"After Greg left, we finally made the decision," McClure says. "I had other cases: the Grim Sleeper, Michael Jackson. I had to prioritize — and it's not like I had unlimited resources."
Until this month's release of Murder Rap, the only real opposition to Detective Russell Poole's conspiracy theories about corrupt cops was a series of Los Angeles Times articles written by Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Chuck Philips. After speaking with a handful of gang members, Philips wrote a 2002 front-page article accusing Biggie Smalls of paying the Crips $1 million to knock off his West Coast competition. The piece was almost entirely based on anonymous sources. Voletta Wallace was horrified.
In Murder Rap, though, almost all of LAPD's informants are on the record. The allegations that blame Tupac Shakur's murder on Sean Combs tend to strengthen a different, yet equally controversial, L.A. Times article from 2008, in which Philips fingers Combs for initially setting up a bloody mugging of Shakur in 1994, two years before he was killed in Las Vegas. That article was later retracted by Times editors because it quoted FBI court documents that turned out to have been faked by a rap-scene gadfly. After Philips and his editors mistakenly quoted from the faked documents, Philips was pushed out by the Times.
Combs may take heat for these new revelations — or he may not. After losing Biggie Smalls, he expanded his hip-hop empire — newly titled Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide — to encompass the film, restaurant and apparel industries. As his net worth has skyrocketed to nearly $500 million, his image has softened at the same rate: He's a mentor to tween heartthrob Justin Bieber and an MTV reality-show regular.
Knight is having a tougher time. TMZ recently reported that he is pulling in only about $1,200 a month — chump change compared to the glittering Death Row dynasty of old. This could be the result of his strict no-snitching policy, which would have prevented him from taking an informant deal to avoid the many years he has spent behind bars.
Knight's downfall also could be due to his inability to let go of the past: "A lot of these dudes say they love 'Pac, but at the same time they be doing shit like ... Puffy," Knight told TMZ earlier this year. "Once now all of the truth comes out on all the people who did 'Pac wrong, we still gotta be back on that mission."
Call it an obsession — a curse, even. Dozens of gang members from both sides died in attempts to avenge Shakur's and Smalls' deaths. Detective Poole traded his job to pursue a labyrinth of failed litigation against LAPD. Former Times reporter Philips spent years struggling to redeem his reputation, and now is co-producing a documentary on Suge Knight that will feature a soundtrack by Knight's latest company, Black Kapital.
For Kading, as soft-spoken and level-headed as hip-hop cops come, finishing what he started — and stepping into a potential legal and media maelstrom — is the right thing to do.
Voletta Wallace once told Rolling Stone that, before she learned of Detective Poole's conspiracy theory, "I trusted the Los Angeles Police Department. I had to believe that they wanted to find out who the murderer of my son was. I had no idea there were such powerful forces involved in all of this."
This seed of skepticism is resown in the pages of Murder Rap. Though Kading spends a chapter attacking Poole's stubborn conviction that Death Row–affiliated LAPD officers helped take out the nation's fastest-rising rap star, and follows many of the same leads as the Times, Kading's core criticism that the LAPD sacrificed justice for self-preservation tends to parallel Poole's.
"It was almost as if, in some surreal way, Russell Poole had been right all along," Kading writes in the final chapter of Murder Rap. "The LAPD was trying to cover up the Biggie Smalls murder, not by protecting corrupt cops but by undercutting the ability of its own investigators to solve the case. ... It was expedient for them to cripple the case in the interests of avoiding a potentially difficult prosecution. That expediency trumped everything, including the pledge to 'Protect and Serve' stenciled on the door of every black-and-white patrol car in the city."
Voletta Wallace's attorney Sanders tells the Weekly that Kading's book does not "meaningfully" refute theories that corrupt LAPD cops were involved, and Sanders does not believe that alleged co-conspirators Swann, Knight and Poochie could have known Smalls was at the Petersen Automotive Museum party on the night he was gunned down. Kading says Sanders is wrong.
But when Kading visited Voletta Wallace in Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago to hand her a copy of his book, he says she thanked him, saying it would prove "very beneficial."
The LAPD retiree is hoping that, despite the lawsuits he will potentially face for accusing Sean Combs and Suge Knight in Murder Rap, the high-profile probe he began — and wanted so desperately to finish — will finally get its day in court.
Reach the writers at cvogel@laweekly.com and swilson@laweekly.com.
