Cash Money Brothers: Tough Times Don’t Last, But Real Niggaz Do

We all know that when the feds get a new case they construct it based on the lies, half-truths and insinuations perpetrated by rats, cooperators and snitches. It doesn’t matter if what the witnesses are saying out of their mouths is true or not. The feds just roll with it. There is no investigation or nothing substantial going on. The U.S. Attorneys just go by what their snitches are saying. The cooperator’s words become the universal truth that prosecutors base their case off of.  And in reality, the snitches are just saying whatever it is they think the feds want to hear, so they can get out of whatever jam they have managed to get themselves into. Whatever happened to the saying, if you are willing to do the crime be willing to do the time?

Nowadays these so-called hustlers, players and gangsters get themselves into a messy situation where they are facing the prospect of spending decades of their lives behind bars, due to the governments War on Drugs, the mandatory minimums and sentencing guidelines, and it seems they will say just about anything to get out of it. They’ll rat on their friends, their family and in some cases, even their moms. Basically they will tell the feds whatever it is they want to hear. There is no honor in the streets and when dudes flip they say, “Charge it to the game.”

These big multi-layered RICO act cases that the U.S. Attorneys crank out have become more a matter of the feds getting their snitches stories to fit the indictments they have concocted, and less a practice of justice or  looking for the truth. There have been numerous cases we have reported on and exposed here in this magazine that show how the U.S. government works. They are using statutes made to convict Mafia families and Colombian drug lords on inner-city drug crews, who are usually more unorganized chaos than organized crime. The feds have a tendency to identify the ultimate target of their probe before the investigation into their affairs has even started. If someone’s name is ringing in the street than they are a target. Especially in regards to the feds’ tough on crime policies as they apply to their war on minorities. Because let’s keep it real, black people account for 15 percent of the U.S. population, but 50 percent of the prison population. How can those numbers be justified?

The feds are putting cases on people, but let’s face it they aren’t doing it alone. And the snitches play along, doing whatever it takes to get that time cut. They say one thing in their proffers to get people indicted, but once they get on the stand they change the story up, doing whatever the prosecutor wants them to do so they can to get that 5k1 or Rule 35 sentence reduction motion. Ain’t nobody trying to do that 20 year sentence even for their so-called man. In the streets it’s every man for himself. Because the feds don’t play. Dudes get busted and talk that “Death Before Dishonor” shit, but when it comes down to it if they want to get that time cut you know what they are doing. And it has nothing to do with death before dishonor. The prosecutors are the same way; they don’t care what they have to do to get their convictions. They have no sense of honor and justice or right and wrong. They will literally do whatever it takes. The whole profession of attorneys is a pit of snakes and sharks.

Maxims like “Death Before Dishonor” and “Stop Snitching” don’t exist in the drug game and criminal underworld anymore, except in very rare cases. They are ideals of the past, held up in memory and supposedly cherished, but not honored in the present day. Most dudes in the streets are playing a dirty game. When that indictment comes down its literally every man for himself. It’s like the buffet, whoever is first in line gets the best deal. You heard Rick Ross talking about, “I caught a charge,” but nigga you didn’t catch no charge. The drug game to you is a fantasy, a hip-hop video where you fake it to make it. But this shit isn’t entertainment, this isn’t about fronting and stunting, this shit is real life. Dudes are doing life because these crab-ass busters can’t hold their weight. These dudes are talking about how gangsta they are these days but in truth they are suckers. They think it’s a music video or a video game, like they can walk off the set, change the song or hit the do over or reset button when the feds roll in. But there are no do over’s in life, homie. The drug game and life in the streets is not Grand Theft Auto. The truth and reality of it all is much more serious.

The brothers doing life in the pen know what we’re talking about. They are the ones doing hard time. They have lived the life, talked the talk and walked the walk. They are the real gangsters. The ones the rappers rap about and portray themselves to be. Their lifestyles are what the rappers pretend to flaunt. The reality is not MTV Cribs though. Imagine being locked down since 2005 and you haven’t even blew trial or been found guilty yet. Imagine that the feds consider you so dangerous, so gangster that they have held you in limbo, even though they know their charges won’t stick at trial. You’re probably saying this doesn’t happen in the USA. This can’t happen. It won’t happen. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, but we are here to tell you it can happen and it does. It’s not about justice it’s about Just-Us and in Amerikkka, the kkk mentality still pervades. Case in point, the Cash Money Brothers, straight outta Do or Die Bedstuy, Brooklyn, New York. The borough that brought us the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Big Daddy Kane and the part of the city that’s known for producing the most thorough gangsters, thugs and hoodlums to grace the streets of the Big Apple.

