More Torres Convictions in Question

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Attorneys for George Torres, whose conviction on charges of murder-for-hire and racketeering were overturned in June, are now seeking to have additional convictions against him dismissed.

The attorneys for Torres, former owner of Numero Uno supermarkets, asked U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson on Monday to dismiss tax and immigration convictions. Wilson scheduled a July 28 hearing to further discuss the case.

The attorneys played more jailhouse recordings, which had been disclosed by the prosecution after the verdicts, to argue additional testimony in the case had been tainted. Torres had been convicted on 55 felony accounts.

Prosecutors had sought to prove Torres controlled his Numero Uno grocery chain through a criminal enterprise, making millions by hiring illegal workers, failing to pay taxes, bribing a public official and arranging to have people killed.

The recordings, which show that witnesses believed they were getting deals in exchange for their testimony despite the prosecution’s contention otherwise, were handed over to the defense six weeks after Torres was found guilty in April of racketeering and other felonies.

Defense attorneys have argued that Torres was a hard-working businessman targeted by an overzealous Los Angeles Police Department detective, Greg Kading, who promised convicted drug traffickers money and early release from prison in exchange for testimony.

Wilson threw out all racketeering-related charges earlier this month after prosecutors moved to have them dismissed after discovering the additional recordings after the trial.

Torres, who is free on bond, sold his Numero Uno chain for an undisclosed sum just 12 days after he was convicted. The buyer was a partnership of Nogales Investors LLC, a L.A. private equity firm, and Breco Holdings Inc., a Houston investment firm.

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