L.A. to Pay Notorious B.I.G. Family $1.1 Million

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $1.1 million payment to the family and estate of Notorious B.I.G. for legal costs incurred during the botched civil case brought against the City of Los Angeles. The money will also cover other costs incurred, such as security for witnesses.

Three days into the wrongful death suit, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was found to be withholding relevant and important documents. As a result, US District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper was forced to declare a mistrial in July 2005.

According to the BBC, "Lawyers have said that an appeal to overturn a judge's order to pay compensation was now unlikely." Notorious B.I.G.'s estate has said they plan to continue on with another wrongful death suit, alleging one or more rogue LAPD officers were involved in the shooting. A date for the trial expected to be set April 26th.

CBS News quoted Councilman Dennis Zine as saying " It's unfortunate, but we don't have any choice," after the 11-0 vote in favor of paying the damages. "We had a case here where an experienced detective made a mistake and the city and its taxpayers have to pay for it."

Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G. or "Biggie Smalls", was murdered on March 9th, 1997, where he had been attending a VIBE Magazine party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The murder has not been solved by the LAPD, though a new investigation has been opened, with new detectives investigating the crime. Wallace's murder came six months after West Coast rival Tupac Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas.

As for the documents withheld by the LAPD, the BBC reports that Judge Florence-Marie Cooper "ruled that a police detective had intentionally concealed statements from a prison informant which could have linked two police officers with the killing. She said the information could have assisted the case of the rapper's family, who allege that rogue police officers were involved in the killing of Notorious BIG. This has been denied by city officials."

Both Christopher Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace, and widow Faith Evans, have filed suit claiming that a rogue LAPD officer, David Mack, and Death Row Records record exec Marion "Suge" Knight conspired to orchestrate Biggie Smalls' death. The testimony from the prisoner is question was believed is show that David Mack had been moonlighting for Death Row Records. Death Row Records was the signing company of rival Tupac Shakur.

Notorious B.I.G. released his first album, Ready To Die, under Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' East Coast rap label Bad Boy Entertainment in September 1994, which is now critically acclaimed as one of the most influential rap albums of the 1990s. Singles such as "One More Chance" and "Big Poppa" helped the record achieve 4 million plus album sales in the US. His follow-up, Life After Death, was released 6 months prior to his death, and was a massive success. Certified Diamond in the US (meaning it sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone), tracks like "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" and "Hypnotize" were commercial successes, while tracks like "Going Back to Cali" and "Sky's The Limit" were fan favorites. Notorious B.I.G. collaborated with artists such as Puff Daddy (or Sean "P. Diddy" Combs), Mase, Biggie Smalls' wife Faith Evans and, posthumously, many more famous rappers including Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Nelly.

On March 19th, 2006, US District Judge Todd Campbell had ordered a halt to sales of Notorious B.I.G.'s album Ready to Die, ruling the title track illegally used part of the Ohio Players song, "Singing in the Morning". (See Judge Halts Notorious B.I.G.'s Album Sales)

[Additional Sources: BBC, CBS News]