MAN SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN GREEN BAY DRUG RING

A 31-year-old Green Bay man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his
role in a major drug ring in the Green Bay area.

Johnny Brantly was sentenced in federal court last week to prison with no
possibility of parole for selling more than a half kilogram of crack
cocaine, said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Schneider.

Brantly was the last of 13 crack dealers to be sentenced in connection with
the drug ring.

In February 1998, the 13 were indicted by a federal grand jury in Milwaukee
for drug trafficking. The charges allege that the gang was tied to the
Conservative Vice Lords, a Chicago street gang that sells drugs. All 13 were
convicted of distributing crack in the Green Bay area.

The indictment says that Earl Miller had a leadership position in the
Conservative Vice Lords in Chicago. In May 1996, he moved to Green Bay where
he organized and led the others in a powder and crack cocaine trafficking
conspiracy, the indictment says.

The group is alleged to have imported and distributed more than 4.5 ounces
of cocaine and crack cocaine per week. The indictment says the drugs were
sold at Green Bay area residences and in local nightclubs.