***New Evidence Surfaces In Tupac Quad Shooting***

[Elano]

Nearly 15 years after Tupac Shakur was pistol-whipped, shot five times and left for dead outside a New York recording studio, new evidence has surfaced implicating two associates of entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs for orchestrating the rap icon's ambush, AllHipHop.com has learned.
In an upcoming article written by Chuck Phillips on the latest developments, the Los Angeles Times claims that Combs was notified in advance that the trap for Shakur had been laid, according to sources familiar with the incident.
"Tupac was mostly right about what he wrote about [in his songs]," author Chuck Phillips told AllHipHop.com, although he admitted Shakur "had a couple of things wrong" in regard to Bad Boy’s possible role in the shooting. The article claims that Combs was present in the Quad Recording Studio with at least two dozen Bad Boy Records associates when the assault took place 10 floors below, in the lobby.
"Tupac’s shooting at the Quad was really catalyst for everything that happened afterwards including his own death and including the death of Biggie," Phillips said. "It started the whole thing off and if you lay it out in a timeline which I do, you can just see; it’s obvious and kind of sad for two guys to be this talented. I ended up with a much larger story than I imagined."
Sources familiar with the incident state that James "Jimmy" Sabatino and Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond were among those that Combs met on the night in question. Sabatino, the son of a reputed captain in the Colombo crime family, reportedly told Combs personally that Shakur would be attacked at Quad Recording Studio.
Rosemond, who people speculate paid Shakur back for being slighted over prior agreements, is also said to have formed a close relationship with Combs following the attack.
"One of the people involved in what happened to Tupac has family associated with the mob. It wasn’t by them; it didn’t have anything to do with the mob," Phillips continued. "This person was at Quad studios that night, and this person knew Puffy and Biggie and Jimmy Henchmen and Haitian Jack. A white Italian guy; he’s now in jail. He’s involved in this and frankly I never knew anything about this situation."
Soon after Shakur’s 1994 assault, sources claim that Sabatino allegedly introduced Combs to mobsters and escorted the music executive to mobbed-up nightclubs in New York and Miami after he was welcomed into Combs' inner circle.
Combs reportedly invited Sabatino on his 1997 No Way Out tour, where the alleged mob associate used fake credit cards to charge up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for posh hotel suites, limousines and parties allegedly on behalf of the Bad Boy entourage.
Sabatino’s relationship with Combs allegedly continued as he worked with the mogul’s Bad Boy Records until his 1998 arrest in London. Sabatino was later extradited to the United States, where he was convicted and jailed.
He is currently serving 12 years in a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania for racketeering and wire fraud.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sabatino maintained a presence at Bad Boy by financing a recording made by Shakur’s musical rival, Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, that was released after the East Coast rapper’s murder in 1997.
The implications are the latest in a series of events surrounding the murder Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996 in Las Vegas, and Wallace, who was slain the following year after leaving a party in Los Angeles.
Phillips admits he came across the new details surrounding the Quad Recording Studios shooting while investigating the still-unsolved murder of Wallace in New York.
Upon following up on leads, the writer claims he uncovered FBI records to support what he found, as well as interviewing key people with ties to the incident.
Conspiracy theories surrounding the Quad Recording Studio shooting have run rampant.
While some believe Wallace and Combs set up Shakur at the venue, others maintain the pair had nothing to do with the shooting, but had prior knowledge that Shakur was going to be robbed.
"I don’t believe that Biggie and Puffy set Tupac up [to be shot]," Phillips said. "According to these people I have interviewed and according to these documents, they knew about it," he said. "But they didn’t know they were going to get shot. They knew he was going to get beat up. Then it kind of went haywire when it all happened."
In addition to the new information, Phillips' story uncovers an ongoing New York federal grand jury that is currently investigating a series of unsolved Hip-Hop and rap-related crimes, including the 1994 Quad assault.
As recently as a month ago, interviews have been conducted surrounding a number of open cases.
Those interested in obtaining new information on the Quad Recording Studio shooting will be able to examine photo galleries, copies of confidential documents related to the shootings.
An interactive timeline as well as audio of lyrics and videos from Shakur and Wallace will also be featured when Phillip’s story on the incident becomes available Monday (March 17) on the L.A. Times website or by visiting http://www.latimes.com/tupac
Interestingly, the case has ties to the murder of Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell as well.
One of the men present when Shakur was shot, Randy "Stretch" Walker, was later gunned down in Queens, New York on November 30, 1995, exactly one day to date of the Quad shooting.
Sources have long stated that Walker's alleged murderer, Ronald "Tinard" Washington, was also one of the men suspected of acting as a lookout when Jam Master Jay was gunned down on October 30, 2002.

[RhyanG]

so Pac knew everything that happened, we want justice for pac. Diddy behind bars!

[Elano]

Los Angeles Times journalist Chuck Philips has more surprising allegations concerning musical icons Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace) and Sean "Diddy" Combs. In an article that the Times will be publishing Monday morning (March 17), Philips alleges that Combs and Wallace were aware, a week in advance, that Tupac would be ambushed in the 1994 shooting at New York's Quad Recording Studios, two years before he was shot and killed in Las Vegas.

