DAY 1
EXCLUSIVE: Opening Statements Begin In Jimmy Henchman Cocaine Case
The trial of Hip-Hop mogul James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond began today (May 14) in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Rosemond, who at one point managed artists like Game, Brandy, Akon and others, is accused of being the head of a $10 million-year-cocaine ring.
Authorities accuse Rosemond, who appeared in a court today in a crisp, pin-stripped suit, of organizing a conspiracy to distribute cocaine imported from Los Angeles, to New York.
Prosecutors claim Rosemond used FedEx and other overnight shipping companies, to send cocaine from Los Angeles to New York, where the drugs were distributed, in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and other boroughs.
The Prosecution
A multiracial jury made up of eight women and six men listened to opening statements from prosecutors early this afternoon.
Prosecutors said Rosemond headed up the cocaine empire from 2007 until 2011.
“The whole system ran like clockwork,” Assistant Prosecutor Una Dean said. “For a time business was good. He [Rosemond] had a lot of money and lived a life of luxury. But he didn’t just have money, he had cash, so he could continue to build his drug empire.”
Prosecutors accused Rosemond of using his management company, Czar Entertainment, as a front, to launder his drug proceeds.
The Assistant D.A. said that on three separate occasions, police intercepted massive amounts of cash in bundles of $400,000 $600,000 and $800,000, respectively.
Prosecutors claimed that Rosemond created hundreds of front companies, and used thousands of money orders to pay for various luxury items
He even used the money orders to pay one lawyer $300,000 in attorney fees.
When Rosemond began to suspect authorities had infiltrated his drug empire, he started using other methods of sending drugs back and forth between California and New York.
Police said that after Rosemond stopped using FedEx, he began shipping cocaine in music crates, to various recording studios in New York and sending the drug proceeds back to Los Angeles.
After some of those shipments were seized, Rosemond started shipping luxury cars stuffed with drugs, to New York and Los Angeles.
The Defense
Gerald Shargel said that there were four major flaws with the government’s case against Rosemond.
He said the government witnesses were liars, questioned their motives, said the evidence seized was flawed and that Rosemond’s reputation was strategically damaged by journalist Chuck Philips.
“I’m going to make a bold statement. The prosecution’s case against Jimmy Rosemond can’t be trusted,” Gerald Shargel told the jury. “The witnesses they are relying on want to be paid with the price of freedom. These witnesses have an eloquent history of lying. I don’t mean simply insignificant lies, I mean lies that hit to the heart of this case.”
Gerald Shargel said that most prosecution witnesses had a motive to lie, since that was the only way to have their federal sentences reduced, under federal guidelines.
Some of the witnesses testifying against Rosemond face sentences ranging from 10 years, to up to life in prison for drug dealing and other crimes.
Shargel said that he would also question the evidence in the case, as well as the corroboration of the evidence the government will present.
Shargel said that Rosemond was the manager of several popular Hip-Hop artists, including Game, Akon, Mario Winans and others.
According to Shargel’s opening statements, Rosemond’s duties as a manager accounted for the large amounts of cash he frequently possessed.
Prosecutors began to object when Gerald Shargel laid out the final point of Rosemond’s defense, which was his reputation.
Gerald Shargel pointed to an infamous article published in the Los Angeles Times by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Chuck Philips.
The article claimed that Rosemond was behind the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur, at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan.
When a document in the article was found to be fabricated, theLos Angeles Times was forced to publish a retraction, fire Chuck Philips and settle a defamation of character lawsuit with Jimmy Rosemond for $250,000.
A man named Dexter Isaac eventually confessed to be being the trigger man in the 1994 Quad shooting, allegedly on orders of Rosemond.
With the exception of the fake “302″ documents cited in the article, Chuck Philips has always maintained the article was accurate.
“This motivated people to go along with the government’s story,” Gerald Shargel told the jury. “When they cooperate, the mandatory minimum no longer exists. You will find that plays an important role, because the article motivated people to testify against Jimmy Rosemond, who was labeled a snitch.”
