Yassine jurors in 2nd deliberation day

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Jurors were back for a second day of deliberations on Thursday in the case against Downtown Austin businessmen Mike, Steve and Hadi Yassine.

They must go through hours of transcripts of the three brothers and their cousin-turned-FBI-informant.

If convicted of money laundering at their massive nightclub enterprise, District Judge Sam Sparks will determine their sentences.

Defense attorneys have argued this case rests too heavily on information about drug deals -- charges that will come up in a future case.

They have also taken issue with cousin Mo Yassine's reliability as a witness, accusing him of lying and stealing money from the government.

Deliberations were expected to continue until 6 p.m., unless a verdict was reached sooner. if needed, deliberations will start at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

One criminal defense lawyer not associated with the case but familiar with federal court proceedings said it is not uncommon for a jury to take its time when dealing with complex testimony.

"With multiple defendants and the complexity of the money-laundering charges - in addition to the language issues with the tape recordings ... it's very common for a jury to deliberate a day or two in a case like this, sometimes longer," said attorney Sam Bassett.

"Money laundering by its very nature usually involves drug possession or drug sales, and its always difficult for jurors to separate out the two."