Ex-sports radio host convicted

NEW YORK (AP) — Craig Carton, the former co-host of a sports radio show with ex-NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, emerged from a courthouse where he was convicted of fraud Wednesday to say he was disappointed with the verdict, though he respected it.

“I need to let it sink in now,” Carton said. “I’m going to go home and hug my kids and let my lawyers deal with the rest of it.”

His lawyers said they planned to appeal the Manhattan federal court jury verdict. Sentencing was set for Feb. 27 on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud. Though the charges carry a potential penalty of 45 years in prison, any sentence was likely to be far less than that.

The verdict came after five hours of deliberations that began Tuesday.

Carton, 49, of Manhattan, was Esiason’s on-air partner for years on WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” show. He left the program after his arrest last year.

He was accused of swindling investors in a ticket reselling business.

Jury picked in El Chapo case

NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection at the U.S. trial for Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was completed Wednesday with Guzman waiting for word on whether he can hug his wife for the first time in nearly two years.

A jury of seven women and five men are to hear opening statements Tuesday in the drug-conspiracy case against Guzman in federal court in Brooklyn.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of overseeing a drug cartel known for violence and for breaking him out of Mexican jails.

The notoriety has prompted security measures that include keeping the jurors anonymous. Guzman also has been held in solitary confinement and barred from seeing his wife out of concerns he could pass messages to his cohorts.

Most of the people picked either for the jury or to serve as six alternates said in initial screening that they had heard of Guzman through news reports or TV shows.