According to Gerald Shargel, the former Hip-Hop mogul attempted to cooperate with the government seven different times, but they were not satisfied with the information he provided to them, but he also admitted to the jury that Rosemond deliberately lied to prosecutors each time a deal was on the table.
“What about Game? You got any dirt on Sean Combs, or anything on 50 Cent? Who killed Tupac Shakur?’ Those were some of the questions the government wanted Rosemond to answer,” Gerald Shargel said.
Testimony continues in the trial all this week.
Day 2
EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 2: Former Friend Cooperates, Reveals Drug Operation
A former confident and associate of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond took the stand today (May 15) and testified against his former friend.
Kahlil Abdullah, 38, is cooperating with the federal government in the case against Rosemond, who is accused of being the mastermind of a $10 million-a-year cocaine operation.
Abdullah appeared in court in a blue prison top and testified against Rosemond, who sat across from him in a neatly pressed blue suit.
During the testimony, Kahlil Abdullah laid out the structure of the drug operation, which was allegedly moving up to 100 kilograms of cocaine per week, from 2007 until 2011.
Abdullah walked through the Rosemond organization’s hierarchy, breaking down the entire structure for the jury.
According to Abdullah, the organizations’ employed “catchers,” who picked up packages of drugs and money and delivered them to Rosemond’s associates.
“Packers” packaged the drugs at stash houses for shipment and/or storage.
“Sellers” sold the drugs at prices allegedly set by Rosemond, while “managers,” such as Abdullah, coordinated shipments of cocaine and money.
“We had a business relationship,” Kahlil Abdullah admitted to the jury. “We sold drugs together. The money was packed in New York and sent to Los Angeles and picked up by the catchers, and vacuum seal bags to conceal the money.”
The drugs were then sent back to New York and distributed in Brooklyn, Queens, New York and other cities.
The operation sounds vast, but In total, there were 16 men who were named as being involved in the main hierarchy of the alleged drug dealing operation.
Abdullah said he met Rosemond while he was doing security for artists Rosemond managed, during a concert in Washington DC, over 12 years ago.
While their relationship started off strictly business, it soon turned to criminal activity
“He [Rosemond] said he had money he needed to clean up, about $275,000,” Abdullah said, stating that Rosemond wanted a check in return for his cash.
Soon after the initial offer, Kahlil Abdullah said he began acting as a “catcher” for the Rosemond organization.
“He offered a chance to make money. We met in Harlem, he said there would be no headaches,” Abdullah testified. “He said ‘you can’t go to jail for getting caught with money’ and if I went to LA he would show me how.”
Abdullah was no gullible victim of schemes allegedly hatched by Rosemond.
Kahlil Abdullah’s criminal activity dates back to his teens and involved petty criminal activities, in addition more serious charges.
He even admitted that he and an associate shot a rival drug dealer, who made disparaging comments about him.
But Abdullah avoided prosecution after he paid the victim $25,000.
The victim then notarized a letter stating that Abdullah had nothing to do with the shooting, which allowed him to avoid prosecution.
Abdullah also hired the legal services of Jeffrey Lichtman, who allegedly represented a number of Rosemond’s associates, after they had been arrested with large amounts of cash or drugs.
While some shipments were intercepted as early as 2008, the government claims the organization still managed to ship as many as 60 kilograms of cocaine per-week, using overnight express courier services.
To achieve this, Abdullah told the jury that he created customized phony music crates, which had a double lining on the inside, that could store an average of $155,000 in cash.
The organization would also ship $500,000-$800,000 in drug proceeds in vacuumed sealed, mustard lined packages, to conceal the odor of the money.
The drug proceeds were then allegedly sent to Rosemond’s Los Angeles apartment, where it was counted and reinvested in drugs and expenses for fake ID’s, debit cards, encrypted Blackberrys and other tools of the trade.
Abdullah admitted that he was cooperating with the government and testifying against Rosemond, in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence.
Abdullah said that he is hopeful he will receive what’s known as a “5K1″ letter, which will allow him to receive a reduced sentence, despite a federally mandated prison sentence that calls him to serve at least 10 years-to-life in prison.
Khalil Abdullah is formally charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and obstruction of justice.
Testimony will continue tomorrow.
EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 2: Journalist/ Rival Chuck Philips Removed From Court
The second day in the trial of Hip-Hop mogul James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond got underway today, but not without some controversy.
prosecution presented several witnesses to bolster their case against Rosemond, who is accused of running a $10 million-per-year cocaine operation.
Rosemond has pleaded not guilty to the charges and claims he is the victim of a smear campaign, allegedly started in part by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Chuck Philips.
Part of Rosemond’s defense centers around several articles written by Philips, as well as his actions after he was laid off by the Los Angeles Times.
The article claimed Rosemond was behind the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur at Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan.
The Los Angeles Times eventually published a retraction, laid off Philips and paid Rosemond a $250,000 settlement.
Philips then sent documents to associates of Rosemond’s in prison around the country, further repeating the claims that he was a “snitch.”
Today (May 15), the two men finally met face-to-face for the first time in court.
Yesterday (May 14), as Philips was leaving court, he was handed a subpoena to testify in the case, since Rosemond unexpectedly made Philips’ articles a centerpiece of his defense.
After Rosemond attorney Gerald Shargel spotted Philips in the court room today, he called a sidebar and requested the judge to order Phillips to leave the court.
“[Gerald] Shargel used me as a red herring for the jury in his opening argument,” Philps told AllHipHop.com in an exclusive interview. “He subpoenaed me as witness not for my testimony, but so he could keep me out of the courtroom and stop me from covering the trial.”
After Philips identified himself Judge Gleeson politely asked Philips to excuse himself from court.
Philips promptly left, allowing the rest of the testimony in the case to continue for today.
Day 3
EXCLUSIVE: Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 3: Daily News Article Made Drug Dealer Snitch
An article published by the New York Daily News helped triggered the demise of a massive cocaine operation, allegedly headed up by James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond.
Rosemond is currently on trial in Brooklyn, New York, for allegedly masterminding the $10 million-a-year cocaine operation, that shipped drugs from Los Angeles to New York, and sent the proceeds back West.
The organization would ship hundreds of kilos of cocaine per month in music crates and vacuum sealed bags, using various overnight services.
The organization employed the same technique with millions in cash as well, according to testimony from Khalil Abdullah.
Abdullah, 38, was a high-ranking, trusted manager in the organization, who is now cooperating with the government and testifying against Rosemond.
Today (May 16) in court, Khalil Abdullah testified that a September 2010 article published in the New York Daily News convinced him that Rosemond was cooperating with authorities.
Abdullah was aware an investigation was taking place and was fearful that Rosemond would turn him.
The New York Daily News article claimed that Rosemond had already cooperated with federal authorities in two previous cases, one in North Carolina and the other in Florida.
When Abdullah read the article, he testified that he did his own research and found official court documents, which confirmed that Rosemond had indeed cooperate with authorities, in two separate cases.
“I believed it was true…he said it wasn’t true. My opinion was strong,” Abdullah testified. “If he did it before, he would do it again. That’s when I decided to take action myself. I was the dude on the front line.”
This information, along with previous articles written by journalist Chuck Philips and documents that circulated through prison, helped undermine Rosemond’s credibility in the underworld.
It was then, that Abdullah hatched a
bizarre plan, contacted the FBI, the DEA and the New York prosecutors office, in hopes of setting up Rosemond and his associates.
bizarre plan, contacted the FBI, the DEA and the New York prosecutors office, in hopes of setting up Rosemond and his associates.
Incredibly, Khalil Abdullah went to a Kinko’s in Atlanta Georgia, typed up a letter to the FBI, the DEA and the New York prosecutor’s office.
He revealed the details behind a large shipment that was expected to arrive in New York that same day.
Abdullah then set up a long time associate and told him that there was $1 million in cash at Smash Recording Studios in New York.
Abdullah said he instructed the associate to leave $650,000 behind, which was the amount he said was waiting for the FBI, in hopes of concealing and stealing, the $400,000 difference.
Abdullah said he continued to associate with Rosemond and act like he was clueless as to any investigations into the organization.
