Fresh Loaf

Is it true? Has every last Black Mafia Family member been arrested? That’s what Fox News and the AJC are reporting, citing officials at the U.S. Marshals Service in Atlanta.

But really, it depends on how you look at it.

Impressively, the Marshals have rounded up pretty much every defendant named in seven federal indictments filed in Atlanta, Orlando, Detroit, St. Louis and L.A. That comes to nearly 150 men and women who played some role in BMF’s sprawling, quarter-of-a-billion-dollar cocaine enterprise, which launched an Atlanta-based record label and was well-connected in the hip-hop world — including a tight relationship with Atlanta rap star Young Jeezy.

Most recently, Vernon “Wu” Coleman, an alleged distributor for the cocaine crew who was named in one of the Atlanta indictments, was arrested July 16. As far as I can tell, there’s only one remaining defendant nationwide who’s still listed as a fugitive: an L.A. drug dealer who allegedly supplied BMF distributors with kilos of coke in the crew’s waning days, after BMF’s founders — the brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory — were jailed for running the criminal enterprise.

However, there are several suspected BMF members who, for one reason or another, were never indicted. So while it’s true that almost every BMF member who was indicted has been arrested, there are still some stragglers.

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Fleming Daniels, a.k.a. Ill

In news that would never have seen the light of day had disgraced NFL star Adam “Pacman” Jones not been named in a lawsuit, it appears the former Dallas Cowboy had been covering the attorney fees for the Black Mafia Family’s third-in-command, Fleming “Ill” Daniels.

In fact, Pacman allegedly picked up the tab for legal representation in a whopping 18 cases involving his friends and family.

Daniels, who was a major player in BMF co-leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory’s $270 million cocaine ring, is under indictment in Fulton County for the 2004 shooting death of Rashannibal “Prince” Drummond, who was gunned down in the parking lot of Midtown’s now-defunct Velvet Room.

According to the AJC, the high-priced attorney who was representing Daniels on the murder charge, Manny Arora, is suing Pacman for failing to pay more than $10,000 in fees the lawyer had been promised in exchange for representing Pacman’s friends and family, including Daniels.

Documents filed in Fulton County Superior Court show that Arora removed himself from Daniels’ case last year and was replaced with a public defender.

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Fleming Daniels

Fleming “Ill” Daniels, a close associate of Black Mafia Family co-leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison.

Daniels, one of 150 BMF associates indicted across the country, was convicted in June of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was one of the few defendants to go to trial; most of the rest pleaded guilty.

During the sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Orinda Evans said that based on the evidence she heard, Meech and Daniels were close.

“They had connections in the music world and also the drug world,” she said. “He [Daniels] had a position of power and authority. He was Meech’s right-hand man.”

“Big Meech” Flenory, along with his brother Terry “Southwest T,” were sentenced in September to 30 years for running one of the country’s most prodigious cocaine empires. They’re estimated to have earned at least $270 million in cocaine sales.

Meech, who headed BMF’s Atlanta hub, also founded a record label and was tied to some of the South’s most celebrated rappers.

Daniels has been described as Meech’s third-in-command. He was a regular presence in Atlanta’s high-end nightclubs, where BMF members were known as legendary partiers.

In a separate case, Daniels was indicted earlier this year for the 2004 killing of Rashannibal “Prince” Drummond, who was gunned down in the parking lot of the now-defunct Velvet Room. That case has yet to be resolved.

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Swedish artist Hannes Isaksson, whose totally awesome sketches of American gangsters have typically centered on the New York set (think Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols, and Leroy “Nicky” Barnes), has broadened his horizons to the Atlanta-based Black Mafia Family.

OK, so Isaksson incorrectly identified BMF co-founder Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (left), as his brother — and fellow BMF founder — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (right). Still, the drawing’s pretty rad.

(Sketch by Hannes Isaksson, obviously)

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Several blogs are reporting that the recent suicide of Def Jam VP Shakir Stewart is somehow related to his alleged ties to cocaine empire the Black Mafia Family.

No information has surfaced that supports the alleged connection. At best, there is a tenuous link between Stewart and BMF, in that Stewart signed Atlanta-based rapper Young Jeezy, who is affiliated with BMF.  Yet Jeezy was not among the 150 BMF associates indicted in seven states.

