US COUPLE CONVICTED IN THAI FILM FESTIVAL GRAFT CASE

A statement from the Justice Department said Gerald Green, 77, and Patricia Green 52, were convicted by a federal jury late Friday on charges of conspiracy, violating anti-corruption laws and money-laundering, the Agence France Presses reports.

They are scheduled to be sentenced December 17.

If found guilty, it was reported, Gerald and Patricia Green could each receive up to life in prison.

Prosecutors was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the Greens created shell companies to pay off Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan, the former TAT governor. The couple then transferred money into bank accounts of Mrs. Juthamas' daughter and a friend so they would be awarded business contracts.

Mrs. Juthamas resigned as deputy leader of Puea Pandin Party in December 2007 after an implication in the scandal. She denied all the allegations against her.

Prosecutors believe the Greens paid Mrs. Juthamas about 1.8 million dollars to help secure the Bangkok film festival and tourism-related deals between 2002 and 2007. The payments, some of which were made in cash to Juthamas directly, were often disguised as sales commissions, ranging between 10% and 20%, according to the Associated Press report.

The Greens inflated their budgets so Mrs. Juthamas could be paid off, prosecutors was quoted as saying.

According to an indictment, the Greens paid 1.8 million dollars in bribes to the former tourism chief via bank accounts in Singapore, Jersey and Britain set up in the names of the former governor's daughter and a friend.

Prosecutors said the Greens had received more than 13.5 million dollars in revenue from the contracts. Patricia Green was also found guilty of submitting false tax returns.

Defense attorneys for the couple denied the payments were bribes and questioned the prosecution's theory that the Greens made a windfall from their work in Thailand.

"We are very disappointed with the verdict and will appeal it,'' Marilyn Bednarski, an attorney representing Patricia Green was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. "The Greens did not bribe anyone. They are good people whose companies have given a lot of people work and whose companies invested millions of dollars into developing business in Thailand.''

The Greens are the first entertainment industry figures who have been convicted under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal statute prohibiting corrupt payments to foreign officials for business purposes.

Gerald Green's attorney Jerome Mooney was quoted as saying that he believes prosecutors wanted to send a message to the entertainment industry.

"There is an appearance to fire a shot over the bow of Hollywood,'' Mooney said. "We wish that shot would not have landed in our client's boat.''