Al Garcia

Disgraced Minneapolis power broker Al Garcia is in trouble with his probation officer for violating the terms of his supervised release.

Garcia pled guilty to a federal charge of aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in 2010 and beat the rap on charges that he raped a client. Garcia was later disbarred by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Last summer, Garcia cut a deal with federal prosecutors that let him out of prison early in exchange for his cooperation on unspecified cases. But Garcia recently got in trouble with his probation officer for working as a paralegal on gross misdemeanor cases with young local attorney Adam M. Terwey.

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Al Garcia, the former city hall power broker on trial last week for raping one of his clients, was found not guilty this afternoon. Garcia and his family wept when the jury returned its verdict, after a few hours of deliberation.

In his closing arguments this morning, Garcia's lawyer, Paul Edlund, raised questions about the prosecution's case. "Albert Garcia is a lot of things, but one thing he's not is a rapist," Edlund told the jury. Edlund acknowledged that the evidence of the case was consistent with Garcia having sex with his alleged victim, but said there was no evidence that the sex was forced or coerced. "It's the state's job to show that it was not consensual, Edlund said. "The evidence doesn't support that."

Garcia still faces witness-tampering charges over phone calls in which he may have sought to prevent his accuser from testifying. The first hearing in that case is scheduled for next Monday.

Al Garcia has already been convicted for accepting drugs as payment for his legal services, but from the sounds of witnesses in court today, he was also more than amenable to taking payment in the form of creepy coerced sex.

Today was the final day of testimony in the rape trial of the defense lawyer and former City Hall insider. Garcia is charged with a cocaine-addled sexual assault on one of his clients in 2008. This morning three women testified that they too had been the targets of Garcia's unwanted sexual attention when meeting with him on legal matters.

One woman said she met Garcia for dinner in 2003 after he agreed to represent her son in a federal drug case. Garcia ordered them appetizers and two rounds of drinks, then asked if she'd "like to see the lights of Minneapolis." He drove her to his downtown office, where he offered her a seat, unzipped his pants, and stuck his penis in her face.

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​After testimony Wednesday morning from the woman accusing former political bigwig Al Garcia of rape, the trial resumed in the afternoon with Garcia's lawyer, Paul Edulund, cross-examing Garcia's alleged victim. Edlund dwelt on the legal trouble that brought her to seek Garcia's legal services to begin with, then walked the witness through the sexual encounter again, repeatedly questioning why she fought harder or protested more loudly against his unwelcome sexual actions.

The court also heard testimony from Michael Griffin, the Minneapolis police officer who interviewed Garcia's accuser in the hospital the night of the incident. Griffin testified that her demeanor at the time was very matter-of-fact. "She wasn't showing a lot of emotion," he said.

The trial resumes Thursday morning.

​Al Garcia, once a powerful and connected figure in local politics, is starting his second criminal trial of the year, this one for allegedly raping one of the clients of his defense practice.

The case, being heard in Hennepin County Court by Judge Philip Bush, began with opening statements today from prosecutor Darren Borg and Garcia's lawyer, Paul Edlund. The rest of the morning was devoted to the softly spoken testimony of the woman Garcia is accused of raping, who told how she met him at his downtown office late one evening in 2008 to discuss her case.

In the office, she said, Garcia proceeded to force and threaten her into a cocaine-dusted sexual assault. She said she was only able to escape when Garcia, in his coked-up paranoia, with his pants around his ankles, crawled behind a desk to hide from people he was sure were lurking outside.

The cross-examination of Garcia's accuser begins this afternoon.