According to Livesteez.com:

Police are also withholding official details about the untimely death. Still, speculation amongst industry insiders is beginning to make its rounds, with some suggesting that the demise of the A&R star might be related to his involvement with the infamous Black Mafia Family.

ImagesNewsletter.com, citing “Black Press Radio” (I can’t find a link the the original source), has this to say:

Stewart was the second former Def Jam employee in less than six months to allegedly commit suicide but .. those who know them [believe] they were victims of foul play. Sadia Morrison, who once worked for the label, was murdered but her death has been ruled a suicide. Both had professional connections to members of the Black Mafia Family.

Most other references to Stewart’s alleged connection to BMF (including posts on Bossip and NewsOne, ) link back to the Livesteez story.

This very well could be a rumor gone viral, or a conpsiracy theory that’s getting way too much cred. Still, rumors of Stewart’s alleged connection to BMF came to light at least as early as July (more than three months before his death), in an XXLmag.com post.

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Steve Goss, host of “Morning Edition” on WABE 90.1 FM (our local NPR affiliate), was kind enough to invite me on the show to talk about the Black Mafia Family.

BMF was a $270 million cocaine enterprise that had ties to some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Its co-leaders, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his brother, Terry “Southwest T,” were sentenced in September to 30 years in federal prison.

My BMF interview with Goss aired this morning, but you can still listen to it online.

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“Big Meech” Flenory (right) was like a big brother to Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight.

NOTE: This post is a slightly longer version of a story that appeared in this week’s print edition of Creative Loafing.

The Black Mafia Family continued to unravel last week when a parade of the cocaine ring’s affiliates was sentenced in federal court in Atlanta. Among them were two defendants with strong ties to the hip-hop industry.

What’s more, all but one of the 10 defendants to plead guilty — Deron “D-Shock” “D-Shot” Hall — agreed to share information with the government, further shattering the once ironclad code of silence that blanketed the $270 million drug enterprise. Of the six additional defendants named in the Atlanta indictment [PDF], four are still scheduled for trial, one was convicted at trial and one remains a fugitive.

Darryl “Poppa” Taylor, the first cousin of New York-based music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, received a three-year sentence reduction for his substantial assistance in the government’s investigation into BMF, which was headed by brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory. The Flenorys each received 30-year sentences in a separate case in Detroit.

In a court proceeding last year, Taylor said he was introduced to Terry Flenory by Combs’ chief of security, Paul Buford. Buford was indicted along with the Flenory brothers in 2005, but his case has not been resolved. Combs, who’s been described in court documents as a friend of the Flenorys, hasn’t been accused of any unlawful behavior related to BMF.

Taylor’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told the judge last week that Taylor — in addition to info he shared about Terry Flenory — might be able to offer the government insight into “activities going on in the Northeast.”

Had Taylor not cooperated in the investigation, he would have received a minimum of 10 years in federal prison, where there is no parole. Instead, he got just over seven years.

Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, the rapper who became the face of the Black Mafia Family’s now defunct record label, was sentenced to five years and four months. The sentence was eight months less than the government’s recommendation, due in part to him agreeing to share information with the feds — although he wasn’t willing to testify against other defendants.

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Big Meech led BMF's Atlanta hub

After spending three years in a suburban Michigan jail, Black Mafia Family co-leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory is back in Georgia.

Meech and his brother, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, were sentenced in September to 30 years in federal prison on charges that they ran a continuing criminal enterprise. BMF is estimated to have moved at least $270 million in cocaine in less than two decades. Nearly 150 defendants with ties to BMF have been indicted in seven states, including Georgia.

Meech, a flashy hip-hop entreprenuer, was prosecuted in federal court in his hometown Detroit, though he had lived in Atlanta (and, for a short while, Miami) for more than 10 years at the time of his 2005 arrest.

During a brief phone conversation Saturday, Meech said he was upbeat about starting his 30-year prison sentence. He recently was moved from the Michigan jail to one in rural Georgia, where he’s awaiting transfer to a federal prison in Jesup, Ga. He requested that particular prison so he could be close to Atlanta, where he and his crew were once a legendary presence in hip-hop clubs and on billboards that proclaimed, “The World is BMF’s.”

