Fresh Loaf

Swedish artist Hannes Isaksson, whose totally awesome sketches of American gangsters have typically centered on the New York set (think Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols, and Leroy “Nicky” Barnes), has broadened his horizons to the Atlanta-based Black Mafia Family.

OK, so Isaksson incorrectly identified BMF co-founder Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (left), as his brother — and fellow BMF founder — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (right). Still, the drawing’s pretty rad.

(Sketch by Hannes Isaksson, obviously)

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Several blogs are reporting that the recent suicide of Def Jam VP Shakir Stewart is somehow related to his alleged ties to cocaine empire the Black Mafia Family.

No information has surfaced that supports the alleged connection. At best, there is a tenuous link between Stewart and BMF, in that Stewart signed Atlanta-based rapper Young Jeezy, who is affiliated with BMF.  Yet Jeezy was not among the 150 BMF associates indicted in seven states.

According to Livesteez.com:

Police are also withholding official details about the untimely death. Still, speculation amongst industry insiders is beginning to make its rounds, with some suggesting that the demise of the A&R star might be related to his involvement with the infamous Black Mafia Family.

ImagesNewsletter.com, citing “Black Press Radio” (I can’t find a link the the original source), has this to say:

Stewart was the second former Def Jam employee in less than six months to allegedly commit suicide but .. those who know them [believe] they were victims of foul play. Sadia Morrison, who once worked for the label, was murdered but her death has been ruled a suicide. Both had professional connections to members of the Black Mafia Family.

Most other references to Stewart’s alleged connection to BMF (including posts on Bossip and NewsOne, ) link back to the Livesteez story.

This very well could be a rumor gone viral, or a conpsiracy theory that’s getting way too much cred. Still, rumors of Stewart’s alleged connection to BMF came to light at least as early as July (more than three months before his death), in an XXLmag.com post.

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Steve Goss, host of “Morning Edition” on WABE 90.1 FM (our local NPR affiliate), was kind enough to invite me on the show to talk about the Black Mafia Family.

BMF was a $270 million cocaine enterprise that had ties to some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Its co-leaders, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his brother, Terry “Southwest T,” were sentenced in September to 30 years in federal prison.

My BMF interview with Goss aired this morning, but you can still listen to it online.

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“Big Meech” Flenory (right) was like a big brother to Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight.

NOTE: This post is a slightly longer version of a story that appeared in this week’s print edition of Creative Loafing.

The Black Mafia Family continued to unravel last week when a parade of the cocaine ring’s affiliates was sentenced in federal court in Atlanta. Among them were two defendants with strong ties to the hip-hop industry.

What’s more, all but one of the 10 defendants to plead guilty — Deron “D-Shock” “D-Shot” Hall — agreed to share information with the government, further shattering the once ironclad code of silence that blanketed the $270 million drug enterprise. Of the six additional defendants named in the Atlanta indictment [PDF], four are still scheduled for trial, one was convicted at trial and one remains a fugitive.

Darryl “Poppa” Taylor, the first cousin of New York-based music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, received a three-year sentence reduction for his substantial assistance in the government’s investigation into BMF, which was headed by brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory. The Flenorys each received 30-year sentences in a separate case in Detroit.

In a court proceeding last year, Taylor said he was introduced to Terry Flenory by Combs’ chief of security, Paul Buford. Buford was indicted along with the Flenory brothers in 2005, but his case has not been resolved. Combs, who’s been described in court documents as a friend of the Flenorys, hasn’t been accused of any unlawful behavior related to BMF.

Taylor’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told the judge last week that Taylor — in addition to info he shared about Terry Flenory — might be able to offer the government insight into “activities going on in the Northeast.”

Had Taylor not cooperated in the investigation, he would have received a minimum of 10 years in federal prison, where there is no parole. Instead, he got just over seven years.

Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, the rapper who became the face of the Black Mafia Family’s now defunct record label, was sentenced to five years and four months. The sentence was eight months less than the government’s recommendation, due in part to him agreeing to share information with the feds — although he wasn’t willing to testify against other defendants.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Big Meech led BMF's Atlanta hub

After spending three years in a suburban Michigan jail, Black Mafia Family co-leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory is back in Georgia.

Meech and his brother, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, were sentenced in September to 30 years in federal prison on charges that they ran a continuing criminal enterprise. BMF is estimated to have moved at least $270 million in cocaine in less than two decades. Nearly 150 defendants with ties to BMF have been indicted in seven states, including Georgia.

