Former Leader of Drug Gang Could Face the Death Penalty

A federal jury will begin death penalty deliberations by Friday in the case of an infamous drug kingpin from Queens.

The jury last week convicted Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff of hiring a hit team from Harlem to execute two rivals in 2001. The penalty phase of the trial opened yesterday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn and is expected to conclude tomorrow afternoon.

The prosecution of McGriff is the third capital case since January to unfold in the U.S. courthouse located at Cadman Plaza.

Two weeks ago, the federal judge presiding over the case, Frederic Block, expressed severe reservations about allowing the death penalty phase of the trial to go forward against McGriff. But the prosecution proceeded as originally planned yesterday, with an assistant U.S. attorney, Jason Jones, telling the jury that McGriff deserved the "ultimate punishment."

In the 1980s, McGriff led a violent drug gang called the Supreme Team. The murders that he was involved in occurred after his release from federal prison, where he had been serving a sentence on drug charges.

"You are here to decide the appropriate sentence for a man who named himself Supreme and then acted like it," Mr. Jones said.

He told jurors that, following the murder of one of his victims, McGriff sent a text message to a friend via cellular phone. McGriff 's text message read, "You missed the party," according to Mr. Jones.

From his seat at the defense table, McGriff, 46, appeared composed as Mr. Jones called for his death. McGriff sat with his fingers interlaced in his lap. He swiveled his chair back and forth.

If the jury does not give a death sentence, McGriff, 46, will be sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the murders of Troy Singleton and Eric Smith.

A defense attorney, Jean Barrett, told the jury that the defendant, one of nine siblings, has shown he is capable of friendship and love.

"His life has value and he should not be wiped off the face of the earth," Ms. Barrett said.