“I’ve got a lot of love down here,” he said.

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So profitable was the Atlanta and L.A.-based Black Mafia Family that the cocaine crew could afford to lose a million dollars every now and then.

For example, consider a 2003 Hummer H2 stretch limo that was parked at one of BMF’s stash houses off Mount Paran Road. The limo was described yesterday during the sentencing hearing for the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, a BMF member who’d been indicted in Atlanta.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney told the court that in late 2004, BMF leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory correctly suspected that the stash house — a modern mansion affectionately dubbed “Space Mountain” — was about to be raided. Authorities believe Meech’s minions quickly moved at least 100 kilos out of the home.

There was just one problem: a car was blocking the limo, and stash house workers didn’t have the keys. So the limo was abandoned. Federal agents who later raided the house confiscated the stretch Hummer. They searched its interior and found nothing unusual. It was sold at auction and passed through four more owners. Then, the government got a tip that they might not have searched the limo thoroughly enough.

After tracking down the Hummer two months ago, agents discovered secret compartments that they’d missed during the first go-around. Inside, they found seven, semi-automatic weapons — and nearly $900,000 cash.

Just imagine how many prom-bound teenagers must have graced the limo’s seats, oblivious to the fortune that sat beneath them.

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Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, the rapper who became the face of the Black Mafia Family, was sentenced in Atlanta federal court today for handling cash and cocaine for the drug-ring-turned-hip-hop label.

McKnight and nine other co-defendants — most notably Sean “Diddy” Combs’ cousin Darryl “Poppa” Taylor — were scheduled for sentencing today, though at least one of them will be sentenced tomorrow because proceedings ran long.

BMF’s leaders, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, were indicted separately in Detroit, where they birthed their organization before moving to hubs in Atlanta and L.A. Last month, the Flenory brothers were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

McKnight received a five-year sentence — eight months less than the government’s recommendation, due in part to the fact that he agreed to share information with authorities. That information was not useful, however, because the government already had built most of its case against BMF.

McKnight also was not willing to testify against other defendants.

“He would have liked to have cooperated if he could have,” his attorney, David MacKusick, said. “But he didn’t have any useful information.”

McKnight released one album, The World is BMF’s, on Big Meech’s record label. Early in his career, he performed alongside such rappers as Young Jeezy, who also has been linked to BMF. Jeezy has not been charged with a crime in relation to the cocaine crew.

A tearful McKnight addressed the court at the end of the sentencing. He said he got involved in BMF the record label as a rapper — and took a detour into BMF the cocaine ring. He also said that Big Meech, who treated him like a little brother, tried to steer him away from the cocaine trade.

“Demetirus did not show me that part of his world when I first met him,” McKnight said. “I got onto the wrong side of the track.”

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Darryl “Poppa” Taylor was sentenced this morning in federal court to seven years in prison for his role as a cocaine courier for the Atlanta and L.A.-based Black Mafia Family.

Taylor, one of 10 co-defendants scheduled to be sentenced in Northern Georgia U.S. District Court today, received a sentence reduction for his substantial assistance in the government’s investigation into BMF, a $270 million cocaine enterprise that was headed by the brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory. The Flenory brothers were charged in a separate indictment in Detroit and were sentenced last month to 30 years in federal prison.

Taylor, who moved to Atlanta from New York, is the first cousin of New York-based music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s been described in court documents as a friend of the Flenorys. Combs has not been accused of any unlawful behavior related to BMF.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney said during the hearing that Taylor might be able to offer “very substantial” assistance in another federal investigation. Taylor’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told Judge Orinda Evans that Taylor could offer the government insight into “activities going on in the Northeast.”

Had Taylor not cooperated in the investigation, he would have received a minimum 10 years in federal prison, where there is no parole.

In another court proceeding last year, Taylor testified that he was introduced to Terry Flenory by Paul Buford, Combs’ chief of security. Buford and 38 other defendants were indicted along with the Flenory brothers in Detroit. There has been no resolution in Buford’s case.

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This is an updated and more detailed account of a post that appeared on Fresh Loaf last week.

DETROIT — On Sept. 12, inside a small courtroom on the second floor of the Theodore Levine federal courthouse, an anxious crowd gathered to witness the symbolic end of the government’s two-decade investigation into the Black Mafia Family.

