Federal prosecutors announced charges against Sean “Diddy” combs with big fanfare last year.
This was not just a case of a celebrity that behaved badly, they said. It was a criminal company that, for years, had hidden the crimes of a music and fashion tycoon.
It was a bold gambit, and used a typically reserved strategy for cases of organized crimes to process a music legend for alleged violence, threats and payments.
But in the end, the jurors who heard the case in Manhattan did not buy it.
After two days of deliberations, the jury found the guilty combs of only two transport positions for prostitution that involves the ex -girlfriend Cassie Ventura and a second woman identified as Jane in Testimony, as well as commercial sex workers.
The jury found the combable combs of the most serious crimes: sex trafficking, fraud or coercion; and organized crime, which had a possible life imprisonment.
“This is a 'victory' for combs. He faced the entire prison if he is convicted of the [racketeering] charges. Instead, he probably turns a couple of years in prison and returns to his commercial empire, “said David Ring, a lawyer who represents victims of sexual abuse in some of the highest profile cases.” Sean combs won mainly in court, but in the court of public opinion, he lost great with his despicable misconduct that was released in the trial. ”
A complex case
The trial was marked by shocking descriptions of the abuse of women of combs. But some legal experts questioned whether graphic testimony demonstrated organized crime.
Jeff Chemerinsky, a former federal prosecutor, said: “Whatever people who think of behavior as a moral issue, this jury decided that the Government did not comply with its burden to prove all the elements of the serious charges of serious crime they presented against Mr. Combs.”
The federal accusation alleged that combs and its associates attracted female victims, often under the pretext of a romantic relationship. Then, combs allegedly used strength, strength threats, coercion and controlled substances for women to participate in sexual acts with male prostitutes while occasionally observed in meetings that combs knew as “monsters.” Combs gave Ketamine, ecstasy and GHB women to “keep them obedient and fulfilled” during the actions, prosecutors said.
The alleged “Criminal Company” of combs threatened and abused women and used the members of their company to participate in sexual trafficking, forced labor, interstate transport for prostitution, coercion and entization purposes to participate in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, fire fire, bottlement and obstruction of justice, prosecutors said. In support of their extortion case, the prosecutors told the jurors in the opening statements that combs was helped by a picture of company employees, security personnel and assistants, who helped organize the monsters and then covered the incidents.
Examine for the government?
“The Government overreach. They wanted a rich conviction so that they could take advantage of comb assets under the laws of the confiscation of Rico. That will not happen now. This is a loss for the accusation,” Ring said, referring to the Law of Corrupt and influenced organizations of Racketer.
“The presentation of the Prosecutor's Office was disappointing. They commented on a series of strategic errors and undined errors,” said Federal Prosecutor Neama Rahmani in an interview with the verdict.
After the verdict, Rahmani added: this was “the most expensive prostitution judgment in the history of the United States. What a great victory for defense and a tremendous loss for the Prosecutor's Office.”
Some experts say that rich cases are difficult to process by design.
“Rico is a very rigid and difficult law to satisfy,” said Mitchell Epner, former assistant of the United States prosecutor in New Jersey who worked in numerous cases of sexual trafficking and involuntary servitude. “It requires an ongoing criminal structure, a continuity of the members of a criminal organization. It is difficult for prosecutors to prove, and the defense did a very good job by pointing out the deficiencies of a rich prosecution at the technical level.”
Federal VS Defense
The combs lawyers infected in the idea that their client was overloaded by prosecutors.
Marc Agnifilo said ComBs enjoyed a “swinger” lifestyle and was attached to drugs. He admitted that the combs committed domestic violence, but that extortion and sex traffic charges were overcome.
“It's not a racket,” he said.
Prosecutors told the jury that the evidence was clear.
In his final argument, Atty Assistant. Christy Slavik said that the extortion law is applied when someone commits crimes as part of a group, and in the case of combs, “the defendant was a powerful man, but became more powerful and dangerous due to his internal circle, his businesses, the company,” he told Jurors, according to AP.
Combs “had silence and shame” to allow and prolong their abuse and used a “small army” of employees to harm women and cover it, he said.
According to Rico, there are 35 specific crimes, which include murder, bribery and extortion, and federal prosecutors must show a pattern that involves at least two open acts as part of a criminal company.
The defense questioned why those in the stand did not report the behavior to the authorities at that time and, in some cases, remained in the orbit of the combs.
Smoking gun?
The jury listened to 34 witnesses, who provided six weeks of brutal testimony and graphic.
The defense was aggressive in the interrogation, hitting the witnesses about why they did not report combs at that time or simply left it. They also presented support and love text messages after the alleged attacks. The defense also focused on money and other things they obtained from the combs.
“It's not a crime. It's about money. It's about money,” said Agnifilo, according to the AP.
They also pointed out that witnesses did not believe they were committing a crime, which made it difficult to demonstrate that combs' actions joined a criminal conspiracy.
The 2016 video showed the combs hitting and kicking Ventura while shrinking and tries to protect against an elevator bank of the hotel. Then he drags her down the hall with his hoodie to his hotel room.
Eddie García, the Security Guard of the Intercontinental Hotel, testified that ComBs gave him a brown paper bag containing $ 100,000 in cash for the video.
Garcia said that after his supervisor he agreed to sell the video recording, he met with combs, the combs cabinet head, Kristina Khorram and a bodyguard. After Garcia raised concerns about the police, he said that combs called Ventura in Facetime, handed him the phone and told Ventura to tell Garcia that he also wanted the video “to leave.” After that, Garcia said he took the money and divided it with co -workers, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
Prosecutors claim that this shows the conspiracy.
What does this mean for other cases?
Some experts say that the combs verdict could calm future sex trafficking processes.
“Now that the jury has acquitted the combs of Rico and Trafficking charges,” said Epner, “could really make the Department of Justice think a lot and hard before presenting similar sex trafficking charges.”
The verdict is also a bitter disappointment for the defenders of the victims, said Lauren Hersh, former head of the Sexual Trafficking Unit of the Kings County Prosecutor's Office in Brooklyn and now the national director of the world of the world of the activist group without exploitation.
After successful numbers such as R. Kelly and cult leader Keith Raniere, some experts saw progress in expanding popular understanding of how sex traffic operated and how victims could respond to him. However, with this verdict, “this this 100% will launch a chilling effect on prosecutors, who will be reluctant to present similar positions even when the evidence is overwhelming,” said Hersh.
