The man reported to be the instigator of that infamous 1999 gunfight involving Shyne, Sean “Puffy” Combs and Jennifer Lopez, has been murdered.
Details surrounding Matthew “Scar” Allen’s death remain sketchy, but he was murdered outside Brooklyn, New York’s Footprints nightclub, Sunday December 4, 2011.
Here’s what an NYPD detective said about the incident:
“Remember when Shyne shot up the club because some dude threw money in Puffy’s face when he was with JLO at the club? That guy’s name is Scar and he got murdered yesterday at Footprints nightclub out here in Brooklyn. I just saw Scar last week. Old street cats are murdered these days.”
Shyne on the day of his sentencing for the nightclub shooting
- June 1, 2001
Matthew “Scar” Allen allegedly started the argument that led to the Club New York shootings and testified that both Sean “Puffy” Combs and Jamal “Shyne” Barrow fired guns in Club New York on December 27, 1999. Witnesses testified that just before the shooting, Allen screamed threats at Combs, and he or one of his associates threw money at the the rappers. Combs, Shyne and bodyguard Anthony “Wolf” Jones, said in court that Allen was to blame for instigating the shootings, which wounded three people.
Kelvin Darnell Martin was born July 24, 1964 in the South Bronx, NYC. His childhood nickname was Lil' Shaft. When Martin was eight years old his parents separated and according to relatives, his mother pinned a note to his shirt, placed him on a bus and sent him to live with his grandmother. While a teenager, Martin was displaced yet again when the family left the Bronx permanently and moved into subsidized housing in the borough of Brooklyn. Martin would call unit 11-H of Building A in the Monument Walk section of the Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses his new home. Not long after, he was introduced to Islam by way of the Five Percent Nation and adopted the name Shameek. Martin's criminal activities as a teenager earned him a stint at Riker's Island in the C-74 juvenile detention center where he would meet other future career criminals such as convicted drug trafficker, James "Jimmy Henchmen" Rosemond*.
After his release and return to Brooklyn, Martin is said to have aligned himself with the Supreme Team street gang, based in Fort Greene (not to be confused with the Jamaica, Queens-based drug organization). It was around this time that Martin obtained the nickname "50 Cent". There is some dispute as to how he acquired the name. Some attribute the name to his greed -- attesting to the idea that he would rob someone for any amount of money, no matter how little the sum. One rumor has it that Martin once entered a dice game with only a 50 cent stake and ultimately won $500. Still others believe the name to be an allusion to his slight size.
Martin was known to be armed at all times with his two favorite long-barrel handguns -- a Colt .45 and a .357 Magnum. Martin declined to become a drug dealer in the then-relatively new crack cocaine trade, instead preferring to obtain money through strong-arm robbery. He would soon go on to assemble the collective known as "Brooklyn Zoo" - a group of teens who reportedly targeted blue collar workers, college students, liquor stores, pimps and especially, intoxicated club patrons for robbery. They collected cash from fencing designer purses and gold chains stolen from partygoers at the Latin Quarter, Harlem World and the Roxy nightclubs in Manhattan. They were also known to have preyed on customers and event attendees at the Brooklyn Armory, the Empire Skating Rink and Albee Square Mall in Brooklyn. Martin is said to have attended a Rick James concert at The Meadowlands concert stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey just so that he could rob other fans in attendance.
Martin gained widespread notoriety after allegedly robbing several members of the hip hop industry. His victims included members of the rap group Whodini and a teenaged James "LL Cool J" Smith. Reportedly, Martin approached Smith in the parking lot of a White Castle fast food restaurant in Brooklyn and appropriated the young star 's solid gold rope chain at gunpoint.
According to locals, Martin also had a violent run-in with Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell of Run-D.M.C. A confrontation between his Brooklyn Zoo crew and Mizell resulted in a shootout between Martin's group and the "Hollis Crew", a "stick-up" gang from Mizell's neighborhood. Martin's association with rappers wasn't always criminal or even hostile. Eric Barrier of Eric B. & Rakim was a friend of Martin. The two developed a friendship in 1986 and became so close that Martin became a member of the Paid in Full Posse, which also consisted of members: William "Rakim" Griffin and Eric "Eric B." Barrier; Barrier's brother, Ant Live; Griffin's cousin, Jason Riley; Rob Garcia; Keith "Money" Green; Supreme Magnetic and his brother, Rap; AJ; and Benjamin "Killer Ben" O'Garro. Martin was featured in a photo with other members of the Paid in Full Posse(alongside the rap duo and other rappers and criminals) on the back cover of Eric B. & Rakim's debut album, Paid In Full. It's title song ironically recounts the lifestyle embraced by Martin that Rakim avoided by pursuing a hip-hop career.
Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin (below right, wearing a red Adidas hat) posing in a
picture featured on Eric B & Rakim's debut album Paid In Full
Martin's main robbery targets were allegedly drug dealers and their stashhouses. His modus operandi expanded to include kidnapping and extortion as well. Martin would offer protection against robberies, violence, vandalism and other forms of assault to local store owners and drug dealers in exchange for regular cash payoffs. Those who turned down this arrangement would find themselves the victims of said assaults, which were perpetrated by Martin himself. Martin's robbery and extortion proceeds afforded him a place of distinction as the owner of a custom gold-colored Volkswagen Jetta. Martin's penchant for carrying out his assaults without attempting to conceal his identity garnered him several enemies. In addition to being stabbed numerous times it's estimated that Martin was shot at least 24 times in 9 separate incidents. Despite having never been indicted for murder, he is also believed to have killed 30 people.
Because people were trying to kill him, Martin enlisted in the army. Eventually, he was given an honorable discharge and sent back from Georgia to New York to face robbery charges after being arrested by NYPD detectives at Fort Benning after completing basic training.
Upon his return to New York Martin moved into girlfriend Precious Golston's apartment in the Albany Houses housing project located in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Shortly after the move, Martin was shot while at the Albee Square Mall and as a result took to wearing a bulletproof vest.
Martin's favorite weapons - a long barrel
Colt .45 and .357 Magnum revolver
Ultimately, and despite his penchant for wearing body armor, gunshot wounds were his cause of death. He was shot on October 20, 1987 on the stairway of his girlfriend's project building in the Albany Houses and died from hemorrhaging in KingsCountyHospital four days later, according to the autopsy. He was 23 years old. Paid in Full was released 3 months earlier on July 7, 1987. A former associate,Julio "Wemo" Acevedo, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison for Martin's killing.Acevedo maintained that he was coerced into committing the killing by enemies of Martin who'd kidnapped a close family member and threatened to murder both Acevedo and his family if he refused.
The then 18-year-old Acevedo and member of Martin's crew is reported to have come by the 13th-floor apartment before leaving with Martin around 10 p.m. the night he was fatally shot. Martin apparently felt secure enough with Acevedo that he chose not to wear his bulletproof vest. Martin was found later that evening on the seventh-floor landing bleeding from wounds to the head, chest and stomach.
Despite all of the considerable wealth Martin accrued from his criminal exploits during his life, his family was only given his gold teeth upon his death. According to relatives, his safety deposit box and usual stash spots were found completely empty after his demise. In keeping with the common practice at the time for New Yorkers who couldn't afford local burial, Martin's body was sent from Brooklyn to Staten Island and he was interred in a mass grave with four other people.
Initially, Acevedo was convicted of murder but his conviction was overturned when a corroborating witness supported his claim of being coerced into killing Martin. He accepted a manslaughter conviction and was awarded a sentence of time served based on an informant's testimony*.
Julio "Wemo" Acevedo, taken March 4, 2013
During his time on the street, Martin is said to have served as a mentor to Brooklyn gangster Calvin "Calvin Klein" Bacote, who is rumored to have inspired some of the lyrics of then-aspiring rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.
After his death, Martin served as an inspiration to Queens, NY native and rap superstar Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson who adopted his moniker in an effort to solidify his street credibility. Initially, Martin was buried without a tombstone but according to family members, Jackson volunteered to finance one as a token of respect and appreciation for Martin's legacy. Martin's family alleges that Jackson ultimately reneged on the promise and revealed that his $9,000 unique, red granite monument was paid for by Martin's old friend James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond.
Martin garnered a reputation for walking -- not
running -- away from his robbery scenes. He was said to have never even
used a getaway vehicle.
*In 2012 Rosemond would be convicted in a major drug-trafficking case and more notoriously -- be implicated for ordering the shooting of Tupac Shakur in 1994. During his stay in juvenile corrections Martin was given the nickname "the Little Bastard" by other inmates as a nod to both his aggressiveness and small stature.
*Julio "Wemo" Acevedo was released in 1997 before being arrested 12 days later for robbery. After a history of legal issues over the years, Acevedo would eventually be arrested on March 6, 2013 after turning himself in to authorities following an incident in which he allegedly fled the scene after driving a BMW into a cab carrying a young couple in Brooklyn. The man and his expectant wife (Nachman and Raizel Glauber) were killed at the scene while their baby boy who was delivered prematurely, died later.