Abdullah testified that he was “stunned” when authorities presented a photograph of him faxing the document at Kinko’s, since the company takes footage of every person that sends a fax.
But Rosemond’s attorney Gerald Shargel vigorously cross-examined Khalil Abdullah and questioned his motives to testify.
According to Abdullah himself, he has met with prosecutors 16 times in the past year, with eight of those dates dedicated to pre-trial coaching.
Shargel also went through a number of allegations that were presented by the prosecution, and noted that there was no physical or actual connection to Rosemond in any of the evidence presented thus far.
Khalil Abdullah admitted on the stand that he has a cooperation agreement in place with authorities, in addition to having to pay back a $100,000 fine.
Abdullah testified that from 2007 until 2011, he earned over $4 million in illegal drug proceeds.
Testimony continues all this week.
Day 4
Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 4 – Agents Tell Witness What To Write
The fourth day of testimony in the trial of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond continued today (May 17) in Federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
Federal authorities claim Rosemond headed up a $10 million-per-year cocaine operation that sold hundreds of kilos each month in the New York area, and sent millions in proceeds to the West Coast.
Today in court, federal prosecutors unveiled a number of purchases Rosemond made in cash for renovations to his luxury Brooklyn condominium.
Prosecutors produced receipts showing that Rosemond had hired a Miami, Florida company to install an audio/visual system in his condominium, which totaled $153,000.
Rosemond allegedly paid for some of the renovations by handing one contractor a bag of cash totaling $21,000.
He also paid another contractor a total of over $300,000 in cash to have to his luxury condominium refurbished.
Rosemond’s lawyer Gerald Shargel did not dispute the fact that Rosemond made a number of large purchases in cash, and implied that the proceeds came from Rosemond’s legitimate business, Czar Entertainment.
Another witness was produced, named Jillianna Quinones, who Rosemond used to date.
Quinones testified that in May of 2011, Rosemond gave her a large amount of cash to take to Los Angeles, where he planned to meet with her to pick up the money.
Quinones attempted to fly to Los Angeles, but was stopped by Federal agents, who questioned her about where the cash originated.
When she landed in Los Angeles, two more agents further questioned Quinones, took pictures of her holding a large bag of money, and allegedly forced her to sign a cooperation agreement.
“They [agents] said it was drug money,” Quinones testified. “But he [Jimmy] said that was not the case.”
According to Quinones, the agents coached her on what to write on a cooperation agreement.
Quinones, 25, even said agents told her to write that the proceeds were derived from illegal activities.
She then gave authorities Rosemond’s cell phone number, and authorities promptly seized the cash, which was still stuffed inside her Louis Vuitton knapsack, as well as another carry-on bag.
Testimony continues.
Yesterday (May 17) marked the fourth day of testimony in the trial of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, who is currently facing a life sentence, for allegedly heading up a $10 million-a-year cocaine operation.
Federal prosecutors and the DEA accuse Rosemond of masterminding a drug operation that imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the New York area and sent the proceeds to the West Coast.
Rosemond has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Yesterday (May 17) in court, Rosemond’s alleged main cocaine connect, Henry “Black” Butler took the stand.
Butler, who appeared in his green prison jumpsuit, is facing 10 years-to-life in prison, after being charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a firearms possession violation, and getting caught with hundreds of ecstasy tabs.
Henry Butler is a Los Angeles gang member, who was arrested in 2010, in Thousand Oaks, California, for his role in the cocaine operation.
Butler, who is married to the sister of Hollywood director Lee Daniels, told prosecutors that James Rosemond was his biggest cocaine customer.
Butler said that he owned an urban event planning company (Mogul Media Group) and had known Rosemond for over 18 years, since 1994.
At that time, Butler said he was working as a road manager for various artists and Rosemond was managing acts as well. The pair was also partnered in the legendary “How Can I Be Down” conferences of the 1990′s.
Their relationship turned into criminal activities in 1995, when Rosemond began ordering hundreds-of-pounds of marijuana from Butler.
The marijuana orders soon turned into small orders of cocaine later that year.
In 1995, Butler said he and Rosemond began selling 2 to 10 kilograms of cocaine in various frequencies, supplied from a connection Butler identified as a man named Adolpho Guzmán.
