Multi-State Drug Trafficker sentenced to Life in Federal Prison

A member of a multi-state drug trafficking organization has been sentenced to life in prison. United States Attorney Beth Drake announces that 40-year-old Antonio Crawley was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in federal court in Anderson. The Court also imposed a money judgment against Crawley in the amount of approximately $231,000. The evidence at trial showed that Crawley participated in a drug conspiracy that spanned 13 years, beginning in 2003. Members of the conspiracy operated in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and Louisiana. Testimony from numerous witnesses established that during the course of the conspiracy, members of the conspiracy distributed in excess of 100 kilograms of cocaine, over 1,000 pounds of marijuana, and in excess of 5 kilograms of crack cocaine. Crawley operated primarily in Anderson a local distributor. The evidence showed that Crawley utilized multiple sources of supply for cocaine from Atlanta, Georgia and the Upstate of South Carolina. Crawley participated in the conspiracy for approximately nine years. Law enforcement officers utilized remote surveillance, wiretaps, confidential sources and other investigative techniques to ultimately charge in excess of 20 defendants in the case. Crawley and co-defendant Eric Scott were the only defendants who went to trial. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized in excess of $1.5 million in U.S. Currency, over 5 kilograms of cocaine, quantities of marijuana and crack cocaine, and numerous firearms. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson Police Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Department of Public Safety, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Franklin County (GA) Sheriff’s Office, and the Douglas County (GA) Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Moorman, Head of the Narcotics Unit, was the lead prosecutor.