By Frank Main
The Chicago Sun-Times
What do Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and retired Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller have in common?
Drug dealers use their jersey numbers -- 7 and 31, respectively -- to describe quantities of crack cocaine, the FBI said.
On Tuesday, the FBI announced six men have been charged in an 18-month investigation into drug dealing in south suburban Robbins. More than half a kilogram of cocaine and $7,000 was recovered, the FBI said.
One of the defendants, Jeremy Jackson, 27, of Robbins was secretly recorded using Vick’s and Miller’s names as code words for quantities of crack, according to an affidavit by FBI agent Christopher Soyez.
''Michael Vick’’ meant 7 grams and ''Reggie Miller’’ stood for 31 grams, the affidavit said.
On Aug. 17, 2009, for instance, Jackson asked an alleged drug supplier: ''Why don’t you bring me the Michael Vick?’' and was told: ''Aight.’' Later, on Sept. 4, 2009, Jackson was asked whether he wanted 31 grams of crack cocaine and said, ''Yeah, uh, just a Reggie Miller, man,’' the affidavit said.
Oddly, the defendants continued to make drug deals on their cell phones even though they suspected that authorities had a wiretap on someone’s phone, according to the affidavit.
In one call, a woman called defendant Marcus Jones, 29, of Robbins, and begged him to get out of the business.
''One day you’ll turn your life around and realize that selling you know what [crack cocaine] is not good for you,’' the woman said on the secretly recorded call.
Jones allegedly responded: ''Aww, it’s good for me. It ain’t good for you to smoke it.’'
In one snapshot of the griminess of the drug business, the affidavit said one of the defendants, Tavaris McGregor, 33, of Calumet Park, allegedly swallowed 3.5 grams of crack cocaine on Aug. 13, 2009, when he was stopped by a Cook County sheriff’s officer. McGregor recovered the drugs when he went to the bathroom, the affidavit said.
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