Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 6, 1990 TAG: 9003062015
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jamel Agemy, 24, had entered a plea of innocent during an arraignment in January but under a plea agreement reached in U.S. District Court in Roanoke Monday, Agemy pleaded guilty to six counts of possessing and intending to distribute a total of 154 pounds of marijuana between 1987 and 1989.
A four-day jury trial had been scheduled to begin today.
Agemy, who played linebacker for the Hokies until 1986, was one of 23 people indicted last November in a drug ring distinguished by its characteristic of allotting large amounts of marijuana in football-shaped packages. The indictment stemmed from an investigation of drug dealing in Montgomery County.
Agemy and another former Tech football player - Blacksburg tanning salon owner Michael John Giacolone - were accused of being the main suppliers to a loosely organized group of street-level drug dealers.
Since last December, 22 of the 23 people who were indicted, including Agemy, have pleaded guilty. Prosecutors expect Giacolone to plead guilty to drug charges this morning. Giacolone also is charged with distributing small amounts of cocaine.
Those involved represent a broad cross-section of Montgomery County residents - from college students to construction workers. They were charged with Agemy and Giacolone in a scheme that ran from November 1987 - one year after Agemy's last season with the Hokies - to June 1989. Giacolone's last year on the team was 1982.
A top defensive player, Agemy was second on the team in tackles in 1985 and 1986. He is from Hollywood, Fla., although federal officials believe his last address to be Arizona.
Agemy faces a maximum statutory sentence of 120 years' imprisonment and a $6 million fine.
by CNB