Local & State Headlines

Plea deal made in drug case

• Investigators know of at least one public official who may have taken a bribe from an admitted drug dealer, authorities say.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — An area real estate developer pleaded guilty to federal drug charges Tuesday after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, authorities say.

George Andrew Barfield, 54, is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison after authorities say he conspired with a confidential informant and undercover drug agents to buy a large quantity of cocaine in January.

Barfield has been jailed on state drug trafficking charges at the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus since his arrest. Tuesday’s hearing was the first time that a federal investigation into the drug transaction had been revealed.

At the request of The Albany Herald, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed a motion with Judge Louis Sands to make Barfield’s case file, which has been sealed, available to the public.

In the plea agreement, Barfield admitted to orchestrating a drug transaction in which he agreed to buy between 500 grams and two kilograms of cocaine.

In court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Ferguson read sections of the agreement, including a portion of the government’s evidence against Barfield in which he reportedly bragged to undercover agents that he could bribe local officials for protection and hinted that he had done so in the past.

Investigators say they believe they know of at least one area public official who may have accepted money from Barfield, but refused to comment further citing an ongoing investigation.

During the hearing, Barfield waived his right to have the evidence against him brought before a grand jury, entered the guilty plea and waived his right to an appeal.

Barfield could spend between five to 40 years in prison and be ordered to pay up to a $2 million dollar fine. There is no early release in the federal system.

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