BUST PROPELLED CASE AGAINST 'KINGPIN'

Tip Led To Snell's Charges Of Conspiring To Sell Drugs

The drug bust that would eventually put Robert Snell behind bars charged as
a "kingpin" started the way many investigations do - on the word of an
unnamed tipster. The information spurred undercover work, then a search
warrant. On a chilly night in February 2000, narcotics officers from
Georgia, South Carolina and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration
converged on a stucco house on the 3600 block of Wrightsboro Road. They
found three locked safes loaded with methamphetamines, ecstasy pills,
powdered cocaine and marijuana, according to a police report.

Since then, indictments and guilty pleas have come down in federal court
like dominoes. A year and four months after the Wrightsboro Road raid, the
trail led to Mr. Snell. Drug circles know him as "Fat Boy," prosecutors say.

Mr. Snell, 45, is accused of conspiracy and engaging in a continuing
criminal enterprise of peddling cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy and
marijuana. His indictment includes charges of using a telephone to make deals.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday in federal court.

Many jaws dropped when news of his arrest came June 11, and not just those
of his family members, who say they don't believe he dealt drugs. The
6-foot-4-inch, 350-pound Mr. Snell had been a regular at several Augusta
restaurants.

At Logan's Roadhouse in west Augusta, he came in about once a week, sat
along the rails in the bar area, and ate soup and sipped unsweetened tea, a
manager said. He tipped well and often made chitchat about sports.

"We always miss our regulars when they go away," the manager said.

Four men named as co-conspirators in Mr. Snell's indictment have already
been convicted on federal drug charges. Court filings indicate they might
become key witnesses in the case against him.

Police arrested Gilbert Lewis and Nicholas Mims in the Wrightsboro Road
raid. In August, Mr. Lewis was sentenced to three years and four months in
prison plus four years of supervised release, and Mr. Mims received a
sentence of nine years and four months in prison with five years of
supervised release, according to their case files.

Next came Michael Vanderhoof, who a court document says lived at the
Wrightsboro Road home. A judge sealed his indictment until his arrest in
Sweden in September. He had to be extradited, and he pleaded guilty in
March to conspiracy.

In his plea agreement, Mr. Vanderhoof admitted to conspiring with Mr. Lewis
and Mr. Mims to distribute 5 kilograms of cocaine and 500 grams or more of
methamphetamines. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and four years of
probation.

On May 30, Jon Teal of North Augusta, another alleged co-conspirator,
pleaded guilty to traveling from South Carolina to east Texas on Dec. 2 as
part of a drug enterprise. That same day, he signed a plea agreement
promising to cooperate fully, then walked on a $10,000 bond. He awaits
sentencing.

The charges filed against Mr. Snell are, by far, the most serious. The rare
charge of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise - also known as the
"kingpin statute" - carries a mandatory 20-year sentence, a maximum
sentence of life in prison and several million in fines, as do the
conspiracy and distribution counts.

Mr. Snell also stands to lose an elegant new home on Nicoles Way north of
Grovetown. A forfeiture complaint filed by prosecutors says he paid for its
construction with drug profits, then placed the title in his fiancee's name
to avoid suspicion.

The complaint says those arrested after the search of Mr. Vanderhoof's home
identified Mr. Snell as their supplier and agreed to cooperate.

The pink-brick and gray stucco house has 11 rooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, a
three-car garage with a recreation room over it and a wraparound porch with
floor-to-ceiling windows, according to Columbia County land records. Total
floor space is almost 5,500 square feet.

Taking Mr. Lewis, Mr. Mims and Mr. Vanderhoof off the streets has done
little to slow down the drug war in the Augusta area, Richmond County
Sheriff's Lt. Robert Partain said. Methamphetamines continues to
proliferate. Ecstasy, or MDMA, has become the latest craze among
20-something clubgoers, he said.

In the past six months, Richmond County Sheriff's Office has made three
times as many arrests for ecstasy as they did in the previous two years,
Lt. Partain estimates.

"I'm sure it'll have some impact," he said of Mr. Snell's arrest. "But
there'll be somebody to take his place. We haven't identified the whole
network, and somebody will want to rise to the top."