Mississippi city council member pleads guilty to federal drug charges
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi city council member pleaded guilty to federal charges after running a multimillion-dollar illegal drug business, prosecutors said Thursday.
Biloxi City Council member Robert Leon Deming, III, 47, reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi on conspiracy charges. Deming sold over $2 million worth of CBD and vape products that contained controlled substances, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration received complaints that some of the products he sold made customers ill.
“A public official’s side job should not be running a business that distributes millions of dollars in illegal controlled substances and endangers the health and safety of its customers,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee.
As part of his plea agreement, Deming agreed to forfeit a yellow Monster Truck with oversized tires and a lift kit and over $1.9 million. He will be sentenced in August.