Attorney: Socialite will plead guilty in drug-trafficking case
Friday, January 28, 2011 02:52 AM
By Kathy Lynn Gray

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Lisette Lee was arrested in June after federal agents said she flew to Ohio with 13 suitcases of marijuana. Lisette Lee, who says she is an heiress to the Samsung fortune, has asked to change her not-guilty plea to drug charges in U.S. District Court in Columbus.

Judge Algenon L. Marbley has set a hearing for 10:15 a.m. next Friday. Lee's trial in the drug-trafficking case was scheduled to begin Feb. 24.

James Owen, Lee's attorney, confirmed that she'll now enter a guilty plea, but he didn't say for which charges.

"Lisette is requesting the court to allow her to change her plea from not guilty to guilty, in order to accept full responsibility for her conduct, which was the unfortunate result of people she met at an extremely vulnerable period in her life," Owen said.

Two of the seven defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.

Yesterday, a third filed a plea agreement with the court. Frank S. Edwards, Lee's bodyguard, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess illegal drugs. The charge carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years and a $2 million fine.

Under the agreement, Edwards, 40, of Hacienda, Calif., would be considered a minor participant and agree to provide investigators with information about the conspiracy. Other charges would be dropped.

The agreement also says that U.S. attorneys would not oppose his application for a status that could allow a judge to sentence him to less time in prison.

Lee, 29, was arrested in June after Drug Enforcement Administration agents said they found 13 suitcases of marijuana she and others, including Edwards, had offloaded from a private jet in Columbus after flying from California.

She was indicted in September and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 2,200 pounds or more of marijuana as well as 12 possession charges. She pleaded not guilty in October.

Lee says that she is the granddaughter of Samsung company founder Byung-Chul Lee of South Korea. Samsung has denied the connection.

Lee's adopted parents, who raised her in the United States, have issued statements saying Lee's claim is true.

kgray@dispatch.com

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