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

DATE: SATURDAY, February 2, 1991                   TAG: 9102020165
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Short

GILES MAN LINKED TO FIVE-TON DRUG BUY

The FBI has arrested a Giles County man in connection with a five-ton, multimillion-dollar marijuana transaction, the bureau's office in Richmond reported Thursday.

Edmund M. Ricci Jr., 44, identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a real estate agent, was specifically charged with buying about 1 1/2 tons of marijuana in a transaction conducted in the fall of 1986, the FBI said.

Ricci was arrested in Blacksburg on Wednesday and charged with conspiracy and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. If convicted on all charges, Ricci faces life imprisonment and an $8 million fine.

He was among seven men indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Philadelphia. The others are from Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Michigan.

Ricci appeared before U.S. Magistrate Glen E. Conrad in Roanoke and was in custody in lieu of $50,000 bond.

by CNB