BLUES CLUB OWNER ANTONE PLEADS GUILTY TO DRUG DEALING

AUSTIN - Blues club owner Clifford Jamal Antone pleaded guilty Wednesday to
one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and one count of money
laundering, the U.S. attorney's office said.

His sentencing hasn't been scheduled.

The marijuana distribution violation has a maximum punishment of life
imprisonment and up to $4 million in fines. The maximum punishment for the
count of laundering monetary instruments is up to 20 years in prison and a
$500,000 fine.

Mikal Habeeb Amuny, who was charged in the same indictment with Mr. Antone,
appeared with him before U.S. District Judge James R. Nowlin and also
pleaded guilty to distributing marijuana.

Mr. Antone owns a club bearing his name that is one of the nation's top
venues for blues artists. He has served 14 months of a five-year sentence
in federal prison in 1984 for possessing more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.

On Monday, Mr. Antone's associate Richard Esper pleaded guilty to
laundering drug money.

Mr. Esper, a 46-year-old El Paso lawyer, admitted he tried to hide the
source of $75,000 he obtained from marijuana sales and since has forfeited
that cash.

Federal prosecutors agreed to press no further charges, though federal
court documents allege Mr. Esper introduced Mr. Antone to an El Paso drug
smuggler who made the club owner a vital link in an international
drug-peddling scheme.