[JURIST] Former Bank of America broker Theodore C. Sihpol was found not guilty Thursday of aiding a New Jersey hedge fund in illegally trading mutual funds [JURIST report] after the close of the stock market. Sihpol was acquitted of 29 counts of larceny, securities fraud, and falsifying business records but State Supreme Court Justice James Yates declared a mistrial on four deadlocked counts, including a scheme to defraud and violations of the state's general business law. Sihpol was the first defendant to go to trial after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official website] began his investigation of the mutual fund industry [press release] and analysts believe it may prompt other accused executives to face trial instead of seeking settlement, as most have up until now. Bloomberg has more.