BMF: The book and the movie

CL Senior Writer Mara Shalhoup has inked a deal with St. Martin’s Press for a book on the Black Mafia Family, based on her award-winning series of stories published over the past 12 months. She has also sold a movie option to Grand Hustle Films, the production company owned by rapper T.I.

“To be able to expand this series into a book is an awesome opportunity,” Shalhoup says. “I also think the story couldn’t be better suited to the big screen. Both St. Martin’s Press and Grand Hustle Films have expressed much enthusiasm for the project, and I’m grateful for their interest.”

Two brothers - Demetrius {Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory - have pleaded guilty to being the BMF kingpins.

Meech - who was a well-known player on the Atlanta club scene - pleaded guilty Nov. 19 in Detroit to laundering drug money and running a continuing criminal enterprise. His brother, who was based in Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to the same charges a day later. The pleas ended a 15-year investigation into their role in the $270 million multistate cocaine ring that BMF was accused of operating.

To date, more than 150 alleged BMF associates have been charged in more than a dozen indictments in at least seven states. BMF associates have been arrested in connection with at least three violent attacks in Atlanta, including the 2004 shooting in the parking lot of a Midtown club with which Fleming “Ill” Daniels is charged. Daniels is BMF’s alleged third-in-command.

What’s more, Mayor Shirley Franklin’s ex-son-in-law, who was sentenced last year to life in prison for cocaine charges related to BMF, is under investigation for his alleged role in the murder of his co-defendant and the co-defendant’s girlfriend. The mayor’s daughter is also being investigated for what she might have known about her then-husband’s cocaine ring.

(Editor’s Note: Kai Franklin Graham has since pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to her husband’s cocaine ring and has agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.)

Shalhoup expects a publication date of late 2008 or early 2009 for the book.