Thomas Mickens was born in the Corona section of the NYC borough of Queens in June of 1963. His father was Thomas "Lucky" Harris (sometimes known as Weasel), a mid-level numbers runner and hustler. Though he was Harris' youngest child, Mickens reportedly displayed leadership skills and showed a head for business at an early age. At age 10, Mickens carried bags for customers at local grocery store. He enlisted his friends to help out and collected all of the group's earnings at the end of each day and paid each of his friends a salary of $5.
Mickens spent his formative years in the southeast Queens neighborhood, Laurelton, where the family relocated*. Harris passed away by the time Mickens was 12, and by age 15 he'd dropped out of high school and had progressed from carrying grocery bags to selling marijuana. Mickens recalls, "I started with three dollars. I bought a trey bag, rolled up eight joints, and sold each one for a dollar." Two years later he was using the cash proceeds made from selling cocaine to rent a 30th floor apartment in a building equipped with a doorman.
Not long after, Mickens was selling a kilo (2.2 lbs worth) of cocaine every two days. He handed out business cards that read "Tommy, Anytime" and included his telephone number. As business grew, Mickens recruited his girlfriend Shelby Kearney and trusted lieutenants Anthony Jacobs, Norvell "Flakes" Young and Robert Hines to help shoulder the responsibilities. In early 1983, Mickens sold half an ounce to undercover detective Robert Russell of the NYPD for $1,250 which resulted in him serving a one-to-three year sentence. By the time he was paroled, the film Scarface, starring Al Pacino had premiered (in December 1983) to mixed reviews from Hollywood critics but it had been embraced with enthusiasm by young people from neighborhoods like the one in which Mickens was raised. The Scarface that debuted in 1983 was itself a remake of a 1933 film that was loosely based on the criminal career of Prohibition-era gangster, Al Capone. The updated version depicted the rags-to-riches story of a Cuban immigrant who used the sale of narcotics to realize the American Dream as the head of a cocaine empire. Mickens soon appropriated the name of the film's protagonist and would be known throughout his criminal career as "Tony Montana".
Mickens paid $28,146 cash for a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood while on a work-release program -- one month prior to his June, 1984 parole. Shortly after his official release he bought a home with Kearney and paid cash for another luxury car. This time, a 1984 BMW.
The introduction of crack cocaine into the illicit drug trade came right on the heels of Mickens' release from prison in the summer of 1984. The nearly instantaneous popularity of the new "it" drug resulted in an almost countless number of competitors in the field of drug distribution. Nevertheless, Mickens was so successful that his small crew quickly grew to a 50-member organization. According to law enforcement, Mickens' organization expanded outward from his base at Merrick and 226th Street and went on to control both the Laurelton and Springfield neighborhoods and nearly the whole of Merrick Boulevard, a main thoroughfare that bisects the community.
Merrick Boulevard notwithstanding, Mickens shared South Jamaica, Queens with several other notable drug organizations including the Supreme Team, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols' cartel, the Corley Family and the Bebos. Despite the close competition, Mickens, who filed taxes as an upholsterer, saw his business steadily grow each year. He made $121,000 in 1985 and $605,000 in 1986. According to law enforcement, the newly wealthy Mickens cleared over $1,133,000 in 1987 alone.
Mickens' Cadillac and BMW were soon joined by a Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet, a Lamborghini, a Jaguar, three Mercedes-Benzes, Porches, Saabs and Jeeps. His fleet would ultimately grow to include at least 21 cars, some of them customized - such as his $100,655 Rolls-Royce that he had outfitted with TV sets, VCRs, a videogame system and Louis Vuitton interior. He paid $133,350 cash for a 38-foot Bayliner Yacht that he maintained in California -- and also purchased his own private helicopter.
Mickens owned a home in Miami, FL and a condominium in the wealthy Diamond Bar community in Southern California. He paid $90,000 for a home on Grand Central Parkway and one for $51,700 on Hollis Avenue and another on Hilton Avenue in his native Queens. Mickens, his girlfriend Shelby Kearney and her mother all lived in his $760,775 main residence located in Dix Hills, Long Island - one of the most affluent towns in the country. Some of Mickens' Dix Hills neighbors included rock star Dee Snider, of the band Twisted Sister and actor Ralph Macchio, star of the Karate Kid films. Trial evidence established that Mickens owned 16 separate properties in all. Mickens also had sapphire, emerald and diamond implants in his teeth.
Mickens opened several businesses through which to launder the income he netted through his drug operation, all of which bore his street name. Montana Grocery, Montana Sporting Goods and Montana Dry Cleaners were all located in Queens on Hollis Avenue, Rockaway Boulevard and Merrick Boulevard, respectively. Each of these enterprises served a dual role.