Cash Money Brothers was a crew formed in Lafayette Gardens Projects in Brooklyn in the early-90s by brothers Damion “World” Hardy and Myron “Wise” Hardy. With their homeboys and associates they allegedly held it down in L.G. and made a name for themselves across the city as a gangster and respected crew, but as various members including World went to prison on different charges the crew became inactive and remained just a legend on the streets of New York. But when a series of murders in the early 2000s were laid at the crew’s doorstep the feds stepped in.

On July 19, 2005, Roslynn Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced the filing of federal racketeering and narcotics charges against Damion “World” Hardy and 12 additional leaders, members and associates of the Cash Money Brothers or CMB, what they termed a violent Brooklyn street gang responsible for five murders, widespread crack distribution, the attempted murder of a witness, the kidnapping and attempted robbery of a drug dealer, assault and illegal firearms possession.

The charges and arrests followed an 18 month joint ICE, FBI and NYPD investigation coordinated by the U.S. Attorney’s office as part of an ongoing initiative to eliminate violent street gangs that erode the quality of life in many of the districts neighborhoods. “The arrests announced today strike a devastating blow to a drug gang responsible for spreading fear and violence in one of our communities,” stated U.S. Attorney Mauskopf. “When gangs flood our streets with drugs, assassinate rivals, attempt to murder witnesses and endanger the lives of innocent residents, we will mobilize all resources available, including federal prosecution, through the RICO statute. This case is the latest of several successful joint investigations that demonstrate our commitment to protect public housing from gang violence. We are determined to return control of these communities to their rightful law-abiding residents.”

The government’s investigation revealed that for more than 10 years, CMB members, led by Damion Hardy, controlled narcotics trafficking in the Lafayette Gardens Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn through violence and intimidation directed against their drug trafficking competitors, innocent civilians and potential witnesses. Hardy, Eric “E-Bay” Moore, Dwayne “Thor” Myers, James “Popsie” Sessoms, Kenwayne “Stro” Jones, Robert “Troub” Footman, Carl “Big Jim” Davis, James “Jimbo” Farrior, Lamont “Sambo” Johnson, Zareh “Puff” Sarkissian, Abubakr Raheem, DJebara “DJ” McMillian and Isheen “Sha” Campbell were charged with conspiring between 1991 and August 2004 to distribute crack cocaine using apartments they controlled in Lafayette Gardens to cook, store and buy the drugs.

“This case is another example of the continuing resolve of the FBI and our partners to reign in gang violence,” FBI agent Mark Mershon said. “The lethal combination of gangs, guns and drugs can terrorize neighborhoods and victimize innocent people. Our purpose fundamentally, is to secure for all New Yorkers the right to be safe and out of harm’s way in their own neighborhoods, whether they live on Park Avenue or in public housing.” World was identified as the founder and leader of CMB with E-Bay, Thor, Popsie and Stro being named as the main members in charge of the crew. The feds also attributed numerous murders to CMB.

Throughout the 1990s the government claims that Ivory “Peanut” Davis was one of CMB’s drug dealing rivals in Lafayette Gardens. On June 12, 1999, Davis’ nephew, Rumel Davis, shot and killed World’s brother Myron “Wise” Hardy during a so called turf dispute while World was locked up in the state. When World got out he investigated the circumstances of his brother’s death and the feds alleged that World and the other members of CMB retaliated by conspiring to murder Peanut and four of his associates. World, E-Bay and Puff were charged with the murder of Darryl “Homicide” Baum on June 10, 2000. This is the same Homicide rapper 50 Cent accused of shooting him nine times earlier that same year in May. 50 Cent also implied in his song Many Men that Hommo was killed in retaliation for shooting him. But like a lot of 50 Cent’s gangsta rap fantasies this tale has yet to be clarified one way or another. So in reality it’s up to the streets to decide.

