Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990 TAG: 9003071792
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Michael John Giacolone, 30, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to seven counts of possessing and intending to distribute 154 pounds of marijuana between 1987 and 1989.
Giacolone's plea comes one day after his partner, Jamel Agemy, 24, pleaded guilty to six counts of possessing and intending to distribute the same amount of marijuana as Giacolone. Both men disputed the government's estimates of the amount of marijuana involved.
Giacolone, a former split-end standout for the Tech football team, and Agemy, a former linebacker, were two 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 ongoing investigation of drug dealing in Montgomery County.
Giacolone also was charged in a second indictment with possessing and intending to distribute four ounces of high-grade cocaine in 1988. He also pleaded guilty Tuesday to those charges.
Giacolone, now the owner of a Blacksburg tanning salon, and Agemy were accused of being the main suppliers to a loosely organized group of street-level drug dealers.
Gerald Fayed, a special agent with the FBI, testified Tuesday that Giacolone and Agemy headed a three-tier system in which they would supply marijuana to James A. Regan Jr., a middleman who supplied drugs to 20 or so people. Regan turned himself in to state and federal authorities last April and agreed to cooperate with them by wearing a wire during a meeting with Giacolone, Fayed said.
Giacolone faces a maximum sentence of 130 years in prison and a $7 million fine. Agemy faces a maximum sentence of 120 years' imprisonment and a $6 million fine.
by CNB