Music

DEA Nabs 'Jimmy Henchman', Informant Seeks $100K for Plea Deal

NEW YORK, USA - Fugitive hip-hop mogul James Rosemond was apprehended earlier on a federal warrant, accused of running a cocaine ring that trafficked drugs in music equipment cases between Los Angeles and New York. Rosemond was given up by a former friend who seeks a plea deal for more concessions.

Rosemond, owner of Czar Entertainment, was taken into custody by Drug Enforcement Administration agents who got a tip that he was at the W Hotel in Union Square, law enforcement sources told NBC New York. He was arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn, and did not enter a plea.

Sources told NBC New York that Rosemond, who is known as “Jimmy Henchman” and has managed Brandy, Sean Kingston and The Game, fled and was chased by marshals up Park Avenue. He was carrying a doctored I.D. and a passport application, sources said.

Authorities believed Rosemond, who lived in Brooklyn until he went on the run in recent months, was planning to leave Thursday for the Bahamas.

Rosemond's Former Colleague Must Locate $100K to Earn Plea

A man prosecutors describe as a key witness against alleged cocaine kingpin/rap music manager James Rosemond is close to striking a plea deal--once he can locate $100,000 in cash that he apparently swiped from his felonious compatriots and has agreed to forfeit to Uncle Sam.

During an appearance on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, prosecutor Todd Kaminsky and a lawyer for Khalil Abdullah reported that while a plea deal is in the works, the imprisoned defendant has yet to put his hands on money that he entrusted to an associate before his late-April bust. The forfeiture of those six figures would be a component of Abdullah’s plea agreement, Kaminsky told Judge John Gleeson.

The identity of the person to whom Abdullah, 37, gave the money was not revealed, nor did the lawyers detail the difficulties encountered in obtaining the stash, which Kaminsky said Abdullah’s coconspirators likely would believe “he is not entitled to.” As previously reported by TSG, Drug Enforcement Administration agents believe that Abdullah helped himself to some of the proceeds from cocaine trafficking by the so-called Rosemond Organization.

Abdullah began cooperating with federal investigators soon after his arrest. In a criminal complaint filed against Rosemond, Abdullah--who is referred to only as a confidential witness (specifically “CW-1”)--is said to have “confessed to participating in the Rosemond Organization’s narcotics-trafficking conspiracy” and agreed to roll on his friend “in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence.”

The lawyer for Abdullah--who Kaminsky said is being held “in a secure jail facility”--asked Gleeson to seal the transcript from Thursday’s court hearing over safety concerns if other inmates learned that he had access to $100,000. While Gleeson agreed to the sealing request, a TSG reporter was present in the courtroom for the hearing.

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Source: Urban Music 2000 , The Smoking Gun