by Ran Britt
Damion Hardy was born on November 3, 1974 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, New York. He attended Queen of All Saints Elementary School in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood.
Hardy reportedly acquired the nickname "World" from peers who compared him to professional basketball player Lloyd Bernard Free, who legally changed his name to World B. Free in 1981. His older brother, Myron, garnered the nickname "Wise".
Both Damion and Myron attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, a Roman Catholic university-preparatory school in Brooklyn. Other alumni of the school include: former NBA All-Star and Rookie of the Year Mark Jackson; comedic actor Douglas "Doug E. Doug" Bourne; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; comedian Sherrod Small and rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, both of whom attended Bishop Loughlin at the same time as Damion.
In 1991, Damion and Myron formed the Cash Money Brothers drug trafficking organization. The Cash Money Brothers included members: Aaron "E-Bay" Granton (also known as Eric Moore), Dwayne "Thor" Myers, Kenwaye "Stro" Jones, Robert "Troub" Footman, Carl "Big Jim" Davis, James "Jimbo" Farrior, Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian, Lamont "Sambo" Johnson, Djebara "DJ" McMillian, Isheen "Sha" Campbell, Eric Moore, Shelby "Moo" Henderson, Allen "Boo" Bryant and Abubakr Raheem.
The group proceeded to wrestle control of crack-cocaine sales in the Bedford-Stuyvesant's Lafayette Gardens housing project away from more established drug traffickers. After seizing control, the Hardys used the housing project, comprised of approximately 2,680 residents and seven buildings, each at least 13-stories tall, as a base of operations.
In 1993, Damion was convicted on weapons charges and witness tampering and given a sentence of 2 to 4 years in state prison. He was accused of both shooting at narcotics officers and ordering the shooting of a state witness against another CMB member. He was released from prison in April of 1996.
In 1998, Damion was ejected from a Brooklyn roller skating rink by bouncer Michael Colon. In retaliation for the perceived slight, he had Colon murdered by another CMB member.
On June 12, 1999, Myron was shot to death in Lafayette Gardens over drug territory by Rumel "Nino" Davis, the nephew of Ivery "Peanut" Davis, who led the rival Davis drug-trafficking organization. The shooting prompted Damion, who was in prison at the time of Myron's murder, to initiate a killing spree in retaliation for his brother's death. On June 15, CMB member Dwayne "Thor" Myers murdered Jerrod "Kojak" Mackens in the vestibule of the same building in which Myron Hardy was killed, at 456 Lafayette Street. Mackens, a member of the Davis organization, was suspected of having supplied Rumel Davis with the gun used to kill Hardy. Rumel fled New York and wasn't apprehended until 2001 when he was arrested in North Carolina. Following his extradition back to New York, he was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
On June 10, 2000, Darryl "Hommo" Baum ("Hommo", short for "Homicide") was shot to death after allegedly (extorting) pressuring Cash Money Brothers member Edward "Taz" Cooke to sell drugs for him. According to police, CMB member Eric "Ebay" Moore (Granton) shot Baum once in the back of the head on the corner of Quincy Street and Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn around 1:40 AM in front of several witnesses familiar with Baum and was driven away by fellow-CMB member Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian. According to Baum's younger sister, Zakia, he was lured to the corner by a female acquaintance. He was rushed to nearby Kings County Hospital where he died 10 hours later. Baum's longtime friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, paid for his funeral and burial expenses. Baum had been released from prison six months earlier, on December 31, after serving 13 years and quickly established a business relationship with Ivery Davis. Just two weeks prior to his death, on May 25, Baum was the alleged triggerman behind the attempted murder of rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, in which the future chart-topper was shot nine times. During Queens drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff's 2007 federal murder and racketeering trial, prosecutors alleged that McGriff had hired Baum to kill Jackson. Jackson himself named Baum as his would-be murderer in his 2003 song, "Many Men". Baum had been in the employ of his childhood friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, as a bodyguard, and according to court testimony, Tyson put a $50,000 hit out on Hardy following his friend's murder. According to testimony, Hardy ordered that Tyson be murdered when he learned of the contract.
On August 1, Davis-associate James "JR" Hamilton, was shot to death inside his (Saratoga Avenue) Brooklyn seafood restaurant, Filet of Soul, by gunmen acting on orders from Hardy, according to witness testimony.
