Judge: Troubled Espada jury deliberations

The jury in the corruption trial of former state Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada is encountering "turbulence" after two days of deliberations, according to the judge handling the case.

Espada and his son are charged with plundering more than $600,000 from the nonprofit Soundview health clinic, which he founded and runs in the Bronx, through credit card abuse and other schemes. But during an acrimonious five-week trial, the defense claimed that Espada was being persecuted by unscrupulous prosecutors.

In a sign that the acrimony has carried over, jurors Tuesday sent a note to U.S. District Judge Frederic Block asking for a meeting. When he called them into the courtroom, the judge said he understood there was "turbulence" in the jury room, but he couldn't have a private meeting with them.

Jurors went back to deliberations, and at the end of the day sent out a new note asking for transcripts of the testimony of two witnesses and an array of exhibits entered into evidence by both sides.