METH SUPPLIES PUT 3 IN PRISON

Owners, Bookkeeper Of Chemical Company Also Forfeit Profits.

A former college chemistry professor, who said Monday he was "astonished
that something like this could happen in the United States," was sentenced
to nearly 25 years in prison for his conviction involving the sale of
millions of dollars in chemicals and equipment to Central Valley
methamphetamine manufacturers.

Terry Crandall Mincey, 53, the former majority owner of Custom Lab Supply
Inc. in Oakland; Calvin Roberts, 37; and Betty Lou Lewis, 52, were
sentenced Monday in what has been described as the largest prosecution of
chemical suppliers in the nation.

Roberts, also part owner of Custom Lab, was sentenced to nearly 20 years,
and Lewis, a former bookkeeper for the business, was sentenced to 10 years
by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Coyle.

The three were indicted in November 1997 and convicted last year by a jury
on conspiracy and money-laundering charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William L. Shipley, who prosecuted the case, said
it was "a novel and unique investigation" that targeted suppliers in an
effort to make the chemicals more expensive and reduce availability to
methamphetamine manufacturers.

"From the results we've seen, beginning in 1998, we believe that the
government has achieved that on an interim basis," Shipley said, adding
that the purity of the illicit drug sold on the streets today is 15% to
20%, compared with the 90% to 95% of three years ago.

It is being cut by a powder that is a common horse-feed supplement and
readily available at tack and feed stores, Shipley said. Investigators have
launched a public-awareness campaign to combat the sales of the supplement,
he added.

After the Custom Lab prosecution, another major Bay Area chemical supply
house agreed to close and pay civil penalties, and a third is under
indictment in the federal court's Northern District of California.

Coyle also ordered forfeiture from the defendants of $20.4 million, the
total cash collected by Custom Lab between Jan. 1, 1995, and Oct. 31, 1997,
for its sales of the chemicals and equipment used to manufacture
methamphetamine.

The judge also forfeited each of the defendants' personal assets, including
Mincey's house and his two bank accounts worth a total of $1.6 million.

Mincey, who holds a doctorate in chemistry and once taught the subject as
an assistant professor at the University of California at San Francisco,
was represented by a lawyer at the trial but represented himself during
Monday's sentencing hearing. He told the judge he had done the best he
could with his company "and am proud of what I accomplished businesswise."

"I am stunned by what happened," Mincey added.

During the six-week trial, defense lawyers had described Mincey and the
others as honest business people who recorded every dime they received, who
followed all regulations and who cooperated with government agents.

The original indictment returned by a federal grand jury four years ago
also named Custom Lab as a defendant, but the government in February filed
a civil action seeking millions of dollars in cash and other assets from
the company and dropped it from the criminal case.

The trial evidence revealed that between Nov. 1, 1994, and Nov. 1, 1997,
Custom Lab sold more than $20 million worth of chemicals and equipment used
by methamphetamine manufacturers throughout the state.

Coyle followed the recommendations of a presentence report in each case
with the exception of Lewis, who had been recommended for nearly 16 years
in prison. The judge instead gave her 10 years.

Shipley said it had not been decided whether to appeal the judge's
departure for Lewis, but it appears unlikely.

Coyle also allowed Lewis to remain free on bail and surrender June 25.
Mincey and Roberts have been in custody since their convictions.