has no money hidden in offshore banks.
Turk was not persuaded.
"As much as I hate to do it, I guess I'm going to have to direct the marshal to take custody of Mr. Lucion."
Hirschhorn, who made a national reputation by representing big-time drug dealers, was stunned by Turk's decision.
"I've represented members of the Medellin drug cartel and they got out on bond," he said.
Hirschhorn said he expects the verdict will be appealed. "I have great faith in the jury system, but I have greater faith in the court of appeals."
Lucion wouldn't comment after the verdict. But earlier during the trial, he said he would appeal if convicted. He maintained he did nothing illegal. The only reason the investors pressed for criminal charges, was because the investments went bad and they lost money, he said.
The investors might have been able to save the shopping centers if they had invested in the centers instead of lawyers to sue him and push for criminal charges, Lucion said.
Lucion alone has spent more than $400,000 on attorneys.
The key evidence against Lucion came from Craft, who hopes to avoid prison and be released on probation because of his cooperation.
Craft proved a less than forthright witness for the government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Barrett admitted that to the jury. "We're not denying that Mr. Craft is an absolute scoundrel," she said.
In his testimony, Craft said he and Lucion had illegally marked up the prices of the shopping centers. But he said he didn't know at the time that it was illegal and had trusted Lucion, an experienced real estate salesman.
Craft said he and Lucion set up their own company, C&L Investments, and funneled the illegal profits through it into their own pockets.
"They took a ride on our train . . . the C&L Express," Craft said of the 85 investors.
After Craft's testimony early in the trial, several of the investment victims began passing around little tickets they printed. The tickets read: "This is good for a one-way ride on The C&L Express." The only requirement for the ride, the tickets read, is "trust/faith."
Most of the investors say they got involved because Craft was either their friend or their personal accountant. And, they say, they also were impressed by Lucion's reputation as one of Roanoke's best real estate salesmen.
In closing arguments both Hirschhorn and Strasser tried to take advantage of Craft's reference to The C&L Express.
Hirschhorn described Craft as an "amoral" thief who willingly cheated his friends, fellow church members and even the godparents of one of his children. Now, he said, Craft is willing to say anything against Lucion "to save his own skin."
He described Lucion as a hard charging, aggressive real estate salesman who was used by Craft to find good shopping center investments.
Lucion was just the fireman on The C&L Express, Hirschhorn told the jury. "Don't let him get railroaded by Elmer Craft. Elmer Craft was the engineer . . . and conductor. . . . He sold the tickets to The C&L Express."
Strasser agreed with Hirschhorn that Craft is a crook. But, he said, Lucion was his willing partner.
"Steve Lucion and Elmer Craft found themselves some pigeons and they plucked them."
"The C&L Express is exactly what it was," Strasser told the jury, "a marriage of two larcenous souls."
Pointing a finger at Lucion, Strasser said. "Mr. Lucion, it's time for you to pay the price of your ticket."
by CNB