First, they all allowed him to "wash" his money so as to disguise it's true (and illegal) source. Much of his property was listed under the name of one of the companies so as to avoid leaving too obvious of a paper trail. The Montana businesses also projected the image that he was a legitimate businessman and productive member of the community. Mickens gained a reputation for philanthropy when he financed a summer basketball league that featured 1988 NBA Rookie of the Year and current head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson.
NBA Coach Mark Jackson
In order to offer an explanation for his luxuriant lifestyle and to conceal the true source of his vast sums of money, Mickens and Kearney along with help from a few creative attorneys devised various ways to launder the drug cash*. For instance, in order to overcome the 1985 IRS mandate requiring cash transactions over $10,000 to be reported, Mickens would simply use money orders and cashier's checks for less than that amount to make purchases.
38-foot Bayliner Yacht
Aside from the murder of one of his associates inside the Montana Dry Cleaners store, there was a remarkable absence of violence associated with Mickens' drug network - unlike that which typified most other organizations of it's kind. As a consequence, law enforcement agencies were forced to rely on charges more commonly levied against white collar criminals such as stock brokers than uneducated drug dealers.
Approximately $2.5 million in assets, including 15 cars were seized when Mickens was arrested on May 10, 1988 at his Dix Hills residence. When federal agents confiscated his Rolls-Royce they found a copy of Scarface in the car's VCR. He eventually learned that he'd been under investigation by the FBI, IRS, DEA, U.S. Customs and the NYPD since 1987. Mickens' paid his legal counsel, famed defense attorney Robert Simels, upwards of $10,000 per day during his federal trial in order to keep from having to serve the 220 years of potential prison time that he faced. Though he was acquitted on two counts of distrubiting cocaine, the 26-year-old Mickens was nevertheless convicted on various counts related to his drug trafficking activities in June, 1989, after a four-month trial. His primary convictions, however, were for tax evasion and money laundering. He was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to defraud the United States, 1 count of structuring a financial transaction as part of a pattern of illegal activity, 1 count of filing a perjurious income tax return, 4 counts of income tax evasion, and 8 counts of money laundering. In December, 1989, he was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison and fined in excess of $1 million. Though the proceedings were largely uneventful, Mickens managed to cause a stir when he made a hand gesture in the shape of a gun pointed in the direction of his former attorney as he entered the courtroom to testify against the defendant. Another memorable episode of the trial was the day that assistant United States Attorney Kirby Heller brought in a virtual parade of high-end car salesmen before the court to point out perhaps their youngest customer to the jury. Mickens however, was not the only "famous" person to appear at his trial. The previous year's NBA Rookie of the Year, Mark Jackson was subpoenaed to testify.
1986 Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet
Mickens was not the only member of his organization to face the court. Anthony Jacobs was also convicted of drug trafficking and both Shelby Kearneyanother girlfriend, Bettina Jacobs Celifie, were convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Jacobs was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Kearney was sentenced to 5 years in prison and Celifie to 18 months. Celifie also lost custody of her child as a result of her conviction.
Mickens was released in 2008 after serving 20 years of his 35 year sentence, during which time his mother, Mary Mickens, passed away. Although not all of his assets and cash were seized by the government, due to mismanagement by his associates, nothing was left by the time he was paroled. In particular, Mickens' attorney, Robert Simels, is alleged to have emptied safe deposit boxes he maintained in Jackson, Mississippi bank of $1 million in cash. After his release, Mickens founded The Tommy Experience, an exercise program for senior citizens that generates $9,000 a week. Mickens makes a cameo appearance with fellow Queens native, rap superstar Nas, in the latter's music video for his 2011 song "Nasty", in which he references Mickens in the lyrics.
Mickens (left) and Nas in the music video for "Nasty" in 2011
French Montana with Tommy Mickens (right)
Nas - Nasty
(featuring a Tommy Mickens cameo - 1:43 seconds in)
* Laurelton is the former home of convicted white collar criminal Bernard Madoff, whose decades-long Ponzi scheme defrauded investors of between $12 and $20 billion.
* Mickens' attorney, legendary "mob lawyer" Robert Simels found himself in the defendant's chair when he was indicted for tampering with witnesses and obstructing justice in September 2008. Some of Simels' past clients include: notorious mafia informer Henry Hill (upon whose life the movie Goodfellas is based), South American drug kingpin Shaheed "Roger" Khan, New York drug kingpins Brooks Davis, South Bronx drug kingpin George "Boy George" Rivera and southeast Queens drug lords Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols.
