James Rosemond often known as Jimmy Henchman or sometimes Jimmy Henchmen,
is an American entertainment record executive and convicted drug trafficker.
Early life
Rosemond was born in 1965, in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and grew up in
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...
, New York, in an apartment complex called Vanderveer Gardens. His parents migrated from
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
in the 1960s. They divorced when he was young, leaving his mother to raise five children alone.
Entertainment career
Rosemond and several friends founded the music conference "How Can I Be Down" in 1992.
In 2002, Rosemond negotiated the
Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson
Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson, billed as ''Lewis–Tyson: Is On'', was a heavyweight professional boxing match that took place on June 8, 2002, at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The defending unified WBC, IBF, IBO, and '' The Ring'' c ...
boxing match. It was the first time that a boxer demanded that after a million buys on
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
, the boxers would split the purse 50–50 with
Showtime Networks
Showtime Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's pay television, premium cable television television channel, channels, including its flagship service Showtime (TV network), Showtime. It is a subsidiary of me ...
/
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
.
In 2003, Rosemond, along with
Chris Lighty
Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He co-founded Violator, a record label, management and marketing company, which represented hip hop and R&B artists such as Busta Rhymes, ...
, joined
Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
in his campaign to end New York's draconian
Rockefeller Drug Laws
The Rockefeller Drug Laws are the statutes dealing with the sale and possession of "narcotic" drugs in the New York State Penal Law. The laws are named after Nelson Rockefeller, who was the state's governor at the time the laws were adopted. Rock ...
.
Rosemond along with Shakim Compere and
Mona Scott
Mona Scott-Young ( Scott; born February 15, 1967) is an American television producer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO of the multi-media entertainment company Monami Productions, best known for producing the VH1 reality television franchise ''L ...
, executive produced
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
's ''SOS Saving Ourselves: Help for Haiti'', a
telethon
A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause.
Most telethons f ...
held at
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
's
American Airlines Arena
FTX Arena (known as American Airlines Arena from 1999 to 2021) is a multi-purpose arena located in Miami, Florida, along Biscayne Bay. It was constructed beginning in 1998 as a replacement for the Miami Arena and designed by the architecture f ...
on February 5, 2010, to raise money for the devastated victims of the
2010 Haiti earthquake
A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...
that killed over 100,000 people.
Circa 1996, Rosemond founded Henchmen, the company that would later become the rap management company Czar Entertainment.
He was the CEO of Czar,
when it managed
The Game,
Sean Kingston
Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs " Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", " Take You There", and his collaboration wit ...
,
Brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
,
Gucci Mane
Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper and record executive. He helped pioneer the hip hop subgenre of trap music alongside fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Young Jeezy, ...
,
Guerilla Black
Charles Williamson (born 1977), better known by his stage name Guerilla Black, is an American rapper from Compton, California. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he came to fame after releasing his debut album '' Guerilla City'' (2004), which featured ...
,
Salt-n-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...
and
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...
. He was a known figure in the
hip hop music industry, described in a 2012 ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' article as "a prince at the royal court, whose ties to rap music’s biggest stars were known far and wide."
Rosemond was behind Salt-n-Pepa's
"
Shoop" and he was The Game's manager during a feud with
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
when The Game recorded the
diss track
A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...
"300 Bars and Runnin."
In 2006, Henchman and 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) settled a lawsuit regarding a DVD that Czar Entertainment released about 50 Cent's namesake,
Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin, in which interviews with Jackson were alleged to have been inappropriately used. In the settlement, a charity was created with funds going to support Martin and his children.
Criminal charges and conviction
Drug trafficking, money laundering and witness tampering convictions
In June 2010, Rosemond was arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering. He went on trial in May 2012, represented by
Gerald Shargel
Gerald "Jerry" Lawrence Shargel (October 5, 1944 – July 16, 2022) was an American defense attorney who was based in New York City and generally considered one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the country.
Early life and education
Sh ...
.
On June 5, 2012, Rosemond was convicted in
Federal District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
in Brooklyn of drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, firearms violations and other financial crimes associated with his position as head of a multi-million-dollar transnational cocaine-selling organization. At trial, it was alleged that Rosemond led the large scale, bi-coastal narcotics-trafficking organization that transported cocaine from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. The group, known as the "Rosemond Organization," in turn shipped cash proceeds from the narcotics sales back to Los Angeles using a variety of methods as part of its operation. Millions of dollars in cash and narcotics were sent through
Federal Express
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
and
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...
, often covered in
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
to avoid discovery by
detection dog
A detection dog or sniffer dog is a dog that is trained to use its senses to detect substances such as explosives, illegal drugs, wildlife scat, currency, blood, and contraband electronics such as illicit mobile phones. The sense most used by d ...
s.
