MILAN JURORS SELECTED; FEDS PLAN TO PUSH DRUG ANGLE Not long after a jury was selected yesterday for Camden Mayor Milton Milan's corruption trial, federal prosecutors unveiled a tactical weapon that had the defense screaming foul. Although the case against Milan doesn't charge the mayor with drug trafficking, the prosecution hopes to call two admitted Camden drug kingpins-turned informants, to elicit testimony that Milan trafficked in cocaine and borrowed drug money before turning to politics. Such testimony is "clearly meant for one purpose," defense attorney Carlos A. Martir Jr. complained to U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano, "and that is to taint this trial." "This is not a drug conspiracy indictment," Martir said, indignantly. "It is a political corruption indictment, period," he emphasized. "The taint is too great, your honor," Martir added, asking the judge to bar such testimony. All of this took place after the jury - eight women and four men, including three African-Americans but no Hispanics and no residents of Camden - was sent home, not to return until the trial begins on Nov. 6. As for linking Milan to drug trafficking, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renee M. Bumb and Mary A. Futcher, the case prosecutors, contend such testimony is necessary to prove two counts of a 19-count indictment. These two counts allege that Milan knowingly laundered drug profits in November 1994 by borrowing $65,000 from a known drug kingpin, Jose "J.R." Rivera. At the time, Milan was a contractor whose company was building houses in Camden and needed $60,900 as collateral for a performance bond required for the project. Both Rivera and Saul Febo, the other drug kingpin, had a reputation in Milan's neighborhood as drug dealers, the prosecutors told the judge. Febo would testify that Milan "taught" Febo the drug business in 1985, when Febo claims he was a worker in Milan's own drug network, the prosecutors said. Febo also claims that he sold Milan about 2.2 pounds of cocaine in 1992, when Febo had his own drug business, and that Milan asked about buying another kilogram of cocaine in the summer of 1994, several months before Milan borrowed the $65,000 from Rivera. In exchange for their testimony against Milan, both drug dealers hope to win some leniency for crimes, including murder. Another prosecution witness, Milan's former partner in the construction business, Gholan "Joe" Darakshan, who pleaded guilty earlier to insurance fraud, will testify that Milan told him that Saul Febo was the "biggest drug dealer around." All of this would help prove that Milan knew the borrowed $65,000 came from the drug trade, the prosecutors assert. The judge said he would rule on whether such testimony was admissible before the trial starts in 10 days. In addition to money laundering, Milan is charged with taking bribes from the mob and others, with extorting a $5,000 campaign contribution, with insurance fraud, and with stealing $7,500 from a campaign committee to pay for a group holiday in Puerto Rico.
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