At approximately 4 a.m. on August 10, CMB member Eric "Ebay" Moore (Granton) shot Ivery Davis twice in the back while he was sitting in his Range Rover and double-parked at the now-defunct Club NV, located in New York's SoHo district. While fleeing the scene, Davis inadvertently hit 38-year-old award-winning Swedish filmmaker Jhoan Camitz who was crossing the street at the time. After hitting Camitz, whose leg was torn off, the SUV jumped the curb and flipped over on its side after crashing into a traffic pole. Camitz died after being rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, while Davis was pronounced dead at the site of the crash. Davis, who'd been convicted in July of assaulting a Brooklyn nightclub owner, had been shot twice before, most recently six months earlier, outside of the popular Manhattan nightclub, Tunnel. Davis' criminal history included arrests for drugs and attempted murder and a conviction for armed robbery.
In 2001, CMB enforcer Eric "E-bay" Moore (Granton)was allegedly hired by convicted crack kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff's reconstituted drug organization to murder Troy "Big Nose" Singleton. Singleton was shot several times in the head and back as he exited a Queens nightclub.
On July 12, 2002, Hardy and CMB members James "Popsie" Sessoms, Isheen Campbell and Kewayne Jones were charged with the attempted robbery and kidnapping of Ashabudeen Shakoor. Police found Shakoor blindfolded and bound in a Brooklyn apartment controlled by CMB and seized a loaded AK-47 assault rifle.
Hardy began dating rapper Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones in 2002. The two had known each other since the first grade and Jones had previously dated Damion's brother, Myron. During the relationship, the younger Hardy allegedly physically abused Jones to the point of the latter requiring cosmetic surgery. Jones shared a New Jersey mansion with Hardy and gifted him a Range Rover while the two were together. Ironically, the Hardys' long-time rival, Ivery Davis, appeared as Jones' love interest in the music video for the hit 1995 song "Get Money", by her group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
In September of 2003, Hardy was involved in a shootout with members of rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's security team outside of a New Jersey DoubleTree hotel. The hostilities reportedly stemmed from an incident earlier in the year whereby Hardy confronted Jackson regarding the latter's on-air insult directed at Jones during an interview at New York's Hot 97 radio station. The confrontation took place outside of the station immediately following the interview. Jones and Hardy had become engaged by the time they ended their relationship in 2004.
Also in 2004, Hardy was interviewed by then-radio personality Wendy Williams on her syndicated show, "The Wendy Williams Experience", on New York City's WBLS radio station. During the exchange, Hardy discussed his by then former relationship with Jones and what he described as a vast conspiracy to discredit him.
An 18-month joint investigation by the NYPD (New York Police Department), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations), ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the U.S. Attorney's office culminated in Hardy's arrest by FBI and ICE agents upon his arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on August 15, 2004. He was returning from a four-month religious pilgrimage in the Middle East, during which he was arrested twice on unrelated charges. Hardy was reportedly arrested in Morocco and again later in Jordan after speaking against the country's monarch. Initially, an indictment charging Hardy and 12 other CMB members with federal racketeering and narcotics trafficking was filed on July 19, 2005. Besides Hardy, the indictment also named CMB members: Eric "E-Bay" Moore (Granton), 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, Isheen "Sha" Campbell, DJebara "DJ" McMillian and Abubakr Raheem. Moore, who was also implicated in the racketeering and money-laundering trial of convicted drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff by cooperating witness and former McGriff-associate Emmanuel "Manny Dog" Mosely, was aressted on July 18, one day before the original indictments were filed. Initially, Hardy was indicted on one count of conspiring to traffic narcotics but a superseding indictment, filed in 2008, charged him with 26 counts, including narcotics trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy, six murders in aid of racketeering and illegal use of firearms.
During this time, Hardy reportedly changed his name to Isa Ibn Jibril.
Sessoms, who was arrested in June of 2005, prior to the July indictments, went to trial beginning in September of 2006 and was convicted the following month. He was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC, Brooklyn) until August of 2011, when he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. In September he was transported to the maximum-security United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy (USP Big Sandy) near Inez, Kentucky.
Hardy stabbed another inmate during his detention in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) located in Manhattan, New York.
