Feds allege drug money laundering

Sun., Dec. 19, 2004

Associated Press

Just before dawn on a crisp November morning, federal agents converged on a two-story home in suburban New Jersey and woke up Cynthia Brent. They told her to get dressed for court.

Brent, a soft-spoken accountant for rap label The Inc., was facing charges of laundering more than $1 million in drug money.

After filing charges against six more suspects, including rap star Ja Rule’s manager, federal prosecutors appear to be closing in on their ultimate targets: The Inc. founder Irv “Gotti” Lorenzo and convicted crack kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff.

The longtime friends are suspected of laundering money from McGriff’s cocaine and heroin operation through The Inc.

Convicted criminals and artists alike long have boasted about the links between the music industry and the drug underworld. But no major charges have ever been filed against a label as successful as The Inc, which has sold about 20 million records behind flagship artists Ja Rule and Ashanti.

The Inc. was founded as Murder Inc. in 1997. Gotti changed its name earlier this year to deflect negative publicity.

Authorities also suspect that McGriff, released from prison in 1997 after serving nine years on drug conspiracy charges, could be linked to a dramatic rise in homicides in the Queens neighborhood. He hasn’t been charged in any of the killings.

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