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Killer Mike is making sure his good name stays clean. The Atlanta rapper has denied doing any business with Cesar Pina after an old clip went viral.
HipHopDX is reporting that the Georgia native is making sure his name is not connected to Cesar Pina in any way. Earlier this week a video of the trapper turned rapper with the real estate entrepreneur from years back. The two are seen standing in front of a housing complex in Atlanta. “I haven’t hijacked or kidnapped DJ Envy — don’t worry, he’ll be back,” the MC quipped. “But I’m with my man Cesar right now. I said, ‘Cesar, you got to show me the gold mines that surround me.’
As expected Cesar chimes in and gets his huckster on. “We got a 28-unit building. Looks like a home run to me. 28 two-bedrooms, town house-style. We see opportunity out here. That’s all we see” he said. Killer Mike added “And we not going to pay a lot of money for it,” with Pina responding “Oh no, that’s key. Under market value.” The Trigger Warning host would go on to say “I’m about to go ride around and look at some more sh*t”.
In the wake of Cesar Pina getting hit with federal charges for allegedly running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme the clip resurfaced prompting Mike to clear things up. “A mutual friend told me I should meet him so I did,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We did no business, I never endorsed him and if u watch the video I just looked at some sh*t he showed me and got outta there.”
You can see the original clip with Killer Mike and Cesar below.
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OK, this is yuge!
A second co-defendant in Donald Trump’s RICO indictment for allegedly interfering with the 2020 election in Georgia has pleaded guilty. But not just any defendant. Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell was one of the most visible, publicity-loving members of the ex-president’s legal team. She was basically ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani‘s sidekick as they tied up courts at every level with frivolous cases and easily dismissed alleging the fiction that Trump lost his bid for a second term because of illegal voting, made-up ballots and rigged voting machines.
She was also charged with six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties, which, on Thursday, she pleaded guilty to.
From USA Today:
Powell agreed to testify in future trials in exchange for serving six years of probation, a $6,000 fine and paying restitution of $2,700.
Powell is one of 19 co-defendants charged in the case, which alleged a broad racketeering conspiracy. Other portions of the conspiracy included the recruitment of fake presidential electors to vote for Trump despite President Joe Biden winning Georgia, lying about election results to state officials and in court records, and soliciting public officials to violate their oaths of office.
Legal experts said Powell’s agreement to testify against others in the case is “very significant” because she dealt at length with Trump, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others charged in the conspiracy.
“I think it’s very significant because she is one of the people who was closest to Trump in many of these alleged nefarious activities, and as part of the agreement, she must testify truthfully against Trump as well as the other defendants,’ said John Banzhaf, a George Washington University law professor who has been following the case closely. “So it is a major victory for Fani Willis and certainly a major concern for Trump.”
Powell was initially charged with conspiring with bail bondsman Scott Hall, who has also pleaded guilty to the RICO charges against him and others to access election equipment provided by Dominion Voting Systems without authorization. They even hired computer forensics firm SullivanStrickler to send a team to copy software and data from voting machines and computers they were told they couldn’t legally access. Another way of putting that is that they used fraudulent means to prove Dominion’s voting machines were fraudulent, which, of course, they were not.
It’s worth pointing out that conspiring to undermine democracy in order to keep Trump in office after he was legally voted out should not be a misdemeanor and certainly should result in more than less than a year of probation and less than $10,000 in fines. On top of that, Powell won’t even have to call herself a convict officially.
More from USA Today:
Powell’s agreement fell under Georgia’s First Offender Act, which will allow her to “honestly say” she was never convicted of the charges if she successfully completes her probation and is discharged, according to prosecutor Daysha Young. If Powell violates the terms of her first-offender sentence or commits another offense while on probation, her first-offender status could be revoked and she could be resentenced to the maximum, Young said.
Still, legal experts feel that Powell’s plea is a big step toward the prosecutors proving their case against Trump and the other 17 co-defendants considering she was such a major player in his circus-like MAGA games.