Homicide was a Brooklyn stick-up kid and gun thug who counted boxer Mike Tyson as a close friend and employer. He was even living at Mike Tyson’s home when he was murdered. The feds concluded that World targeted Homicide because of his association with Peanut. They alleged E-Bay shot Homicide in the back of the head at the corner of Quincy Street and Marcy Avenue and fled in a get-away car driven by Puff. The feds implicated World, E-Bay and Abubakr Raheem in the August 1, 2000 murder of James “JR” Hamilton also. On World’s order E-Bay allegedly shot and killed JR inside a seafood restaurant that Hamilton owned at 102 Sarasota Avenue in Brooklyn. E-Bay than fled in a get-away car driven by Raheem. JR was supposedly killed due to his association with Peanut also.

According to the feds the CMB crew was not finished with their murder spree, more bodies had to drop. At 4:00 a.m. on the morning of August 10, 2000, E-Bay carrying a .40 caliber handgun that belonged to Thor, allegedly shot Peanut twice in the back as he sat in a car parked in front of Club NV, a nightclub on the corner of Spring Street and Hudson Street in Manhattan on World’s orders. Peanut sped away, but lost control of his car and killed an innocent pedestrian. Peanut subsequently died from his gunshot wounds. Both deaths were attributed to World. World’s and CMB’s revenge was complete but the killing continued.

On July 25, 2003, Homicide’s brother, Tyrone “T-Rock” Baum, who the feds alleged World believed was seeking to avenge his brother’s murder, was killed. On World’s order, Thor and Raheem located “T-Rock” by a construction site at Reid Avenue and Hancock Street in Brooklyn where “T-Rock” was shot three times in the head. “These arrests have dismantled a major criminal enterprise that has engaged in murder, kidnapping, extortion and narcotics trafficking. These criminals have threatened our citizens and the well-being of our communities. No more, today, they are off the streets and will be prosecuted for their crimes.” U.S. Attorney Mauskopf said. That is the feds’ line and they are sticking to it but during Raheem’s trial the government’s star witness Edward “Taz” Cooke didn’t testify because the government wouldn’t let him. The other witness Shelby “Moo” Henderson stated that Taz could have been the mastermind behind the murders of JR, Hommo and T-Rock because JR was running numbers and that was a business Taz was involved in, not World. And Hommo and T-Rock allegedly had something to do with Taz’s father getting killed. So Taz had revenge on his mind for Homo and T-Rock. And he wanted to get Brooklyn on lock with the numbers running so he got JR killed and once he got locked up he put the feds on World and got him locked up. Court records also relate that Taz was present at all three murders, not World.

As the story of the CMB became public a lot of other factors involving the hip-hop world, Brooklyn’s street culture and the way the feds manufacture RICO act cases bubbled to the surface. A lot of big names in the entertainment business, including Mike Tyson, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and even Lil’ Kim, were connected to the case and to CMB’s charismatic and notorious leader World, in some form or fashion. The tale that emerged was one of intrigue, betrayal and murder. A tale ripe with all the elements of a Hollywood blockbuster, well suited for the big screen, a Teri Woods hood novel or a big budget Hype Williams produced rap music video. But before we get into the rest of the story let’s meet two men from the CMB crew who were indicted by the feds on the case. Two stand up, death before dishonor soldiers, James “Popsie” Sessoms and Eric “E-Bay” Moore, who are currently buried in the belly of the beast. We got with them to get the exclusive on this ongoing and still concluding story.

Where did you grow up and what was it like?

Popsie- I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in a section labeled “Do or Die” Bedstuy. When I was growing up it was none of this lame shit like what’s going on in the streets now, it was real out there. In my hood it was a lot of thoroughbred street legends like Fruit, Butter, Wise, Rab, Maino, Cino Mike, Killa Ben, Rashon, Wells, Greg, Stan from Marcy, Turf, Shoe, 380, Preme from Fort Green, Dyco from NA Rock, Bewop and Jew Boy. I used to like their style so I emulated them. You had to literally “Do or Die” growing up in the hood. These dudes were knee deep in the street doing what they had to do to survive because somebody is always trying to come for your spot at the top. Most of the people I mentioned are either dead or in jail. So now going through what I’ m going through I know that everything that glitters ain’t gold. And the chicks that was hustling hard are Tawana, Keisha, Tracy, Red, Shawn, Capone, Shon and Shivan.

E-Bay- I grew up in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. I was raised on West 23rd Avenue, one of the roughest blocks out there in Coney Island. When I was young it was a lot of gangs out there fighting, stabbing each other up, doing anything to claim their territory. There are a lot of different projects so when it goes down it goes down for real so you gotta be on point at all times.

