cannabisnews.com: Mayor Linked in N.J. Drug Case





Mayor Linked in N.J. Drug Case
Posted by FoM on January 07, 2000 at 13:51:43 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: New York Times
CAMDEN, N.J. A former leader of a cocaine smuggling ring claimed that one of his employees sold drugs to Milton Milan four years before Milan became mayor. Camildo Cruz testified Thursday in the federal drug conspiracy trial of Jose ``J.R.'' Rivera and Luis ``Tun Tun'' Figueroa. The pair are among 14 people charged with operating a ring that prosecutors say once controlled Camden's drug market. The 12 others have pleaded guilty. 
Cruz, who was charged in the case and is serving a 13-year prison term, testified that Luis Soto, who worked for the ''33rd Street Set'' drug faction, sold some cocaine to Milan in 1993. He did not testify about the quantity of drugs Milan allegedly bought. Milan, who has not been charged, said he knew nothing about the drug organization and called Cruz's allegations ridiculous. ``It's stuff I wouldn't even dignify by comment,'' he said. ``I'm not paying any mind to the trial because I've got more important things to do.'' Milan, the city's first Hispanic mayor, was elected in 1997 to a four-year term that expires in June 2001. Prosecutors allege that Rivera, a boyhood friend of Milan, was the ring's financier. Figueroa was an alleged enforcer who used violence to protect the ring. Law enforcement officials have said the organization ran a $21 million-a-year business. Rivera, 40, and Figueroa, 34, have pleaded innocent. If convicted on drug conspiracy charges, they face life in prison. Published: January 7, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company 
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Comment #1 posted by Chris Campbell on January 07, 2000 at 21:58:00 PT:
Big deal..
LEO's are running a $21 BILLION dollar business =)and so it goes..
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