- 3 -
are incorporated herein by this reference. Petitioner
resided in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he filed his
petition in this case.
At one time, petitioner operated an illegal bookmaking
business that was frequented by a number of drug dealers.
In 1987, he was arrested by the FBI while acting as a
middleman in a transaction involving the purchase and sale
of two kilograms of cocaine. The criminal drug charges
stemming from his arrest carried a maximum prison sentence
of 80 years and fines of $2 million. In order to avoid
incarceration on such charges, petitioner pleaded guilty
to a narcotics charge and agreed to work as an undercover
informant for the Philadelphia office of the FBI. In
return, the FBI agreed to bring petitioner's cooperation
to the attention of the judge at the time of sentencing.
In March 1988, petitioner and the FBI initiated an
undercover investigation of money laundering and drug
trafficking in the Philadelphia area. The investigation
was assigned the code name Metroliner. The investigation
took place at petitioner's off-track betting parlor where
petitioner also conducted his illegal bookmaking operation.
Petitioner played a central role in the investigation.
He introduced five undercover FBI agents to drug
traffickers, money launderers, and gamblers. He made over
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011