Federal authorities
have been considering prosecuting unnamed rappers and their crews for over a
year, according to published reports.
The U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Manhattan has been weighing criminal conspiracy charges against certain
rappers and are probing links between two murders in the Bronx and New Jersey,
as well as several shootings and extortion in several other boroughs of New
York.
The U.S. Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) are also trying to figure out how certain
rappers and their extended crew have acquired guns. In addition to the ATF,
the IRS is allegedly checking to see if rappers and various production companies
are actually fronts for money laundering operations to avoid paying taxes.
According to reports,
authorities are claiming that certain rap crews are acting as an organized crime
group, who can be prosecuted under federal racketeering statutes.