There is allot being hidden,maybe government was involved.Its such a shame they both died,talent like that is very rare,and they where both very smart.Hip hop/rap would have been totally different now if they where both alive,instead of these fake boring rappers today.They died so young and at the peak of their carreers,damn shame.They should never be forgotten.
This leaves me absolutely fucking speachless... I don't know who to say "Fuck ____" first.... Puff? Suge? LAPD for trying to cover it up?
@Hawkster242 Well you can blame Suge for putting the fear into Puff. And that rat Puff for putting the hit out and pretending to be squeaky clean. But I don't think you can let Pac off the hook...he was a very intelligent guy but he let a dumbed down, uber-angry part of himself take over.
I have always thought that Suge Knight had a hand in both Tupac and Biggie's death. For 1 there were 13 rounds fired, How was Suge grazed only once, and why did he pull Tupac down by him, instead of let him jump in the back seat? Was he sheilding himself? Where was Tupac's bullet proof vest? Why did Suge pass the closest hospital to go to another? There are too many unanswered questions , and too many wittnesses that have met with the same fate as Tupac and Biggie ... Who would stand to gain the most? R.I.P Tupac and Biggie, you are both loved and missed deeply. You both paid the price with your lives, and your killers still roam free. Your day will come though, when they have to stand before God...
@Shehearsspirits sorry, but you don't put a hit out and have someone shoot up the car you're in..that is a reallllllly dumb theory. suge was a scumbag and probably helped push pac down the road of anger and revenge that led to puff being scared into ordering their hit, and of course having pac stomp on orlando anderson that night. but pac should take a lot of the blame, he was caught up in this image of an angry gangster he couldn't shake, when he had another really intelligent loving side.
I am an attorney licensed to practice in NY. I read the book. I think that there is definitely enough evidence for a grand jury to be empaneled in LA to investigate pressing charges against Suge Knight for Biggie's murder. And, Las Vegas PD should definitely interview keffe D and see if they think that his allegations about Puffy are credible or not.
I think suge had sumthin to do with both murders idgaf wat no one say it dont make sense both shot in the chest four times and died tf but I love tupac he bad af and Biggs was a player
I think this case coulda been solved long time ago listen to Bomb First off 2Pacs first album after he died. The first 2 seconds you hear "Suge shot him" ummm no shit
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How old are you? That's just not true. Pac said "shoulda shot me" not suge shot me.
it seemed that way to me too...if biggie and puff were so close as friends, why isnt he dead?..esp if biggie and pac are sposed to be rivals...just doesnt make any sense..lol
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Honestly,i believe in the music industry you're worth more dead than you are alive.Puffy & Suge Knight have always been behind these murders to me,i'm sorry.
You missing them two are pikers especially Suge. Jimmy Iovine owns them both and owned Tupac, was the only one that made a substantial payout to Tupac's mom after the murder. You on right track but not thinking big enough...Who's behind the front men fall guys, who get little prizes if they play their roles?
The LAPD. It was a group of COPS that knew the streets and how to capitalize on large amounts of money that worked its way up to top Brass. Tupac was an account that went out of control.
@michaelc_100 you're both conspiracy theory tools. this was about revenge, need for respect, and gangs. read the book if you want facts.
@MarkyMark Ha, maybe, maybe not. Tough to really know. Trusting the LAPD version when its been proven that LAPD had big time connections to Death Row? Tough to believe that book. You might be right, but maybe not. Neither of us really know for sure.
I still got one question why were the people who protect deathrow artist were told not to carry guns. Until suge is implemented I can't consider it for truth.
@Dannyflores50 you are correct. a scumbag hood piece of shit. but pac made the decision to stomp on him b/c he had stolen a death row necklace a couple months earlier...live by the gangster life/die by it.
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I am assume you meant to write implicated, not implemented, sport. And, look at Suge's life since Pac got murdered. And, you still think that he set him up?? Haha, wow. Let's see: Suge went to jail for parole violation; got sued; lost a lot of money; had to sell Death Row; got knocked out twice and he's irrelevant now.
