Court News: "Supreme" found guilty
A jury has found Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff guilty of killing two rivals in 2001.
The jury reached a verdict after five days of deliberation and found McGriff guilty of paying $50,000 to gun down rivals Troy Singleton and Eric "E Money Bags" Smith.
McGriff was convicted of murder conspiracy and drug dealing charges for masterminding the 2001 slayings of Smith and Troy Singleton, reputed rival drug dealers. McGriff ordered surveillance of Smith, who was gunned down in his SUV in July 2001.
The government accuses McGriff of ordering the murder to avenge the death of Colbert "Black Just" Johnson and for allegedly assaulting Murder Inc. mogul Irv Gotti.
Singleton was murdered execution style in 2001. He was shot four times, in the body and head outside a sports bar, the Club Van Wyck in Queens.
Prosecutors allege McGriff ordered Singleton's slaying as revenge for an earlier double homicide Singleton allegedly committed.
Officials have claimed that McGriff secretly controlled rap label Murder Inc, which was founded by mogul Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and is home to superstars like rapper Ja Rule and songstress Ashanti.
Gotti and his brother Christopher Lorenzo were acquitted of laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds for McGriff in 2005.
McGriff was the founder of The Supreme Team, a Queens, NY based drug dealing organization that was chronicled in Ethan Brown's book Queen's Reign's Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent and The Hip-Hop Hustler.
McGriff's attorneys maintain that he stopped dealing drugs in the 1980's to pursue a legitimate career in the music industry.
A jury will decide if McGriff will face the death penalty for his crime, although Federal Judge Frederic Block said that it was unlikely McGriff would get the death penalty.
"There's no chance in the world there would be a death-penalty verdict in this case," Judge Block wrote in a letter. "This is an absurd prosecution, based upon what I have heard...If I'm wrong, I will have egg on my face, but I will not be incorrect."
McGriff's attorneys maintain that he stopped dealing drugs in the 1980's to pursue a legitimate career in the music industry.
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