"They were advised in advance of what was going to happen," Philips told MTV News on Saturday. "They did not know the assailants were going to be shooting. In fact, [the assailants] were told no shooting. But Tupac pulled a gun, and it went haywire. It was supposed to be a severe beating."

Shakur was at DJ Ron G's home laying down raps for a mixtape on November 30, 1994. He was called to Quad Studios to rap on a song by Uptown artist Little Shawn, for which he was to be paid $7,000. When Pac got to the studio, he was robbed, beaten and shot a reported five times by the assailants (although some reports say he shot himself twice accidently).

Philips' article also alleges that the main mastermind behind the Shakur setup was Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond who currently manages a slew of artists such as the Game and Gucci Mane.

Philips said he arrived at this conclusion after years of delving into the incident. He has talked to men who he believes were directly involved in the shooting and has uncovered papers documenting an FBI investigation whose findings coincide with his research.

"The FBI talked to some criminals that said Jimmy Henchman was involved," Philips said.

When reached for comment on Saturday, Rosemond said Philips' story is so ridiculous, he refused to dignify it with a remark.

As Tupac's fans know, Shakur himself accused Henchman of being a part in the scheme in "Against All Odds": "And did I mention/ Promised a payback, Jimmy Henchman/ In due time/ I knew you b---- n---as was listening/ The world is mine/ Set me up/ Wet me up/ N---as stuck me up/ Heard the guns bust/ But you tricks never shut me up."

In interviews, Rosemond has gone on record saying that he played no part in the scheme.

After the Quad shooting, Shakur considered Combs and Wallace bitter enemies, and their feud continued all the way until Shakur's murder in 1996. But prior to the incident, Pac was supposedly friends with the Bad Boy camp. So why would they turn a blind eye to him being set up, or play any part in it at all? Combs was unable to be reached for comment about Philips' new article, but in the wake of the Quad shooting, both Combs and Wallace appeared on MTV to deny that they had any knowledge of who shot Tupac and said that they had nothing to do with it.

In another shocking allegation, Philips said that the 1994 incident might have been meant to strong-arm Shakur into officially coming to the Bad Boy camp.

"What I believe is that Bad Boy, who was very young then — they had Craig Mack and Biggie back in '93," Philips explained. "They were a brand-new company. Puffy was trying to start his company, and they wanted other artists on this label besides those two. One of them might have been Tupac. Tupac told them no. He told a number of other people no. ... You have to remember, Puffy got a lot of money to start up Bad Boy from Arista. A lot of people wanted to get their hands on some of that money. A lot of people he hung around would do things to try to impress him."

his is not the first bombshell Phillips has dropped concerning Shakur and Wallace. In 2002, he wrote an article alleging that Wallace had offered the Crips $1 million to murder Shakur. In fact, he said Biggie was negotiating the hit on September 7, 1996, the night Tupac was shot in Las Vegas.

That article was immediately refuted by Wallace's family and friends and shown to have some holes in his theories.

"We are outraged at the false and damaging statements," Wallace's family said in a statement in 2002. "For the record, Wallace was at his home in New Jersey on the night of Tupac Shakur's murder, with friends who will continue to testify for his whereabouts, since he is unable to defend himself. Both men will have no peace as long as stories such as these continue to be written."

In 2002, Voletta Wallace, Big's mother, told MTV News that she was outraged by Philips' article.

"For a second, I felt that my son was just murdered [again]. My initial reaction?" she said, with anger. "I'm hurt. Somebody's attacking my son, my son who died five and a half years ago. How do I feel? I'm downright angry. I'm a mother, I'm a human being, and [Chuck Philips] is gonna attack my son that's not here to come forward and defend himself. Damn, I'm mad! ... I will find peace when myself and my lawyers deal with Chuck Philips and the L.A. Times."

Philips still stands behinds his previous story.

"Yeah, I do," he maintained Saturday. "I think the story was misinterpreted. ... What I wrote in that story was that the Southside Crips were in Las Vegas, and so were the Bloods. Tupac punched a Southside Crip, and Suge's guy piled up on that guy. Those guys made a decision the minute this happened that they were going to kill him. ... You don't punch a gang member in a public place, where you're humiliating him. They were going to kill him. And they did kill him. ... Prior to this time, in the month ahead of this, the people I talked to said Biggie had asked the Southside Crips — as had other people in their crew — to kill Tupac. Southside Crips didn't take it seriously. They thought he was just talking. On this night when they decided they were going to kill Tupac, they said, 'Let's make some money out of this.' Then this transaction went down. It's almost like extortion."

Philips' theory contradicts Biggie's claims that he loved Pac.

"I was living in Manhattan," Wallace's widow Faith Evans recalled in 2002 about the night Tupac died. "I was about eight months pregnant with our son C.J. The night [Tupac was shot], I remember Big calling me and crying. I know for a fact he was in Jersey. He called me crying because he was in shock. I think it's fair to say he was probably afraid, given everything that was going on at that time and all the hype that was put on this so-called beef that he didn't really have in his heart against anyone.