After four court hearings spanning two months, on Feb. 7 California U.S. District Judge Manuel Real deemed Darrin Ebron “both a danger to the community and a flight risk if released on bail,” and ordered him to remain in jail pending trial. Ebron, a DJ with roots in Baltimore, and two other Baltimore-tied men—Ricky James Brascom and Charles Dwight Ransom Jr.—were indicted in November for participating in a drug conspiracy involving the use of private jets to ferry cocaine and money between Hollywood and Baltimore over a six-week period last fall. The alleged scheme, in which a total of 14 people have been charged, involved nearly 400 kilograms of cocaine and more than $4 million in cash. Trial is scheduled for June.
Ebron’s attempt to be freed on bail pending trial included the contention that wiretapped conversations used as evidence of his involvement were actually about his music business, not drugs. He claimed that Brascom and Ransom’s Behind Da Scenes Entertainment, a Pikesville-based record company, hired him to do work in support of rapper Paypa, and that discussions wiretapped by operation "Snowbird,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) probe that nabbed the defendants, were about that work. Among the four witnesses who testified during Ebron’s court hearings in California was John L. Williams IV, the Baltimore mortician who earlier had posted property he owns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in order to help Ebron make bail.
Drew Sidora Jordan
Also allegedly heard speaking on the wiretaps, but not charged in the conspiracy, was Hollywood starlet and R&B singer Drew Sidora Jordan, whom investigators described as Brascom’s girlfriend. Today, Jordan issued a statement to City Paper about her entanglement in the investigation through David Nobel of the Chicago-based DLN Marketing Communications and Consulting. "This clears up any rumors about the recent controversy mentioning her name in wire taps for Charles Ransom and Rickey Brascom owners of Behind Da Scenes Entertainment, the label that promotes Chicago rapper Paypa," Nobel writes. "I look forward to you supporting her on this new chapter of her life as I will continue to give updates and new developments.":
I live my life believing that when you do good, God continues to bless you. Like many young women who fall in love, we trust our partners and pray that they live a life based on the principles of morality and integrity, I never knew of [Brascom’s] activities and as soon as I became aware, the relationship ended. I continue to pray for him and his family and anyone else that was affected by he and his partners actions. Right now, I am focused and overjoyed with happiness of pending motherhood. I will continue to be an advocate for initiatives that promote education, the wellness and stability of our youth, families and communities.
Jordan’s statement, in which she denies knowledge of Brascom’s alleged drug-dealing activities, does not square with the contents of the wiretaps, as memorialized in an affidavit by DEA special agent Jeffrey LaRock. LaRock’s affidavit says that on Oct. 30, 2010, at 10:17 p.m., Brascom and Jordan spoke on the phone. At the time, authorities had just seized cocaine from Brascom’s alleged drug supplier and co-defendant, Heriberto Lopez, whose nickname is “BD,” which is short for “Big Dog.” LaRock’s affidavit describes the conversation as follows:
Drew Sidora Jordan, Brascom’s girlfriend, asked Brascom why he didn’t leave. Brascom said they had a ‘situation.’ Jordan asked if Brascom was okay. Brascom said he was okay, but the people he ‘works with’ and that come see him ‘are not.’ Jordan asked if they were gone. Brascom said not like that. Jordan asked if they were ‘gone’ like her cousin. Brascom said yes, on their way to come see Brascom. Brascom explained that it was the people that always come see Brascom before he leaves. Brascom said they ‘got pulled over’ on their way to see him. Brascom said that if things would have worked out, he’d already be on his way. Jordan asked what ‘BD’ was saying. Brascom said he was with BD now. Jordan said there are many things she wanted to say but she’ll keep her comments to herself until she sees Brascom. Jordan said she wished Brascom did not have to deal with this anymore. Jordan said Brascom has had ‘so many passes.’ Jordan told Brascom he needed to save his money. Jordan said she didn’t want to get that phone call. Brascom said he doesn’t want her to get that phone call either. Jordan said so many things close to home and Brascom keeps sliding through the cracks. Brascom isn’t going to be able to slide through too many more cracks. Brascom said ya. Jordan said thank God they weren’t waiting until they pulled up to Brascom’s place. Brascom said yes. Jordan asked if BD can trust them. Brascom said that’s what BD is concerned about. Brascom said that when someone’s back is against the wall, you just never know.
“In this call,” LaRock’s affidavit continues, “Brascom told his girlfriend, Jordan, about the seizure of cocaine from Lopez’s drug runners. I believe that Jordan warned him that he had evaded arrest on several occasions and is worried about him.” As of press time, Jordan's press agent has not responded to e-mails or phone calls seeking further clarification.