Hardy reportedly acquired the nickname "World" from peers who compared him to professional basketball player Lloyd Bernard Free, who legally changed his name to World B. Free in 1981. His older brother, Myron, garnered the nickname "Wise".
Both Damion and Myron attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, a Roman Catholic university-preparatory school in Brooklyn. Other alumni of the school include: former NBA All-Star and Rookie of the Year Mark Jackson; comedic actor Douglas "Doug E. Doug" Bourne; former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; comedian Sherrod Small and rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, both of whom attended Bishop Loughlin at the same time as Damion.
In 1991, Damion and Myron formed the Cash Money Brothers drug trafficking organization. The Cash Money Brothers included members: Aaron "E-Bay" Granton (also known as Eric Moore), Dwayne "Thor" Myers, Kenwaye "Stro" Jones, Robert "Troub" Footman, Carl "Big Jim" Davis, James "Jimbo" Farrior, Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian, Lamont "Sambo" Johnson, Djebara "DJ" McMillian, Isheen "Sha" Campbell, Eric Moore, Shelby "Moo" Henderson, Allen "Boo" Bryant and Abubakr Raheem.
The group proceeded to wrestle control of crack-cocaine sales in the Bedford-Stuyvesant's Lafayette Gardens housing project away from more established drug traffickers. After seizing control, the Hardys used the housing project, comprised of approximately 2,680 residents and seven buildings, each at least 13-stories tall, as a base of operations.
In 1993, Damion was convicted on weapons charges and witness tampering and given a sentence of 2 to 4 years in state prison. He was accused of both shooting at narcotics officers and ordering the shooting of a state witness against another CMB member. He was released from prison in April of 1996.
In 1998, Damion was ejected from a Brooklyn roller skating rink by bouncer Michael Colon. In retaliation for the perceived slight, he had Colon murdered by another CMB member.
On June 12, 1999, Myron was shot to death in Lafayette Gardens over drug territory by Rumel "Nino" Davis, the nephew of Ivery "Peanut" Davis, who led the rival Davis drug-trafficking organization. The shooting prompted Damion, who was in prison at the time of Myron's murder, to initiate a killing spree in retaliation for his brother's death. On June 15, CMB member Dwayne "Thor" Myers murdered Jerrod "Kojak" Mackens in the vestibule of the same building in which Myron Hardy was killed, at 456 Lafayette Street. Mackens, a member of the Davis organization, was suspected of having supplied Rumel Davis with the gun used to kill Hardy. Rumel fled New York and wasn't apprehended until 2001 when he was arrested in North Carolina. Following his extradition back to New York, he was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
On June 10, 2000, Darryl "Hommo" Baum ("Hommo", short for "Homicide") was shot to death after allegedly (extorting) pressuring Cash Money Brothers member Edward "Taz" Cooke to sell drugs for him. According to police, CMB member Eric "Ebay" Moore (Granton) shot Baum once in the back of the head on the corner of Quincy Street and Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn around 1:40 AM in front of several witnesses familiar with Baum and was driven away by fellow-CMB member Zareh "Puff" Sarkissian. According to Baum's younger sister, Zakia, he was lured to the corner by a female acquaintance. He was rushed to nearby Kings County Hospital where he died 10 hours later. Baum's longtime friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, paid for his funeral and burial expenses. Baum had been released from prison six months earlier, on December 31, after serving 13 years and quickly established a business relationship with Ivery Davis. Just two weeks prior to his death, on May 25, Baum was the alleged triggerman behind the attempted murder of rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, in which the future chart-topper was shot nine times. During Queens drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff's 2007 federal murder and racketeering trial, prosecutors alleged that McGriff had hired Baum to kill Jackson. Jackson himself named Baum as his would-be murderer in his 2003 song, "Many Men". Baum had been in the employ of his childhood friend, heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, as a bodyguard, and according to court testimony, Tyson put a $50,000 hit out on Hardy following his friend's murder. According to testimony, Hardy ordered that Tyson be murdered when he learned of the contract.
On August 1, Davis-associate James "JR" Hamilton, was shot to death inside his (Saratoga Avenue) Brooklyn seafood restaurant, Filet of Soul, by gunmen acting on orders from Hardy, according to witness testimony.
