New Trial Pending for Former Numero Uno Owner

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Attorney’s office here said a new trial will be scheduled for George Torres, former owner of Numero Uno Markets here, after the remaining charges against him were thrown out earlier this week by a U.S. District Court judge.

The charges, involving mail fraud and bribery, were dismissed after prosecutors turned over tape-recorded conversations containing information that was potentially beneficial to Torres’ defense regarding at least one key informant who testified against him — conversations that took place before Torres’ trial but that were not discovered until afterward.

Torres, former owner of 11 stores serving low-income sections of the city, had been convicted in April of racketeering and other charges and was facing a life sentence. When the racketeering and conspiracy charges were dismissed in June, Torres was released from jail.

Numero Uno Markets was acquired in May by a joint venture between Nogales Investors, a locally based private equity firm, and Breco Holdings, a Houston-based investment firm.

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