MIAMI -- A federal court jury convicted former Miami Beach Mayor Alex Daoud of one count of bribery Friday but found him innocent of racketeering and failed to reach verdicts on 24 other counts.
The jury on Wednesday had found Daoud innocent on nine other counts but said at the time it could not agree on the other 26 counts.
Judge Peter Fay ordered them to continue deliberating.
Daoud could face up to 10 years in prison on the conviction for taking a $10,000 bribe. Fay dismissed the jury after announcement of Friday's verdict.
Daoud, 47, was charged with 35 counts of racketeering, extortion, corruption and money laundering. He was accused of using City Hall as a criminal enterprise to extort money and favors from those seeking contracts and zoning approval.
The jury of seven men and five women began deliberating the case Sept. 17, and was sequestered starting Monday to keep jurors from reading or hearing news reports about the case.
The trial began June 17 and was suspended for two weeks because of Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the south Dade County area where many of the jurors live.
During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Sherman urged the jury to ignore Daoud's charitable and political achievements as mayor.
'We're here because Alex Daoud used his office for his own benefit,' Sherman said.
But defense attorney Roy Black argued that Daoud could not have sold his office to anyone because the part-time mayor, he did not have absolute control over any of the key zoning and contractual issues central to the case.
Daoud was mayor of Miami Beach for six years. He was indicted in October 1991, three weeks before his third term expired, and did not seek re-election.