The cocaine was first sent to Rosemond to New York in a variety of means before they perfected the shipping method.
At first, Butler and an associate would go to Best Buy and buy computer routers, unseal the packages, put the kilos of cocaine inside the router boxes and then re-seal and ship the packages.
Soon, Butler and an associate began printing their own custom-made router boxes and packaging and sending their cocaine inside of those.
The pair began shipping the kilos of cocaine and money via overnight services, after two criminal associates taught Henry Butler the proper methods of sending the illegal contraband without being detected.
Butler claimed that he and Rosemond regularly transferred hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in cash between each other for large shipments of cocaine.
But in 2010, shortly before Butler’s arrest, the pair decided to scale back the operation.
“He didn’t want to talk on the phone because things were getting hot, and he felt like he was being investigated,” Butler told the jury.
Butler claimed Rosemond began accepting cocaine and shipments of money in Philadelphia, organized by a man named Leonard Bostic.
Butler also claimed the gang used encrypted Blackberrys to send and receive messages, and they almost never spoke on the phone.
After Butler was arrested, he claimed that Rosemond hired an attorney for him, and he was later visited by a private investigator and attorney Jeffery Lichtman, who allegedly passed a note to Butler, containing sensitive information about Butler’s possibility of cooperating with authorities.
This, plus the possibility of life in prison without parole, led Henry Butler to cooperate with authorities.
But, Rosemond’s attorney Gerald Shargel attacked Butler’s credibility, noting that he had already lied about several key factors in the case.
Shargel revealed that Butler also had a Proffer Agreement with authorities that would allow him to receive a reduced prison sentence, if he supplied truthful testimony about Rosemond.
But Butler allegedly lied to agents when he was interviewed, not just once, but several times, in regards to the case.
At first, Butler told prosecutors that he and Rosemond were trafficking much smaller amounts, but those amounts increased as the case continued to build.
Butler said he lied because he wasn’t sure of how much information the government had gathered about the drug gang.
Shargel also revealed that Butler’s agreement with authorities should already be off the table, since he blatantly lied about being a gang member.
During testimony, Henry Butler revealed that he was an “OG” member of the Rolling 60′s Crips in California, a fact that Butler officially denied until last week (May 7).
“Yeah, my voice counted in the neighborhood,” Butler told the jury.
Shargel claimed that Butler has already been caught in several lies and was exaggerating his testimony for a reduced sentence.
Butler said he has met with prosecutors at least 14 times since his arrest, with several sessions dedicated to testifying.
Butler also said that he received documents from Chuck Philips that stated that Rosemond had cooperated with authorities in two separate cases in North Carolina and Florida.
Butler said he ignored the documents, along with a New York Daily News article and continued to do business with Rosemond.
James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond is a well-known urban music executive, who frequently did business with artists like Queen Latifah, Game, Sean Kingston and others.
His company Czar Entertainment managed rapper Game during a violent feud between 50 Cent, G-Unit, and Tony Yayo.
Their feud escalated and ultimately ended in death, when Lowell “Lodi Mack” Fletcher, an associate of Tony Yayo, was allegedly murdered on orders of Rosemond.
Fletcher had been released from prison several months earlier, after serving time for striking Rosemond’s young son.
The incident caused outrage at the time, as well as condemnation from activists like Al Sharpton.
Tony Yayo was put on probation for the incident as well.
Day 5
Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 5 – Rapper Game’s Accountant Admits Criminal Activity
Today (May 21), marked the fifth day of testimony in the federal cocaine distribution trial of mogul James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, who is accused of masterminding a massive cocaine distribution organization from 1995 until 2010.
The operation allegedly imported hundreds of kilos of the drug from the West Coast using overnight courier services and then sold them into the New York area.
The government claims the proceeds were sent to the West Coast, and then laundered through various companies controlled by Rosemond.
Today, Czar Entertainment’s former business manager, John Dash, took the stand to testify for the prosecution.
Dash is also currently the business manager for rapper Game and has handled the rapper’s finances since about 2005.
