Pubdate: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 Source: Daily Press (VA) Copyright: 1999 The Daily Press Contact: http://www.dailypress.com/ Note: Byline by The Associated Press CON SAYS HE RAN A POT RING INSIDE JAIL A longtime informant and convicted felon claims he headed a marijuana ring inside Bland Correctional Center as part of an undercover operation to help the United States government's war on drugs. The only problem, federal authorities say, is that they didn't know about it. Michael Fulcher's defense was raised Monday in U.S. District Court, where his attorney sought to separate his case from the other 21 defendants accused in a drug-trafficking and money-laundering conspiracy. The other defendants include prison guards and inmates and their friends and relatives. Defense attorney David Whaley said Fulcher was gathering evidence for the government that he believed would help him to get his 1993 burglary convictions overturned. "He (Fulcher) was more or less gathering information as he'd been trained to do for 20 years," Whaley said. Rebuffing Fulcher's claim, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mott said, "It was only when we found out about it, that he was selling marijuana, that he tried to spin it." Judge Jackson Kiser said he would rule later on Fulcher's motion to separate his trial. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D