THE DOSSIER

In America in 2024, we have all watched major American cities burn the result of a powder keg that exploded around incidents of police killings. We should all know the names by now: George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breanna Taylor, Stephon Clark, Philando Castille, and more. As the list goes on, the debate surrounding race, policing, mass incarceration, and the war on drugs, it seems, has reached the tipping point. Fault lines have been drawn as our divided country simmers in a cauldron of internet conspiracy theories and news stories that may or may not be true. Commonly held facts and assumptions that should guide any democracy are hanging by a thread. To understand the vast societal shifts in contemporary America and the proposition of understanding where we are now, we have to analyze it through the eyes of an art form that, for close to 40 years, arguably has been the voice of many generations and an analytical mirror that has reflected the ills of the United States of America. That art form is Hip Hop. In an irony-filled twist of fate, the music that has caused thousands of controversies, internal war, and conflict has come to define America in 2024. This proposition is not easy, and the narrative will go down many roads. USA vs. Hip Hop will tell this 40-year story through the eyes of the gangsters, the cops, and the artists who wrote the lyrics and created visuals that not only have shifted the world, but are a living and breathing experiment where Crime and Punishment can be unpacked and traced. The starting point for our story is in two places: First New York City in 1980, as Reaganomics left the poor to rot, a new form of music was born in the South Bronx. Over in Harlem, Nicky Barnes, one of the 70’s biggest drug kingpins, decides to cooperate with the government against his fellow members of The Council. On the Left Coast, 1981 was engulfed with a crime wave in Oakland, California. While not an obvious place to start any story as it relates to hip-hop music, it is arguably one of the most important geographical cities where the symbiotic relationship between the fall of the Black Panthers and the rise of a young man named Todd Shaw. This is the 40-year odyssey of The United States of America vs. Hip-Hop. *Episode Note-We were honored to have Executive Producer Ice-T narrate Episode One! **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the dynamic early years of hip hop, you could still see the influences of the disco era in the fashion the samples, and the party music played via car stereos in different neighborhoods in New York City. The hip-hop releases for 1982 and 1983, included Wildstyle the first feature film to reveal the nuances of hip-hop culture written by Fab Five Freddy and directed by Charlie Ahern. The film explores the work of artists such as Lady Pink, Daze, Grandmaster Flash, and the Rock Steady Crew. Hip Hop goes international with a tour featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Fab Five Freddy, Double Dutch Girls, and fashion icon Dapper Dan opened his first boutique in Harlem, while Edward Koch is the mayor of New York City. There's a case to be made that inside neighborhoods in New York City, hustlers still slinging heroin operate almost with impunity, as local police forces are overworked and underfunded. In 1982, & '83, there's a young man who is starting to corner the market for illicit narcotics, and that man is Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols. **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If any story defines what New York was like at that time, it's the story of New York City subway vigilante Bernard Goetz's shooting of unarmed black teens. On December 22, 1984, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur were shot and wounded by Bernard Goetz after they accosted him on a New York City subway train in Manhattan. In America, you would think that we would learn from our mistakes as it relates to race, class, and the divisions that have been created. One could see this case taking place in 2024, with protests in the cable news wars elevating it into the mainstream. In the first two episodes, we set the stage in the early 1980s with iconic hip-hop drug kingpins who came to define an era. Those names are "Freeway" Rick Ross in Los Angeles, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols in Queens, Guy Fisher in Harlem, And finally, a mention of a crew called the Supreme Team. These early kingpins were the table setters for what would become a new breed of hustling and the young men from Queens who launched a business idea that would revolutionize the drug trade forever. In the Bible of hip-hop gangsters, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and Gerald "Prince" Miller of the Supreme Team were the top dogs. **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As hip hop and the war on drugs hit the mid 1980s, it can be argued that both commercial endeavors hit their strides in inner cities across the United States. As crack cocaine exploded, members of the United States government enacted one of the first steps in the revolution of our criminal justice system in soaring incarceration rates. The comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 was the first revision of the US Criminal Code since the early 1900s. It was sponsored by a racist Strom Thurmond, a Republican from South Carolina in the Senate, and by Hamilton Fish, a Republican from New York. **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The years of 1987 and ’88 ushered in the golden age of hip-hop, when a few groundbreaking artists, acting as cultural critics, show the power of this art form. Led by the protest rap of KRS-One, Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, among others, hip-hop was now shining a light on the plight of the inner-city struggle, the crack epidemic, mass incarceration & other societal plights. The presidential race of 1988 is filled with subtle racial dog whistles, aimed at scaring white America into voting for George H Bush. On the West Coast, we witness the rise of LA street gangs such as the Bloods & Crips, while NWA releases the seminal album Straight Outta Compton. **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were