Dash testified that he regularly deposited money orders into Czar’s accounts and paid for expenses that he claimed he was told “was income derived from studio rental time.”
According to Dash, Rosemond earned most of his money through management commission checks issued to Czar Entertainment.
Dash said that in 2006-2007, Czar handled the careers of Mario Winans, Guerilla Black, and Game.
Dash said promoters often paid Game through wires, while smaller promoters often paid the rapper in cash.
Prosecutors for the government focused on Game’s tour revenue in the United States and overseas in 2007.
According to Dash, around this time about 80 percent of Game’s income was made from touring derived from overseas, which Czar would also get a piece of.
Dash said that around 2007, checks for as much as $100,000 would mysteriously arrive at the Czar offices, with no invoices or sender attached to them.
Dash revealed that Rosemond was also in business with a company named Flava Foods, which was a money losing venture that owned a chain of Fat Burger restaurants.
He said that Rosemond would make capital investments in the company, and also received one royalty check from a $200,000 investment in the movie, Cookout 2.
Dash claimed that although Rosemond’s income decreased starting in 2007, he was still making payments for a variety of expenses for his clients, including Game, Mike Tyson, and others.
Things came crashing down for Dash in 2010, when two IRS agents showed up to his house and began questioning him about his bank account records and his book keeping for companies owned by Rosemond.
But Dash’s reputation and credibility were severely damaged by James Rosemond’s attorney, Gerald Shargel.
Dash admitted that he was “relieved” that agents did not seize his own books during the initial raid, because he had already committed numerous bank fraud crimes, which had nothing to do with Rosemond or Czar Entertainment.
“I created fake W-2s, fake pay stubs, and mortgage loan applications for myself and some clients,” John Dash admitted on the stand.
He also admitted to several other crimes, including writing off over $1 million in business expenses, without Rosemond’s knowledge.
But, the most shocking information came when Dash admitted that he had no legal certification, educational background, or any other formal training to represent himself as an accountant for a variety of entertainers.
Shargel also made Dash admit that it was his idea to deposit cash payments in increments of less than $10,000, which is a crime called “structuring.”
Like other witnesses the prosecution has presented, Dash has a cooperation agreement with authorities to cover crimes he committed from 2004 until present.
Testimony continues today.
Day 6
Jimmy Henchman Trial Day 6 – DEA Catches Jimmy Delivering Coke
The sixth day of testimony continued in the Federal drug trial of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, in Brooklyn, New York today (May 22).
Rosemond is accused of masterminding a $10 million-per-year cocaine operation, that imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine per week into New York.
Prosecutors claim that millions in cash was laundered through various companies controlled by Rosemond.
Today in court, testimony continued from a variety of prosecution witnesses.
The case agent assigned to the Rosemond investigation, Marc Van Driessche, testified today.
Agent Van Driessche investigated Rosemond starting in 2008, until his arrest in June 21, 2011, at a W Hotel after a month-long, nationwide manhunt.
Since then, Rosemond has met with authorities nine different times in an attempt to reach a cooperation agreement with the government.
After his arrest, Rosemond’s first meeting with prosecutors took place on October 4, 2011.
Agent Van Driessche said he attended a meeting with two prosecutors, agents, and an attorney representing Rosemond.
It was during this session that Rosemond admitted that he was a co-conspirator in the cocaine case.
During his first meeting with authorities, Rosemond admitted that he e-mailed an associate named Jason Williams on an encrypted Blackberry, so the pair could pick up “one of them things.”
Later, the two men went to an auto body shop in Newark, New Jersey, where an illegal trap was being fitted on to a black Dodge charger.
Rosemond picked up the charger and went to the LeFrak Housing Projects in Queens, where he received up a kilo of cocaine.
He then met with an associate named Winston “Winnie” Harris, who had already began cooperating with the DEA and was wearing a wire, with agents listening in.
“He was surprised Winston didn’t have the money, but he instructed Jason to handover a kilo of cocaine anyway,” agent Van Driessche testified.
Rosemond said that when he returned, he noticed police entering into his building, so he fled.
In the Proffer Agreement, Rosemond said he later he received a call from someone in Jamaica, who revealed that Winston Harris had been cooperating with authorities.