"I think it would be some element of fear that would kind of run through his mind," she added, "given the fact that his name was involved in a lot of the situations involving Tupac before his murder. He was already getting threatening phone calls. I'm sure for all he thought, he could be next. Which ironically, months later, he lost his life as well."

[pootypooty]

I read Ethan Brown's "Queen's Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent and the Rise Of The Hip Hop Hustler" awhile back and it briefly touched on Jimmy Rosemond's affiliations in NYC and how he came to cross paths with Tupac.  Rosemond shared a brief story about Pac and how one night while at a show, Rosemond confronted Pac backstage about his name being brought into the Quad shooting speculation.  Rosemond said that when he confronted Pac, he did it alone.  He said that Pac was rolling deep with his Death Row goons that night but Rosemond pulled him to the side away from Suge and Pac's bodyguards and gave him an earful.  He said that he had Pac shook that night and supposedly Pac agreed that he wouldn't mention Rosemond's name again.  Rosemond also said that every now and again Suge would walk up to Pac and ask him if "everything was cool?" and Pac would nod "yes" and Suge would watch their discussion from a distance.

Rosemond painted Pac as being "egotistical" yet "entertaining" but discredited Pac's "thug mentality" saying that it was all an act for record sales and image.  He also said something to the effect that Pac wanted to be like him (Rosemond) as well as Haitian Jack and further backs up that claim by saying that Pac was hanging with them while researching his role for "Above The Rim". 

[pootypooty]

Here's the controversial article that was published in today's LA Times. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-naw-quad17mar17,0,4451053.story

[Elano]

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.



The infamous l.a. times article
http://www.latimes.com/la-naw-quad17mar17,0,6902885,full.story

[Fonky Fresh]

if it's a complete lie then why does he respond so quickly to indeed deny all of this? That's rather strange.

If he had knowledge of such event that makes him an accomplice in a way

[WICK1D]

haha lock up puffy and also charge with making shitty music..he would probably turn his jail time into a reality tv show

[Elano]

if it's a complete lie then why does he respond so quickly to indeed deny all of this? That's rather strange.

If he had knowledge of such event that makes him an accomplice in a way

because puff was involved,he's just a fuckin scared liar imho...

[~Lucien~]

arrest Diddy & Suge... solved!

[Elano]

Jimmy Henchmen Issues Statement Denying LA Times Allegations

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."

[Elano]

puff and Henchmen are scared as hell..
and puff is movin to l.a. 

[Ali Tha Great]

puff and Henchmen are scared as hell..
and puff is movin to l.a. 

lol...

[Fresco]

puff and Henchmen are scared as hell..
and puff is movin to L.A. 

Lol! Maybe the problem will resolve by itself j/k

[Elano]

L.A. Times Writer Chuck Philips Talks About Diddy and Jimmy Rosemond's Responses To His Article

 Despite the statements released by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond, L.A. Times writer Chuck Philips isn't takin' back anything he said in his controversial article which was published earlier today (Mar. 17). The article implicated Jimmy Rosemond and friends of Sean "Diddy" Combs in the yet to be solved 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur at New York's Quad Studios.

"I try to go and find people who are directly involved or know people who are involved in the actual crime," says Philips. "I work the same as police do except I’m not a cop so people are not afraid to talk to me because I’m not going to arrest them," he adds.

Not long after the article had surfaced Diddy released the following statement:

"This story is beyond ridiculous and is completely false. 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. I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story.”

Philips said he reached out to Diddy while writing the story, which he had been working on for 6 months. "Puffy chose not to talk," says Philips. "I offered him the opportunity to comment twice. He knew what the story was going to say. He decided not to comment." But, according to the article, Diddy had no involvement in the shooting, outside of knowing about it. Jimmy Rosemond, on the other hand, did, says Philips' article as well as the FBI report that he printed alongside it. "He refused to talk to me," Philips says of Rosemond. "So we printed what his lawyer said."

Rosemond, CEO of CZAR Entertainment--the company that manages Game, Gucci Mane, and others, responded in a statement of his own: “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," he said, before making some accusations of his own. "Chuck Philips, 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."

Philips says that the man who now calls himself "James Rosemond" has his facts wrong. "Read his statement and go look at when Biggie got in the car accident. He’s putting false information out there. Biggie didn’t get into the accident, until after Tupac was killed in Las Vegas."

The article has opened up some old wounds in the hip-hop community, and Chuck Philips knows that he's dibbling and dabbling in and around some sensitive topics. But that won't stop him from doing the work that he does, as the writer is working on another story about the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

So does he ever feel threatened by any of this? He responds, "There have been times when that happens. I deal with a lot of criminals in my work and I treat them with respect and I’m very secret about the information I gather from individuals and anybody that I work with. There are some dangerous people who I work with, but their information is safe with me."