“Miss Powell is at the vortex, the center, the hub of the alleged conspiracy,” said Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department official who has decades of experience with RICO cases. “She will be a phenomenal witness for the government because she was at strategic meetings, part of important conversations and she was a leader in implementing the scheme to discredit the lawful election of Joe Biden.”
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Donald Trump goes through lawyers at about the same rate civilians go through shoes and sneakers. The ex-President just hired a new lawyer, who in the recent past represented rappers Rick Ross. T.I. and Gunna, and singer Usher, among others, on the same day he is to surrender to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office for his RICO case.
Yeah, Cheeto caught a RICO charge (which has created some now well-traveled mug shots of his famed co-defendants like Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows) and now he’s hiring an accomplished lawyer from the “urban music” world, again. You can’t make this stuff up. Trump’s new lawyer is Steven Sadow, who is a well-regarded criminal defense lawyer. We trust that he demanded an insane upfront payment considering Trump’s well-documented penchant for not paying his attorneys in full.
The New York Times reports that Sadow filed documents with the court on Thursday (August 24) saying he was now “lead counsel of record for Donald John Trump” while Drew Findling will be stepping down as Trump’s representation in his RICO case. It was Findling and his team who negotiated Trump’s $200,000 bond in the case.
The Atlanta-based Sadow has handled some high-profile cases in the Hip-Hop world as a defender. Some of his clients have included Usher, Rick Ross and T.I. He infamously represented Ray Lewis’ co-defendant Jeffrey Sweeting in the ex-NFL linebacker’s murder trial, for which he was acquitted. Most recently, he represented Gunna in the rapper’s own RICO case involving Young Thug and YSL. He managed to get Gunna, born Sergio Kitchens, “negotiated guilty plea” that saw him get time served in exchange for a guilty plea while maintaining his innocence. This hasn’t gone over well with some fans, and fellow rappers.
Clearly, Atlanta rappers stay hiring pricey lawyers considering Findling, now Trump’s former lawyer, has represented Gucci Mane. Cardi B, Offset and BMF’s Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory, amongst others.
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Source: Daniel Zuchnik / Getty / Trevian C. Kutti
Disgraced former president Donald Trump is in a world of trouble. Of the 18 names listed in the sprawling unsealed 41-count indictment by Fulton County, Georgia D.A. Fani Willis, one name stands out, Trevian C. Kutti.
While the usual suspects in the world of politics, like agent orange, aka Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows, are listed in the indictment, no one could foresee Kanye West’s former publicist, Trevian C. Kutti would be among those names.
Kutti may not ring political bells, but she is deeply involved in the shenanigans during the 2020 presidential election that saw President Joe Biden secure a massive win in Georgia.
Kutti was caught in 4K trying to convince Ruby Freeman, a Black Georgia election worker, to implicate herself in election fraud. Freeman’s life was ruined after Trump attacked her publicly.
Deadline reports Kutti, Stephen Cliffguard Lee, and Harrison William Prescott Floyd were hit with counts 30 and 31. It charges them each with “conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statement and writings” and “influencing witnesses.”
Per Deadline:
Count 30 says the trio “unlawfully conspired to solicit, request, and importune Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County, Georgia, election worker, to engage in conduct constituting the felony offense of False Statements and Writings, O.C.G.A. § 16-10-20, by knowingly and willfully making a false statement and representation concerning events at State Farm Arena in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia…with intent that said person engage in said conduct; and TREVIAN C. KUTTI traveled to Fulton County, Georgia, and placed a telephone call to Ruby Freeman while in Fulton County, Georgia, which were overt acts to effect the object of the conspiracy, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.”
Count 31 alleges Kutti, Lee and Floyd “knowingly and unlawfully engaged in misleading conduct toward Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County, Georgia, election worker, by stating that she needed protection and by purporting to offer her help, with intent to influence her testimony in an official proceeding in Fulton County, Georgia, concerning events at State Farm Arena in the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia, contrary to the laws of said State, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.”