many defining events as it relates to the intersection of crime, the War on Drugs, and hip hop throughout the 80s. That being said, there was a singular event that took place in Southside Jamaica, Queens, in February of 1988 that arguably changed the course of policing in this country, the mythology of the drug trade, and symbolically ended the crack era for the exalted hustlers inside New York City. This event was the execution of a rookie NYPD Cop named Edward Byrne. The NYPD, led by Chief Bill Bratton, would form the Tactical Narcotics Team, aimed at systematically taking down all drug crews in the city. In part 2 of our interview with Prince Miller, he discusses the ramifications of Ed Byrne’s murder and Fat Cat Nichols' cooperation with the government leading to the fall of The Supreme Team. **If you’re a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, and monthly online meetups with other Dossier fans and the Dossier team. Go to Patreon.com/Dossier to subscribe!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In hip hop, the end of the 80s ushered in a thriving music industry, with hip hop, diversifying itself immensely. In 1990 alone, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, D Nice, Special Ed, LL Cool J, Vanilla Ice, and EPMD all had seminal releases. These artists would start to define the trajectory of hip hop music as it invaded white suburbs and penetrated the minds of American political thought as hip hop started to gain in popularity. The traumatic events inside the crack epidemic and the war on drugs resulted with draconian drug sentences, and most of the major drug kingpins facing huge life sentences or death. The crack trade that spawned 1000s of corner millionaires was now coming home to roost, and its path of destruction was young men and women just out of their teenage years, being shipped to federal and state jails for 30 year and two life sentences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dossier: the LAPD Cover Up of the Murder of Biggie is back, with two investigative angles - a dissection of all the investigative files in the cover-up, and an examination on how the LA Times and a rogue journalist named Chuck Phillips created a public narrative of lies and misdirection. Dossier II: The Secret Biggie Files, coming October 23rd wherever you listen to podcasts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we ended up production of Season One of The Dossier, Criminal Minded Media's Don Sikorski had begun a quest to track down the alleged coconspirators of the plot to murder The Notorious B.I.G., rogue ex-LAPD officers Raphael Perez and David Mack. In this episode Sikorski attempts to get an agreement done with Mack to tell his story. Welcome to Season Two of The Dossier. A special thanks to Richard Phillips, Kevin Connolly, Nicole Luciano, John Anagnopoulos, Phil Carson, Sergio Robledo, Brad Furman and Jess Fuerst, Zion, RJ Bond, Randall Sullivan, Perry Sanders, Grace Sikorski, Little D, Chris Colbert, DCP Entertainment and many others who have helped me to investigate, distribute, create and release The Dossier.  The Dossier Season II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, is a production of Criminal Minded Media, DCP Entertainment, and Action Park Media. The key moments in this episode are: 00:00:12 - David Mack's Background and Arrest 00:01:47 - Tracking Down Alleged Co-Conspirators 00:04:32 - The Enigma of David Mack 00:06:21 - Engaging David Mack in Conversation 00:17:40 - Meeting Harry Billups and the LAPD 00:18:27 - Mack's Behavior and Reactions 00:19:23 - LAPD Involvement and Russ Poole's Claims 00:20:23 - Phil Carson's Report and Mack's Demeanor 00:22:53 - Negotiating a Deal with Mack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we like to say on The Dossier, the evidence is all there in black & white. In this week’s bonus episode, Criminal Minded Media's Don Sikorski and Senior Producer John Anagnopoulos of The Dossier Season II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, begin a dissection of the FBI documents from the Biggie Smalls murder investigation.  The Dossier Season II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, is a production of Criminal Minded Media, DCP Entertainment, and Action Park Media. The key moments in this episode are: 00:00:10 - Introduction to Season Two 00:05:05 - Implication of David Mack 00:08:03 - LAPD Involvement before Russell Poole 00:10:51 - Importance of Miss Wallace's Call 00:12:00 - Photos and Mario Hammonds 00:17:35 - FBI and Law Enforcement Agencies' Consensus 00:19:05 - Future Episodes and Audience Questions 00:21:52 - David Mack's Legal Defense and Donald Ray 00:24:27 - Importance of David Kenner 00:28:31 - False Claims of Amir Mohammed's Alibi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"In setting out to record a second round of episodes, there was something that didn’t sit right with me," says Criminal Minded Media's Don Sikorski. There is a legal filing that I always have in my backpack — I know without a shadow of a doubt, that inside this document are the final answers as to the actual evidence that exists inside the walls of the LAPD, and inside the file cabinets of LAPD’s Robbery Homicide.  In these upcoming episodes I am not going to talk about rumors or innuendo. Like a prosecutor you see in any great crime show, I am going to explain, piece by piece in a forensic manner, the hardcore evidence that exists to tell listeners for one final time - who killed Biggie, who covered it up and why. The Dossier II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files is a production of Criminal Minded Media, DCP Entertainment and Action Park Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we continue analyzing the legal filing introduced in Episode 2, it just gets more interesting – and more unbelievable. First, we introduce a witness who contacted both the LAPD and City Attorney Don Vincent with information pertinent to the murder of Biggie. Why did the City of Los Angeles hide this information from the Wallace family and their attorneys for over two years? