PRE-CONCERT ALE BUST GETS REVIEW

The Duplin County district attorney has asked state Alcohol Law
Enforcement agents to provide him with detailed reports on the
alcohol and moonshine bust last week that netted six members of the
Willie Nelson entourage. District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Monday
that he had heard many complaints since Thursday, when the entourage
members were cited outside the Duplin County Events Center for
possession of a half-ounce or less of marijuana and three-fourths of
a quart of moonshine.

Some have questioned why 14 ALE agents were sent to work the Willie
Nelson concert with Duplin County sheriff's deputies and Kenansville police.

Others have complained that such raids will keep other bands and
musicians from booking the $13 million events center in the small
town of Kenansville. "A lot of these events centers are in the red to
begin with," said Hudson, a prosecutor for three decades. "There's a
lot of people wondering, 'Why did you do this to begin with?' I'm
trying to make sure everything has been done appropriately."

Nelson, the maverick country music star with the reputation of being
a longtime pot smoker, was scheduled to play Thursday night before a
crowd of 3,000. But an hour before the show, ALE agents and local law
enforcement officers fanned out across the events center grounds and
ended up citing 14 people with 25 violations. Nelson's bass player,
Dan Edward "Bee" Spears, 60, of Franklin, Tenn., was cited on a tour
bus where many of the citations were issued. Five production crew
members were also cited. John Duane Vogt, the general manager of the
events center, and Donald Farrior, an assistant from Kenansville,
were cited by ALE agents for interfering with the investigation.

Hudson said four ALE agents are expected to turn over written reports
by midweek. "You've got a lot of people upset that ALE did what it
did," Hudson said. "I just want to make sure all the charges are warranted."