Kanye West Allegedly Cut Ties With Kutti After Ending Presidential Campaign
According to the indictment, the alleged foolery took place around January 4, 2021, just two months after Kanye West shuttered his failed presidential bid that he allegedly got help from some Trump allies to run.
Donald Trump’s former homie denied any involvement with Kutti through a spokesperson in response to a December 2021 Reuters story. “Trevian Kutti was not associated with Kanye West or any of his enterprises at the times of the facts that are reported in these articles or since these facts occurred,” the statement reads.
Kutti also used to work with convicted sex offender R. Kelly, so that should tell you a lot about her.
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Young Thug is calling out a police officer’s claim that he’s a snitch, as his lawyers try to get the testimony thrown out before his trial.
Attorneys for the “Metro Spider” rapper filed two motions Thursday (June 29) and Friday (June 23) with the former arguing that a witness in the case who is a police detective is falsely claiming that Jeffrey Williams, aka Young Thug, confessed details of an unrelated homicide case to that detective.
In the motion, lead attorney Brian Steel argues that Judge Ural Glanville should throw out the testimony of Detective Quinn stating that it is “not accurate, places Mr. Williams’ character at issue, and is irrelevant to the trial of the above-referenced case.” Steel also states that Young Thug’s “right to a fair trial” needs to be preserved by the court and that Judge Glanville should also toss out any records of 911 calls allegedly made by the rapper in relation to this unrelated homicide.
Steel’s previous motion June 23, asked Judge Glanville to dismiss the RICO charges brought against Young Thug and his YSL co-defendants, citing the statute of limitations for the state in RICO cases has been exceeded. “In order to satisfy the crime of RICO conspiracy, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that at least one (1) overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy within the Statute of Limitations,” the motion says. “To satisfy the Statute of Limitations, the overt act must have occurred within five (5) years of the filing of the Bill of Indictment with the Clerk of Court.”
That motion continues: “Approximately overt act numbers 62 through 191 are alleged to have occurred on a date within five (5) years of May 9, 2022, the date of the original Bill of Indictment as well as the re-Indictment. The re-indictment was filed with the Fulton County Clerk of Court on August 5, 2022.”
The motions come as jury selection in the trial has been halted and scheduled to resume July 10. The high-profile case has run into several stumbling blocks from Young Thug’s brother having his probation revoked and going to prison to a Fulton County deputy being arrested on charges of inappropriate contact with one of the defendants. Young Thug also underwent a medical evaluation in May over concerns about his well-being while in custody.
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The rapper Casanova has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison on federal racketeering conspiracy and drug charges related to his involvement in what prosecutors called “a vicious street gang.”
A New York federal judge on Tuesday (June 27) sentenced the artist (real name Caswell Senior) to 188 months in prison after he pleaded guilty last year to one charge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as a charge of conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms of marijuana.
Casanova, a Brooklyn rapper once signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, was one of 18 men charged in 2020 for their alleged roles in the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang, which prosecutors said “committed terrible acts of violence” across the New York City region.
“Caswell Senior is not just a notorious recording artist, but he is also a high-profile leader of a vicious street gang and a magnet for gang violence,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the sentencing, adding that Casanova’s stature had helped the gang recruit and expand nationwide. “Gang life is not worth it and will lead to many years in prison.”
Prior to the criminal charges, Casanova had been an up-and-coming artist, peaking at No. 3 on Billboard’s Next Big Sound chart in 2019 after the release of his album Behind These Scars. Chatting with Billboard at the time, Casanova said he was hopeful for the future, but knew that his past could return to haunt him: “People will always blame you for your past. I’m ok with that; I just have to fight harder. I have to do more to get recognized.”
In December 2020, he was one of 18 defendants named in the sweeping RICO case over Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation, which prosecutors said operated a violent narcotics operation across the NYC metro area, including the murder of a teenage boy in Poughkeepsie. The allegations even included “brazen fraud” for exploiting benefits programs providing assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May 2022, Casanova pleaded guilty to the RICO conspiracy charge and the drug charge. Among other things, he admitted to participating in a July 2020 shootout at a crowded Miami house party in which he personally shot a man, leaving the victim seriously injured.
