against his ten-year jail sentence.

The Smith's Parish man and former Spinning Wheel nightclub manager was convicted by a New York jury of drug charges.

Yesterday his lawyer James Druker told The Royal Gazette the appeal would probably not be heard until the fall.

The hearing is likely to be held at the US Court of Appeal for the 2nd Circuit in New York City.

Simons, who is in his 40s, is fighting conviction and sentence.

After a seven-day trial in August, 1996, he was found guilty of conspiring to import at least eight kilograms of cocaine from Curacao in the Dutch Antilles to Bermuda, via America. The drugs were worth up to $200,000.

He was also convicted of attempting to import cocaine into the United States.

Both allegations were denied.

German-born co-defendant Andres Geson, who has relatives in the Dutch Antilles, was found guilty of conspiracy, but was cleared of the second charge.

Assistant US Attorney for New York's eastern district, Frank McClain-Sewer, who prosecuted, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Earlier this year, he said Simons was in a US prison awaiting appeal.

Simons, who had been described as co-owner of Black Family Productions, was arrested in a room at the Doubletree Hotel, Manhattan, in May 1995 by the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

Geson was extradited from Curacao.