D.C. MAN DENIES RUNNING BRUTAL DRUG RING

Defense attorneys yesterday disputed prosecutors' claims that a Southeast
Washington man was the longtime leader of a violent drug gang, saying that
Tommy Edelin was an aspiring musician who was "trying to build a life, not
a criminal enterprise."

"He had only one motive coming out of that rough neighborhood he was born
to, and that was to survive," defense attorney James Rudasill told the jury
in opening remarks at Edelin's trial on federal charges that could lead to
the death penalty. "He sits here 32 years later before you, with only one
motive, and that is to survive."

Edelin, the first defendant to stand trial in a capital case in the
District since 1972, will testify in his own defense, Rudasill said. That
testimony won't come soon, however. Prosecutors plan to begin presenting
evidence against Edelin and five co-defendants today in a trial that
lawyers expect will take four months. The other defendants, including
Edelin's father, Earl, face maximum terms of life in prison.

According to prosecutors, the men were part of the 1-5 Mob, a drug ring
that was based in the Stanton Dwellings public housing complex in Southeast
Washington. Prosecutors said Edelin ordered the killings of 11 people from
1985 to 1998 in a bid to protect a lucrative crack-cocaine trade from
rivals and eliminate potential witnesses.

Rudasill and co-counsel Pleasant S. Brodnax III accused prosecutors, the
FBI and D.C. police of tying unrelated slayings to build a conspiracy case
against their client. The star witnesses, they said, will include numerous
criminals who struck plea bargains in hopes of winning lighter sentences.
Rudasill called it "the worst case of blame-shifting that one could
imagine" and maintained that the witnesses are actually responsible for the
violence.

Brodnax said Edelin acknowledges selling drugs in the late 1980s and early
1990s, but he insisted that Edelin was not in charge of any gang and
directed no violence.

Saying that Edelin showed courage by overcoming a difficult upbringing,
Brodnax told the jury that Edelin and his sisters were forced to care for
themselves as children because their mother used drugs and wound up in
prison. Edelin quit school after the seventh grade and later turned to drug
sales to raise money, Brodnax said. At various stages, Edelin attempted to
get into legitimate businesses but failed in his bids to run a hair salon,
open a bookstore and get a license to sell real estate, Brodnax said.

Then, in 1993, Edelin founded Drama City Records, a recording studio that
he hoped would launch a career as a rap artist, Brodnax told the jury. Soon
the drug-dealing ended, the lawyer said.

"Tommy was rising above the ashes of his childhood" and wanted to help his
community, Brodnax said.

In 1995, Edelin talked about his new life in a local television news story,
acknowledging that he had sold drugs in his past. Brodnax maintained that
the story led to the investigation that resulted in Edelin's arrest in
1998; prosecutors said Edelin came under investigation in 1996 because he
was linked to much violence.

Brodnax and Rudasill alleged that prosecutors targeted Edelin in a 93-count
indictment because he refused to help them in another major drug investigation.

"They wanted him to cooperate. Now they want him convicted, and they want
you to kill him," Brodnax told the jury. After prosecutors objected, U.S.
District Judge Royce C. Lamberth instructed the jury to disregard the remark.