Ahead of Tuesday’s sentencing, federal prosecutors requested a prison term ranging from 188 to 235 months, calling Casanova “a high-profile gang leader” who had “amplified the message of the gang” through his music, helping to recruit “a generation of new members.”
“He did not simply pretend to be violent in his music or on social media,” the government wrote. “Unfortunately, he walked the walk. Senior’s offense conduct is not about a few song lyrics or how he marketed his music. Rather, he carried out an array of violent activity and significant narcotics trafficking that benefited some of the gang’s most violent and impactful members.”
Casanova’s attorneys argued that he should receive a sentence well below those guidelines. They said he was “not involved in the gang’s daily activities” and had begun “to distance himself” from the group as his music career took off, including having “denounced gang life” in some public statements.
“The fact is that Mr. Senior stayed in this gang as it furthered his rap career,” Casanova’s lawyers wrote. “As he gained moderate success and then a recording contract with Roc Nation, he increasingly separated himself from the gang’s activities despite remaining a member.”
In a statement to Billboard on Wednesday, Casanova’s lawyer, James Kousouros, said he and his client were “gratified that the court acknowledged the productive messages that Mr. Senior had been giving against gang life over the past several years and sentenced him to the lowest end of the guidelines.”
Quantavious Grier, brother of rapper Young Thug, was sentenced Monday (June 5) to nine years and six months in prison after investigators said he violated his probation.
According to WSB-TV, in December, Grier (who performs under the name Unfoonk) pleaded guilty to one count of violating the RICO Act and one count of theft by receiving stolen property as part of the wider YSL case involving Young Thug and several other associates. At the time, Grier was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with two years commuted and 10 years probation.
But on May 4, Grier was arrested again in Atlanta for possessing a firearm by a convicted felon, being associated with a criminal street gang to participate in illegal activity and traffic offenses, WSB-TV reports. According to the outlet, at the time of his arrest, Grier was parked at a BP gas station in a black Mercedes G-Wagon with a group of people around the driver’s side door; in an affidavit, plainclothes officers wrote that they deemed the gathering a possible drug deal. When the SUV pulled away, the officers stopped it, citing a window tint violation and adding that the vehicle smelled like marijuana, which remains illegal in the state of Georgia.
WSB-TV reports that the officer who wrote the affidavit noted a handgun in plain view inside the vehicle: “Mr. Grier advised that the gun was clean, which prompted me to believe he had knowledge of the firearm being there.”
During Monday’s sentencing, Judge Ural Glanville stated that Grier hadn’t paid $141.08 in probation fees or started his community service, but that the deciding factor in his sentencing was being caught with a firearm. “Part of the special condition was that you weren’t supposed to possess a gun,” he added. While Grier’s attorney had asked for a probation revocation of two years in prison, Glanville ultimately handed down the longer sentence.
“The issue I find aggravating in this particular circumstance are several. You got arrested with a gun within six months of you being placed on probation,” Glanville said during the sentencing. “All you had to do was complete your probation and do what you were supposed to do.”
An attorney for Grier did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Grier was indicted alongside Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams), Gunna (real name Sergio Kitchens) and dozens of others in May on accusations that their group, YSL, was not really a record label called “Young Stoner Life” but instead a violent Atlanta street gang called “Young Slime Life.” The charges include allegations of murder, carjacking, armed robbery, drug dealing and illegal firearm possession over the course of the past decade. Though Gunna pleaded out in December, Young Thug remains in prison ahead of trial.
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It seems Gunna has undergone a lifestyle change since accepting his plea deal. A new photo has surfaced online and he has lost some serious weight.
As per HipHopDX the College Park, Georgia native has kept a very low profile since taking a plea deal. While it remains to be seen whether he and Young Thug are still on good terms or if he is signed to Young Stoner Life Records; it seems he has recently prioritized his health. This week a photograph leaked online showing the “Pushin P” MC with hanging with some assumed friends. While he wasn’t front and center in the group shot it is apparent he lost some weight and added some muscle definition in the process.
