CALIFORNIAN GETS FOUR-YEAR PRISON TERM IN COCAINE-TRAFFICKING CASE

A California drug dealer who was part a conspiracy that brought
hundreds of pounds of cocaine into Kansas City each month was
sentenced Thursday to four years and two months in federal prison.

The local investigation into Sergio Nunez set off a cascade of arrests
that eventually led to federal convictions against two former members
of the Kansas City Chiefs, Tamarick Vanover and Bam Morris.

Just after his arrest in January 1999, Nunez began cooperating with
authorities, who asked U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to take
that into account in sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Oliver said that Nunez had testified
truthfully at the trials of the conspiracy's ringleader -- Victor
Brown of Fresno, Calif. -- and at a 1999 trial in Kansas City.

"His cooperation was above average for a central figure," Oliver said.
"He deserves credit for what he did."

Brown was convicted of cocaine trafficking and sentenced to life in
prison, Oliver said.

Nunez was arrested in Kansas City after he arranged for the shipment
of more than 90 pounds of cocaine from Mexico. The subsequent
investigation brought Gregory E. Burns under suspicion. Burns, who has
since pleaded guilty to a drug charge, was a friend and personal
assistant to Vanover, a Chiefs wide receiver and kick returner.

=46ederal agents learned that Vanover had helped transport a stolen
sport-utility vehicle to Florida. And while watching Vanover,
authorities uncovered a scheme headed by Morris, a Chiefs running
back, to bring marijuana from Texas to the Kansas City area.

Vanover pleaded guilty to a federal stolen car charge and cooperated
with investigators. He was sentenced last fall to four months in
confinement. Morris eventually pleaded guilty to a drug-trafficking
charge and also is cooperating. He has not yet been sentenced.

Addressing the judge, Nunez accepted responsibility for his crimes and
said he had learned his lesson.

"My life in the drug business is over," Nunez said. "I have no excuses
for what I did."