Boxer Monty Clay's ordeal ended in triumph yesterday.

Common Pleas Judge Donald Machen acquitted Clay of two cocaine distribution charges, saying prosecutors did not prove their case.

Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Monty Clay was acquitted of cocaine distribution charges yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

Muffled cheers and light applause broke out as Clay, 23, of Rankin, walked out of court a free man. Then a throng of well-wishers, including some from law enforcement agencies, mobbed Clay in the hallway.

"Now that there's closure to this unfortunate episode, Monty can get on with his life's work, which is boxing," said his lawyer, Robert Del Greco.

Clay, a 5-foot-2, 130-pound lightweight, has a 12-0 record as a professional. He said the drug charges were a police vendetta designed to hurt him and his career.

"I thank God," he said just after his acquittal. "I thank Bobby Del Greco. I thank Judge Machen for seeing through this case, or should I call it this scam?"

Assistant District Attorney Matt Wholey, who prosecuted Clay, had no comment.

Swissvale Mayor Mark Foerster, whose town was the site of the drug sting targeting Clay, said he could not assess the verdict.

"I wasn't at the trial. I don't have enough information to comment," he said.

Police admitted that they recruited Billy Clarence Hawkins, a man with an extensive criminal record, to call Clay to try to set up drug deals with him.

With Hawkins as their middleman, undercover officers from Edgewood, Swissvale and McKeesport hoped to buy cocaine and heroin from Clay.

They planned the first drug deal for April 27, 2002. That was only three days after Clay sued four eastern suburbs for police brutality.

About 15 officers from Braddock, Edgewood, Rankin and Swissvale had confronted Clay on Jan. 19, 2002. They questioned him about a shooting at a Rankin housing complex. Then the night turned violent.

Clay said some of the officers insulted him with racial slurs, punched him and yanked his ponytail with enough force to injure his neck. As a final indignity, he said, one policeman shoved snow in his face.

Then the officers let Clay go without arresting him or charging him with any crime.

Clay's injuries were severe enough to prevent him from competing in the Olympic trials. He twice was a Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.

With his body and his pride hurt, Clay hired a lawyer and announced that he would bring a brutality complaint against the four police departments.

"The chronology of this case is clear," Del Greco said. "Monty was targeted by the police because he had the temerity to complain about brutality. ... He ended up a dual victim."

Clay received a $32,000 settlement from the four towns to settle his lawsuit alleging police brutality.

Prosecutors said it was happenstance that police targeted Clay in a drug sting soon after he filed the brutality suit.

In a brief filed with Machen, Wholey said police enlisted Hawkins, 31, as a confidential informant. It was Hawkins, police and prosecutors said, who suggested that Clay was a drug dealer who should be investigated.

But Hawkins told a different story in court. He testified that Edgewood Officer Gerald Mikelonis pressured him to ensnare Clay in a drug deal.

Hawkins said he worked with police in the sting because he wanted to stay out of jail. Hawkins also said police continued to let him drive, even though he had lost his license because of a drunken driving conviction.

Police videotaped one of the two alleged drug transactions with Clay. Prosecutors elected not to play the tape in court, but the defense did.

The tape showed a hodgepodge of cars, trees and parking lots. But there was no footage of Clay selling drugs, as police claimed he had.

Clay's trial began in May, but was recessed all summer so lawyers could file written statements about how police conducted the investigation. Clay decided against a jury trial, opting instead to have Machen render the verdict.

With the criminal case behind him, Clay said, his goal is to win a contract to fight in Las Vegas.

His next bout is against Terrell Hargrove of Louisville, Ky., tomorrow night at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

"It's been almost three years since this started," Clay said. "Then it took only those few seconds for Judge Machen to announce the not-guilty verdict. I'm happy it's all over."