LONDON - A British court has acquitted a former pub manager of taking a bribe to drop assault charges against the husband of singer Amy Winehouse.
A jury deliberated for three hours Wednesday before finding James King not guilty of trying to pervert the course of justice.
Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, has admitted beating up King in a barroom fight in 2006 and then offering him US$400,000 to keep quiet about it.
King, who suffered a broken cheekbone, said he was intimidated into withdrawing the assault claim.
Three other men also pleaded guilty to involvement in the plot.
They and Fielder-Civil all face jail terms when they are sentenced later.
Winehouse, 25, and Fielder-Civil, 26, married in Miami in May 2007 - he was arrested in November and has been in jail ever since.
Winehouse has become an international star since she released the Grammy-winning album "Back to Black" in 2006.
But her music has been overshadowed by reports of drug use, her run-ins with the law and tempestuous relationship with Fielder-Civil.
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