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The game was clear, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The City of Los Angeles knew if they could just get to trial and hide all the David Mack and Suge Knight evidence, their chances against the Wallace Family were pretty good. They could beat the Wallace Family lawyers and save the LAPD from financial ruin. The Dossier II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, is a production of Criminal Minded Media, Action Park Media and DCP Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January of 2001, the LAPD instituted a formal internal affairs investigation bearing LAPD Internal Affairs number CF-01-0190. In what might be the most explosive revelation from the IA report, the LAPD itself alleged that David Mack and Rafael Perez conspired to murder and assisted in the Murder of Biggie.  The paragraph above is the sole reason I am recording Season 2 of The Dossier. I have cited several names throughout the first four episodes, but starting now, is where I will begin to tell you in exacting detail, the individuals within the LAPD who covered up Biggie’s murder per the documents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s bonus episode, Criminal Minded Media's Don Sikorski and Senior Producer John Anagnopoulos of The Dossier Season II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, continue their dissection of the FBI documents from the Biggie Smalls murder investigation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we’ve discussed in detail, the city and the LAPD continually hid the existence of information, as well as witnesses from the Wallace family and their attorneys – while claiming there was no evidence connecting their officers to the murder of Biggie. From Kenneth Boagni to Mario Hammonds & Eric Fairmon, the city of Los Angeles played keep away, trying to hide anything supporting the Wallace family’s theory of the case. Well, there’s more where that came from. Beginning on page 15 of the legal filing, the lawyers for Miss Wallace and Biggie’s family outline the information and evidence that the city and the LAPD knew about and decided to not only hide from the Wallace estate, but they decided that this evidence and information was not worthy of further investigation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In June of 2005, the Wallace Family Civil Trial was in court, the wheels of justice were spinning. On a Friday afternoon Perry Sanders told the Court and the judge that he'd received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a former officer of the LAPD. This person in the phone call provided detailed information about the existence of evidence concerning the Biggie murder. The judge directed the Wallace family lawyers to provide to the City of LA, all available information about this development and directed the City of LA to conduct a thorough investigation. The trial was temporarily adjourned. As a result of the search of Robbery-Homicide undisclosed evidence was discovered, much of which was in the desk or cabinet of Detective Steven Katz, the lead detective in the Biggie Murder investigation. The documents centered around interviews by numerous police officers of Kenneth Boagni, who had been Rafael Perez’s cellmate for some extended period of time. Kenneth Boagni re-joins Don Sikorski to discuss a number of topics related to ’The Forgotten Files’ in this week’s episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After coming across Waymon Anderson’s name in numerous LAPD, FBI and civil trial documents, Don Sikorski tries to unpack his story in relation to the murder of Biggie. We take a closer look at documents from a Habeas Corpus hearing in 2008, and the testimony Waymon Anderson gave under oath in open court. Sikorski is re-joined by fellow Dossier producer John Anagnopoulos to discuss the relationship between Anderson and disgraced former LA Times journalist Chuck Philips. Episode note - We would like to thank RJ Bond for the audio excerpts of his prison interview with Waymon Anderson. The Dossier II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files is a production of Criminal Minded Media, Action Park Media and DCP Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It must be five years now that I have kept a color-coded binder of information under my desk inside my home office. The binder was sent by a fellow television producer, and it was very thorough. The full Dossier is a catalogue of the work of a journalist who has worked for the LA Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Spin, the Village Voice, the hip-hop bible Source Magazine, and many others. The name of this journalist is Chuck Philips. What if I explained to you, I know for a fact that Chuck Philips has information, evidence, tape recordings, and most likely a treasure trove of documents that would answer the questions on who killed Tupac Shakur, who killed Biggie Smalls, who at the LAPD had enough power to cover it up, and why? The Dossier II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files, is a production of Criminal Minded Media, Action Park Media and DCP Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2002, Randall Sullivan decided to publish LAbyrinth, what I consider the best piece of journalism ever written about the LAPD cover up of the murder of Biggie.  I can still vividly remember reading the book and realizing that I too wanted to become a reporter, an investigator, a writer. In some ways, you can make a case that Randall’s work inspired me and was a pivotal moment in my life. To imagine that almost 20 years later that I would become Randall’s friend and co-worker is staggering to think about. He remains a hero, and he remains a beacon of intense reporting and writing.  I will never be able to write as eloquently as Randall, but I will say my investigative skills have improved. It’s hard to believe that I would end up an Executive Producer of City of Lies, which was based on LAbyrinth. A full circle moment, to be sure. For Season 2 of The Dossier, I felt the need to go back to Randall, have a conversation and get some insight.  Here’s Part 1 of my interview with Randall Sullivan. The Dossier II: The Secret Biggie FBI Files is a production of Criminal Minded Media, Action Park Media and DCP Entertainment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices