hiphop LA times Story on Puff Daddy Setting up 'Pac

[Guest Cousin Of Sleep]

Hip-Hop star Sean "Diddy" Combs has responded to a controversial new article in the Los Angeles Times, which claims the mogul had advanced knowledge of a planned assault on the late Tupac Shakur. A new investigative piece printed today (March 17) in the Los Angeles Times claims that Combs and Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G" Wallace had advance knowledge of a plan laid by music executive Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond and an 18-year-old associate named James Sabatino to assault Shakur for a number of different reasons. In an exclusive statement to AllHipHop.com, Sean "Diddy" Combs vehemently denied the allegations in the Los Angeles Times. "This story is beyond ridiculous and completely false," Combs told AllHipHop.com. "Neither Biggie nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. It is a complete lie to suggest that there was any involvement by Biggie or myself." The story details an alleged plan of the events leading up to Shakur’s shooting at the Quad, including a new figure, an Italian-American named James Sabatino, who was 18-years-old at the time of the attack. Sabatino, whose father is an alleged captain in the Colombo crime family, is accused of helping Rosemond orchestrate a plan to assault Shakur at the Quad in 1994. When Shakur confronted his own attackers with a raised gun, the plan went awry and Shakur and his manager Fred Moore were shot several times. In the piece, one of the unnamed sources involved with the shooting actually offered to produce Shakur’s $40,000 dollar medallion for an undisclosed amount. Sabatino is currently serving an 11 ½-year prison sentence for wire fraud and racketeering, for charging up $200,000 using fake credit cards, allegedly for helicopters, limos and hotel suites for Bad Boy’s entourage during 1997's "No Way Out" tour featuring Combs. In October of 2007, Sabatino filed a $19 million dollar lawsuit against Combs and Bad Boy from prison, claiming Combs agreed to pay him $200,000 for footage taken of B.I.G. in 1994. Despite the fact that a contract was never signed, Sabatino claims that in 1997, he was given a down payment of $25,000 but Combs has not paid him since, reportedly because the LAPD had previously named Sabatino as a person of interest in the slaying of the Notorious B.I.G. A number of sources have told AllHipHop.com that the story investigating Shakur’s shooting at the Quad is the start of a bigger series Phillips and the Los Angeles Times are planning in relation to the deaths of both Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. Combs chastised the Los Angeles Times’ piece and completely denied any involvement in the Quad shooting. "I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story," Combs stated.

Source, AHH.

[Guest Cousin Of Sleep]

Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond has issued a statement to AllHipHop.com surrounding a controversial article published by The Los Angeles Times today (March 17). In "Blood Feud," a detailed investigative piece written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chuck Phillips, Rosemond is accused of masterminding an elaborate plan to have rapper Tupac Shakur assaulted at Quad Recording Studios in 1994. The assault and shooting of Tupac Shakur at the Quad was one of a number of incidents that started a bi-coastal feuds between various rappers from the East and West Coasts of the United States. The rivalries ended with the death of Shakur on September 13, 1996, following wounds sustained in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas and the death of Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who was gunned down six months later in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times claims that Rosemond and a man named James Sabatino, who was 18-years-old at the time, planned to orchestrate an attack on Shakur and make it appear as if he were robbed. "In the past 14 years, I have not even been questioned by law enforcement with regard to the assault of Tupac Shakur, let alone brought up on charges," Rosemond told AllHipHop.com. "Chuck Phillips, the writer who in the past has falsely claimed that the Notorious Biggie Smalls was in Las Vegas when Tupac was murdered and that Biggie supplied the gun that killed Tupac -- only to be proven wrong as Biggie was in New Jersey recuperating from a car accident, has reached a new low by employing fourth-hand information from desperate jailhouse informants along with ancient FBI reports to create this fabrication." The Los Angeles Times claims that Rosemond and Sabatino allegedly wanted to manage Shakur and were upset with his aggressive, disrespectful behavior, as well as his refusal to sign a recording contract with Combs’ fledgling Bad Boy Records imprint. The article claims Shakur was allegedly set up by Rosemond, Sabatino and Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant, who was standing trial with Shakur for allegedly raping a 19-year-old fan in November 1993. On November 29, during Shakur’s trial, he went the Quad, where he was shot and wounded by unknown assailants, whose identities were withheld by the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times claims that Combs and Notorious B.I.G. had advanced knowledge that Shakur would be assaulted, not shot. When Shakur pulled a gun, the plan turned violent and he and his manager were shot, assaulted and robbed. A few days later, on December 1, Shakur was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and subsequently sentenced to 4½ years in prison. Agnant pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was avoided jail time. Like Combs, Rosemond also denied the charges set forth in the Los Angeles Times’ article. "I simply ask for all rap fans and fans of Tupac to analyze this fiction for what it is along with Phillips' motives behind it," Rosemond said. "I am baffled as to why the LA Times would print this on its website when a simple and fair investigation would reveal that the allegations are false. I am currently consulting with my attorneys about my legal rights regarding this libelous piece of garbage."

Source, AHH.A long read but still...