Sean 'Diddy' Combs’ assault video will 'accelerate his case' with RICO charges, opines investigator
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The shocking release of a 2016 hotel security video on Friday, May 17 has put Sean 'Diddy' Combs, the billionaire entertainment mogul, under the spotlight.
The video allegedly shows Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in Los Angeles. This revelation is expected to expedite the federal investigation into the conduct of the founder of 'Bad Boy Records', according to an expert on hip-hop related crime.
Douglas H Wigdor commends Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura’s courage
After the release of the disturbing surveillance footage, Douglas H Wigdor, Ventura’s lawyer, issued a statement to CNN which first reported the video.
“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr.Combs," he said.
“Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light,” Wigdor added.
Meanwhile, Derrick Parker, a former investigator with the NYPD’s rap intelligence unit, who played a role in the 1999 investigation into a nightclub shooting where Combs was charged but later acquitted, said federal prosecutors are going to react strongly to the newly emerged footage.
“Everybody’s gonna see this, and they’re gonna see what a real dirtbag he is,” Parker told Fox News. “The public itself is gonna see him in a different light. The government now is likely gonna accelerate his case.”
Multiple lawsuits and allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura, settled with Combs on November 17, 2023, the day after the suit was filed for an undisclosed amount.
Combs had chosen to “resolve this matter amicably,” while his attorney said the settlement was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and didn’t change his denial of the allegations as per CNN.
Soon after, three other women came forward with lawsuits against Combs, alleging that they were sexually assaulted.
Two of the women said they were teenagers at the time of the alleged assaults.
More recently, a producer who worked for Combs between September 2022 and November 2023 filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Combs sexually harassed, drugged, and threatened him for more than a year according to NBC News.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is accused of 'engaging in serious illegal activity'
Combs' former employee, Rodney 'Lil Rod' Jones, also alleged that he had video and audio evidence of Combs, his staff, and others “engaging in serious illegal activity.”
In his lawsuit, he also made several other allegations against Combs including forcing Jones to "solicit sex workers" and "perform acts to the pleasure of Mr Combs" to threatening to eat the producer's face and claiming he would kill his own mother.
Jones is seeking at least $30 million in the lawsuit, which alleges negligent infliction of emotional distress, premises liability, and sex trafficking in addition to the sexual assault and RICO claims, according to Scripps News.
Raid on Sean 'Diddy' Combs mansions and arrest of associate
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations raided two of Combs’ mansions in March, leading to widespread speculation that criminal charges would follow according to the publication.
In addition to the accusers coming forward with civil lawsuits, authorities in Miami arrested a Combs associate named Brendan Paul on drug charges.
“They build these factors into a RICO case,” Parker said on Fox News. “They had this one supplying him guns. This one supplying drugs. He had all these women at sex parties.”
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Predicted RICO charges against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and impact of video evidence
Investigator Parker predicted federal racketeering (RICO) charges against Combs before July 4.
“And the video is going to hurt his defense,” Parker said. “A lot.”
“It makes him look like a liar, because he said all these things are false allegations against me,” Parker explained. “You can’t clear your name over that, kicking her and dragging her and slapping her.”
Parker, in April, warned evidence in Ventura’s case would be subpoenaed by the Justice Department, overriding any potential nondisclosure agreement reached in the settlement.
“She already alleged some criminal acts, right before he settled with her,” Parker told the station. “They could subpoena her about what she said, how she knew.”
In the 35-page lawsuit, she claimed Combs not only raped her and subjected her to physical abuse, but regularly hired prostitutes, and forced her to carry his gun and procure drugs.
