A federal jury deadlocked on prostitution-related charges filed against former New Times editor Michael Lacey, but found him guilty Thursday of a financial crime related to the classified advertising website he co-founded, Backpage.com, that prosecutors said was designed to enable and profit from prostitution.
The jury found two former Backpage executives, Scott Spear and John “Jed” Brunst, guilty of using the website to facilitate prostitution. The jury also found the two guilty of some financial crimes, but not guilty of others.
Lacey pursed his lips and shook his head as the jury exited the courtroom after the reading of the verdict. With the litany of charges, it took more than 30 minutes to go through them all.
The single count Lacey was convicted of involved a January 2017 transfer of $16.5 million to a bank in Hungary. The money-laundering charge, according to the indictment, said Lacey did so knowing the money represented the gains from illegal activity and that he attempted to conceal it.
Two former Backpage employees who were involved in moderating the ads, Andrew Padilla and Joye Vaught, were found not guilty on all prostitution-related charges.