At approximately 4 a.m. on August 10, CMB member Eric "Ebay" Moore (Granton) shot Ivery Davis twice in the back while he was sitting in his Range Rover and double-parked at the now-defunct Club NV, located in New York's SoHo district. While fleeing the scene, Davis inadvertently hit 38-year-old award-winning Swedish filmmaker Jhoan Camitz who was crossing the street at the time. After hitting Camitz, whose leg was torn off, the SUV jumped the curb and flipped over on its side after crashing into a traffic pole. Camitz died after being rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center, while Davis was pronounced dead at the site of the crash. Davis, who'd been convicted in July of assaulting a Brooklyn nightclub owner, had been shot twice before, most recently six months earlier, outside of the popular Manhattan nightclub, Tunnel. Davis' criminal history included arrests for drugs and attempted murder and a conviction for armed robbery.
In 2001, CMB enforcer Eric "E-bay" Moore (Granton)was allegedly hired by convicted crack kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff's reconstituted drug organization to murder Troy "Big Nose" Singleton. Singleton was shot several times in the head and back as he exited a Queens nightclub.
On July 12, 2002, Hardy and CMB members James "Popsie" Sessoms, Isheen Campbell and Kewayne Jones were charged with the attempted robbery and kidnapping of Ashabudeen Shakoor. Police found Shakoor blindfolded and bound in a Brooklyn apartment controlled by CMB and seized a loaded AK-47 assault rifle.
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| Ivery "Nut" Davis and Darryl "Hommo" Baum |
Hardy began dating rapper Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones in 2002. The two had known each other since the first grade and Jones had previously dated Damion's brother, Myron. During the relationship, the younger Hardy allegedly physically abused Jones to the point of the latter requiring cosmetic surgery. Jones shared a New Jersey mansion with Hardy and gifted him a Range Rover while the two were together. Ironically, the Hardys' long-time rival, Ivery Davis, appeared as Jones' love interest in the music video for the hit 1995 song "Get Money", by her group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
In September of 2003, Hardy was involved in a shootout with members of rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's security team outside of a New Jersey DoubleTree hotel. The hostilities reportedly stemmed from an incident earlier in the year whereby Hardy confronted Jackson regarding the latter's on-air insult directed at Jones during an interview at New York's Hot 97 radio station. The confrontation took place outside of the station immediately following the interview. Jones and Hardy had become engaged by the time they ended their relationship in 2004.
Also in 2004, Hardy was interviewed by then-radio personality Wendy Williams on her syndicated show, "The Wendy Williams Experience", on New York City's WBLS radio station. During the exchange, Hardy discussed his by then former relationship with Jones and what he described as a vast conspiracy to discredit him.
An 18-month joint investigation by the NYPD (New York Police Department), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations), ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the U.S. Attorney's office culminated in Hardy's arrest by FBI and ICE agents upon his arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on August 15, 2004. He was returning from a four-month religious pilgrimage in the Middle East, during which he was arrested twice on unrelated charges. Hardy was reportedly arrested in Morocco and again later in Jordan after speaking against the country's monarch. Initially, an indictment charging Hardy and 12 other CMB members with federal racketeering and narcotics trafficking was filed on July 19, 2005. Besides Hardy, the indictment also named CMB members: Eric "E-Bay" Moore (Granton), 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, Isheen "Sha" Campbell, DJebara "DJ" McMillian and Abubakr Raheem. Moore, who was also implicated in the racketeering and money-laundering trial of convicted drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff by cooperating witness and former McGriff-associate Emmanuel "Manny Dog" Mosely, was aressted on July 18, one day before the original indictments were filed. Initially, Hardy was indicted on one count of conspiring to traffic narcotics but a superseding indictment, filed in 2008, charged him with 26 counts, including narcotics trafficking conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy, six murders in aid of racketeering and illegal use of firearms.
During this time, Hardy reportedly changed his name to Isa Ibn Jibril.
Sessoms, who was arrested in June of 2005, prior to the July indictments, went to trial beginning in September of 2006 and was convicted the following month. He was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC, Brooklyn) until August of 2011, when he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. In September he was transported to the maximum-security United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy (USP Big Sandy) near Inez, Kentucky.
Hardy stabbed another inmate during his detention in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) located in Manhattan, New York.
