MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - A suspect accused of playing a role in the violent drug empire of Memphis man Craig Petties pleaded guilty to multiple drug and racketeering charges on November 22, 2011.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Memphis, Clarence Broady, aka "Killer," entered a guilty plea on charges of Racketeering Conspiracy, four counts of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering, two counts of Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire, and Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute more than Five Kilograms of Cocaine.
Broady was a member of a massive cocaine operation based in Memphis that stretched from Mexico to states throughout the southern U.S. In addition to establishing distribution points, the Petties drug ring also sought to murder rivals, suspected informants and others in Memphis.
Clarence Broady faces multiple life sentences.
The kingpin of the cocaine operation, Craig Petties, officially pleaded guilty in February 2011 to more than a dozen charges stemming from a 50-count indictment issued in 2002. Petties entered his plea in December 2009, at which time the federal court ordered the plea sealed. He fled Memphis and was arrested in Mexico on Jan. 11, 2008.
