The Region - News from Feb. 25, 1987

A Long Beach man who formerly played professional baseball was sentenced in U.S. district court in Sacramento to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being part of a nationwide cocaine smuggling operation. William Simpson II, 29, was a first-round draft choice of the Texas Rangers and played briefly in that organization before being released by the club in 1978. Prosecutors said he was one of the three top West Coast distributors of the ring allegedly controlled by Michael Dawson of Chico. Simpson was among 30 people named in a 30-count federal grand jury indictment.