The senior Vignali sat through the entire trial and at one point, according to Cascarano, testified as a character witness on his son's behalf. In his statement, the lawyer said, Vignali alluded to his wealth by saying that he had spent $9 million on a palatial Southern California home that once belonged to actor Sylvester Stallone.
A jury convicted Carlos Vignali in 1994 on three counts: conspiring to manufacture, possess and distribute cocaine; aiding and abetting the use of a facility in interstate commerce with the intent to distribute cocaine; and aiding and abetting the use of communication facilities for the commission of felonies.
He drew a 15-year prison sentence and wound up as an inmate in the Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Ariz.
Todd Hopson, one of the men tried with Vignali, was sentenced to more than 23 years, said his lawyer, Cascarano. The lawyer described Hopson as "an uneducated black kid with a noticeable stutter" and a middle-level figure whose role in the Minneapolis drug ring "was nothing compared to Vignali."
But under mandatory federal guidelines, Hopson's conviction required a stiffer sentence because he had been involved in converting the cocaine into rocks of crack, Cascarano said.
A Big Jump in Contributions
Political contribution records indicate that Horacio Vignali also apparently owned interests in used car lots and auto body shops in Los Angeles and Malibu. And, according to Cascarano and to media reports dating from the mid-1990s, Vignali also grew wealthy on commercial real estate interests that included a prime tract across from the Los Angeles Convention Center.
But when contacted by The Times, the father said only, "I run a taco stand and a parking lot."
Through 1994, the year his son was convicted, Horacio Vignali made a few small federal and state campaign contributions, usually less than $1,000, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance records. But in October 1994, just before the start of his son's seven-week trial, Vignali stepped up his contributions, donating $53,000 to state officeholders.
By last year, he had become a large-scale contributor. Vignali has given at least $47,000 to Gov. Gray Davis. He gave $32,000 to former Gov. Pete Wilson during his last term. He made two $5,000 donations to a political action committee operated by Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles). And last August, while the Democrats were holding their national convention in Los Angeles, he contributed $10,000 to the Democratic National Committee.
