Word: important
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...enjoyed the high life as much as he did. They romped through the hotel lobbies, slapping palms and spending freely. They glittered with gold chains and had flashy women on their arms. Like most businessmen, they enjoyed a rowdy national convention. Their trade, however, was illegal. It was the import, distribution and sale of cocaine...
Bennett's illegal enterprise expanded so swiftly that the crack trade soon dominated the economy of the South Central area. With its many logistical needs, it lured otherwise respectable businessmen into helping out and reaping profits. Like other import firms, Bennett needed delivery vehicles (in this case, fast cars), secure communications (cellular telephones), warehouses (safe houses), banking facilities (money launderers) and retailers (street dealers). As smaller distributors and street sellers all collected commissions while spreading the poison through the black neighborhoods, crack became even more profitable to the area's underground economy than it was to the foreign suppliers...
...swift roundup of the gang on Nov. 19, 1988, Bennett was arrested in Tempe and Villabona in Malibu. Harris was already serving a sentence for attempted murder. Last May they and five associates were convicted on a federal charge of conspiracy to import cocaine. This week they face sentencing. Bennett and Villabona were expected to get life imprisonment without parole. For Bennett, the thrilling ride on the fast track is over. The millions he spent are merely memories. His houses and fancy cars were seized by federal agents...
...soon to tell whether the gamble will pay. Shogun shrewdly combines the spectacle of recent British-import musicals with the romantic story line and charming set pieces of Broadway tradition. It will have passionate enthusiasts for its bold theatricality and epic sweep; it comes with a built- in constituency. But it may make few new converts. Unless one knows the book or TV show, the plot is hard to get involved in, especially in the breakneck opening minutes. The love scenes, although competently acted, are so flatly written that they lack emotional intensity, a defect that the lush, quasi-operatic...
...biggest British music import to hit U.S. shores lately is not George Michael's latest album or a new Rolling Stones tour; instead it is 70,000 sq. ft. of retail space. That is the total size of two superstores that Britain's HMV Group Worldwide plans to open in Manhattan this week. The larger of the two will be the biggest music store in the U.S. Fast-growing HMV -- the initials stand for His Master's Voice -- is the largest chain in Britain, and has opened stores in Australia, Canada and Japan. Among its innovations are in-store music...