Tell us about Brooklyn and what the street life was about?

Popsie- The streets in BK was crazy, niggas was either selling drugs, robbing, extorting, doing scams or like the other 10%, had a wicked jump shot. The women are real “ride or die chicks.” It was whatever, whenever, it was crazy for real. My friends started selling drugs, getting money. They had the bankrolls, they was popping the bottles and had all the bitches around them. They were driving, had all the fly gear and jewelry. I wanted to be young, fly and flashy too, styling and profiling. There was crazy guns so we would have numerous shootouts, violating anybody who came in our circumference. We were the young guns and we were holding shit down by any means necessary in the hood. But when I got locked up in the feds I found out some of them so called friends took the stand on me and it ate me up from the inside out. So I had to learn the hard way that the decisions you make determine your destiny.

E-Bay- Back in the days it was gangs, but nowadays the gangs out there are more ruthless. It went from fighting and stabbing to now people are getting shot up every day out there. Niggas is hustling on every block trying to be the next kingpin. Then next thing you know the feds are swooping down on them taking them off the streets. Then it’s the next guy trying to take his spot like something different is gonna happen. It’s a whole lot of robberies. Soon as a nigga gets some money they start flossing, so they might be a victim to somebody from a rival projects. It’s always something to get into out there, good or bad, day or night, it’s never a dull moment.

In June 2003, federal agents seized eight kilograms of cocaine at Kennedy International Airport. The authorities connected that shipment, delivered by a courier from  Grenada in the Caribbean, and another one from the West Indies, to the CMB. Taz was the one who was there to pick up the drugs and linked them to the CBM. But it came out in the Raheem trial that the drugs were Taz’s and his only. The FBI said the CMB had a rotating roster of roughly 50 members, but the indictment devastated the mid and upper level management of the gang.  As the investigation into CMB heated up their charismatic leader was very visible in the hip-hop world dating rap vixen Lil’ Kim. World was also suspected of trading shots outside the Double Tree, a New Jersey hotel, with 50 Cent and his entourage in September 2003. New York police also said that World had confronted 50 Cent earlier that year outside radio station Hot 97 after 50 Cent insulted Lil’ Kim on air.

The indictment detailed events that seemed to come straight out of a gangsta rap video. But World’s lawyer was telling another story. “We hope to establish the indictment is very creative but not factually accurate,” Francisco Celedonio, his lawyer said. “My client has always averred his innocence.” To those in the know CMB weren’t even active in the streets anymore and since World had come home from a bid upstate he was more visible in the hip-hop industry then in the streets. But like most cases in the feds CMB’s indictment came about because someone couldn’t stand the heat they themselves generated and sought to pass the blame onto someone else, namely CMB and World.

How did the case come about?

Popsie- Well, I heard that the feds had been fishing around trying to inquire about us, but once World came home he wasn’t dealing in drugs; he was trying to get in the music business. They didn’t have nothing to put on us. But things spiraled outta control once two people who used to affiliate with World (Edward “Taz” Cooke and Allen “Boo” Bryant) got locked up at JFK with eight kilos of cocaine. They started snitching on anyone they could, just to get home. Taz started telling because he had his kids’ mother with him when he went to get the drugs and I heard the feds threatened to take his kids if he didn’t cooperate. Taz was always a fake punk, wanna-be gangsta, but World used to associate with him because he was his Muslim brother. They never did no business together at all, but let the government tell it Taz was a member and leader of CMB. And the crazy thing is, if he would have shut up he would have been home, but now his lies are catching up to him because the feds finally realized he is making things up as he goes along. He was never in CMB and there was no CMB in the 2000’s. He was doing things for his own selfish gain, not for World or no one because he was the only one who benefitted from the drugs and murders he tried to say World orchestrated. Then there is Boo who was a close friend of World’s and was not part of CMB when we were younger. World didn’t fuck with Boo no more because when we were younger we found out that Boo was sniffing dope and he tried to deny it because that was a big no-no among us. Boo always envied World because when Boo was up north World had a ménage trios with his girl. Boo was a weak link in the chain and through him the feds built a case outta nothing.