Meech, a flashy hip-hop entreprenuer, was prosecuted in federal court in his hometown Detroit, though he had lived in Atlanta (and, for a short while, Miami) for more than 10 years at the time of his 2005 arrest.

During a brief phone conversation Saturday, Meech said he was upbeat about starting his 30-year prison sentence. He recently was moved from the Michigan jail to one in rural Georgia, where he’s awaiting transfer to a federal prison in Jesup, Ga. He requested that particular prison so he could be close to Atlanta, where he and his crew were once a legendary presence in hip-hop clubs and on billboards that proclaimed, “The World is BMF’s.”

“I’ve got a lot of love down here,” he said.

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So profitable was the Atlanta and L.A.-based Black Mafia Family that the cocaine crew could afford to lose a million dollars every now and then.

For example, consider a 2003 Hummer H2 stretch limo that was parked at one of BMF’s stash houses off Mount Paran Road. The limo was described yesterday during the sentencing hearing for the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, a BMF member who’d been indicted in Atlanta.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney told the court that in late 2004, BMF leader Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory correctly suspected that the stash house — a modern mansion affectionately dubbed “Space Mountain” — was about to be raided. Authorities believe Meech’s minions quickly moved at least 100 kilos out of the home.

There was just one problem: a car was blocking the limo, and stash house workers didn’t have the keys. So the limo was abandoned. Federal agents who later raided the house confiscated the stretch Hummer. They searched its interior and found nothing unusual. It was sold at auction and passed through four more owners. Then, the government got a tip that they might not have searched the limo thoroughly enough.

After tracking down the Hummer two months ago, agents discovered secret compartments that they’d missed during the first go-around. Inside, they found seven, semi-automatic weapons — and nearly $900,000 cash.

Just imagine how many prom-bound teenagers must have graced the limo’s seats, oblivious to the fortune that sat beneath them.

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Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, the rapper who became the face of the Black Mafia Family, was sentenced in Atlanta federal court today for handling cash and cocaine for the drug-ring-turned-hip-hop label.

McKnight and nine other co-defendants — most notably Sean “Diddy” Combs’ cousin Darryl “Poppa” Taylor — were scheduled for sentencing today, though at least one of them will be sentenced tomorrow because proceedings ran long.

BMF’s leaders, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, were indicted separately in Detroit, where they birthed their organization before moving to hubs in Atlanta and L.A. Last month, the Flenory brothers were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

McKnight received a five-year sentence — eight months less than the government’s recommendation, due in part to the fact that he agreed to share information with authorities. That information was not useful, however, because the government already had built most of its case against BMF.

McKnight also was not willing to testify against other defendants.

“He would have liked to have cooperated if he could have,” his attorney, David MacKusick, said. “But he didn’t have any useful information.”

McKnight released one album, The World is BMF’s, on Big Meech’s record label. Early in his career, he performed alongside such rappers as Young Jeezy, who also has been linked to BMF. Jeezy has not been charged with a crime in relation to the cocaine crew.

A tearful McKnight addressed the court at the end of the sentencing. He said he got involved in BMF the record label as a rapper — and took a detour into BMF the cocaine ring. He also said that Big Meech, who treated him like a little brother, tried to steer him away from the cocaine trade.

“Demetirus did not show me that part of his world when I first met him,” McKnight said. “I got onto the wrong side of the track.”

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Darryl “Poppa” Taylor was sentenced this morning in federal court to seven years in prison for his role as a cocaine courier for the Atlanta and L.A.-based Black Mafia Family.

Taylor, one of 10 co-defendants scheduled to be sentenced in Northern Georgia U.S. District Court today, received a sentence reduction for his substantial assistance in the government’s investigation into BMF, a $270 million cocaine enterprise that was headed by the brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory. The Flenory brothers were charged in a separate indictment in Detroit and were sentenced last month to 30 years in federal prison.

Taylor, who moved to Atlanta from New York, is the first cousin of New York-based music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who’s been described in court documents as a friend of the Flenorys. Combs has not been accused of any unlawful behavior related to BMF.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McBurney said during the hearing that Taylor might be able to offer “very substantial” assistance in another federal investigation. Taylor’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told Judge Orinda Evans that Taylor could offer the government insight into “activities going on in the Northeast.”

Had Taylor not cooperated in the investigation, he would have received a minimum 10 years in federal prison, where there is no parole.

