Fresh Loaf

“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.

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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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