When accused narcotics kingpin/hip-hop manager James Rosemond met last year with federal investigators to try and strike a cooperation agreement, he was peppered with questions about whether he knew of any criminal activity on the part of Rev. Al Sharpton, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Wyclef Jean, according to an Internal Revenue Service agent who testified yesterday at Rosemond’s trial in Brooklyn federal court.
…When cross-examined by Shargel, Van Driessche agreed that the Sharpton questions posed to Rosemond by federal investigators involved whether the hip-hop figure engaged in cash transactions with the activist/MSNBC host and if he knew about Sharpton doing “anything wrong.”
Shargel also asked the IRS agent if he knew that Rosemond “represented Reverend Sharpton in an effort to find an outlet for his popularity and his talent, right?” Van Driessche replied, “I knew they had an arrangement, but I didn’t know the exact details.”
Investigators then asked Rosemond about his extensive financial dealings with Jean, Van Driessche testified. Rosemond told of loaning the singer “$60,000 in cash that were drug proceeds but Wyclef didn’t know it was drug proceeds.”
Van Driessche explained that in the course of his investigation, “I saw that the defendant had received over $800,000 in checks from companies associated with Wyclef Jean or companies run by Wyclef Jean’s tour manager.” When questioned by Shargel, Van Driessche acknowledged that federal agents suspected that Jean may have been involved in laundering drug proceeds for Rosemond.
“So you wanted to find out if Wyclef Jean, a candidate for the presidency of Haiti, was involved in criminal activity, right?” Shargel asked Van Driessche, who answered, “That’s right.”
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