In another court proceeding last year, Taylor testified that he was introduced to Terry Flenory by Paul Buford, Combs’ chief of security. Buford and 38 other defendants were indicted along with the Flenory brothers in Detroit. There has been no resolution in Buford’s case.

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This is an updated and more detailed account of a post that appeared on Fresh Loaf last week.

DETROIT — On Sept. 12, inside a small courtroom on the second floor of the Theodore Levine federal courthouse, an anxious crowd gathered to witness the symbolic end of the government’s two-decade investigation into the Black Mafia Family.

One of the bailiffs barked a succinct order: “No outbursts.” A moment later, a team of U.S. marshals escorted a slender man, gazing straight ahead through rimless glasses, into the courtroom.

“That’s your Uncle T,” one of the onlookers, Lucille Flenory, whispered to her grandson, sitting next to her. The bespectacled man, Lucille’s son, was hardly recognizable as he made his way to the defense table. From the time he was locked up three years ago, Terry “Southwest T” Flenory lost close to 100 pounds.

Shuffling close behind him, in a matching orange jumpsuit, was Terry’s older brother, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and the tattooed letters “BMF” peeked above his collar on the left side of his neck. He scanned the courtroom, turned to his supporters and flashed a wide smile.

The two men, both of whom pleaded guilty to federal drugs charges last year, rose from the down-and-out streets of Detroit to build a massive, multistate cocaine empire headquartered in Atlanta and L.A. In less than two decades, the Flenory brothers and their Black Mafia Family amassed a $270 million fortune. The drug organization relied on an estimated 500 employees. And, with Meech’s guidance, BMF helped jump-start the careers of some of Atlanta’s best-known rappers.

Read the rest of this article here.

(Photo courtesy Tammy Cowins)

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DETROIT — Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and his brother, Terry “Southwest T,” were sentenced in federal court today to 30 years in prison for running the $270 million cocaine empire the Black Mafia Family.

BMF, which had one of its two hubs in Atlanta, has been linked to some of the city’s more sensational crimes and some of its best-known rappers, including Young Jeezy. Jeezy was implicated in BMF’s cocaine ring during the trial earlier this year of BMF’s third-in-command. The rapper has not been charged with a crime relating to the feds’ BMF investigation.

Meech, 40, and Terry, 38, pleaded guilty in November 2007 to running a continuing criminal enterprise. They’ve been locked up since their charges were unsealed in Detroit three years ago.

“I don’t think ‘I’m sorry’ is the right thing to say,” Meech told the judge minutes before he was sentenced. “’I’m sorry’ is what people say when they get caught.”

The CCE charge — which is similar to a RICO, or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case — can carry a life sentence, though the guilty pleas all but guaranteed that the brothers would serve less time. The government was pushing for 30-year sentences, though the judge indicated in November that he might be willing to go as low as the minimum 20 years. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Flenorys are among nearly 150 BMF associates who have been indicted in seven states: Georgia, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and California. The majority of those cases have been resolved — most recently, the federal trial in Atlanta of BMF’s third-in-command, Fleming “Ill” Daniels.

Daniels and several of his co-defendants, including the rapper Barima “Bleu DaVinci” McKnight, who pleaded guilty to cocaine charges, will be sentenced later this year.

More details to come at clfreshloaf.com.

(Photos courtesy of DeKalb County jail, top, and Wayne County, Mich., jail.)

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UPDATE: Flenory brothers get hefty sentences.

Three years after they were indicted for running the massive, multi-state cocaine ring the Black Mafia Family, the brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court this afternoon.

Meech headed the Atlanta headquarters of the $270 million organization and was a huge presence in the city’s hip-hop scene, with ties to well-known rappers including Young Jeezy. Terry, who had a falling out with Meech several years before the indictment and began to run a separate cocaine crew, oversaw BMF’s headquarters in L.A., where thousands of kilos of cocaine were shipped in from Mexico.

The brothers birthed the organization in their hometown  Detroit, where the sentencing hearing will take place. (I’ll be there to write about it and will post an update later today.)

A year ago, Meech and Terry pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise, which is similar to a RICO — or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations — charge. Had they gone to trial and been convicted, they would’ve faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

By pleading guilty, the brothers could serve as little as 20 years. The government is pushing for 30.

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UPDATE: Flenory brothers get hefty sentences.

At long last, the Flenory brothers — who birthed the $270 million, multi-state cocaine ring the Black Mafia Family — are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court. BMF, which had one of its two hubs in Atlanta, has been linked to some of the city’s more sensational crimes and some of its best-known rappers, including Young Jeezy.