FORMER GOVERNMENT SNITCH RECEIVES 45-YEAR SENTENCE

Drug-dealing gang member Kevin Snulligan probably won't be noted as the
smartest government snitch ever.

After his arrest last year on serious drug charges, Snulligan, 28, of
Chicago, agreed to tape phone conversations with his Mexican drug suppliers
for the government.

The only problem: The suppliers started chatting about the hit man
Snulligan had ordered, authorities said.

Snulligan cut them off, but that phone faux pas, plus Snulligan's attempt
at intimidating a witness and his lengthy criminal record, led to a 45-year
prison sentence for his drug crimes on Thursday.

The case, prosecuted by Matthew Crowl and Brian Ellis, started July 26,
1999, when police conducted a raid of Gangster Disciples in Chicago. One
gang member fingered Snulligan as a mid-level drug dealer.

Later that day, police searched Snulligan's home. They found crack and
powder cocaine, 16 pounds of marijuana, a loaded .45 Colt Defender pistol,
a bulletproof vest, electronic scales and a money counter, plus a drug
ledger detailing to whom Snulligan had sold drugs and how much he was owed,
authorities said.

Snulligan appears to have ordered the hit man to deal with a drug customer
well behind in his payments, authorities said. But the plan was thwarted
soon after Snulligan's arrest.

Snulligan stopped cooperating with federal officials and was convicted in
federal court after a trial in May.