Ex-Broncos player to admit to single drug charge

BILLINGS, Mont. - Former NFL player Travis Henry has signed a plea deal with prosecutors in which he admits to a single cocaine conspiracy charge in exchange for two other charges being dropped.

Under a plea deal filed with the court Tuesday, the 30-year-old Henry will admit to conspiracy to possess at least 11 pounds of cocaine with intent to distribute the drug.

If U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull accepts the plea, Henry faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, $4 million fine and at least five years of supervised release.

Henry and co-defendant James Mack, 29, of Bow Mar, Colo., were arrested in Denver in October, after authorities in Montana found six pounds of marijuana and about 6.6 pounds of cocaine that the pair allegedly supplied.

The government said Henry trafficked cocaine between Colorado and Montana and that one of his associates had delivered six pounds of cocaine to Billings on prior occasions.

In exchange for Henry's guilty plea, prosecutors said they would drop two counts of cocaine distribution that each carried another 10-year minimm in prison.

Henry's lawyer in Denver, Harvey Steinberg, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Mack also has reached a plea deal with prosecutors, although details have not been revealed. His sentencing is set for April 23.

Henry was cut by the Denver Broncos in June after playing one season of a four-year, $22.5 million contract.

In the government's offer of proof in his drug case, federal authorities quote an informant who described Henry as the "money guy" in the cocaine conspiracy.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)