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i see your point but, it wouldn't be relevant to even mention how Suge Knights life has been SINCE it happened. That's all postpartum, and has little to no basis in debates arguing Suges involvement. He could have very well miscalculated the outcome and got himself into a situation he couldn't get out of. I'm not saying I believe he had anything to do with killing his main cash cow, that would be just stupid on his part, but I wouldn't put it past him. Nor would I use his current downfall as a reason he wouldn't have been involved. So much speculation involving the whole thing.. over the years I've heard SO many theories. Until its solved, i guess every couple of years we will hear something new about it, raising more doubt centered around previous speculation. smh.
@Laraecles you're an idiot if you think he had someone shoot up the car he was in to kill his #1 artist. and, no, pac was not leaving death row--in fact 2pac got really angry at snoop for showing love to biggie and not repping death row like he thought he should..pac died without making up with snoop, you can look up interviews and hear about it. or read the book for facts instead more conspiracy bs.
Can you believe anything someone trying to sell a book says ... especially if they are a cop?
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Generally speaking, I don't like cops much myself. There are some good cops out there though. That said, you should speak to the message, rather than attempting to kill the messenger. Ad hominem attacks don't add any value to the discussion at hand.
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Slick, if you've been paying attention, you know that Kading self published and incurred the debt of that endeavor. And to automatically discount what someone says just because of your predisposition about their profession is naive, if not ignorant
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Exactly, my sharona. So true. Some people are so damn ignorant. It's unbelievable.
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I missed this article until just now. It touches on a subject where I do know a little bit -- the intersection of the LAPD and corrupt judges.
Judge Stephen Wilson -- a truly small, small man. It seems typical of this twerp to unjustly attack anyone who couldn't fight back like Kading.
Judge Florence Marie-Cooper -- she could probably teach off the hip hoppers a thing or two about corruption. How do you think she got her appointment to the federal bench?
The LA courts are riddled with corruption -- both the state courts and the federal courts. Thus, if anyone thinks that any litigation will reveal the truth when there's lots of cash flying around, they're living in fantasy land. That's just my lowly opinion.
I wish that wasn't the truth. But when we look at it in perspective the truth is right in our face nomatter how hard they try to distort it. Just like travon Martin and every walk of black America we are looking for something to believe in.
To be truthful suge set up biggie because he thought biggie had something to do with pac death and pac died because he jumped a crip in tha casino. I try to tell my cuz I got the case thought out but he say I dont know because im 16 and I dont know because I aint old enough to know put we all know who killed who and just like the person said above "the answer is in our face". But I know for a fact thats what happen but I dont care what anyone say I know what im sayin is true.
dude is facing an indictment for a pcp ring.... facing 25 to life fed time..... sometimes you have to question the validity of some peoples motives..... why not come out a few years ago? oh yeah the feds probably didnt have enough on the rico act yet to bust you... the confession is quite convenient, not impossible, but quite convenient.
A well written story loaded with leads to other information. LAPD hit men as true as it may be, is too much for the status quo/ruling elite to accept. Kind of like a UFO landing in Roswell, New Mexico, home of the world's only air wing trained to carry a nuclear bomb, the 509th. Like invading Iraq to introduce the Sunni/Shite strife to democracy, not to mention the Kurds who everyone gets kill, when in fact it was to destroy forensic evidence connecting President Reagan's staff (Cheney & Rumsfield) who supplied Saddam Hussein's war against Iran 1981-88 (and the Kurds), so said a young Marine veteran in 2005 of his Iraq service in 2004. Like Jack Nicholson's famous line that speaks to all of us, 'You can't take the truth." Thanks for putting the book and the facts, especially the LA Times blow-up over this reportage and later retraction. Chuck Phillips did not act alone...
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It is that old argument again. If you've never heard it before, listen: Both 2pac and Notorious are of Jamaican descent and got too Big for the 'American scene'. It might sound racist, but when you really consider it, businesswise, who really 'prospered' with those 2 out of the way.
Ras Tani
@(Trevor Nethersole) you're an idiot. this was a revenge killing by orlando and originally ordered out of fear by puff daddy. if you didn't know it, suge knight and pac were not just playing around with words, they were actively having people beaten, and were trying to get to puff. pac really believed they were in on his quad city robbery, which may or may not be true.
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Other black rappers prospered. So, I see where you tried to go with your post, but you're wrong.
