United States Attorney Jim Letten
Eastern District of Louisiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      CONTACT: KATHY ENGLISH   

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2008                              PHONE: (504) 680-3068          

WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/LAE   <http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/LAE>                                 
FAX: (504) 589-4978

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – ISAAC J. BOLTON, age 25, of  Slidell,Louisiana, pled guilty yesterday and MARK D. FRIDGE, age 28, also of Slidell, Louisiana, pled guilty today in federal court to participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five (5) or more kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.  

        On the conspiracy charges, each defendant faces a maximum term of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term of ten (10) years of imprisonment, a fine of $4,000,000, and a minimum of five (5) years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment.

        According to court documents, an investigation led to court-authorized wire intercepts of communications occurring over the cellular telephones known to be used by Bruce Carter, Jr. and Gabriel J. Bolden, co-defendants in a related case.  Over the course of these wiretaps, the defendants were overheard orchestrating and discussing numerous narcotics deals during the months of December, 2006, January, 2007, and February, 2007.  Additionally, investigators learned that, at Bolden’s direction, various individuals had attempted to conduct counter-surveillance of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s narcotics office located within John Slidell Park on Robert Road in Slidell .  It was also learned that the main source of cocaine supply was in Houston , Texas .

        Based upon the joint investigation between the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a federal complaint was filed against Carter, Bolden, and two other individuals on February 15, 2007 and arrest warrants were issued by the U. S. Magistrate Judge.  A federal complaint later was filed against two additional individuals once it was learned that they traveled to Houston with Bolden in order to purchase a supply of cocaine and marijuana.

        Also according to court documents, investigators learned through intercepted conversations that Bolden and the group made a trip to Houston on February 18, 2007 .  Several individuals were taken into custody at approximately 3:00 a.m. on February 19, 2007 , when they returned to Bolden’s house in Slidell .  During a search subsequent to those arrests, investigators recovered approximately three (3) kilograms of what was suspected to be cocaine hydrochloride and one hundred (100) pounds of what was suspected to be marijuana.  Those substances were found in the bed of Bolden’s pick-up truck.  Tests conducted by members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office later confirmed that those substances wer positive for the presence of cocaine and marijuana.

        For his role in the overall conspiracy, BOLTON admitted to possession with the intent to distribute approximately sixty-four (64) grams of cocaine hydrochloride, twenty-eight (28) grams of cocaine base, or “crack cocaine,” and one (1) pound of marijuana during the course of the drug conspiracy which began at some point before July 25, 2006 , and continued until February 19, 2007 .

        FRIDGE likewise admitted yesterday to possession with the intent to distribute approximately eighty-five (85) grams of cocaine hydrochloride and one hundred (100) pound of marijuana during the course of the same conspiracy.

        BOLTON , FRIDGE, and eight (8) other co-defendants were indicted on July 27, 2007 .  In the directly related case, six (6) other individuals previously were indicted on March 16, 2007 and charged with participating in the same narcotics conspiracy.

        As mentioned above, the case was investigated by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.  Members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office carried out most of the fieldwork for the FBI, and conducted much of the physical surveillance during the time that the two cellular phones were tapped.

        Five co-defendants in the related case – Gabriel J. Bolden, Bruce Carter, Jr., Dorian T. Hart, Charles E. Prewitt, and Edwin J. Salinas – previously entered guilty pleas in connection with the above-described conspiracy.  One – Shane P. Bossier – is set for trial before the Honorable Sarah S. Vance on Monday, March 24, 2008 , and four of the ten defendants in the related case are set for trial before the Honorable A.J. McNamara on Monday, March 17, 2008 .  Both cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Christopher Cox of the Violent Crime Unit.