Rapper's business partner charged with laundering gang money
Friday, November 17, 2006
A partner in an Atlantic City recording studio launched by well-known rapper The Game was charged today with laundering more than a $100,000 for the 9 Tre Gangsters, the state’s bloodiest street gang, authorities said.
John “Johnny Hooks” Abbey, 38, was taken into custody as State Police executed search warrants at the recording studio, Black Wall Street East, and at a construction company and house he owns in Little Egg Harbor, said state Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory Paw.
Abbey was charged with first-degree racketeering conspiracy and a Superior Court judge ordered him held in lieu of $750,000 bail, Criminal Justice spokesman Peter Aseltine said. If convicted, Abbey faces up to 20 years behind bars.
“The investigation has led us to various financial tools used by the gang to finance their operations and to move proceeds of their crime,” Paw said. “It was a significant issue for us to learn ... how they have infiltrated legitimate businesses and used sophisticated techniques to finance their endeavors.”
The arrest marks the latest chapter in the state’s attempt to stamp out the 9 Tre, a faction of the Bloods street gang that authorities have said deals heroin, cocaine and guns in communities from one end of the state to the other, including Newark, Trenton and Atlantic City. The State Police began their investigation more than a year ago after one of the gang’s alleged enforcers was charged with killing a Newark special police officer and last July arrested 41 alleged leaders of the 9 Tre.
Authorities hope the search warrants executed at the Black Wall Street East studio and Viper Construction, both of which Abbey has a stake in, will turn up business records indicating the exact scope of Abbey’s involvement with the gang, officials said.
Abbey describes himself on his Internet profile on MySpace.com as having more than 20 years of construction and financial management experience, including doing renovations for several national chain stores. In addition, he also has ownership stakes in Black Wall Street East, 16 Bars magazine and Livelihood Entertainment. Black Wall Street East, which rapper The Game opened as an East Coast studio for his Los Angeles-based company, is a customized state-of-the-art facility, according to AllHipHop.com.
The Game, who released a new album this week, hit multi-platinum with his first album, The Documentary, and is well known for his feud with star rapper 50 Cent.