conviction involving stealing nearly $400,000 from the estate of a dead TV journalist.

Mr. Vaucrosson, who served a year of a two year sentence before being paroled last year, appealed conviction on eight counts of stealing.

But yesterday an Appeal Court panel under Appeal Court President Sir James Astwood, knocked back Mr. Vaucrosson's bid to clear his name.

Mr. Vaucrosson said last night: "The appeal was dismissed. I can always appeal to the Privy Council -- if somebody lent me the money, I might do that.

"I'm terribly disappointed and it's very difficult -- but one must press ahead.'' The decision came two days after a one-day hearing in the Appeal Court, with Jamaican QC Frank Phipps leading the case for Vaucrosson. English QC Michael Pert appeared for the Crown.

Mr. Phipps, who is understood to have travelled straight back to Jamaica after the hearing, could not be contacted for comment last night.

Mr. Vaucrosson was convicted in 1995 of stealing cash from the estate of Mr.

Ball, who died in 1987.

A jury found that he used the cash to pay off personal debts in 1991, including $31,000 to pay his staff and $151,000 owed on a mortgage.

The cash came from the Ball trust account which had a balance of more than $390,000 in January, 1991 -- but totalled just a little more than $25,000 by the end of February that year.

Mr. Vaucrosson was jailed still pleading his innocence. He told Supreme Court he accepted responsibility for the missing cash as head of the firm which bore his name -- but denied any criminal action.

During his jail term and after being released in December last year, Mr.

Vaucrosson was hit with a series of writs from alleged creditors, including one from the estate of Mr. Ball claiming $480,000 and others from the Bank of Bermuda and the Bank of Butterfield.

But Mr. Vaucrosson hit back with writs against people he claimed owed him money -- cash he estimated amounted to about $4 million.

The Appeal Court issued a judgement only yesterday. The reasoning behind the decision will issued in writing at a later date.