CRACK DEALER WHO SUPPLIED MILWAUKEE GETS LIFE TERM

A Los Angeles gang leader was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for
heading a drug ring that brought more than 100 kilograms of crack
cocaine into Milwaukee.

Keith L. Robinson, 34, sat impassively with his heavily tattooed right
arm draped casually across the back of his chair as U.S. District
Judge Thomas J. Curran passed sentence.

"You're going to leave behind a legacy of misery and death that's
going to continue on long after you're gone," Curran said.

Robinson, a leader of the 118th Street East Coast Crips, and three
associates were found guilty in September of participating in a
conspiracy to ship drugs from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, Minneapolis,
Winston-Salem, N.C., and other cities.

The conspiracy was broken up after a nine-month investigation
spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Robinson was convicted of several counts, including conducting a
continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory life
sentence. There is no parole in the federal system.

His lawyer, John Birdsall, tried to shine a positive light on his
client by saying Robinson and his girlfriend had been together a long
time and he always made sure she and their young child were provided
for.

His girlfriend, Alicia Broadway, was sentenced Jan. 14 to more than 14
years in prison for her part in the conspiracy.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Leslie said Robinson and his
associates "ravaged" the lives of many people.

Robinson was the last of 12 people convicted of participating in the
conspiracy to be sentenced. The sentences of the others ranged from
four to 30 years.