Respected Miami Lawyer Indicted for Opinions on Money Laundering
A prominent Miami lawyer has been charged in a money-laundering conspiracy for vouching that a Colombian drug kingpin’s payments to his defense lawyer were not from the proceeds of drug sales.
Ben Kuehne, who once represented former Vice President Al Gore in the presidential election dispute, surrendered yesterday to authorities, the Miami Herald reports. Kuehne had written six legal opinion letters for defense lawyer Roy Black saying he could legally accept $3.7 million in fees and $1.3 million in expenses from defendant Fabio Ochoa Vasquez, sources told the newspaper.
Kuehne earned $197,300 for the work, the Daily Business Review reports.
Kuehne said he was “completely innocent” in a court appearance. Bond was set at $250,000.
Prosecutors will have to show Kuehne knew or was deliberately ignorant to evidence that Ochoa obtained the money by selling family assets to drug associates, a “formidable challenge,” the Miami Herald says.
CNN legal commentator Jayne Weintraub was among the lawyers who crowded into the courtroom to show their support for Kuehne. “Ben Kuehne has more integrity than any lawyer I know,” she said. The prosecution is “an indictment on the legal profession.”