One of the bailiffs barked a succinct order: “No outbursts.” A moment later, a team of U.S. marshals escorted a slender man, gazing straight ahead through rimless glasses, into the courtroom.

“That’s your Uncle T,” one of the onlookers, Lucille Flenory, whispered to her grandson, sitting next to her. The bespectacled man, Lucille’s son, was hardly recognizable as he made his way to the defense table. From the time he was locked up three years ago, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory lost close to 100 pounds.

Shuffling close behind him, in a matching orange jumpsuit, was Terry’s older brother, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the tattooed letters “BMF” peeked above his collar on the left side of his neck. He scanned the courtroom, turned to his supporters and flashed a wide smile.

The two men, both of whom pleaded guilty to federal drugs charges last year, rose from the down-and-out streets of Detroit to build a massive, multistate cocaine empire headquartered in Atlanta and L.A. In less than two decades, the Flenory brothers and their Black Mafia Family amassed a $270 million fortune. The drug organization relied on an estimated 500 employees. And, with Meech’s guidance, BMF helped jump-start the careers of some of Atlanta’s best-known rappers.

Read the rest of this article here.

(Photo courtesy Tammy Cowins)

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DETROIT — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his brother, Terry “Southwest T,” were sentenced in federal court today to 30 years in prison for running the $270 million cocaine empire the Black Mafia Family.

BMF, which had one of its two hubs in Atlanta, has been linked to some of the city’s more sensational crimes and some of its best-known rappers, including Young Jeezy. Jeezy was implicated in BMF’s cocaine ring during the trial earlier this year of BMF’s third-in-command. The rapper has not been charged with a crime relating to the feds’ BMF investigation.

Meech, 40, and Terry, 38, pleaded guilty in November 2007 to running a continuing criminal enterprise. They’ve been locked up since their charges were unsealed in Detroit three years ago.

“I don’t think ‘I’m sorry’ is the right thing to say,” Meech told the judge minutes before he was sentenced. “’I’m sorry’ is what people say when they get caught.”

The CCE charge — which is similar to a RICO, or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case — can carry a life sentence, though the guilty pleas all but guaranteed that the brothers would serve less time. The government was pushing for 30-year sentences, though the judge indicated in November that he might be willing to go as low as the minimum 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Flenorys are among nearly 150 BMF associates who have been indicted in seven states: Georgia, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and California. The majority of those cases have been resolved — most recently, the federal trial in Atlanta of BMF’s third-in-command, Fleming “Ill” Daniels.

Daniels and several of his co-defendants, including the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, who pleaded guilty to cocaine charges, will be sentenced later this year.

More details to come at clfreshloaf.com.

(Photos courtesy of DeKalb County jail, top, and Wayne County, Mich., jail.)

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UPDATE: Flenory brothers get hefty sentences.

Three years after they were indicted for running the massive, multi-state cocaine ring the Black Mafia Family, the brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court this afternoon.

Meech headed the Atlanta headquarters of the $270 million organization and was a huge presence in the city’s hip-hop scene, with ties to well-known rappers including Young Jeezy. Terry, who had a falling out with Meech several years before the indictment and began to run a separate cocaine crew, oversaw BMF’s headquarters in L.A., where thousands of kilos of cocaine were shipped in from Mexico.

The brothers birthed the organization in their hometown  Detroit, where the sentencing hearing will take place. (I’ll be there to write about it and will post an update later today.)

A year ago, Meech and Terry pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise, which is similar to a RICO — or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations — charge. Had they gone to trial and been convicted, they would’ve faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

By pleading guilty, the brothers could serve as little as 20 years. The government is pushing for 30.

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UPDATE: Flenory brothers get hefty sentences.

At long last, the Flenory brothers — who birthed the $270 million, multi-state cocaine ring the Black Mafia Family — are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court. BMF, which had one of its two hubs in Atlanta, has been linked to some of the city’s more sensational crimes and some of its best-known rappers, including Young Jeezy.

Sentencings for Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, 40, and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, 38, are set for Sept. 12 and Sept. 4, respectively, in their hometown Detroit. The brothers pleaded guilty in November 2007 to running a continuing criminal enterprise. They’ve been locked up since their charges were unsealed in 2005.

