A Miami-Dade jury on Wednesday acquitted Kramer of misdemeanor battery charges over a 1997 cigar-inspired slugfest at Trattoria Sole in South Miami.

Restaurant owner Maurizio Farinelli alleged Kramer punched him when he told the 41-year-old developer to put out his cigar in the tiny no-smoking restaurant.

Before you could say ``Montecristo'', fists flew, glasses and dishes got smashed, and tables were overturned, said the police report filed by Farinelli, 38.

During the day-and-a-half trial in front of County Court Judge Sam Slom, Attorney Richard Sharpstein argued it was Farinelli who attacked his client, first slapping the cigar out of his mouth, then blocking the restaurant door as Kramer tried to leave.

Kramer, he said, did not punch Farinelli -- who also has filed a pending $5 million civil lawsuit.

``This cigar event was more blown out of proportion than the Clinton-Monica Lewinsky incident,'' Sharpstein said. ``This was Mr. Farinelli's attempt to cash in on a fortuitous meeting with Mr. Kramer. We hope all this snuffs out their civil case.''

Farinelli did not return The Herald's call Wednesday. Neither did prosecutors Chris Lagos and Kevin Jones.

It took the jury of three men and three women 30 minutes to acquit Kramer.

``He feels vindicated,'' Sharpstein said. ``He and I are going to light up a good stogie in victory, but not at that Trattoria.''

BellSouth Foundation offers grants

The BellSouth Foundation on Tuesday announced a $10 million education and technology grant that will be awarded to school districts in the telecommunication company's southeastern region, which includes Florida.

School districts across the state can apply for a portion of the $750,000 to go toward training superintendents, administrators and teachers in Florida in the latest in technology that directly affects education.

Five schools from the nine states that make up the region -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee -- can compete for an additional $3 million in grants to create ``high tech'' schools, where the company will provide communication equipment, including computers and Internet access, and consultants, said BellSouth Florida spokesman Spero Canton. The money could also be used for additional teacher training.

For more information, call 305-696-0800, ext. 125.

Florida anti-Semitic incidents decrease

Anti-Semitic incidents in Florida decreased last year, but reports of vandalism and harassment against Jewish institutions and property increased nationwide, according to an audit released Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL documented 102 incidents in the state in 1998, down from 114 in 1997. Nationwide, however, 1,611 such cases were reported last year, up from 1,571 in 1997.

Among the cases documented in Miami-Dade and Broward last year: Hallways in a North Miami high-rise were covered with swastikas, the elevator in an Aventura building was sprayed with anti-Semitic graffiti and anti-Jewish fliers were thrown on lawns in the Emerald Hills area of Hollywood.

Arthur Teitelbaum, Southern Area director of the Anti-Defamation League, pointed to educational programs and enforcement of hate crime laws around the state as reasons for the decline in Florida's numbers.

Invader ties up woman, robs her

A man forced his way into a North Dade home Wednesday morning and tied up the owner with telephone wire before robbing her, police said.

The woman, whose name police did not release, answered a knock at the door at her home in the 2900 block of Northwest 191st Street about 11:30 a.m., only to be shoved back inside, Miami-Dade Police Lt. Harvey Honig said.

The robber wrapped a towel around the woman's head, pistol-whipped her, then rummaged through the house and took off with $300 in jewelry, Honig said.

The woman's son found herin the home and called police.

Coast Guard returns 38 to Cuba

The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 38 Cubans Wednesday after picking them up in the Bahamas last weekend.

The Cutter Point Barnes rescued six of the migrants 13 miles northwest of Bimini Sunday, Coast Guard officials said. The others and a suspected smuggler were picked up by the Cutter Padre three miles south of Vaca Key, near Marathon.

Border Patrol agents took custody of the suspected smuggler.

Of Note

AT&T exec joins White House board

President Clinton on Wednesday named Coral Gables resident Cresencio Arcos to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. Arcos is vice president of AT&T Latin America and a former ambassador to Honduras. A native of San Antonio, Arcos earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas and a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.

The advisory board is responsible for assessing the quality, quantity and adequacy of intelligence collection, analysis and estimates, counterintelligence and other related activities.