The ninth day of testimony in the cocaine trial of James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond continued on May 30, with testimony from a former associate, who set the Hip-Hop mogul up for DEA agents.
Winston Harris, 49, was considered an inside member of the Rosemond Organization, which prosecutors claim dealt tens-of-millions of dollars worth of cocaine annually in the New York area.
Winston Harris was arrested 2010 for his role in the organization, which included purchasing narcotics, arranging shipments and loaning hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in drug proceeds to members.
Harris, who admitted he was flat broke, eventually reached an agreement with the government.
James RosemondHarris agreed to wear a video wire in his baseball cap, which allowed agents to monitor a drug transaction between himself, another individual named Jason Williams and James Rosemond.
A portion of the video was played in court, along with audio recorded by another confidential informant working for the government.
Harris also admitted that he made firearm purchases for Rosemond, who allegedly instructed him to drop the guns off in Queens, New York, to a man named Rodney “Torae” Johnson.
Rodney Johnson and Brian Mcleod are charged with the murder of Lowell “Lodi Mac” Fletcher, who was convicted of striking Rosemond’s young son during an altercation with Tony Yayo from G-Unit.
DEA case agent Steven Miller then took the stand and testified that he led the investigation for the agency, since 2008.
Miller said the investigation into the Rosemond Organization started in 2008, with the arrest of a man named Aaron Ferguson.
Ferguson was arrested in 2008, but it wasn’t until a year later that agents would get a breakthrough, with the arrest of a suspect named Muhammad “Teff” Stewart.
Muhammad “Teff” StewartStewart, who hails from Staten island, was arrested in 2009 and began cooperating immediately.
When DEA agents arrested him he was carrying $77,000 in cash and a 9mm pistol.
Before an agreement was even signed, Stewart agreed to call Rosemond and another suspect in the case, Henry “Black” Butler, while agents listened in.
By that time, Stewart was in full cooperation with the government and began recording calls between himself and his former cronies.
The DEA testified that they were going to send Stewart to a Floyd Mayweather fight in May of 2010, in hopes of gathering information on Rosemond, but the plan fell through.
Stewart also went to Los Angeles with agents to make a controlled purchase of cocaine, but he was unsuccessful in his attempt.
On July 3, 2010, DEA agents took pictures of members of the drug gang gathered at a wake for Rosemond’s mother.
Henry “Black” ButlerLike all the previous witnesses, both Winston Harris and Muhammad Stewart have agreements with the government.
Harris admitted that he met with prosecutors 11 times and under the terms of this deal, he will face no charges and will not have to forfeit any drug proceeds.
In regards to the guns, on cross-examination, Rosemond’s attorney Gerald Shargel made Harris admit that it was another conspirator, Khalil Abdullah, who paid for the firearms.
James Rosemond’s publicist Sibrena Stowe de Fernandez said that she believed the government had not connected her client to the conspiracy.
“The government still hasn’t proved Jimmy is guilty. The only thing they’ve proven so far is that Muhammad ‘Teff’ Stewart from Staten island wore a wire to record his conversation with Jimmy. And that Winston Harris wore a hidden camera in his baseball cap to meet Jason Williams,” Rosemond’s publicist Sibrena Stowe de Fernandez told AllHipHop.com.
“What is very clear is that Harris will receive no sentence for his cooperation and maybe deported to Kingston, Jamaica,” de Fernandez continued. “And that Stuart, Butler and Abdullah may be rewarded for their testimony. Seems like these guys are employed by the federal government and Jimmy has been set up by snakes and liars.”
At the height of his career, James Rosemond represented a number of influential artists, including Game, Mario Winans, Mike Tyson, Gucci Mane, Trillville, Brandy, Salt-N-Pepa, Akon and others.
When he was alive, rapper Tupac Shakur accused James Rosemond of setting up an ambush that led to the rapper being shot at the Quad Studios in New York City.
James Rosemond has always denied those allegations and said they helped tarnished his reputation in the music industry, since Pac sold so many records.
Courtesy All Hip Hopp
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