BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Authorities say a federal judge sentenced the leader of one of Birmingham's largest cocaine and heroin trafficking rings to nearly 23 years in federal prison.
Thirty-seven-year-old Patrick Dewayne Hall was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years and 11 months after pleading guilty in January to drug charges including drug-trafficking conspiracy and money laundering.
A federal grand jury in October returned a 72-count indictment charging Hall and 23 others.
The prosecution resulted in the forfeiture of large amounts of cash, four vehicles valued at over $160,000, five parcels of real property valued at over $300,000, and 23 money judgments levied against the defendants for $10 million.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and other agency members of the FBI's North Alabama Safe Streets Task Force investigated the case.