Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Philly Drug Kingpin Convicted of Hiring Hitman to Kill FBI Informant


By Allan Lengel

A federal jury in Philly convicted drug kingpin Maurice Phillips on Tuesday of hiring a hitman to kill a woman who was cooperating with the FBI in a case against him, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Phillips, 38, who ran a multimillion-dollar cocaine-distribution network stretching from Texas to New York, could get the death penalty when jurors return Monday to hear the penalty phase, the Inquirer reported. He was also convicted of drug trafficking charges.

During trial, hitman Bryant Phillips testified that Maurice Phillips, his cousin, hired him to kill the cooperating witness Chineta Glanville in 2002 because he suspected she was talking to the FBI, the Inquirer reported.

Bryant Phillips testified that he pumped two bullets into the back of Glanville’s head in her suburban home and turned to her godson who was visiting and killed him, the paper reported.

Bryant Phillips has pleaded guilty to murder charges in hopes of getting a break on his sentence, the Inquirer reported.

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