Rob Ostermaier/THE POST Joanna Kister, mother of local environmentalist Chad Kister, hugs her son after his acquittal on extortion charges yesterday evening.

A local environmentalist won a battle yesterday when a jury found him not guilty of extortion and theft.

But Chad Kister said, for him, the war for justice is far from over.

"This verdict vindicates me," he said. "All these unjust and wrong accusations need to be corrected now by the people that know the verdict. I am now going to pursue justice through every avenue I can."

The verdict, after two days of trial and more than two hours of jury deliberation, was greeted with a mixture of cheers and stunned silence.

"This trial was a blatant attempt to destroy my reputation," Kister said. "This verdict demonstrates the unjust, wrong, wasted allocation of resources in the county."

Kister was acquitted on two counts of extortion and one count of theft by deception. The charges stemmed from a meeting between Kister and United Mine Workers of America Local 1340 President Donald Nunley in the Big Bear parking lot on East State Street Dec. 6, 1997.

The state charged Kister with accepting $1,750 from Nunley in exchange for Kister's promise to keep himself and other environmentalists away from public hearings on a proposed coal mine in Glouster.

Despite the verdict, Athens County Prosecutor Bill Biddlestone continues to deny Kister's accusations that he was set up.

"It's nonsense, it's just absolute nonsense," Biddlestone said.

The trial began Wednesday with the jury hearing testimony from Nunley and Joshua Hodson, felony investigator for the Athens County Prosecutor's Office.Yesterday, the jury heard testimony from the prosecution's final witnesses, Athens County Sheriff David Redecker and Athens News Associate Editor Jim Phillips.

Redecker offered details about the investigation and Phillips testified that Kister "very strenuously" maintained his innocence throughout an interview conducted in the jail the evening of Dec. 6.

Kister took the stand only after Ward denied a motion, filed by defense attorney Patrick McGee, to dismiss all three counts against Kister.

"I obviously was naive and didn't realize that this is a setup," Kister testified. "I can't understand how this is against the law. If you accept an offer it cannot be illegal."

-Lisa Johnson contributed to this story.