Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff (born September 19, 1960) is an American convicted former

drug lord A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly ...

and gangster from New York City.

Background

McGriff rose to prominence in early 1981 when he formed his own

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

distributing and manufacturing organization which he called The Supreme Team based in the

Baisley Park Houses Baisley Park Houses is a housing project in South Jamaica, Queens, New York and completed on April 30, 1961. The development consists of five, 8-story buildings with 386 apartment units for an estimated 1,057 people. It covers a 7.48-acre expanse ...

in the

South Jamaica South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been established, the neighborhood is a subsec ...

section of the Queens borough of New York City,

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 * '' ...

. Under McGriff's leadership, the gang's numbers swelled to the hundreds and came to control the crack cocaine trade in Baisley Park, the neighborhood where McGriff was raised. In 1987, McGriff was arrested following a joint state and federal investigation and in 1989 pleaded guilty to engaging in a Continuing Criminal Enterprise. He was sentenced to 12 years incarceration. McGriff was released from prison on parole in early 1994 after serving approximately five years of his sentence. He was sent back to prison on parole violations by year's end, and served another 2½ years before being released in 1997.

Friendship with Murder Inc.

After being released from prison on parole in 1994, McGriff tried his hand at cinematography, seeking help from Irv Gotti to film a movie based on the

Kenyatta series The ''Kenyatta'' series is a four-volume urban fiction series by American author Donald Goines under the pseudonym of Al C. Clark. Goines released the books under a pseudonym on the request of his publisher, who wanted to avoid flooding the marke ...

' novel ''Crime Partners''. However, due to McGriff's reputation, the FBI soon questioned the intimacies of the affiliation with Murder Inc., culminating in a raid of the Murder Inc. offices in early 2003. McGriff faced accusations of drug trafficking while others with Murder Inc. were indicted on money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering charges.

Other criminal activities

McGriff is alleged to have had a hand in the 2002 murder of

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

member Jam Master Jay, and was convicted of ordering the 2001 death of rapper Eric "E-Moneybags" Smith, in retaliation for the death of McGriff's friend Colbert "Black Just" Johnson. Federal authorities also accused him in connection with the attempted murder of

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 ...

. On February 1, 2007, McGriff was convicted of murder-for-hire at a federal court in the Eastern District of New York on charges that he paid $50,000 to have two rivals (Eric "E-Moneybags" Smith and "Big Nose" Troy Singleton) killed in 2001. The jury deliberated for five days before finding McGriff guilty of murder conspiracy and drug trafficking. On February 9, 2007, McGriff was sentenced to life in prison. Throughout this case he was defended by a court-appointed attorney because nearly all of his assets had been seized. McGriff began serving his life sentence at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison in Colorado. In 2011, he was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Lee, a high-security federal prison in Pennington Gap, Virginia.McGriff's entry at the US Bureau of Prisons
/ref> , he is housed at USP McCreary in Pine Knot, Kentucky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGriff, Kenneth 1960 births Living people Gang members American crime bosses African-American gangsters American gangsters Criminals from Queens, New York American drug traffickers Gangsters from New York City Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment Inmates of ADX Florence 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people

Background

Friendship with Murder Inc.

Other criminal activities

See also

References