LUBBOCK, Texas - A now former Texas Tech University assistant professor has pleaded guilty to his leadership role in a federal fentanyl distribution conspiracy, admitting he used his expertise in supply chain management to run a sophisticated narcotics network that traded drugs for sex and caused at least eight overdoses.

Daniel Taylor, 51, of Lubbock, entered his plea on July 1 to conspiring to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.

Federal prosecutors said Taylor utilized his academic position at the university's Rawls College of Business to construct a trafficking network centered around a Lubbock motel.