The CCE charge can carry a life sentence, though the guilty pleas all but guarantee that the brothers will serve less time. The government is pushing for 30-year sentences for both brothers, though the judge indicated in November that he might be willing to go as low as the minimum 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Flenorys are among nearly 150 BMF associates who have been indicted in seven states: Georgia, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and California. The majority of those cases have been resolved — most recently, the federal trial in Atlanta of BMF’s third-in-command, Fleming “Ill” Daniels.

(Photos courtesy of DeKalb County jail, top, and Wayne County, Mich., jail.)

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After a three-day trial that shed new light on the legendary excess of the Black Mafia Family, high-ranking BMF member Fleming “Ill” Daniels was convicted in Atlanta federal court today of one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

The jury, which deliberated for two days, could not reach a conclusion on Daniels’ second count, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The jury announced its verdict at around 4 p.m.

The government’s case against Daniels relied heavily on a half-dozen witnesses who were indicted on BMF-related drug charges in other jurisdictions. The witnesses testified with the hope of receiving reduced sentences.

One of them, a lower-level BMF member named Ralph “Ralphie” Simms, implicated Atlanta rapper Jay “Young Jeezy” Jenkins in BMF’s $270 million cocaine ring. Jeezy has not been charged in the feds’ multi-state BMF investigation, which has netted nearly 150 defendants in seven states. Both the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta and Jeezy’s attorney in New York declined to comment on the allegation.

Daniels, who faces a minimum 20-year sentence on the federal conspiracy charge, is also under indictment in Fulton County Superior Court for the 2004 murder of Rashannibal “Prince” Drummond. Drummond was shot to death in the parking lot of Midtown’s now-defunct Velvet Room.

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Testimony offered yesterday in the federal government’s cocaine-conspiracy case against alleged Black Mafia Family member Fleming “Ill” Daniels revealed a stunning allegation: According to a witness, Atlanta hip-hop superstar Jay “Young Jeezy” Jenkins received kilos of cocaine from BMF.

Jeezy has not been charged with a crime in relation to the allegation. When asked whether there is an open investigation into the rapper, Justice Department spokesman Patrick Crosby said he had no comment.

Scott Leemon, the New York-based lawyer who represented Jeezy on weapons charges out of Miami in 2006, told CL “obviously, I am not going to comment on anything. I will look into it.”

The allegation was raised in U.S. District Court in Atlanta this week by a BMF member named Ralph “Ralphie” Simms. Simms was indicted last year in a related federal drug case in L.A. He told the jury that in exchange for his truthful testimony in the case against Daniels, he hoped to receive a reduced sentence.

Simms testified that his job was to unload BMF’s cocaine from limos outfitted with secret compartments. He said he piled as many as 100 “bricks” of cocaine at a time inside the basement of one of BMF’s stash houses, an ultra-modern Buckhead mansion nicknamed “Space Mountain.” And he said that on one occasion, in the fall of 2004, he was ordered by high-ranking BMF members Chad “J-Bo” Brown and Martez “Tito” Byrth to set aside multi-kilo cocaine “shipments” for two customers. Simms said the customers picked up the coke from him at Space Mountain.

When asked by assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney who the customers were, Simms gave two names: William “Doc” Marshall, a high-level BMF co-conspirator who testified earlier in the trial, and “Jeezy.”

“Young Jeezy the rapper?” McBurney asked.

“Yes,” Simms answered.

Jeezy’s name cropped up several times in the first two days of testimony, but only in relation to his well-publicized friendship with BMF’s Atlanta-based leader, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory. In November, Flenory pleaded guilty in Detroit to running a continuing criminal enterprise. He faces a minimum sentence of 20 years.

BMF is believed to have employed 500 people across the country in its $270 million cocaine ring — nearly 150 of whom have been indicted in seven states. According to testimony in Daniels’ trial this week, BMF only dealt in multiple kilos of cocaine, which were distributed to other cocaine dealers.

Daniels, who was described during testimony as BMF’s third-in-command under Flenory, was indicted along with 15 co-defendants last year in Atlanta. (Daniels also faces a murder charge in Fulton County Superior Court.) He is the only local defendant to go to trial on the federal charges. Nine of his co-defendants, including the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, pleaded guilty over the past two weeks. Another four are fugitives.

