|
L.A. Times Investigating Own Story on Shooting of Tupac Shakur
March 26, 2008
Rapper Tupac Shakur is back in the headlines after the investigative
website, The Smoking Gun, and its editor, indicated to the Los Angeles Times
that the documents the paper used last week for a story linking rap mogul
Sean "Diddy" Combs to a previous 1994 shooting of Shakur appeared to be
fabricated. They insinuate that "Diddy" had prior knowledge of the attack.
On Wednesday, after a story ran on The Smoking Gun, the L.A. Times announced
that an internal investigation will take place over the Shakur - Diddy
documents and their authenticity. The Smoking Gun indicated to The Times
that the FBI documents used to bolster the story appeared to raise enough
questions to cast doubt on whether they're real or faked papers, namely the
information that supposedly came from the FBI.
According to the L.A. Times, it appears there is reason to look further
into the claims as "The Smoking Gun ( www.thesmokinggun.com ) said the
documents seemed suspicious for multiple reasons, including the fact that
they appeared to be written on a typewriter, rather than a computer, and
included blacked-out sections not typically found in such documents."
While the paper digs deeper into the issue surrounding The Times'
previous story about who might have been linked to the 1994 shooting of
Tupac Shakur at a New York recording studio, the information on The Smoking
Gun indicates a possible lead. According to the website's story, the
documents were apparently created by an over-ambitious music fan with a
criminal past, now serving time in prison for fraud, who, as The L.A. Times
and The Smoking Gun both report, has been known to over-blow his position in
the music business.
As the events unfold, some of the information on The Smoking Gun's website
raises the question of a possible motive since it all might have something
to do with a business deal gone awry. The Smoking Gun names James Sabatino
as the man in question over the documents, who claims "Diddy" still owes him
money. As the reports reveal, Sabatino filed the questionable FBI documents
four months ago in Miami in Federal court as part of a $16 million lawsuit
Sabatino had against "Diddy" Combs.
Also, the information gathered and used for the questionable FBI reports
can't be located, as The Smoking Gun claims The Federal Bureau of
Investigation are unable to find the documents in their system. As well,
the website states that the language of the documents isn't in line with
Bureau terminology and are reported to be filled with grammatical errors.
Furthermore, Sabatino claims that he received the documents from the FBI
back in 2002 during a previous criminal case, but the Bureau states that the
particular case raised by Sabatino was handled by the Secret Service and not
the FBI.
Given the new information, The Smoking Gun mentions that "The Times
appears to have been hoaxed by an imprisoned con man and accomplished
document forger, an audacious swindler who has created a fantasy world in
which he managed hip-hop luminaries, conducted business with Combs, Shakur,
Busta Rhymes, and The Notorious B.I.G., and even served as Combs's trusted
emissary to Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight during the outset of
hostilities in the bloody East Coast-West Coast rap feud."
On Wednesday, L.A. Times editor Russ Stanton sounded off on the matter,
stating, "Questions have been raised about the authenticity of documents
that we relied on for a story on the assault of Tupac Shakur in New York...
We are taking this very seriously and have begun our own investigation."
Sources: The L.A. Times, The Smoking Gun.
|
