Court records reveal dealer allegedly sold high-quality pot to Titans

An undetermined number of Tennessee Titans players regularly purchased high-dollar, hydroponically grown marijuana in ounce quantities from a Nashville drug dealer, according to court records recently filed in the drug case of a former Nashville police officer sentenced to federal prison.

Transcripts filed as part of a potential appeal in the case of former Metro detective Charles R. Williams III show that state’s witness and admitted drug dealer Corey Cecil allegedly sold high-quality marijuana to multiple members of the Titans between 2003 and 2005.

It is unclear from the court records whether any current Titans or NFL players were part of Cecil’s alleged customer base.

Titans officials Thursday said they were not aware of any of their players making any such purchases and had no further comment on the matter.

The NFL’s substance abuse program is confidential in nature, and teams are not allowed to discuss it publicly and often are not made aware of which players might be in what particular stages of the program itself. NFL players are subjected to random drug testing, and a player who fails a third drug test is given a four-game suspension. Since the team moved from Houston in 1997, only Josh Evans and Travis Henry have received suspensions for testing positive for illegal drugs.

Corey Cecil, who has had multiple arrests and drug-dealing convictions between 1993-2005, was sentenced to 66 months in prison in July 2006 for conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute the drug.

Prosecutors say Cecil was part of an operation that involved his uncle, former Metro Nashville Police Officer Ernest Cecil, and Williams. Part of their plan called for the officers to make phony drug busts of Corey Cecil and those he made deals with, in order to allow Corey Cecil to escape with the drugs and cash involved so the drugs could be resold and the money distributed among those involved.

In testimony as part of a plea agreement to secure his cooperation with prosecutors and reduce his sentence, Corey Cecil, in the transcript from Jan. 17, 2007, said some of the Titans players alleged to have made the purchases also wired money for the drugs into the bank account of Corey Cecil’s mother, Brenda. Corey Cecil stated in his testimony that his mother was unaware that the transactions were part of a drug-dealing operation.

In cross-examination by Williams’ attorney Peter Strianse, Corey Cecil was asked about the transactions, “The people that were sending you those wire transfers were connections that you had made on the streets when you more or less were a hydroponic marijuana dealer to the stars; is that right?”

Cecil asked Strianse what he meant by “To the stars,” and the attorney replied, “Tennessee Titans players, you would set them up with ounce quantities of high-quality hydroponic?”

Cecil then replied, “Yes, sir.”

Cecil also confirmed in questioning that he was “pinching out” seven grams of each ounce and selling it to the players as a full ounce with the Titans players unaware of being shortchanged.

According to Cecil’s testimony in the transcript, he would purchase the marijuana for approximately $650 per ounce, then after removing the seven grams, would sell the drug for “Like a grand.”

All three men, including the two officers, involved in the operation were convicted in the matter. Last September, Ernest Cecil received a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison after being convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams off cocaine, one count of aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute the drug, one count of robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act and one count of brandishing a firearm during a robbery attempt.

Williams was convicted of misprison of a felony after originally being indicted on drug and robbery charges over an April 2003 drug robbery, which was planned and executed by the Cecils.