GREENEVILLE (WATE) - A Greene County man was sentenced Monday to serve 144 months in federal prison for his role in a large drug distribution ring.
Billy Gene Taylor, 35, who also has an address in Salisbury, N.C., was responsible for distributing large quantities of cocaine, marijuana and oxycodone in East Tennessee, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The conspiracy ran between 2005 and 2012 and involved 13 people who were indicted. The federal government said Taylor was one of the most active participants.
In August 2005, officers pulled over a vehicle with Taylor and co-defendants Frankie L. Crum and Frankie D. Crum in Osceola, Fla. More than $56,000 in cash was seized when it was searched.
The men were going to use it to buy at least two kilograms of cocaine and take it back to East Tennessee to distribute.
In February 2010, Taylor was pulled over again. A search of his vehicle found 144 pounds of marijuana in the trunk. Taylor was taking it from Memphis to Greene County to redistribute.
Taylor also helped Frankie L. Crum and others make multiple trips to Florida to get large quantities of oxycodone. He often caravanned to Florida to get as many pills as possible from pain clinics and bring them back to East Tennessee.
Taylor also helped Frankie L. Crum launder money several times.
In May 2010, Taylor and co-defendant Tracy Haney were seen on surveillance tape at a credit union in Kingsport with $30,000 in cash acquired through drug sales. They were there to buy a BMW for Frankie L. Crum and title it in someone else's name.
Authorities searched the Greene County residence where Taylor and Frankie L. Crum lived in February 2011. They found cocaine, marijuana, pills, scales, drug ledgers, a handgun, ammunition and more than $45,000 in cash.
Three of the people involved in the conspiracy have been sentenced. All others are scheduled for sentencing hearings between this August and January 2013.
