
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990                   TAG: 9007060508
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

DRUG DEFENDANT CONVICTED

Isaac G. Abbott of Salem was found guilty Thursday night on 16 drug and firearms charges stemming from an operation that channeled cocaine and marijuana from Houston, Texas, to Salem, then was distributed through contacts in Roanoke, Carroll County and Pulaski.

Abbott, who was indicted in April with 14 other people, was charged with 16 counts of drug possession, distribution and conspiracy and illegal possession of a firearm. Twelve of the 14 people indicted have pleaded guilty - including Jesse M. Whitley, a Texan believed to be Abbott's supplier.

David Wingo, who was tried in U.S. District Court in Roanoke at the same time as Abbott, was found not guilty on a charge of conspiring to distribute. He was found guilty on charges of drug trafficking and use of firearms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant has called the operation a "historical conspiracy" - one that had been going on for several years. He said earlier that he considered this to be a rather large drug-distribution operation.

Authorities seized much of Abbott's assets - about $40,000, a half-dozen vehicles and numerous guns, including a .44-caliber Magnum revolver, a 12-gauge pump shotgun and .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a .22-caliber rifle, all of which were loaded. Abbott faces a mandatory 10 to 80 years in prison.

by CNB