Randy G. Massey, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on August 22, 2007, DAVID T. MORROW, a/k/a “Gucci,” age 33, of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, was convicted on all counts following a jury trial in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois.

MORROW was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute more than fifty (50) grams of crack cocaine. The conspiracy began in February 2003, and continued through March 2007, in Jefferson County, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee.

MORROW was also convicted of one count of using the residence located at 425 South 17th Street, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, for the purpose of distributing crack cocaine from July 25, 2006, through at least September 20, 2006.

With respect to the conspiracy conviction, MORROW faces a minimum penalty of twenty years in prison and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of up to $8,000,000, and a term of at least ten years of supervised release.

With respect to the conviction for using a residence for the purpose of distributing crack cocaine, MORROW faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.

The investigation in this case was a cooperative effort between the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Illinois State Police, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, pursuant to their participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a joint and cooperative effort of the United States Attorney’s Office, the Jefferson County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.