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James Rosemond

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James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond (born February 5, 1965)[1] is a former American businessman and convicted drug trafficker. He was the CEO of Czar Entertainment,[2] a record management company for musicians including The Game and Sean Kingston.[3] He was a well-known figure in the hip hop music industry, who was described by The New York Times as "a prince at the royal court, whose ties to rap music’s biggest stars were known far and wide."[4] In May 2012 he went on trial on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering.[5] On June 5, 2012, he was convicted of drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, firearms violations and other financial crimes associated with his being the head of a multi-million-dollar transnational cocaine selling organization.[6] In the indictment prosecutors noted he made over $10 million since 2007 in trafficking drugs in musical instruments from east to the west coasts of the US.[7]

In February 2012, he was arrested for the murder-for-hire of Lodi Mack, an associate of rapper 50 Cent. He is in prison,[when?] awaiting sentence on 13 counts of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He is awaiting trial for conspiracy to commit murder.[8][9]

A 2010 New York Daily News article by Alison Gendar shocked the hip hop world when she provided government documents showing that Henchman, head of the hip hop anti-snitch movement,[10] was himself a federal informant.[10] The NY Post article quoted investigators as saying "Rosemond dishes when it suits him, yet makes a fortune off artists ... who titled a 2005 album "Stop Snitchin/Stop Lyin.".[10]

But it was not his role as a federal informant or even his drug conviction that made him notorious in the rap world, but his long rumored involvement in the attack that set off the East Coast – West Coast rap wars.[11] As The New York Times said "For years, he has denied allegations that he was involved in a feud that led to the murders of the rappers Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls."[11]

A 2008 LA Times article by Chuck Philips[12] implicated Henchman in the 1994 attack of Tupac Shakur at the Quad. The article said that Henchman ordered three thugs to ambush Tupac. The article was later retracted by the LA Times when they and Philips learned that they had mistakenly included (among many uncontroverted sources) filed FBI 302s which turned out to be forged.[13] Philips 2008 article was thought to be corroborated in 2011 when Dexter Isaac confessed to attacking Tupac on Henchman's orders.[14][15][16] Following Isaac’s public confession, Chuck Philips corroborated Isaac as one (among five) of his key unnamed sources.[17] The 2008 Philips article was entered into evidence as People's exhibit number 1 against Henchman[12] in his trial on which Henchman was convicted on all 13 counts.

According to prosecutors, Henchman admitted to setting up Tupac's ambush during one of nine "Queen For A Day" proffer sessions with the government in autumn of 2011. The original prosecutor transcripts are available in a Village Voice author Chuck Philips article.[18] The confession was also picked up by the Huffington Post[19] among many other newspapers.

Tupac himself blamed Henchman in a song about the ambush at the Quad called "Against All Odds"; Tupac rapped:

Jimmy Henchman,...
[You] Set me up, wet me up,...stuck me up
Heard the guns bust but you tricks never shut me up

— Tupac Shakur, Against All Odds[18][19]

References

  1. ^ USA v. Rosemond (2:98-cr-00550-DT), Filing #3, Case Summary (C.D. Cal. 06 March 2000), Text.
  2. ^ Johnson Publishing Company (10 March 2008). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 37. ISSN 00215996 Parameter error in {{issn}}: Invalid ISSN..
  3. ^ SPIN Media LLC (December 2006). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. p. 85. ISSN 08863032 Parameter error in {{issn}}: Invalid ISSN..
  4. ^ Schwartz, Michael (June 5, 2012). "Rap Music Figure Convicted of Running Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Ring". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. ^ Nate, Schweeber (May 14, 2012). "Drug Trial Starts for Figure Prominent in Rap World". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2012. Prosecutors say James Rosemond is a drug kingpin, and he went on trial Monday in federal court in Brooklyn on charges that he led a criminal enterprise that sold millions of dollars [sic] worth of cocaine, laundered money and tampered with witnesses.
  6. ^ Schwirtz, Michael. "Rap Music Figure Convicted of Running Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Ring". N.Y./Region. The New York Times. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  7. ^ Nate, Schweeber (May 14, 2012). "Drug Trial Starts for Figure Prominent in Rap World". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  8. ^ Marzulli, John (February 24, 2012). "Hip-hop mugol faces murder charges for the killing of 50 Cent's buddy". New York Daily News.
  9. ^ Gale, Alex (September 26, 2011). "Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond Hit With Additional Charges". BET.
  10. ^ a b c Gendar, Alison (September 13, 2010). "No-snitch advocate Jimmy Rosemond, hip-hop manager of The Game, listed as informant in court records". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  11. ^ a b SCHWEBER, Nate (May 13, 2012). "Drug Trial Starts for Figure Prominent in Rap World". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  12. ^ a b (Court case exhibit: USA vs James Rosemond Case # 1:11-Cr-00424 5/14/2012 Document # 100, exhibit 1)
  13. ^ "Times retracts Quad ambush story". LA Times. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2012. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |title= at position 16 (help)
  14. ^ Evans, Jennifer (June 21, 2001). "Hip hop talent agent arrested charged with operating drug ring". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  15. ^ KTLA News (July 13, 2012). "Convicted Killer Confesses to Shooting West Coast Rapper Tupac Shakur". The Courant. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  16. ^ Watkins, Greg (June 15, 2011). "Exclusive: Jimmy Henchman Associate Admits to Role in Robbery/Shooting of Tupac; Apologizes To Pac & B.I.G.'s Mothers". Allhiphop.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  17. ^ "Chuck Philips demands apology on Tupac Shakur". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  18. ^ a b Philips, Chuck (June 12, 2012). "James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond Implicated Himself in 1994 Tupac Shakur Attack: Court Testimony". Village Voice. Retrieved 2012-06-24.
  19. ^ a b Makarechi, Kia (2012-06-26). "James Rosemond, Tupac Shooting: Mogul Reportedly Admits Involvement In 1994 Attack". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2012.

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