Czar Entertainment founder James “Jimmy Henchmen” Rosemond was arrested today in Manhattan after a month-long manhunt on cocaine conspiracy charges.
Rosemond had been in hiding since May after Drug Enforcement Administration officials charged him with running a national, multi-million dollar cocaine distribution ring with hubs in Los Angeles and New York City.
Rosemond was spotted by U.S. Marshals coming out the W Hotel in Union Square. After a brief chase, Rosemond was taken into custody without further incident on 21st Street and Park Avenue.
Officials credited high-ranking informants in Rosemond’s organization with his capture after several years of investigation. According to the DEA, Rosemond utilized his Czar Entertainment as a front, hiding kilos of cocaine in music equipment cargo.
Last week, convicted felon Dexter Isaac released a statement claiming he shot and robbed the late Tupac Shakur in November 1994 at the behest of Rosemond. That incident would be the spark of the infamous Bad Boy-Death Row feud.
At press time, Rosemond is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn.
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The “hiding in plain sight” technique sometimes works, but in this case Rosemond had way too much heat in NYC, especially to be hanging at a posh spot like the W Hotel. In fact, you’d think he’d be nowhere near any major city. In his younger years, that probably would’ve been the case. But now near his fifties, it seemed like Rosemond didn’t really have the desire to truly go underground.
I’m stopping short of calling this justice for Tupac until we get all the details, if we ever do. I’m not completely sold on Isaac’s story yet although it is very probable. What this does show is another example of how grimy the music business is. Rosemond isn’t the first gangster to make a buck in the Hip-Hop industry and won’t be the last.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 