A Kansas City ironworker who helped federal investigators crack a high-end cocaine ring on the Country Club Plaza pleaded guilty to a drug distribution charge Thursday.</p><p>Conrad &#8220;Rio&#8221; Degennaro, 65, admitted that he sold cocaine for Jacques Lavigne, who catered to a &#8220;white collar&#8221; clientele, prosecutors have said. After investigators cornered Degennaro, he identified Lavigne as his supplier and began wearing a wire to help authorities gather evidence. Lavigne was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month.</p><p>In a conversation with U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, Degennaro acknowledged that he became a member of a commune in college and developed a casual attitude about drugs.</p><p>&#8220;When I was in school at George Mason University, I fell into kind of a hippy thing and I thought drugs would be legal by the millennium,&#8221; Degennaro said.</p><p>Degennaro said he never graduated from college, but got bored with drugs and alcohol and went to work in the construction business. He said he retired as an ironworker at age 57, but needed a way to stretch his pension.</p><p>Then he met Lavigne.</p><p>&#8220;He let me know I could supplement my pension by selling cocaine,&#8221; Degennaro said. &#8220;I went right into it.&#8221;</p><p>Degennaro said his list grew to about 30 clients who were drawn to the high-grade cocaine that Lavigne supplied.</p><p>Prosecutors estimated that between 2002 and 2007, Degennaro sold almost 50 pounds of cocaine for Lavigne.</p><p>Because of the volume of drugs Degennaro sold, he usually would be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.</p><p>Prosecutors said, however, that he provided substantial assistance to the investigation and probably will qualify for a lower sentence.</p><p>Degennaro said he has returned to work in construction.