CMB
member Abubakr Raheem was tried in June of 2008 for driving the getaway
vehicle following both the August 2000 murder of James "JR" Hamilton
and the July 2003 murder of Tyrone "T-Rock" Baum. During the trial, Hardy-associate-turned-government witness Shelby "Moo" Henderson testified that Hamilton's
murder may have been prompted by Edward "Taz" Cooke's desire to
eliminate him as a direct competitor in the numbers racket. He further
testified that Cooke held both Baum brothers responsible for the death of his father. Henderson also contended that he was present at a party hosted by Hardy's mother to celebrate Davis' killing, when he participated in a discussion about murdering Tyson, an idea to which he objected.
Initially, Hardy was determined to be incompetent to stand trial due to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, he refused his prescribed medication. In 2013, a three-judge appeals court panel ruled that Hardy could be forcibly medicated with antipsychotics in order to render him competent to stand trial and because he’d committed numerous assaults against both inmates and prison guards while incarcerated, including assaulting a guard with a battery-filled sock. According to prison officials, Hardy also emptied a tube of toothpaste and filled it with urine for use on guards. At the time, Hardy was in detention at a federal prison hospital located in Springfield, Missouri.
Though the death penalty had hung over the heads of both Hardy and Granton (Moore) since then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey authorized it in 2007, his predecessor in the Obama administration, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, reversed that decision on Thursday, May 29, 2014, sparing the two from potential lethal injections.
Hardy solicited funds both from his ex, Jones, and her longtime rival, Brooklyn rapper Inga "Foxy Brown" Marchand. Hardy's intention was to secure the litigating talents of high-profile criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, who'd previously defended music tycoon Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Michael Jackson, NFL star Plaxico Burress, mobster Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and Jacob "Jacob the Jeweler" Arabo. Brafman had previously won an acquittal for business mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs in his 2001 gun and bribery trial.
Jadakiss, Mike Tyson, Sheek Louch, Styles P and Darryl "Hommo" Baum (far right)
Initially, Hardy was determined to be incompetent to stand trial due to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, he refused his prescribed medication. In 2013, a three-judge appeals court panel ruled that Hardy could be forcibly medicated with antipsychotics in order to render him competent to stand trial and because he’d committed numerous assaults against both inmates and prison guards while incarcerated, including assaulting a guard with a battery-filled sock. According to prison officials, Hardy also emptied a tube of toothpaste and filled it with urine for use on guards. At the time, Hardy was in detention at a federal prison hospital located in Springfield, Missouri.
Though the death penalty had hung over the heads of both Hardy and Granton (Moore) since then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey authorized it in 2007, his predecessor in the Obama administration, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, reversed that decision on Thursday, May 29, 2014, sparing the two from potential lethal injections.
Hardy solicited funds both from his ex, Jones, and her longtime rival, Brooklyn rapper Inga "Foxy Brown" Marchand. Hardy's intention was to secure the litigating talents of high-profile criminal defense attorney Benjamin Brafman, who'd previously defended music tycoon Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Michael Jackson, NFL star Plaxico Burress, mobster Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and Jacob "Jacob the Jeweler" Arabo. Brafman had previously won an acquittal for business mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs in his 2001 gun and bribery trial.
Hardy's federal drug-trafficking trial began on April 1, 2015, nearly ten years after his indictment. He was represented by David
Ruhnke, who drew from his 30 years worth of experience in private
practice, including trying 15 capital cases. Among Ruhnke's former
clients are drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, al-Qaeda bomber Khalfan Khamis Mohamed and mobster Martin Taccetta. Ruhnke's wife and law partner, Jean D. Barrett, served as co-counsel.
Owing to presiding Judge Frederic Block's order, Hardy continued to be involuntarily and heavily medicated with the antipsychotic Haloperidol throughout the trial.