Naturally his leaner frame caused a stir prompting folks to compare him to Gucci Mane; another Atlanta star who got in shape. “They cloned Gunna like they did Gucci Mane,” one user tweeted. As expected some used the opportunity to get a joke off at the rapper’s expense. “Lost the auntie hips!” another user responded. “The rest of the wide hipped men should follow.” The new photo spotting comes on the heels of Gunna teasing his comeback to music. Last week Gunna responded to a fan page on Instagram saying “I’m on the way.”
Young Thug is currently on trial fighting a 56-count Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) indictment filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. He has plead not guilty to all the charges.
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The judge presiding over the racketeering case of Young Thug has ordered a probe over the release of a video showing a possible evidence leak.
According to reports, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville ordered the investigation after a video was posted online where a witness was offering to provide information about the rapper for leniency. The footage was taken from an interview conducted in 2021.
On Wednesday (March 1), Judge Glanville issued a reminder to attorneys for the prosecution and the defense that certain evidence must be kept secret until the trial. “It affects everyone’s right to a fair trial,” the judge said. “I don’t know who did this but if this pertains to you, please amend your ways. You’re playing a very dangerous game with your six-digit bar number.”
Gina Bernard, the defense attorney for JayMan aka Jayden Myrick, filed a motion for a mistrial over the video leak citing that it “made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, as well as a jury that is honestly and truly fair and impartial.”
Prosecutors countered that the video might’ve been leaked by the defense. “The state has absolutely no interest in leaking this video to members of the public, as its dissemination serves only to intimidate and harass witnesses called upon by the state to testify in a very serious and high-profile case,” they wrote.
Judge Glanville dismissed the motion and also warned that if more evidence makes it into the public eye that he will only let discovery evidence be shown in his chambers. “For me to have to deal with this at this point in the trial is just unacceptable,” he said. Currently, jury selection for the trial has been going on for two months and is expected to go on for another several months.
The highly-publicized trial of Young Thug and 13 of his YSL associates for racketeering and other criminal activities is projected to take six to nine months. Prosecutors claim that the group billed themselves as “Young Slime Life,” and operated a criminal enterprise associated with the Bloods gang in Atlanta, Georgia. Defense attorneys claim that YSL simply stands for “Young Stoner Life” and it represents a record label founded by Young Thug.
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Hip-Hop’s most infamous RICO case is getting more interesting by the day. Some of Rap’s biggest names could be called as witnesses in the YSL trial.
As per WSBT 2, Young Thug might be tapping into his Rap rolodex so folks can vouch for his character. Reporter Michael Seiden obtained the potential witness list for his defense. Included are Dwayne Carter, a.k.a. “Lil Wayne”; Dequantes Lamar, a.k.a. “Rich Homie Quan”; Bryan Williams, a.k.a. “Birdman”. His co-defendant Miles Farley listed Clifford Harris, Jr. a.k.a, “T.I.”; Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn a.k.a “Future”; and Michael Lamar White II a.k.a “Trippie Red.
The state has listed YFN Lucci, born Rashawn Bennett, as a potential witness as well. But the rapper’s legal team denies that he will take the stand in the trial. “Rayshawn Bennett (Lucci), has never been interviewed or subpoenaed by law-enforcement, the Fulton County District Attorney‘s office or any of the party’s regarding the YSL case” said Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg of The Findling Law Firm.
“Any party can announce for example that Abraham Lincoln is on their witness list, but those words alone are meaningless. So, to be 100% clear, Rayshawn Bennett (Lucci) will not be a witness in the YSL case. His focus, as it should be, is on his pending Fulton County case.”
YFN Lucci has long-standing problems with Young Thug and the YSL crew. Back in 2019 Thug posted that he is the new 2 Pac to which YFN responded “Pac would’ve never wore a dress.” From there things went left and some menacing threats were hurled both ways. Young Thug went on Instagram Live and said he was going to slap both Lucci and his comrade Sauce Walka.
The YSL trial starts next week.
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