E-Bay- I have two cases they got me tied into. One is the Supreme case with Emmanuel “Manny Dog” Mosley who snitched on Supreme and implicated me. Russell “L.E.S.” Allen is the only official nigga from Manny Dog’s crew. All the rest snitched on Supreme. For World’s case, the feds are alleging that I was part of a RICO organization that don’t even exist. I was up north for most of the 90s and I was on parole in the 2000s until I got locked up in 2005. I never got no parole violations and the police never questioned my parole officer about any murders, so this is crazy to me. I got shot in my head in an elevator in Coney Island in 2003 along with two friends of mine who were killed. I was in a coma and when I came to I didn’t even know what happened to me. The people I used to be around at the time- Taz, Thor and Moo- told me what happened and said it was a blessing from Allah that I survived. After I was shot I wasn’t there mentally and Taz, Thor and Moo, the people closest to me knew that and capitalized off it. When they got locked up in 2004 Taz started snitching on me because he thought I was crazy and wouldn’t do no time. Like I said, there was no ongoing RICO organization, but when Taz got locked up he told the feds we were all under World, which was a lie. The feds are alleging that I killed people for World. It isn’t much I can say now, but these allegations are bullshit. Taz is just making things up as he goes along. He is a vicious individual for real. But Taz knows his lies are catching up with him.

When did you first get indicted?

Popsie- I got locked up in June 2005 then got indicted on July 7, 2005. On the indictment they alleged we were under investigation from 1991 to 2004. In our discovery material they didn’t have no drug sales on us, no pictures of us hanging together, selling drugs or doing anything. I believe they really started investigating us once Taz and Boo got locked up and once they started opening their mouths. Spreading lies, saying whatever they had to say to get out of their jam. The government had no physical evidence against me when I went to trial, all they had is my so called friends on the stand who cooperated against me. But the crazy thing is that everything they said in their proffer statements, they said something totally different at my trial, so the truth did come out, but the government still gave them cooperation agreements and I still got 35 years for my first felony ever with a case built on lies. The government doesn’t want to seek the truth, all they want is convictions and whoever is in their way that doesn’t want to play for Team America, I feel sorry for them, because they are in for a rough ride through this federal system that’s wicked.

E-Bay- I got arrested on July 18, 2005. I was on parole for all them years the feds are alleging I did all these murders so I was baffled when they was processing me. I also went to trial in New York state from a case that happened eight years before. The feds wanted to do a test run on their cooperators, Lashon “K.B.” Footman and Robert “Troub” Footman, who testified on me in my state case and who is also supposed to testify on me over here in the feds. I beat the state case. They tried to say I shot people but it wasn’t me.

It’s now going into 2013 and World and E-Bay still have not been to trial. Popsie, Abubakr and some of the others on the case had trials in 2006 and 2008, but they sat in limbo for years before they were sentenced and shipped off to the Bureau of Prison’s to do their time. The whole scenario seems like one big miscarriage of justice, where the prosecutors don’t search out or investigate the facts of the case, but instead rely on cooperator’s testimony, which leads them in whatever direction they want to go. It’s more like connect the dots and implicate the ultimate targets of the probe, than get to the heart of the matter or the truth. The facts don’t really seem to matter. Amerikkkan jurisprudence at its finest. But as you know, we have uncovered and exposed a lot of cases like this previously in our pages, where the feds go after those in hip-hop or their friends and family. To the feds a black man from the hood with money or fame just doesn’t sit right with them. And to some it might seem like hip-hop is the new Mafia.

How long did you sit and wait?

Popsie- I got locked up in June 2005 and I went to trial in September 2006  and lost in October. I didn’t get sentenced until I was locked up six and a half years in MDC Brooklyn, which is a spot you are not supposed to be in for no longer than 18 months to two years. I was fighting, going hard, trying to seek justice for the injustice they put me through. I finally got shipped into the BOP in September 2011. I was sent to the notorious USP Big Sandy in Kentucky. I was there only three days when someone sent a photo shopped, fraudulent article, which they made into the prison. The article stated that I was in the witness protection program and that I testified against 150 Blood members in August 2006. The crazy thing is that at the time I was in MDC Brooklyn on the 8th floor around a bunch of official homies- Bee-Mo, SMM, Bugs Store, Biz Loc 83 and most of my co-defendants. I was preparing for trial also. Once I seen that I figured one of the rats made that up trying to get me x-d out. But thank God it was some official homies in Big Sandy who knew the article was fake, but the SIS shipped me to another jail because my life was in danger still.

