BY NATASHA KORECKI AND MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporters

Jurors in William Cellini's trial got along so well during their deliberations, that after reaching a unanimous verdict on Tuesday, they assembled at the nearby Elephant & Castle restaurant and bar near the downtown federal courthouse.

About eight jurors who spent the last 3 ½ weeks or so listening to evidence in Cellini's case toasted their conclusion to the case, which ended in a split verdict with two guilty counts and two not guilty counts.

Juror Paulette Green of Round Lake Park said the panel of 10 women and two men had all but decided the case on Friday but wanted to take the weekend to think about it. Not long after arriving this morning, they voted to convict on two of four counts.

Green said that it was a combination of factors -- including tapes -- that caused her to convict.

"There really wasn't just one thing," Green said. "We had to focus on the letter of the law. We had to go over all the information."

The secret recordings containing conversations of Cellini and star witness Stuart Levine were just a piece of the puzzle, she said.

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