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From rico suave to just plain RICO. That’s one hell of a journey.
Last night, federal officials took rap mogul Sean « Diddy » Combs into custody, apparently taking him by surprise. The FBI had raided several homes connected to Combs earlier in the year, reportedly as part of an investigation into sex trafficking that multiple lawsuits against Combs might have triggered. The New York Times reports that the US Attorney will charge him with racketeering, sex trafficking, and other charges:
Sean Combs, the embattled music mogul, has been indicted on three counts of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
In the indictment, which was unsealed on Tuesday, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York accused Mr. Combs of running a “criminal enterprise” that for years threatened, abused and coerced women, and included accusations of forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery and obstruction of justice. To commit these acts, the prosecutors said, Mr. Combs relied on the help of the employees of his business.
Initial reports claimed that Combs got surprised by the arrest; perhaps he expected the DoJ to arrange a surrender accompanied by his attorney. The Times goes on to report that Combs knew something was coming, though:
In anticipation of an indictment, Mr. Combs recently traveled to New York to make himself available to law enforcement. For days he had been staying at the Park Hyatt New York hotel on West 57th Street, largely hunkering down while awaiting any news but also drawing some attention on social media with a visit to Harlem, where he grew up.
Combs’ attorney told reporters that he would plead not guilty to the charges, and confirmed the nature of the still-sealed indictment:
Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, told reporters he already knows what the charges are going to be.
