Georgia men plead guilty in drug-smuggling case

<p>Two Georgia men pleaded guilty in a cocaine smuggling scheme uncovered earlier this year after a lengthy police investigation, including one who gained notoriety with a sensational kidnapping almost 40 years ago.</p><p>Gary Stephen Krist, 60, of Auburn, Ga., pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to import cocaine and a charge of bringing in and harboring illegal aliens.</p><p>His son-in-law, Henry Jackson Greeson, 48, also of Auburn, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to import cocaine.</p><p>Krist was on parole for his conviction in the 1968 buried-alive kidnapping of Emory University student Barbara Jane Mackle, who was rescued after her father paid a $500,000 ransom. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was released after serving 10 years.</p><p>Greeson was arrested March 6 at a Point Clear marina as he waited for a sailboat operated by his father-in-law. Agents seized 38 pounds of Colombian cocaine that authorities estimated was worth more than $1 million in street value.</p><p>The cocaine smuggling offense carries a minimum prison term of 10 years, but Greeson could be eligible for a lighter punishment under sentencing available to some defendants with no prior criminal history.</p><p>Greeson could also receive a lighter sentence if a judge determines he has provided "substantial assistance" to investigators, defense lawyer Bradley Murray told the Press-Register in a story Thursday.</p><p>He attributed his client's participation to poor judgment and difficult times.</p><p>"It's unusual to see something like this" considering Greeson has never been in trouble with the law before, he said.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/5/123686