How most of em doing now? And how's the prison industrial complex doing and the true owners, producers like Jimmy Iovine doing? Rappers aren't doing well. the corporate masters are though. A few rappers, the chosen ones get almost into the club. Order out of chaos has happened indeed.
my buddy's sister-in-law makes $74/hour on the laptop. She has been fired for 9 months but last month her income was $8735 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Read more here... http://www.scrbe.us/h3
this is complete BS. first of all, Poole not only ID's the gunman who shot Biggie (David Mack), who had worked for Suge Knight as a security guard and liked to wear red, but found the car used in the murder--in Mack's garage. to come up with an alternate crime theory worth any salt, you first have to refute those findings emphatically with concrete evidence that it couldnt possibly have happened that way.
But Kading's theory relies on hearsay and speculation.And what's Puffy's motive to kill 'Pac? Sean Combs is not actually a gangster from the streets, but a middle class kid who went to Howard U. and as for involvement in 'Pac's 1994 shooting in NY, word on the street was that Biggie knew of the robbery attempt beforehand but didn't tell Pac, his onetime friend.That's different from actually being responsible for the shooting. Plus Puffy was was getting money off of the rivalry.
The ONLY person who had means motive and opportunity for both murders was Suge Knight. At the time of his death, Pac was getting ready to leave Death Row and start his own multimedia company, taking his 150 then-unreleased recordings with him. that's motive right there. And, Suge went to college at UNLV, which is in Las Vegas. that's means. as for opportunity, the casino altercation may or may not have been a smokescreen, but even if Keffe D and Orlando Lane were involved, there's no proof Puffy ordered the hit unless you can produce financial records.
It's just as possible that Knight ordered the hit and Keffe D was told by Kading to say it was Puffy because of Knight's connection to LAPD. There were also eyewitness accounts that the gunmen got out and talked with Knight first, before getting back in the car and opening fire on 'Pac. Knight could also have grazed himself with a bullet, or faked the injury to throw off suspicion.
Knight also had motive to kill Biggie because of rumors he was responsible for Pac's death--which is why Snoop left the label.
Lastly, the LAPD clearly has zero credibility with this particular case and corrupted the press (LA Times)on at least one prior occasion in an attempt to refute their former top detective's investigation which revealed the involvement of LAPD officers from the rampart division--which included Mark Fuhrman and Rafael Perez--who had a financial relationship with Death Row and Knight prior to Biggie's killings. The DA's daughter also had a record deal with Death Row, though she never released any music. So LAPD had a huge motive to come up with an alternate crime theory, since solving this case could blow the doors open on the LAPD gang who stole/sold cocaine, and were hitmen in high-profile cases.
If off-duty LAPD officers from the Rampart division killed Biggie, suddenly the idea that Furhman was actually the killer of Nicole Simpson, and arrived first on the scene to tamper with evidence, doesnt seem so implausible. Niether does the theory that Nicole was in over her head in coke debts to the Colombian mob, OJ refused to pay because she was fucking his best friend, so the Colombians hired the Rampart cops to dispose of her, since they could not only do so without suspicion, but had knowledge of police forensics and access tot he crime scene.
Guys, I understand the need to move papers, but this story has more holes in it than swiss cheese. Hopefully Violetta Wallace will refile her lawsuit.
@Mr. Highly Skeptical, esq. Erroneous. Read the book. Oh and the fact you think Puff keep records or dirty money to put out a hit is hilarious.
I have always believed that 2 Pac's death was planned out by Suge . He was using Pacs. Money to pay for condos an jewelry an by the time Pac was ready to change labels his murder was already planned . RIP #1 Rapper 2 Pac
the first clue that this story is BS is the idea that Keffe D was invlolved in a PCP ring. who the hell does PCP? like, ever?
Lets find the killers of baby lane Anderson and then we will find the same ring of gangsters killers that are up to their necks in these conspiracies. Suge knight may be involved, but definately Reggie Right Junior. I am not 100% convinced on Puffy being involved. It seems appropriate to the LAPD that it was Knight and Puffy. Why has it taken them so long to find anyone to arrest? They obviously do not care and I suspect their officers are in on it up to their necks too. They will perish in hell if they don't repent anyway, so I am not too concerned. I am a fan of Tupac, I liked Biggie in his day but, he hasn't withstood the years like Pac, in my personal opinion. The LAPD are all corrupt America is such a corrupt nation. Get your act together your country is appalling and out landish, you need to start setting a better example to the world because it is you guys most nations look too and it is because of your corruption that justifiesw to them their sinfullness. Repent America and confess your sins! Peace and love to all mankind
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