A jury yesterday convicted a longtime Republican consultant on a number of charges he was facing for luring two University of Pittsburgh students to his tiny apartment, holding them captive and threatening their relatives with Mafia reprisals.

The jury based its guilty verdicts on the fact that Leon Abramovitz, 59, of Shadyside, had previously pleaded guilty to coercing a teenage boy and a 27-year-old and holding them captive in 1999 and 2000, said Ira Houck, Mr. Abramovitz's attorney.

After 2 1/2 hours of deliberation, the jury found Mr. Abramovitz guilty of theft, simple assault, indecent assault, false imprisonment and making terroristic threats.

It found him not guilty on two counts of unlawful restraint.

Common Pleas Judge Cheryl Allen dismissed stalking charges.

Mr. Abramovitz's most recent charges stem from encounters he had with two Pitt students he convinced, on separate occasions, to come to his studio apartment by guaranteeing each jobs that matched their career goals.

The two men testified that Mr. Abramovitz forced them to stay at his home for weeks, coercing one to perform sexual acts for him and the other to steal power tools. The men testified Mr. Abramovitz told them he could dispatch members of the Castellano crime family to kill their families if they attempted to go to police.

One of the men, a 24-year-old, 6-foot-4, 200-pound senior, said Mr. Abramovitz, who used a walker in court yesterday, would slap him if he disobeyed orders. The other student, a 6-foot-2 22-year-old, said Mr. Abramovitz made him steal tools from the apartment manager to prove his loyalty.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Abramovitz worked on the redistricting committee for City Council and he served in the Reagan administration in the office of constituent affairs, said Mr. Houck.

Mr. Abramovitz is midway through serving his 10-year probation for the prior incidents. His attorney said that would be a mitigating factor during his sentencing on Oct. 3.

Mr. Houck said Mr. Abramovitz has some health-related issues that will have to be factored into his sentencing.

"Homosexual acts are not crimes," said Mr. Houck. "They are only anathemas in many people's minds, but not everybody's."