Jury deliberations in the case against Daniels began today. (UPDATE: Young Jeezy arrested on unrelated charges; Daniels convicted on one count.)

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Testimony in the federal cocaine conspiracy trial of alleged Black Mafia Family member Fleming “Ill” Daniels continued today. So far, three witnesses with intimate knowledge of the crew have broken BMF’s once-ironclad code of silence.

All three witnesses have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in other indictments. William “Doc” Marshall, the chief executive officer of the crime ring, which was run like a corporation, recalled buying $400,000 worth of cocaine from BMF at a time. On one of those occasions, he testified, Daniels was picking up cocaine, too. BMF higher-ups sold the coke to high-level distributors out of a stash house they operated in Buckhead, Marshall told the jury.

He also described how he helped Daniels obtain a $150,000 convertible Ferrari Modena in the name of a straw purchaser.

The other witnesses, Marshall’s half-brother Karream Sheard and one of Daniels’ alleged cocaine customers, Glenn “Gino” Hamilton, also testified.

The government is expected to call more ex-members of the storied drug crew, whose motto was “Death Before Dishonor,” this afternoon.

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For the first time, an alleged member of the multi-state cocaine crew the Black Mafia Family is on trial in Atlanta.

Fleming “Ill” Daniels has been described by witnesses in court papers as BMF’s third-in-command under the organization’s co-leader, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory. Daniels is being tried on federal cocaine conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court. He also has been indicted in Fulton County for the 2004 murder of Rashannibal “Prince” Drummond in the parking lot of Midtown’s now-defunct Velvet Room. That case has not yet made it to trial.

During opening statements this morning, assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney described Daniels’ alleged role in the BMF enterprise, which is believed to have trafficked $270 million in cocaine across the country from two main hubs. BMF’s Atlanta hub was headed by “Big Meech” Flenory. Its other hub, in L.A., was controlled by his estranged brother, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory. In November 2007, the Flenory brothers pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise in a related indictment out of Detroit.

McBurney told the jury that the government’s case against Daniels would rely in part on co-defendants who pleaded guilty in exchange for a possibly lesser sentence. Eleven of Daniels’ 15 co-defendants pleaded guilty, most of them on Monday. The rest remain fugitives. Among the guilty pleas was the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, who did not agree to cooperate with the feds. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mayor Shirley Franklin responded late Tuesday night with the following comment to Mara Shalhoup’s Fresh Loaf post on the sentencing hearing for Franklin’s daughter, Kai Franklin Graham:

“Check the facts. She plead[ed] guilty to structuring which is clearly defined in the federal code. Her plea had absolutely nothing to do with any other criminal act. ANY OTHER representation by you or anyone else is FALSE. I’ve come to expect unfair, illogical and inaccurate reporting from CL. Mara, [former CL Senior Editor John Sugg] and CL have slandered me and my daughter in headlines and articles and misrepresented the facts for years to sell papers. It’s call[ed] tabloid and yellow journalism.”

Shalhoup also received a statement from Kai Franklin Graham on Tuesday night:

“On Monday, March 17, 2008 in federal court I was sentenced for structuring $14,000 in mortgage payments. Any other representation by anyone about me in this case is false and contrary to the truth.

“As proud as I am of my mother, Shirley Franklin, I believe the intense media attention has been directed to her and not me. The reporting, coverage and headlines have been sensationalized and inaccurate every step of the way in this case. The media coverage of my sentencing yesterday is no exception.

“As I stated in court, I am ready to move on with my life. By God’s grace I will be able to do so.”

We’re, of course, concerned that the mayor has accused us of “slandering” her and her daughter. The facts we reported are the same facts Mayor Franklin points to in her comment: Kai Franklin Graham pleaded guilty to making “structured financial payments” to avoid federal detection.

But to argue, as the mayor does, that her daughter’s “plea had absolutely nothing to do with any other criminal act” ignores the context of the plea. According to prosecutors, at least some of that money came from the cocaine smuggling operation run by Franklin Graham’s then-husband, Tremayne Graham. The mayor’s daughter converted that money into postal money orders in a way to avoid detection by federal officials, and she was in contact with her husband after he had jumped bail and was a fugitive, according to court documents.