E-Bay- I have been waiting since July 2005 and I might not go to trial until 2013 or 2014. They are trying to split me and World’s case up, but they got us charged with basically the same things, so we gonna go to trial together. They know their cooperators are making up a bunch of bullshit just to get a 5k1.1 letter, so now they don’t know the truth from lies. I never seen a case take this long since I been here in MDC Brooklyn.

As the case has dragged on and the feds hold World and E-Bay in limbo numerous newspaper headlines have connected the CMB and in particular World to famous figures in the worlds of entertainment and hip-hop. Lil’ Kim’s Ex and Gang Indicted, the New York Daily News headline read. Tyson in 50 G Hit-Man Deal, Trial is Told, another New York Daily News headline read on June 13, 2008. Plus with the connection to 50 Cent and his alleged shooter, Homicide, the innuendos and hype has not stopped in the streets and on the Internet. In Abubakr Raheem’s trial it came out that after Homicide was killed Mike Tyson and another Brooklyn thug Muhammad Nur, who was close to Homicide, contributed $50,000 each to the bounty on the heads of CMB leaders World and Taz.

“Why would Mike Tyson put a hit out on Taz and World?” Assistant U.S. Attorney James Loonam asked CMB turncoat Dwayne “Thor” Meyers. “He was close friends with Homicide,” the snitch answered. Tyson dedicated his 38 second whipping of heavyweight Lou Savarese in 2000 to Homicide, who had been shot dead two weeks earlier. In 50 Cent’s song Many Men, he references Homicides murder implying that he had a hand in it, Hommo shot me, three weeks later he got shot down/now it’s clear that I’m here for a real reason/cause he got hit like I got hit, but he ain’t fucking breathing. But 50 Cent ain’t no killer, he’s a rapper and the only affiliation he has with CMB and World is that he got punked out by them due to his beef with Lil’ Kim which World promptly handled like a gangsta, not a rapper.

It also came out that when World learned of the $50,000 bounty Tyson had offered to have CMB members killed World planned a retaliation. The plot was later abandoned. Tyson denied links to the murder plot and was never charged for anything, but New York’s tabloid news ran with the story, as did the snitches on the case. There’s nothing the feds love more than a newsworthy case.

What do you think of all the headlines about your case connecting Lil’ Kim, Mike Tyson and other big names to it?

Popsie- I think the government will do anything to get some media attention. They know these celebrities are wealthy black entertainers and most them came from the hood or they have people from the hood in their entourage. So the government tries to do anything they can to tarnish their name. They know America thrives off gossip. I have seen the statements Lil’ Kim made when the government interviewed her concerning her relationship with World. She stated that she had never heard of no gang called CMB and she had no knowledge of World selling any drugs. The government knew that World and Kim had a rocky relationship when they were messing with each other and they used to fight a lot so the feds probably figured she would flip since she was his girlfriend during the time of this alleged ongoing indictment. But Kim kept it 100 and told the truth, that World was focusing on getting in the music industry and that she had no knowledge of none of the things the government alleged he was involved in. Just like they wanted to bring him down, they wanted to bring her down too. The feds thought because of their history and knowing Kim had more to lose with fucking with World that she would lie on him, because she had just finished doing her fed time. But shorty did not fold under pressure again. Kim is street before she is industry, all she tries to do is give niggas from the hood a helping hand to better their life and follow their dreams of making it out of the hood like she did.

E-Bay- First off, I have never been a groupie but the feds and media are. The feds took what their snitches said and ran with it thinking it’s the truth. The media loves putting people’s business in the streets, especially black celebrities, whether it’s real of fake. It’s up to the consumer to decide the authenticity of the article. They think World and us were ruthless people and once they say we were affiliated with Lil’ Kim, they think she is ruthless also. The media know Lil’ Kim, Mike Tyson, 50 Cent and Jay-Z came from the streets. And right around Lafayette Gardens they grew up or hung around, so one way or another they believe we are connected to them in a negative way or a positive one. But they are gonna feed off the negative since that’s what sells newspapers, magazines, etc.

Why do you think the government had it out for you and your homeboys so bad?

