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

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Background

McGriff rose to prominence in early 1981 when he formed his own crack cocaine 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 subsection ...

section of the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough of

, New York. 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 The Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute (commonly referred to as CCE Statute or Kingpin Statute) is a United States federal law that targets large-scale drug traffickers who are responsible for long-term and elaborate drug conspiracies. Unlike t ...

. 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 Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

, seeking help from

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

to film a movie based on the Kenyatta series' novel ''Crime Partners''. However, due to McGriff's reputation, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

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 member

Jam Master Jay Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...

, 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. On February 1, 2007, McGriff was convicted of

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 ...

at a federal court in the

Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, Su ...

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 The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pri ...

, a federal supermax prison in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. In 2011, he was transferred to the

United States Penitentiary, Lee The United States Penitentiary, Lee (USP Lee) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also ...

, a high-security federal prison in

Pennington Gap, Virginia Pennington Gap is the most populous town in Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. The Lee Regional Medical Center was in Pennington Gap until it closed in October 2013, and the United States Penitentiar ...

.McGriff's entry at the US Bureau of Prisons
/ref> , he is housed at

USP McCreary The United States Penitentiary, McCreary (USP McCreary) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in unincorporated McCreary County, Kentucky. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States ...

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