DEA confirms to MTV News that Czar Entertainment honcho was apprehended and arraigned on drug charges in New York City.
By Rob Markman
Jimmy Henchman
Photo: Soul Brother/FilmMagic
The manhunt for hip-hop music executive James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond ended Tuesday afternoon (June 21), the DEA confirmed to MTV News. Henchman, who ran the Czar Entertainment management company overseeing the careers of artists like the Game, was arrested in New York City and charged with heading a cocaine trafficking ring.
Rosemond has been on the lam since warrants were issued for his arrest on May 17. On Tuesday afternoon, the onetime music manager noticed federal agents as he walked out of the W Hotel in Union Square, according to the New York Post. Henchman tried to evade US Marshals and DEA agents by taking off on foot, but was apprehended and arrested on 21st Street and Park Avenue South.
Rosemond was then arraigned in Brooklyn on conspiracy to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine; he is being held without bail, a DEA representative told MTV News.
According to Rosemond's lawyer, Jeffery Lichtman, Henchman and his defense team are ready. "These charges obviously aren't surprising, we've been anticipating them for years now," Lichtman told MTV News on Tuesday. "But they're built on the backs of people that have lied and cheated, have been threatened, have been bribed by the government," he added. "Anything to get Jimmy Rosemond, but all of this is going to be exposed. We've been waiting a long time for our day in court — we finally have it."
Through the DEA, MTV News has obtained a copy of the complaint and affidavit stemming from Rosemond's arrest warrant. In it, there are details of Henchman's alleged drug ring, which is said to have shipped cocaine under accounts belonging to Czar Entertainment from California to New York in "road cases" typically used to transport musical equipment. Vacuum-sealed bags and mustard were also used to conceal the smell from drug-sniffing dogs.
Two "high-ranking members" of Rosemond's alleged organization (referred to in the complaint as "CW-1" and "CW-2") helped the DEA in their investigation. The document does confirm that both men agreed to cooperate with the government after their respective arrests in the "hope of receiving a reduced sentence."
It is also noted in the complaint that while on the run, Henchman avoided the use of cell phones and suggested to one of the members of his organization that he should go into hiding. "N----r stay low, move like you on the run right now 'cause that is what I'm doing n----r, trying to get some ID, some new paperwork, all that sh-- right now," Rosemond said during a telephone conversation recorded by agents.
Dexter Isaac, who is believed to be cooperating with the government in its case against Henchman, told AllHipHop.com that he was paid $2,500 by Rosemond to rob Tupac Shakur at Quad Studios in a November 1994 incident that resulted in the near-fatal shooting of the rapper, two years before his death in 1996. Lichtman told the New York Daily News that Isaac's claim was a "flat-out lie."
"When you got witnesses like that against you, it can make anybody paranoid and believe that they won't be getting a fair trial," Lichtman said about his client. "When the case starts, we'll be ready to go."
Check back with MTV News for updates as this story continues to develop.
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