Court Paper Says Former City Councilman Picked Up Cocaine At The Airport
posted September 3, 2008
Former City Councilman John P. "Duke" Franklin has admitted he was furnished cocaine by a drug dealer for over two years, according to a court filing in Franklin's federal money laundering case.
Prosecutor Scott Winnie said, "Franklin told agents that he had been receiving cocaine from Michael Kelley for over two years."
He also said, "Franklin specifically stated that Kelley delivered cocaine to him at the Chattanooga airport during the time period of the offenses charged against him."
The prosecutor said Franklin told agents that Kelley did not charge him for the cocaine.
This was at a time when Franklin was serving as the District 5 council representative. He stepped down from the post after the charges were filed.
The Franklin indictment charges that he helped Kelley falsify a document relating to $69,500 of alleged drug money seized from him (Kelley) in early March.
Prosecutor Winnie said he would not oppose Franklin and Perry Lawrence being tried separately from Kelley.
Franklin and Lawrence are not charged with being involved in the cocaine dealing conspiracy as Kelley and others are.
The court filing says, "To the extent defendants wish to be tried separate from Kelley, the United States concurs."
The case is now set to go to trial on Oct. 15.
The prosecutor said it now appears that Franklin, Lawrence, Kelley, Gerald Cunningham and Ronald Goodwin plan to go to trial.
He said if Kelley decides to settle his case, then the government would not agree that Franklin and Lawrence should be tried separately from the remaining defendants.
Prosecutor Winnie said it is not true that Franklin's "only connection to Kelley's drug distribution activities is that he referred Kelley to a notary."
He said the government can prove that at the time he was stopped that Kelley was a drug dealer who was on his way to Atlanta with nearly $70,000. He said he planned to retrieve three kilograms of cocaine from Demarcus Akins in league with Marcus Lewis "as he had done before for even larger amounts."
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