Rosemond put “two and two together” and fled Brooklyn for the Gowanus Housing Projects, where he spent the night in a staircase hiding from authorities.
Rosemond then made it to a hotel in Brooklyn, borrowed a white BMW from a family member, and traveled to Virginia, where he met up with Jason Williams.
Later in the evening, Rosemond said he traveled to Miami alone by train, where he had his housekeeper to remove $25,000 in cash.
“We didn’t know what happened to the defendant after police entered his apartment in New York,” agent Van Driessche testified.
In the Proffer Agreement, Rosemond also acknowledged he was aware of the $1.2 million stashed in a music crate at Smash Studios, which was going to be delivered to criminal associates in California.
According to agent Van Driessche, Rosemond admitted that in 2010 alone, two associates in the conspiracy provided him almost 500 kilos of cocaine.
He also admitted that he gave a connect named Lamont Bennett $300,000 in cash to settle a cocaine debt.
Van Driessche testified that Rosemond complained that he was going to be forced to sell one kilo at a time, until his money was back up, since he lost hundreds-of-thousands due to seizures of packages.
Rosemond’s publicist issued an official statement to AllHipHop.com about the testimony today:
“As an official publicist for Jimmy for many years, I’ve been listening in on the trial,” Rosemond’s publicist, Sabrina Stowe de Fernandez, told AllHipHop.com. “Since day one, his defense attorney admitted that Jimmy apparently lied during proffering sessions. The prosecutors took the deal off the table and is basically trying to bring those lies into the case as evidence.”
Testimony continues today.
Jimmy Henchman Loaned Wyclef Drug Money; IRS Scrutinizes
Wyclef Jean’s relationship with James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond was introduced as evidence in Rosemond’s federal cocaine trial yesterday (May 22).
Rosemond is accused of organizing and leading a $10 million-a-year cocaine operation, that imported hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into New York, while sending millions to the west coast.
Rosemond was a well-known urban executive, who managed artists like Game, Gucci Mane, Sean Kingston, Mario Winans, Brandy, Mike Tyson, and others.
Over the years, Rosemond has enjoyed a cozy relationship with fellow Haitian, Wyclef Jean.
In March of 2011, both Wyclef Jean and Rosemond helped organize a concert for future Haitian President Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly.
Rosemond also supported Wyclef’s run for President of Haiti in 2010.
But during the trial, prosecutors introduced an October 13, 2011 Proffer Agreement, where Rosemond met with authorities in hopes of ultimately reaching a Cooperation Agreement with prosecutors.
During the session on October 13, Rosemond admitted to a number of illegal activities.
He admitted that 80 to 90 percent of his income was funded by drug money, and that he laundered the cocaine money through a variety of means.
Rosemond said that he paid for his Brooklyn condominiums renovations with drug money, as a way of laundering the money, in addition to a number of other means.
Rosemond told authorities during the session that he bought a Bentley that was eventually sold to an individual named “Shakim” for “clean money,” without the purchaser’s knowledge.
He also admitted that he gave Wyclef Jean $60,000 in cash from drug proceeds as a loan, with out Wyclef’s knowledge.
The government also said they began investigating Rosemond and Wyclef’s business dealings, after Rosemond received over $800,000 in checks associated companies controlled by Wyclef Jean and his tour manager.
In a blockbuster admission, Rosemond claimed that he had regularly sold Wyclef’s driver “E” a number of kilograms of coke.
In an October 17, 2011, session with the government, Rosemond also admitted that the first two shipments of drugs and money were sent to Interscope Records, while subsequent shipments of the illegal contraband went to rehearsal spaces in Los Angeles.
The only reason Rosemond did not receive a Cooperation Agreement with the government, was because they caught him in several lives.
After meeting with prosecutors a total of nine times, the deal was taken off the table when prison authorities found Rosemond with a live cell phone in his jail cell.
An agent testified that Rosemond was exchanging texts with a Mexico area code.
Eventually, the government found out that Rosemond was talking to his brother Mario, who was also charged in the case and was a fugitive from justice at the time.
Testimony continues this week.