The Nation - News from Dec. 1, 1987

The senior member of the Michigan Senate pleaded guilty to a pair of felony drug charges and could face expulsion from the Legislature and a maximum of 20 years in prison. Basil Brown, 60, whose volatile temper and drinking problems have made headlines in the past, saved his claim of entrapment for a possible appeal, and an attorney for Brown said he is also studying other grounds for an appeal. In a 10-minute hearing before Ingham County Circuit Judge James Kallman in Lansing, Brown pleaded guilty to one charge of delivering a small amount of cocaine and a second charge of delivering a small amount of marijuana, both felonies. Two other drug charges against him were dropped. Kallman set sentencing for Jan. 4.