Jury Deadlocked On Flood Charges; Hearings Go On

WASHINGTON--The jury in the bribery and perjury trial of Rep. Daniel J. Flood (D-Pa.) declared itself deadlocked yesterday after seven hours of deliberation.

U.S. District Judge Oliver Gasch after hearing the report directed the jurors to continue trying to reach a verdict, saying they had not spent enough time after hearing 13 days of testimony.

"I'm very reluctant at this point, after spending three weeks of your time, my time, and everyone else's time to see a matter end this way," Gasch said yesterday.

The jury sent messages to Gasch twice yesterday saying they could not decide on Flood's guilt or innocence. Gasch dismissed the jurors for the night after the second message, saying he hoped they might make better progress Saturday morning.

Gasch urged them to try to reach a partial verdict on one or more of the 11 counts against Flood.

David Hinden, government prosecutor, agreed to accept a partial verdict, but Axel Kleiboemer, Flood's lawyer, objected. Kleiboemer said the jury's deadlocked situation provided "no indication their disagreement does not affect all counts."

Flood is charged with conspiring to collect $50,000 in bribes and with perjury in his testimony about the payoffs. Flood is liable for a maximum of 125 years in prison and a fine of $156,000 if convicted on all charges.