Blackmail charges don?t stick against ex-husband

A man accused of blackmailing his wife into reducing his child support payment has been cleared of any wrongdoing after a jury found him not guilty of extortion charges.

The defendant, Ricarte Bernardo, was found not guilty by a jury on the charge of extortion after they deliberated for about an hour after hearing a day full of testimony.

The case itself involved a small amount of money Bernardo allegedly claimed his ex-wife charged on a credit card without permission. While divorced, the two had continued living together for several years after their marriage.

Bernardo had filed fraudulent use of a credit card charges against his former wife last year, claiming she had used his credit card without permission to buy gas and merchandise. Grand jurors who heard the case, rendered a no-true bill in her case, meaning they found no evidence she committed such a crime. However, at the same time, grand jurors decided to indict Bernardo after they heard evidence he had tried to blackmail his wife over the credit card issue.

Specifically, investigators said Bernardo insinuated to the victim that the credit card charges against her would be dropped if a new deal was reached in their divorce settlement which would let him pay less child support.

While the former Mrs. Bernardo testified as to the content of her conversations about the alleged extortion, jurors decided there was reasonable doubt as to whether a crime was committed.