Popsie- It was a lot of murders they felt we were involved in, but they never had no proof we were. Then once Taz and Boo got locked up they started feeding the government lies to get their selves out of a jam. They didn’t want nobody that was on the bottom to rise to the top and make it, because that’s the life they wish for. If they really believed we were that notorious they would have been got us off the streets with physical evidence, not a bunch of half-truths from snitches. People probably felt if World got in the music industry that he would either be the next Jay-Z or Supreme and they didn’t want him to be neither. Because both of them started on the wrong road and then went to the right one. Now one is a mega millionaire and the other is locked up with too much time.

E-Bay- When your name is in the streets, in people’s mouths, this is the end results. World’s name been popping up we heard. There was this OG named Mack who was in MDC and he told us the feds was bringing up World’s name and they was supposed to send an informant on the street, James “Black James” Mealy, to try to get World indicted in 2002. After he told us this, sure enough Black James came through on a bike saying he was looking for World. Popsie and Boo told him that World don’t be around here no more. Black James had a big gold medallion, which resembled a hidden wire transmitter that an informant had on another case, where the camera was in the gold medallion. Black James never got to meet up with World, but he did eventually testify on some other good dudes, J-Nu and the Cream Team. Shit really hit the fan for us when Taz and Boo got locked up in 2004. They both knew how World  was on the feds radar so they used our names to get out of what they was going through. And once they started using Lil’ Kim, 50 Cent and Mike Tyson’s names, the feds really started drooling since they was already dealing with Supreme and Murder Inc. So they were like why not take down Lil’ Kim and the CMB crew also. The feds don’t care who they lock up on false allegations, because most of the cases in MDC and the whole federal system were all started by people who got locked up and couldn’t hold their own and started pointing the finger at one another.

As the indictment goes on eight years the justice department has recently given Brooklyn prosecutors the go ahead to seek the death penalty against World and E-Bay. And in sleazy tabloid fashion the New York Daily News headlined their article announcing this, Death Penalty Trial Looming for Lil’ Kim’s Ex, with photos of World and Lil’ Kim splashed across the page. But with the trial seemingly nearing, more twists in the case have emerged. World’s lawyer claims his client has undergone a religious conversion, legally changing his name to Isa Ibn Jibril. He is also mentally ill, the lawyer said. Because of this claim a federal judge ordered Hardy to undergo a series of psychiatric exams to determine if he is competent to stand trial on the federal racketeering and murder charges. Defense lawyer David Ruhnke wouldn’t talk about World’s relationship with Lil’ Kim or his mental condition. But it’s been rumored that the feds are shooting World up with drugs so that they can sedate him and take him to trial finally.

What are the feds basing World’s case on?

Popsie- The feds are claiming that World was the leader of an ongoing RICO organization that operated out of Lafayette Gardens. They’re saying he got people murdered to maintain control of the drug trade in L.G. because people were trying to invade our turf, which is lies the government witnesses stirred up just to get home. None of the people the feds alleged World got murdered sold drugs in L.G. ever and no one got killed in L.G. and this is all facts not fabrications. When World came home he didn’t have anything to do with any drugs period, he was focused on the music industry and trying to find out who had something to do with his brother Wise getting killed. When we were younger in the early 90s we did call ourselves CMB. As we got older we drifted apart, but we all remained friends. The feds own witnesses testified at my trial that we all sold separate drugs and that we didn’t give World none of the proceeds, so how is this a RICO organization? The prosecutors got it out for World and in World’s circumstances they are keeping him in the hole and he has been there for almost six years. They let him out to review the law library computer two times a month and he’s facing the death penalty. You can’t win when you got the prosecutors going so hard for you, going on the lies their witnesses, who are your alleged friends, make up to get a 5k1.1 letter. Your own lawyer ain’t going hard for you because in his eyes you already guilty and the government is the one that’s cutting his check. The witnesses got their baby mother or girlfriend in their ear talking about fuck that nigga, your baby needs new shoes, so they are looking for an excuse to roll over. Not knowing she is out there with Jodie or the next nigga or in the club with her friends looking for the next hustler. World has been locked up since 2004 and they still ain’t ready for trial yet? The truth will come out and reveal itself in due time. This case is built on lies on top of lies.

E-Bay- The feds are using cooperators against us. They didn’t have one eye witness thus far in none of the trials. They are trying to say we are part of an ongoing RICO organization that they can’t prove by law existed. None of us sold drugs together since the early 90s. I was up north for most of the 90s and in the 2000s I was on parole, shot up and in a coma. No police ever questioned me or my parole officer about all these murders I allegedly committed for World and a gang called the CMB.