In the indictment, prosecutors noted that Rosemond made over $11 million a year since 2007 through his drug trafficking scheme.
On October 25, 2013, Rosemond was sentenced to life imprisonment.
As part of his sentence, Rosemond forfeited approximately $14 million in cash and property. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in five New York counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau and Suffolk. The current U.S. Attorney is Breon ...
Loretta E. Lynch
Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is an American lawyer who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the Un ...
said that Rosemond's carefully crafted image as a music mogul was in reality "a cover for the real Jimmy Rosemond - a thug in a suit." Presiding Judge John Gleeson remarked that he would have sentenced Rosemond to life even if it were not legally required as his crimes were "astonishing in their breadth, duration and intensity."
On March 10, 2016, Rosemond filed a habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
appeal with the same federal court seeking a new trial along with a complaint to the U.S. Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility
The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), part of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and supervised by the FBI, is responsible for investigating lawyers employed by the Department of Justice who have been accused of misconduct ...
against former U.S. Attorney Todd Kaminsky
Todd Kaminsky is an American attorney and politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he was a member of the New York State Senate representing the 9th district, which is based on the South Shore of Long Island.
Early life and career
...
citing actions taken with regard to securing testimony from the government's lead witness Henry "Black" Butler. In 2019, the court denied the writ and dismissed his appeal.
Murder for hire
In June 2012, Rosemond was charged with four crimes in connection with the death of G-Unit
G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released th ...
affiliate Lowell "Lodi Mack" Fletcher, including murder-for-hire
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
and conspiracy to commit murder. Rosemond is alleged to have arranged a murder as payback for the alleged assault on his son by Tony Yayo
Marvin Bernard (born March 31, 1978), better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is an American rapper. He is best known as a member of G-Unit, a hip hop group he formed with his childhood friends 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks. Yayo released his deb ...
. The trial began on February 10, 2014 in a New York federal court. More than 35 witnesses testified at the trial. Closing arguments finished on March 4, 2014. The jury deliberations resulted in a hung jury on the four counts for both Rosemond and co-defendant Johnson.
Rosemond came before a jury again in December 2014 and on December 11 the jury found him guilty on all charges for the murder of Lowell "Lodi Mack" Fletcher. On March 23, 2015, Rosemond was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years by Judge Colleen McMahon
Colleen McMahon (born July 18, 1951) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Education and career
Born in Columbus, Ohio, McMahon received a Bachelor of Arts degree fr ...
. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd circuit overturned the conviction in 2016. The case was tried for the third time in 2017. Rosemond was again convicted and sentenced to life plus 30 years.
He is assigned BOP#17903-054 and is at USP Hazelton.
Personal life
Rosemond has a son.
In 2008, the ''LA Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' retracted and apologized for a story which had alleged that Rosemond had been involved in a criminal event. The story was based on documents created by a person convicted of fraud that had been falsely believed to be from an FBI file.
Cultural influence
Rosemond is profiled by filmmaker Don Sikorski in the documentary video series ''Unjust Justice: The Jimmy Rosemond Tapes'' released in 2016 and podcast ''Unjust Justice: The Jimmy Rosemond Story'' released in 2020 and hosted by Michael K. Williams
Michael Kenneth Williams (November 22, 1966 – September 6, 2021) was an American actor. He rose to fame in 2002 through his critically acclaimed role as Omar Little on the HBO drama series ''The Wire''. He has been described as a "singular pr ...
. The series take an investigative look into Rosemond's life, criminal cases, and portrayal by the media.
Rosemond was mentioned by name (as "Henchman") by Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...
in his song "Against All Odds" on his album '' The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'', on which Shakur raps "promise to payback Jimmy Henchman in due time." Tupac believed that Rosemond was involved in setting up the shooting and robbery of Shakur at the Quad Recording Studios in New York in November 1994. In 2012, a man named Dexter Isaac, serving a life sentence for unrelated crimes, claimed that he attacked Shakur that night and that the robbery was indeed orchestrated by Rosemond.
American rapper Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
acknowledges Rosemond as a mentor in his song "Ghostwriter" from the album ''Black Market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
'': "Remember receiving words of wisdom from Jimmy Henchman I lit a blunt in his honor when he received his sentence."
Further listening
References
External links
Supporters' website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosemond, James
Living people
1965 births
American chief executives
American drug traffickers
American people convicted of murder
Place of birth missing (living people)
21st-century criminals
Musicians from Brooklyn
Tupac Shakur
American people of Haitian descent