A federal jury found hip-hop mogul James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond guilty today on all charges that he used his music management company as a virtual front for a huge drug-trafficking ring.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn won convictions on all indictments against Rosemond, including cocaine distribution, conspiracy, money laundering, firearms possession and witness tampering.
Rosemond’s defense had maintained he never had any involvement in running the drug ring.
“’James Rosemond never touched a kilo of cocaine,” defense lawyer Gerald Shargel said during opening statements. ”He is not that kingpin that the government says he was.”
Rosemond, whose clients have included Brandy and Salt-N-Pepa, used Beverly Hills hotels served as glitzy pit stops and shipped cocaine in music cases.
Rosemond’s trial opened a window to life in the hip-hop fast lane.
An IRS agent testified that Rosemond dropped five-digit donations to a charity fronted by musician Wyclef Jean and the civil rights network run by the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Jimmy Henchman even had fans in court, including actor Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little , the drug-dealer-robbing rogue from HBO’s “The Wire.”
“A lot of people don’t end up with an office on 25th Street or appear on an HBO series. Our stories are very rare,” said the actor, explaining why he supported Rosemond.
“Having been through the muck and mire, I’ve had my own brush with bad choices. We had a certain camaraderie that we shared.”
Rosemond has rubbed elbows with some of the industry’s biggest stars, including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Akon, the Game and 50 Cent.