According to testimony from Cash Money Brothers members Shelby “Moo” Henderson and Allen “Boo” Bryant, heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson and fellow-Brooklynite Muhammad Nur put a $50,000 hit out on Hardy and Cooke following the June 2000 murder of Tyson’s childhood friend and bodyguard, Darryl “Hommo” Baum. Tyson even dedicated his 38-second, June 24, 2000 defeat of heavyweight contender Lou Savarese to Baum. Tyson was never charged for alleged murder-for-hire plot. They further testified that Hardy ordered Tyson’s murder after learning of the contract. According to Bryant, Henderson protested the idea of killing Tyson because he was a fellow-Muslim. He further testified that CMB members had gone as far as surveilling Tyson but stopped short of carrying out the hit when he was spotted by Henderson, Cooke, Raheem and fellow-CMB member Abdul "Desperado" Aziz in the passenger seat of a parked Range Rover near the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Men's Shelter on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood. According to Bryant, Cooke attempted to persuade Aziz, who had a reputation for carrying a shotgun in a suitcase, to kill Tyson on the spot. Bryant also testified that Hardy targeted music industry parties, where CMB members were directed to rob rappers in attendance. Dwayne "Thor" Myers' testimony included a description of an argument between Hardy an the operator of a Brooklyn medical clinic that Hardy had intended to involve in an insurance fraud scheme. He said that Hardy had the man followed to Bushwick and shot in the street for mocking him during the exchange.
Owing to presiding Judge Frederic Block's order, Hardy continued to be involuntarily and heavily medicated with the antipsychotic Haloperidol throughout the trial.
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| Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones and Damion Hardy |
According to testimony from Cash Money Brothers members Shelby “Moo” Henderson and Allen “Boo” Bryant, heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson and fellow-Brooklynite Muhammad Nur put a $50,000 hit out on Hardy and Cooke following the June 2000 murder of Tyson’s childhood friend and bodyguard, Darryl “Hommo” Baum. Tyson even dedicated his 38-second, June 24, 2000 defeat of heavyweight contender Lou Savarese to Baum. Tyson was never charged for alleged murder-for-hire plot. They further testified that Hardy ordered Tyson’s murder after learning of the contract. According to Bryant, Henderson protested the idea of killing Tyson because he was a fellow-Muslim. He further testified that CMB members had gone as far as surveilling Tyson but stopped short of carrying out the hit when he was spotted by Henderson, Cooke, Raheem and fellow-CMB member Abdul "Desperado" Aziz in the passenger seat of a parked Range Rover near the Bedford-Atlantic Armory Men's Shelter on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood. According to Bryant, Cooke attempted to persuade Aziz, who had a reputation for carrying a shotgun in a suitcase, to kill Tyson on the spot. Bryant also testified that Hardy targeted music industry parties, where CMB members were directed to rob rappers in attendance. Dwayne "Thor" Myers' testimony included a description of an argument between Hardy an the operator of a Brooklyn medical clinic that Hardy had intended to involve in an insurance fraud scheme. He said that Hardy had the man followed to Bushwick and shot in the street for mocking him during the exchange.
Both Cooke and Bryant agreed to cooperate with the government following their June 2003
arrests at John F. Kennedy International Airport in possession of eight
kilograms of cocaine delivered from Grenada. Bryant, who was ousted
from CMB after being revealed as a drug user had had personal tensions
with Hardy after the former found out that while he was incarcerated,
the latter had engaged in a threesome involving Bryant's girlfriend.
Moore (Granton), who was arrested on July 18, 2005, one day prior to the filing of the initial CMB indictments, had survived being shot in the head in 2003 during an incident in which he and two friends were ambushed in an elevator in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
On April 29, 2015, both Hardy and Moore (Granton) were found guilty on all charges, which included convicted of racketeering, kidnapping, narcotics trafficking, and all six counts of murder.
Moore (Granton), who was arrested on July 18, 2005, one day prior to the filing of the initial CMB indictments, had survived being shot in the head in 2003 during an incident in which he and two friends were ambushed in an elevator in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
On April 29, 2015, both Hardy and Moore (Granton) were found guilty on all charges, which included convicted of racketeering, kidnapping, narcotics trafficking, and all six counts of murder.
On May 11, seven family members of the murder victims were on hand to give statements at Hardy and Moore's sentencing hearing, including: Ivery Davis' mother, May; James Hamilton's sister, Vanessa Hamilton; and Tyrone Baum's widow, Debra, daughter Epiphany and sister Zakia. Zakia, who shares a son with Brooklyn rapper Jermaine "Maino" Coleman, starred in the 2013 TLC reality series "Starter Wives Confidential". Both Hardy and Granton (Moore) were given six life sentences each.
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| CMB member James "Popsie" Sessoms |
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| Ivery "Nut" Davis (standing, far right) |
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| Kimberly "Lil' Kim" Jones |
