An unusual federal trial spotlighting a global prescription pill enterprise and a mysterious international crime boss took a surprise turn Monday when a judge in St. Paul abruptly acquitted two of the four defendants, saying prosecutors had produced "simply a dearth of evidence."
Defense attorneys in the case were prepared to call Paul Le Roux, a shadowy figure who once coolly admitted having a role in more than a half-dozen murders around the globe. They expected Le Roux to testify as part of "duress" defenses, arguing that their clients worked for his RX Limited online pill business because they feared for their lives.
But after 18 days of trial in St. Paul, defense lawyers concluded that the prosecution — led by attorneys from the Justice Department's consumer protection division in Washington, D.C. — hadn't built a strong enough case to proceed.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson agreed, acquitting defendants Moran Oz and Lachlan McConnell and concluding that even the most persuasive testimony elicited by prosecutors didn't "clear the hurdle of reasonable doubt."
The decision means that Le Roux, who was flown from New York to be held in Minnesota's Oak Park Heights prison during the trial, is not likely to testify. Le Roux has been in federal custody since being arrested in Liberia in 2012 and striking a plea agreement with the government.
Attorneys for Oz, a 33-year-old Israeli national, planned to ask Le Roux about an incident in which his associates allegedly threw Oz from a boat into open water and shot at him. McConnell, a Canadian citizen who worked security for Le Roux's businesses, said it was made clear to him that he could be killed if he wasn't considered useful to his boss.
"We had a compelling story to tell," said Robert Richman, one of Oz's two attorneys, who moved for acquittal after prosecutors completed their case Friday. "At the same time we felt there was tremendous strength in telling the jury there's not one thing the government said that we felt the need to rebut."
Justice Department officials on Monday declined to comment.