Hip hop talent agent James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond was arraigned Wednesday on expanded allegations that he used his music business as cover for his bi-coastal cocaine trafficking ring.
Rosemond appeared in Brooklyn federal court following his indictment on money laundering and obstruction of charges – as well as an additional charge that he ran a criminal enterprise while smuggling kilos of cocaine in music industry equipment packing cases from Los Angeles to New York.
The 46-year-old owner of Czar Entertainment, who manages singers Brandy and Akon, was arrested in Manhattan last month by DEA agents and US Marshals following a foot chase near Union Square.
Rosemond, who was a wanted fugitive and is now in federal custody, has pleaded not guilty to the new allegations. His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, has vowed to fight the charges at trial.
Assistant US Attorney Todd Kaminsky said at the hearing that evidence against Rosemond includes secretly taped “wire” recordings, e-mails written by the hip-hop impresario, and shipping records.
The IRS is planning to seize several properties that Rosemond supposedly used to run the cocaine ring, officials said Wednesday.
The DEA probe into the trafficking operation was aided by two informants who were high-ranking members of Rosemond’s organization, the feds said.
Last month, a man serving life in prison claimed that he shot rapper Tupac Shakur in 1994 during the bloody East-West war that then defined hip-hop culture.
In a statement posted on AllHipHop.com, Dexter Isaac apologized for the infamous near-fatal attack and claimed he shot Tupac at the direction of Rosemond.
“I want to apologize to his family [Tupac Shakur] and for the mistake I did for that sucker [Jimmy Henchman],” said Isaac’s statement, written from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Lichtman has criticized Isaac, portraying hims as “a convicted killer” and liar.
Tupac — who was born in East Harlem but made his career in Northern California — survived the attack, only to be shot dead on Sept. 13, 1996, in Las Vegas.