Tremayne Graham has since been captured and sentenced to life in prison. He and Kai are now divorced. As part of her plea agreement, Franklin Graham agreed to cooperate with investigators involved in an ongoing probe of criminal activities associated with her ex-husband’s case.

I e-mailed the mayor and asked her to provide specific examples of when our coverage was inaccurate or unfair. She gave her permission to print her e-mailed response: Read the rest of this entry »

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GREENVILLE — Kai Franklin Graham apologized to her mother, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, during a brief sentencing hearing in Greenville federal court today, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Moore.

Moore says the mayor sat in the courtroom during the proceedings — the same courtroom where, a year earlier, her ex-son-in-law was sentenced to life in federal prison on cocaine charges.

Franklin Graham received a sentence of three years probation for making “structured financial payments.” In 2004, Franklin Graham received $14,000 cash from her then-husband — and federal fugitive — Tremayne Graham, a cocaine trafficker who was linked to the Black Mafia Family. She then converted the cash into postal money orders less than $2,000 each in an attempt to evade federal reporting requirements. (Any amount more than $2,000 must be reported to the feds). The money was used in part to pay the mortgage on the couple’s $630,000 Marietta home.

Franklin Graham pleaded guilty to the federal charge in December, and she agreed to cooperate with the government in other investigations. During the April 2007 sentencing of Tremayne Graham, whom Franklin Graham divorced in 2005, Moore said he was interested in what she might know about Graham’s alleged role in the 2004 murder of his co-defendant, Ulysses Hackett, and Hackett’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Misty Carter.

“She might have very critical information about where he was and what he did on the night that Ulysses Hackett was killed,” Moore said.

No one has been arrested in the killings, though Graham has been named a suspect.

Franklin Graham was cited as a potential witness in the trial of one of Graham’s drug associates, Ernest Watkins. However, the trial was cut short last week, when Watkins pleaded guilty on the second day of testimony.

Editor’s Note: This blog post has been updated to clarify that Kai Franklin Graham converted the cash into postal money orders to evade federal reporting requirements.

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GREENVILLE — A drug associate of Mayor Shirley Franklin’s ex-son-in-law pleaded guilty to federal charges today, bringing an abrupt end to his trial on cocaine trafficking.

As part of his plea deal, Ernest Watkins agreed to cooperate with federal authorities “about all criminal activities [of] which he has knowledge.”

Watkins has been identified in federal documents and in open court as the person who supplied Kai Franklin Graham’s then-husband, Tremayne Graham, with a gun that was later used to kill Graham’s co-defendant, Ulysses Hackett, and Hackett’s girlfriend, Misty Carter. No arrests have been made in the 2004 double-murder of Hackett and Carter, who were killed as they lay in bed inside Carter’s Highland Avenue townhouse.

Like Watkins, Kai Franklin Graham — the mayor’s daughter — also signed a cooperation agreement when she pleaded guilty in December 2007 to minor charges related to her ex-husband’s crime ring.

Franklin Graham is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in federal court in Greenville on charges that she made structured financial payments to avoid federal detection. She, Graham, Watkins and more than a dozen other defendants linked to Graham have had cases brought in South Carolina, where Graham’s drug ring delivered multi-kilo shipments of cocaine from Atlanta.
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(Photo of Tremayne Graham [left] courtesy Spartanburg County Jail; photo of Mayor Shirley Franklin by Joeff Davis)

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s daughter, Kai Franklin Graham, pleaded guilty in federal court Dec. 18 to playing a minor role in her ex-husband Tremayne Graham’s crime ring — and she agreed to cooperate in what one prosecutor describes as an “ongoing investigation” into the cocaine enterprise.

Mayor Franklin sat toward the front of the Greenville courtroom, her signature flower pinned to the lapel of her jacket, and watched as her eldest daughter pleaded guilty to a federal “information,” which bypasses indictment and allows the defendant to enter an immediate plea. After the hearing the mayor smiled at her daughter, and the two left the courthouse, declining to comment.

