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Leniency for Drug Trafficker: He's Hailed for Testimony

Posted on: Saturday, 11 March 2006, 06:01 CST

By Michael Hinkelman, Philadelphia Daily News

Mar. 11--A convicted drug trafficker who faced a mandatory 20-year prison sentence but cooperated last year during the government's prosecution of a notorious Philadelphia drug lord reaped his reward yesterday.

U.S. District Judge John R. Padova, acceding to recommendations by both prosecutors and defense counsel, knocked 17 years off the sentence of Eugene "Twin" Coleman, a key government informant in its prosecution of Kaboni Savage.

Coleman, who cut and recompressed cocaine for the Savage organization, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, 10 years of supervised release and fined $2,500. He's been in prison since April 3, 2003.

With credit for time already served, and credit for good behavior, he could be out of prison within a month. Then, he'll likely enter the federal witness protection program.

At a time when authorities are encouraging witnesses of gun and drug crimes to come forward and not be intimidated by thugs, Coleman, 35, has emerged as Exhibit A for the government's campaign.

Coleman lost his mother, 15-month-old son and four other relatives when arsonists torched his mother's North Philadelphia home in October in an attempt to silence him while Savage was awaiting trial.

Coleman, who pleaded guilty in June 2004 to conspiring to manufacture and distribute 100 kilos of cocaine, refused to be intimidated and testified in November against Savage anyway.

Savage, 30, who ran a multimillion-dollar cocaine distribution network with his partner, the late Gerald Thomas, was convicted of federal gun, drug, witness intimidation and money laundering charges in December and faces life behind bars and a hefty fine.

Savage is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20.

During the trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Ehlers played FBI tape-recorded conversations between Savage and Dawud Bey conspiring to hunt down Coleman's family.

Bey, convicted of drug trafficking charges, was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison, five years' supervised release and fined $2,000.

Information gleaned from wiretaps in the Savage case also opened the door to the feds' City Hall probe.

Both Ehlers and Judge Padova praised Coleman for his "extraordinary" courage.

"He showed a tremendous amount of courage and integrity and forthrightness," said Ehlers. "Yes, he paid a heavy price, but the rest of the citizens of Philadelphia are better off because of his perseverance and courage."

Coleman stood before Padova and apologized for his criminal behavior and promised the judge he would enter a trade school and turn his life around.

"I'm not a bad person," he said in a barely audible voice.

After sentencing Coleman, Padova said: "Let no one leave this court believing it's only 42 months Mr. Coleman has been sentenced to. Every day this man lives he's living a sentence of confinement. He will always have to be looking over his shoulder. The loss of his family is confinement because he no longer enjoys the liberty to visit with them."

Some members of Coleman's family watched yesterday's proceedings but none wanted to talk with a reporter afterward.

Coleman's attorney, Jose Luis Ongay, also declined comment.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Philadelphia Daily News

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