Douglas Jemal, the flamboyant developer accused of bribing a D.C. government official, was found guilty of one count of wire fraud Thursday .
The U.S. District Court jury dismissed the main thrust of the government’s case of conspiracy and bribery.
Jemal, 63, his son Norman, 37, and his right-hand man, Blake Esherick, 42, were charged with conspiring to bribe former D.C. government official Michael Lorusso with lavish meals, expensive clothing and fancy vacations in exchange for sweetheart real estate deals with the city.
But the jury rejected Lorusso’s testimony and instead focused on the lesser charge of wire fraud, which authorities said rested on an invoice from a phony company in order to obtain a $400,000 loan from Morgan Stanley.
Esherick was found guilty of wire fraud and two counts of tax evasion. Norman Jemal was acquitted on all charges. Douglas Jemal and Esherick will be sentenced separately next spring. Jemal could face up to 20 years on the felony charge.
The trial lasted 33 days, saw 51 witnesses take the stand and included mounds of documents.
Prosecutors portrayed Jemal as a common thief whose business was floundering. Jemal’s high-powered defense team tried to show that the businessman was simply giving gifts to a friend and trying to help District leaders out of their own political and financial problems.
During three days of testimony, Lorusso described how Jemal showered him with trips to Las Vegas, meals at D.C.’s finest restaurants, use of a limousine, a pair of cowboy boots and a Rolex watch. One gift included a $10,000 in cash delivered in an envelope, he said.
In return, Lorusso testified, he finagled sweetheart contracts for Jemal and falsified invoices so that his company, Douglas Development Corp., received nearly $1 million for work it never performed. He also guided contracts worth millions of dollars to Jemal and tried to get the city to pay $13 million for an impound lot that Jemal had paid $1.5 million for three years earlier.