Eight months earlier, Tremayne Graham was sentenced to life in prison in the same courtroom. Graham was charged with cocaine distribution and was described in documents and in open court as an associate of two multistate drug rings, the Black Mafia Family and Sin City Mafia. Graham lived with his then-wife in Atlanta but ran multikilo drug shipments to Greenville, which was why both he and Kai Franklin Graham were prosecuted there.

Five months after Tremayne Graham’s arrest in April 2004, his co-defendant, Ulysses Hackett — and Hackett’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Misty Carter — were gunned down in Carter’s Highland Avenue townhouse. Investigators say Hackett was considering turning federal witness.

According to court testimony, Graham said he feared for his life and used that excuse to move temporarily into the mayor’s house. A few weeks later, Graham cut off his ankle monitor and jumped bond on his cocaine charges. No arrests have been made in the deaths, although Graham is suspected of ordering the murders.

Kai Franklin Graham pleaded guilty to making “structured financial payments” to avoid federal detection — a move that helped throw investigators off of her then-husband’s trail.

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Kai Franklin Graham, 35, daughter of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, pleaded guilty this morning in South Carolina to a federal charge of “structuring financial transactions” to avoid detection.

The charges stem from an investigation of Franklin’s former husband, Tremayne Graham, who pleaded guilty for his leadership role in a cocaine operation affiliated with the Black Mafia Family. Graham received a life sentence, and has been identified as a suspect in the murder of co-defendant Ulysses Hackett and Hackett’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Spelman graduate Misty Carter, in 2004. They were gunned down while sleeping in Carter’s Highland Avenue townhome.

Kai Graham agreed to cooperate fully with the federal investigation, and she must pass a polygraph. If she complies fully, she will spend three months in home confinement and three years on probation.

Mayor Franklin arrived at the federal courthouse in Greenville, S.C., with her daughter, and was in the courtroom during the hearing. She declined to comment after the hearing.

Court records identify Tremayne Graham as a “major drug dealer” with close ties to multistate cocaine empire the Black Mafia Family and related drug ring the Sin City Mafia. Graham, along with 12 other defendants, is accused of moving at least 500 kilograms of cocaine from California to Atlanta, where most of the defendants lived. The cocaine was then allegedly delivered to Greenville. When Graham disappeared in late October 2004, he was out on bond under the condition that he be confined to the $630,000 Marietta home he shared with his wife. But after he cut his ankle monitor and fled, Kai Franklin Graham divorced her husband, who turned up in California a month after the divorce was final.

CL’s Mara Shalhoup will have a full report of the hearing later this afternoon.

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CL Senior Writer Mara Shalhoup has inked a deal with St. Martin’s Press for a book on the Black Mafia Family, based on her award-winning series of stories published over the past 12 months. She has also sold a movie option to Grand Hustle Films, the production company owned by rapper T.I.

“To be able to expand this series into a book is an awesome opportunity,” Shalhoup says. “I also think the story couldn’t be better suited to the big screen. Both St. Martin’s Press and Grand Hustle Films have expressed much enthusiasm for the project, and I’m grateful for their interest.”

Two brothers — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory — have pleaded guilty to being the BMF kingpins.

Meech — who was a well-known player on the Atlanta club scene — pleaded guilty Nov. 19 in Detroit to laundering drug money and running a continuing criminal enterprise. His brother, who was based in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to the same charges a day later. The pleas ended a 15-year investigation into their role in the $270 million multistate cocaine ring that BMF was accused of operating.

To date, more than 150 alleged BMF associates have been charged in more than a dozen indictments in at least seven states. BMF associates have been arrested in connection with at least three violent attacks in Atlanta, including the 2004 shooting in the parking lot of a Midtown club with which Fleming “Ill” Daniels is charged. Daniels is BMF’s alleged third-in-command.

What’s more, Mayor Shirley Franklin’s ex-son-in-law, who was sentenced last year to life in prison for cocaine charges related to BMF, is under investigation for his alleged role in the murder of his co-defendant and the co-defendant’s girlfriend. The mayor’s daughter is also being investigated for what she might have known about her then-husband’s cocaine ring.

(Editor’s Note: Kai Franklin Graham has since pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to her husband’s cocaine ring and has agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.)

Shalhoup expects a publication date of late 2008 or early 2009 for the book.

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