August 14, 2012

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.- Billy Gene Taylor, 35, of Greene County, Tenn., and Salisbury, N.C., was sentenced on August 13, 2012, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 144 months in federal prison for his participation in a vast drug organization responsible for the distribution of large quantities of cocaine, marijuana and oxycodone in the Eastern District of Tennessee,

The overall criminal conspiracy operated between 2005 and 2012 and involved 13 indicted individuals. Taylor was one of the most active participants in the conspiracy. In August 2005, during the early stages of the conspiracy, a vehicle occupied by Taylor and co-defendants Frankie L. Crum and Frankie D. Crum was pulled over in Osceola, Fla. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of over $56,000.00 in U.S. currency, which they were going to use to purchase at least two kilograms of cocaine and transport it back to East Tennessee for distribution.

In February 2010 Taylor was once again pulled over, this time by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP). A search of his vehicle on this date revealed 144 pounds of marijuana in the trunk, which Taylor was transporting from Memphis, Tenn., to Greene County, Tenn., to be redistributed.

Taylor also assisted Frankie L. Crum and others in making multiple trips to Florida to obtain large quantities of oxycodone. He often caravanned with others on the trips to Florida in the effort to get as many pills as possible from pain clinics operating there and then transport them back to the Eastern District of Tennessee for distribution.

Additionally, Taylor assisted Frankie L. Crum by laundering money on several occasions. In May 2010, Taylor and co-defendant Tracy Haney were observed on video tape surveillance at a credit union in Kingsport, Tenn., with $30,000.00 in cash, which was acquired through drug sales, to purchase a BMW for co-defendant Frankie L. Crum and title it in someone else’s name.

A search warrant was executed at a residence occupied by Taylor and Frankie L. Crum in February 2011 in Greene County, Tenn. During the search, officers located quantities of cocaine, marijuana, pills, scales, drug ledgers, a handgun, ammunition and over $45,000.00 in cash.

At this time, three of the individuals involved in the conspiracy have been sentenced, with all others scheduled for sentencing hearings between August 2012 and January 2013.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Taylor and others in the conspiracy include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Office, THP, Tennessee Third Judicial District Drug Task Force, Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office, Morristown Tennessee Police Department and Greene County Tennessee Sheriffs Office, all of which provided invaluable assistance during the course of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Taylor represented the United States.

This case was part of the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) programs. OCDETF is the primary weapon of the United States against the highest level drug trafficking organizations operating within the United States, importing drugs into the United States, or laundering the proceeds of drug trafficking. The HIDTA program enhances and coordinates drug control efforts among local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. The program provides agencies with coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug trafficking and its harmful consequences in critical regions of the United States.