What is going on with your part of the case right now?

Popsie- I got sentenced in August 2011 to 35 years and my lawyers just submitted my direct appeal. All of my appeals issues are good, so I know it’s just a matter of time before something comes through for me and this whole nightmare is behind me.

E-Bay- I’m preparing to go to trial right now. I hope this will all be over in 2013 or 2014, so I can expose all the lies and get home to my family who miss me and need me out there.

Why have they had World in the box for so long?

Popsie- They have World in the box because he has codefendants or someone who is trying to cooperate on him on every floor in MDC. When I was in MDC I asked the C/O’s several times to bring him down to the floor I was on so we can fight our case together, but they refused to. They try their divide and conquer routine, so people think everyone is cooperating against each other. They are mentally trying to break World in the box on twenty three and one, with little food and no sunlight. He is not complying with them or doing what they want, so they are trying to break him by any means necessary, but you can’t break the unbreakable. On the outside it may look like World had a good life fucking with a rap star, driving exotic cars with money out the ass, but in the blink of an eye the feds took his life away from him and now he is wearing an orange jumper, socks, drawers and sneakers and he’s stuck in the hole.

E-Bay- World has separations all over MDC, so it’s not no floor he can go on. Everybody is trying to jump on his case and get an “out of jail free” card. They had him in MCC for a while, but he allegedly stabbed an individual there. Now they got master splinter Taz there, because he told on two C/Os from over in MDC. They don’t want World around none of us, saying he will be a big influence on the unit and also that it will jeopardize the feds case. They are just trying to break him and drive him crazy by keeping him in the hole and making up all these allegations about him.

Is there anything you want to close this interview with?

Popsie:  At first I was reluctant to do this interview because of my appeals, but once I realized the impact this could have on the people in my old neighborhood L.G. and the rest of the ghettos of the world I realized that God was giving me an outlet to try to inspire the next generation so they won’t choose the path I did that leads to destruction, heartache and pain, but God willing they will follow the path that’s paved in gold and live a legit life. I wanna show them that the fast life ain’t poppin. The Devil will let you believe that the hustler’s life ain’t nothing but bankrolls of money, bad bitches, blunts and bottles, but when he lets you envision that he doesn’t fast forward to the end of the movie of your life where you got forever in jail, possibly your shot up or maybe killed in them same streets you chose to run in, by a rival or maybe one of your friends over greed or the worst part you lose your family because you’re not there with them like you thought you would be. And everything you built comes crashing down and is eventually taken from you. So if you listen to some of your favorite rappers pay attention to some of their songs. Jay-Z‘s Fallen, E-40’s Trapped, Plies’ I Know You Workin, 100 Years or Project Pat’s Tell, Tell, Tell. Pay attention to the lyrics because they telling you like it is and also read Gorilla Convict’s books, Don Diva and F.E.D.S magazines so you can see the mistakes others made that thought they had all the answers, but in all actuality was the problem in their community, but was blinded and not dealing with reality. This federal system and the street life is like the Matrix, once you’re in it’s hard to get out unless you put your mind to it and try hard fighting your demons, because in the beginning it will be “We all we got” but in the end it’s “We all we had” so God bless you all and don’t forget to think before you do or die!

Ebay:  I can’t really go into things like I want to because of my pending trial but I will say that people are lining up left and right to testify against me and make me out to be something I’m not. Your alleged friends won’t hesitate to play for Team America when the deck is stacked against y’all, so I guess I’m the sacrificial lamb for all these dudes testifying bad deeds. Allah is the most merciful and he knows my heart so that’s all that matters in the end. I want to shout my kids and my family and friends that are keeping it real with me. Much love to Coney Island and the rest of Brooklyn. Peace.

Popsie:  I wanna thank my diamond Moena, my family n real friends for holding me down on this ride it’s been rough but y’all stayed with me I appreciate that and love n miss y’all.

That is the latest on the CMB story. The end is not written yet, but the writing is on the wall. In today’s society it seems the feds can do whatever they want. Seemingly inventing cases and making them up as they go along. So if you are out there in the streets, remember this tale, it may seem like it’s all good and you and your crew are on top of the world, but in the blink of an eye it can be over and there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow only a pot of oatmeal in the chowhall or your name on a headstone in the cemetery. Because if you keep fucking around in this game that’s where you’re going to end up, dead or in jail. Enough said.