Jimmy Henchman
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| James Rosemond | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Rosemond February 5, 1965 |
| Alias(es) | James Rosemond, Jimmy the Henchman, Jimmy Henchman, Jimmy Ace, Tony Townsend, James Rosemound[1] |
| Charge(s) | Drug trafficking,[2][3]money laundering, structuring,[4] obstruction of justice and possessing and using firearms[5] |
| Conviction(s) | June 5, 2012[6] |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment[7][8] |
| Conviction status | Incarcerated |
| Children | James Rosemond, Jr. |
Contents
[hide]Early life and education[edit]
James J. Rosemond was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 5, 1965.[13] Rosemond is the second of five children born to Andrea Frazier Rosemond, a nursing assistant, and Constantine Rosemond, a carpenter.[14] Rosemond was raised by both parents until 1975, when they divorced and his father moved from Brooklyn to Miami, Florida. Rosemond's mother continued to raise him and his siblings in Brooklyn. [15]One of Rosemond's brothers, Kesner, was sentenced in 2011 to 12 years in prison for drug trafficking.[16] Rosemond's other siblings are Lionel of Brooklyn and Mario of New Brunswick, New Jersey. His sister Nadge is deceased.[17]
Entertainment career[edit]
He was the CEO of Czar Entertainment,[18] a rap music management company[19] that, at one time, managed The Game, Sean Kingston, Brandy, Gucci Mane, Salt-n-Pepa and Akon.[20][21] He was a well-known figure in the hip hop music industry, described in a 2012 The New York Times article as "a prince at the royal court, whose ties to rap music’s biggest stars were known far and wide."[22] Rosemond was behind Salt-n-Pepa's "Shoop."[23]Crimes[edit]
On August 16, 1981, Rosemond was charged with Robbery.[24]On March 20, 1983, Rosemond was arrested in Brooklyn for criminal possession of a firearm.[25]
On June 26, 1983 in Brooklyn, Rosemond was charged with Murder in the Second degree, robbery in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.[26]
On September 24, 1984, Rosemond pled guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.[27]
In 1996, Rosemond was incarcerated in a North Carolina correctional facility. While there, he provided information about his fellow prisoners.[28]
On February 17, 1996, Rosemond was charged with possession of a firearm in Los Angeles.[29]
On January 13, 1997, Rosemond was sentenced on the charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.[30][31]
Murder for hire arrest[edit]
Rosemond has a son with Cynthia Reed,[32] James Rosemond, Jr.[33][34] Rosemond’s son, James Rosemond Jr., was assaulted by Lowell "Lodi Mack" Fletcher and associates of a rival rap music management company, including Tony Yayo.[35] G-Unit's Tony Yayo was arrested in March 2007 for slapping James Jr.[36][37][38]In retaliation, Rosemond is alleged to have arranged to have Fletcher shot. Fletcher was killed in the Bronx on September 27, 2009.[39]
In February 2012,[citation needed] Rosemond was arrested for 2009[40][41][42] murder-for-hire death of Lowell Fletcher.[43] Rosemond is alleged to have arranged a murder as payback for the 2007 assault on his son. [44]
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney charged Rosemond with the murder of Lowell Fletcher on June 22, 2012.[45]
As of October 2013, Rosemond is awaiting trial on these charges in Manhattan.[46][47][48]
Drug trafficking, money laundering and witness tampering convictions[edit]
In May 2012, he went on trial, represented by Gerald Shargel, on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering.[49]Rosemond sought to reach a Cooperating Plea Agreement. In October, Rosemond admitted to drug trafficking. However, while he was in jail, Rosemond was found in possession of a working cell phone and was found to have exchanged text message with his brother Mario, a fugitive, so the plea offer was taken back by the prosecution.[50] Shargel said at trial that Rosemond was framed.[51]
On June 5, 2012, Rosemond was convicted in Federal District Court in Brooklyn of drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, firearms violations and other financial crimes associated with his being the head of a multi-million-dollar transnational cocaine selling organization.[52] In the indictment, prosecutors noted he made over $11 million a year since 2007 in trafficking drugs and money in music equipment from east to the west coasts of the US.[53][54] On October 25, 2013, Rosemond was sentenced to life imprisonment.[55][56][57]
Federal informant[edit]
A 2010 New York Daily News article by Alison Gendar shocked the hip-hop world when she provided government documents showing that Henchman, head of the hip-hop anti-snitch movement,[58] was himself a federal informant.[58] The Daily News article quoted investigators as saying "Rosemond dishes when it suits him, yet makes a fortune off artists ... who titled a 2005 album "Stop Snitchin/Stop Lyin."[58]But it was not Rosemond's role as a federal informant or even his drug conviction that made him notorious in the rap world, but his long rumored involvement in the attack that set off the East Coast – West Coast rap wars.[59] As The New York Times said "For years, he has denied allegations that he was involved in a feud that led to the murders of the rappers Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, known as Biggie Smalls."[59]
Tupac Shakur Attack[edit]
A 2008 LA Times article by Chuck Philips[60] implicated Henchman in the 1994 attack of Tupac Shakur at the Quad. The article said that Henchman ordered three thugs to ambush Tupac. The article was later retracted by the LA Times when they and Philips learned that they had mistakenly included (among many uncontroverted sources) filed FBI 302s which turned out to be forged.[61] Philips 2008 article was thought to be corroborated in 2011 when Dexter Isaac confessed to attacking Tupac on Henchman's orders.[62][63][64] Following Isaac’s public confession, Chuck Philips corroborated Isaac as one (among five) of his key unnamed sources.[65] The 2008 Philips article was entered into evidence as People's exhibit number 1 against Henchman[60] in his trial on which Henchman was convicted on all 13 counts.According to prosecutors, Henchman admitted to setting up Tupac's ambush during one of nine "Queen For A Day" proffer sessions with the government in autumn of 2011. The original prosecutor transcripts are available in a Village Voice author Chuck Philips article.[66] The confession was also picked up by the Huffington Post[67] among many other newspapers.
Tupac himself blamed Henchman in a song about the ambush at the Quad called "Against All Odds"; Tupac rapped:
Jimmy Henchman,...
[You] Set me up, wet me up,...stuck me up
Heard the guns bust but you tricks never shut me up
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