Murder Inc and McGriff linked with 50s shooting
Hit team kept filling Fitty with lead Rapper 50 Cent squirmed wildly, trying to beat back bullets with his hands when assassins pumped nine shots into him - leaving him such a bloody, crumpled heap the trio fled believing he was dead, according to bombshell court testimony yesterday.
"I got him," crack kingpin Kenneth (Supreme) McGriff boasted after the now-legendary near-murder of the top rapper and movie star, a witness recalled in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The dramatic testimony came at the trial of Murder Inc. rap label moguls Irving (Irv Gotti) Lorenzo and his brother, Christopher (Chris Gotti) Lorenzo. They are accused of laundering dirty money for the infamous Queens druglord.
Jurors weren't present for the testimony by former McGriff associate Jon Ragin. But prosecutors want the panel to hear the account - which could help put the Lorenzo brothers behind bars for two decades.
Ragin described meeting the three-man hit team - McGriff, alleged triggerman Robert (Son) Lyons and Chauncey (God B) Milliner - in a Brooklyn garage immediately after the May 2000 attack.
"Supreme said, 'I got him,'" Ragin told Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Pokorny. "I didn't know who it was 'he got,' and Supreme explained he got 50 Cent."
"He thought [50 Cent] was dead," Ragin said. "He got shot so many times at close range and there was so much blood."
While Lyons allegedly rinsed his hands with rubbing alcohol to remove traces of gunshot residue, McGriff described how 50 Cent reacted to the gunfire - "squirming" for cover and desperately trying to stop the rounds with his hands.
The rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, was hit nine times.
Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel argued that the outcome of the case could hinge on whether jurors hear allegations linking the Lorenzo brothers to the shooting.
"The 50 Cent artist is at the height of his popularity, and this is an explosive issue," Shargel told Brooklyn Federal Judge Edward Korman, referring to the rapper's starring role in the new film "Get Rich or Die Tryin.'"
Prosecutors contend the evidence will show the Lorenzos had knowledge of McGriff's violent activities while they were allegedly laundering his illicit drug cash through Murder Inc., whose artists included Ja Rule and Ashanti.
McGriff wanted 50 Cent dead because the rapper dissed him and Ja Rule in his lyrics, Ragin said.
Prosecutors say there were text messages flying among Irving Lorenzo, McGriff and their associates within 30 minutes of the shooting.
Defense lawyer Gerald Lefcourt suggested that Lorenzo sent a message, "I love the s--- out of you" to his wife - and not as congratulations to McGriff as prosecutors contend.
Lefcourt also argued in court papers yesterday that, in numerous interviews, 50 Cent has identified his assailant as Daryl (Hommo) Baum who was slain three weeks after the shooting. Prosecutors suggested it would be safer for 50 Cent to pin the rap on a dead man.
The rapper has refused to cooperate with authorities - and once told a federal agent to read his lyrics for clues.
Last edited by Detomah; 24-11-2005 at 14:57..
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