Pubdate: Tue, 12 Jan 2010
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2010 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Contact: http://www.newsobserver.com/about/newsroom/editor/
Website: http://www.newsobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304
Author: Thomasi Mcdonald

MAGAZINE DIVULGES DRUG-RING SECRETS

A magazine has hit the streets of the Triangle that discloses
privileged information from a federal criminal investigation that sent
a man to prison for life. Some say Diamond Resort Magazine, which has
sold about 1,000 copies at $10 apiece, is a tool to intimidate
potential witnesses from testifying at criminal trials. The magazine
reprints court documents including witness interviews and plea
agreements, and it refers to "snitching" as violating the "code of the
street."

"People are already afraid to give information anonymously," said
Donna-maria Harris, whose 24-year-old son was one of four men murdered
inside a West Durham townhouse five years ago. Harris was appalled
when she found out information about her son's death was in the
magazine. "Now we have a magazine that's printing information about
who comes forward, with their names and pictures. To me it's just one
step above kiddie porn. It comes across as an intimidation tactic."

The magazine's publisher, Delora Croudy, 23, who lives in Wake
County, said her motive is to scare young people straight.

"I'm giving it to you raw, without the sugar coating. This is
reality," Croudy said Monday. She said the magazine's name "just came
to me." Diamond Resort's front cover features a photograph of Donald
Stanton "Face" Shealey, 27, of Durham. In July, Judge Carl Fox
sentenced Shealey in a New Hanover County federal court to life in
prison for drug trafficking and money-laundering charges.

Diamond Resort maintains that Shealey was convicted largely on the
unreliable testimony of friends who were part of his organization and
informed on him after they were arrested.

Croudy befriended Shealey several years ago and says she was impressed
with his charm and his singing talents.

Shealey named his record label "Family Music Foundation," and his song
"I'm In Love With These Streets" got considerable airplay on local
radio stations. Croudy said Shealey was also a hip-hop promoter at
nightclubs where he brought in up-and-coming talent. He and the crew
appear in videos on YouTube holding aloft wads of cash in front of
high-end cars, including a tricked-out black Bentley and a yellow Maserati.

After wiretapping the crew's cell phones for six months, prosecutors
said that FMF stood for the Face Mob Family, one of the most violent
drug organizations in North Carolina.

Eleven people charged along with Shealey received sentences of less
than 16 years. Federal court documents that appear in the magazine
show that five of the co-defendants signed plea agreements.

The conviction angered Croudy into action. "I had been thinking about
starting a magazine for a while," Croudy said. "This story just kind
of fell in my lap. But I didn't do the story to point the finger at
anybody, or discredit anybody."

Shealey obtained the documents in the magazine from his attorney and
gave them to his mother at the end of his trial. Croudy got the
documents from Shealey's mother.

Unlike arrest and search warrants, the documents are typically not
available to the public or the media because they contain information
about a criminal investigation.

"There are certain types of information exempt from disclosure under
the public records law," Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh declined to comment on the
magazine. 'No rats on my block' "FACE versus DEFENDANTS" reads the
headline of the magazine's lead story. "The Code Of The Street Is
Dead," reads a smaller headline. The magazine touts the First
Commandment among criminals: "Thou Shalt Not Squeal." "Over 100 Names
Mentioned In Statements. Is Your Name In There?" reads the bottom of
the front cover. The magazine's Web site sells T-shirts that say, "NO
RATS ON MY BLOCK!"

The magazine has created a buzz in some Durham and Raleigh
neighborhoods, drawing buyers from as far away as Washington, D.C.
Baqir Mujahid, owner of Block Stylz, a boutique in East Durham that
specializes in body oils, soaps and urban apparel, said everyone from
gangbangers to grandmothers purchased copies. "Everyone knew these
kids. They grew up right here in Durham," Mujahid said. "A lot of
people feel their plight, right or wrong." A relative's anger
Donna-maria Harris said she was livid that Diamond Resort contains
what she thought was confidential information about her stepson's
murder. While the magazine focuses on Shealey's conviction, it also
contains information about other crimes, including the quad ruple
killing in which Harris' stepson perished. "Our concern is that the
information in the magazine may hinder an ongoing investigation,"
Harris said. "People who may know stuff about our son's death may be
reluctant to come forward because apparently these documents can get
out into the public."

While the magazine continues to fly off Block Stylz' counter, Mujahid
said snitching has been going on for a long time.

"Snitching ain't nothing new," he said. "People been snitching since
Jesus." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake