NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Prosecutors in the trial of a major narcotics ring have alleged that the conspirators used road cases from Rock-It Cargo to transport large amounts of cocaine and cash around the U.S. Road cases are typically used by artists to transport their gear and other cargo while on tour.
The documents also reveal that pickups and deliveries of cocaine were allegedly made at the Los Angeles offices of Interscope Records, a major label who's roster includes artists such as Lady Gaga, Eminenm and U2.
The alleged members of the drug trafficking ring include Czar Entertainment manager James Rosemond, who is currently facing 18 felony counts in connection to the investigation. Court documents filed in Rosemond's case by prosecutor Todd Kaminsky included 65 pages of records from Rock-It Cargo, a freight company that specializes in transporting gear for touring artists.
These cases, investigators allege, were used to ship large amounts of cocaine from Los Angeles to New York, where members of Rosemond's organization allegedly distributed the drug for sale and then shipped the proceeds back to Los Angeles, also in road cases. According to the investigators, Rosemond used his position as a talent manager to "disguise these shipments as legitimate freight that was ostensibly needed by the performance artists he managed."
In December 2010, the DEA, acting on a tip from a cooperating witness, seized one of these road cases containing nearly $800,000 from a Manhattan recording studio.
TSG noted that while the prosecution has yet to explain how members of the ring would have had access to Interscope's offices, one of Rosemond's primary clients, rap artist The Game is signed to the label and that the artist's road manager has also been implicated in a bicoastal trafficking ring.
A representitive from Rock-It Cargo declined to offer comment on the matter. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
