Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 29, 1994 TAG: 9401290190
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was the lowest possible prison term allowed under federal sentencing guidelines, but U.S Judge Jackson Kiser called it "extremely harsh" considering Neely's crimes.
"I guess I can identify more with you because I'm in the same profession," he told Neely. "It's a long time, and I hope it doesn't break you."
Moments before, however, the judge scolded Neely for his drug activity.
"You're obviously a brilliant lawyer," Kiser said. "How you have fallen into this trap I just don't know. . . . You had the ability to make money without dealing dope."
Neely, who also was convicted of possessing cocaine for personal use and distributing marijuana, declined to comment as he left the federal courtroom in Roanoke.
Kiser allowed Neely, 44, to remain free on bond until his case can be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, meaning it will probably be more than a year before he goes to prison.
Karen Peters, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, told the judge she objected to what she saw as a double standard in Neely's sentencing.
"Most of the other drug defendants go on to the penitentiary, and Mr. Neely should, too," she said.
Peters, who has been accused by defense attorneys of being out to get Neely because of his flashy lifestyle, nonetheless seemed remorseful about the length of the prison sentence Kiser gave Neely.
"These statutory sentencing guidelines are harsh," she said. "It's more than enough."
Tom Blaylock, one of Neely's attorneys, said he was confident the appeals court will overturn the conviction.
One focus of the appeal, Blaylock said, will be the accusation of misconduct by the U.S. attorney's office.
Throughout the case, Blaylock accused government lawyers of withholding information that could have helped Neely, but Kiser twice denied requests that the charges be dismissed.
Kiser admitted that during Neely's three-week trial last March he had to make some tough legal decisions that could be overruled.
Blaylock said neither he nor Neely regrets rejecting a plea bargain offered by the government last year.
Under that offer, all other charges would have been dropped if Neely had pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. His sentence wouldn't have exceeded three years.
Kiser didn't fine Neely, saying he "had already paid" in other ways. Neely's law license has been revoked and the government has seized 50 acres he owned at Claytor Lake in Pulaski County.
At the trial, the key evidence against Neely came from several convicted or admitted drug dealers who were given immunity or reduced sentences for their testimony.
They testified that Neely acted as a middleman,helping drug suppliers and buyers arrange deals - often from his Christiansburg office.
The key witness was Donald Kimbler, a former federal firearms agent from Florida who testified that he brought cocaine to Montgomery County with Neely's help. Since the trial, Kimbler has died of cancer.
Kimbler claimed that Neely got one-third of the profits of a business that imported about 19 pounds of cocaine from 1986 to 1989.
Neely admitted in testimony during the trial that he is an alcoholic and has used cocaine, but he denied ever dealing drugs and claimed he had no idea that some of the people who testified against him were dealers.
The jury last year acquitted Neely on additional charges of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute drugs.
Over his 15 years as a defense lawyer, Neely has become known for feistiness in the courtroom and a personal lifestyle that included a red Jaguar convertible with "Neely" on the license plates.
His better-known clients have included Randall Lee Smith, who killed two hikers on the Appalachian Trail in Giles County in 1981, and Mabel Amerson, a Pulaski baby sitter who in 1988 was acquitted in the slaying of her employer.
In addition, Neely was the first in a succession of attorneys hired by Olga Thrasher, the wife of a pilot who was suspected of flying drugs into Southwest Virginia from the Caribbean.
Neely's trial last year wasn't the first time he's been a defendant in court. In 1990, he was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $5,000 for possession of cocaine.
by CNB