Irv Gotti Lorenzo

Music magnate Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother, Chris Lorenzo, probably will be indicted this week -- possibly as early as today -- on racketeering and money laundering charges, people close to the case said. The U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, N.Y., is expected to announce the indictment at a news conference this afternoon.

Last January, representatives from five law enforcement agencies gathered to triumphantly announce indictments against some of rap music's highest-profile executives. Authorities claimed they had evidence that the president and vice president of "gangster rap" label Murder Inc., Irving "Gotti" Lorenzo and his younger brother Christopher Lorenzo, had laundered $1 million in illegal profit from a narcotics empire overseen by convicted drug dealer Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.

Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo once saw murder as a metaphor. Back in 1997, when the charismatic music producer got his own record label from Island Def Jam, he named it Murder Inc. because of what he called the moniker's "ill double meaning." "When you have a hot record, people say you put out a hit," he said in a 2003 interview. "I thought, 'I'm going to call my artists murderers, because they put out hits.' This is the whole psyche behind it, man. Nothing more."

Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo once saw murder as a metaphor. Back in 1997, when the charismatic music producer got his own record label from Island Def Jam, he named it Murder Inc. because of what he called the moniker's "ill double meaning." "When you have a hot record, people say you put out a hit," he said in a 2003 interview. "I thought, 'I'm going to call my artists murderers, because they put out hits.' This is the whole psyche behind it, man. Nothing more."

Who is the real Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo? To federal investigators, he is pure trouble. They contend that Lorenzo opened the door of his legitimate business -- the Vivendi Universal-funded Murder Inc. record label -- to a convicted street criminal, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. McGriff, they say, used the company to launder cash from illegal drug sales. Lorenzo, in his first public discussion of those claims, tells a much different story. He describes himself as a loyal friend who did nothing worse than help the financially strapped ex-con go straight, and fulfill a dream, by producing a low-budget action film called "Crime Partners."

Last January, representatives from five law enforcement agencies gathered to triumphantly announce indictments against some of rap music's highest-profile executives. Authorities claimed they had evidence that the president and vice president of "gangster rap" label Murder Inc., Irving "Gotti" Lorenzo and his younger brother Christopher Lorenzo, had laundered $1 million in illegal profit from a narcotics empire overseen by convicted drug dealer Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.

The brother of music mogul Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo was wounded outside the Manhattan offices of Murder Inc. Records -- home to such stars as Ashanti and Ja Rule. Christopher Lorenzo first told police Monday that he was the victim of a drive-by shooting. By Wednesday, however, police were investigating whether Lorenzo had shot himself in the leg, sources said. No weapon has been recovered.

The chief of Vivendi Universal rap label Murder Inc. agreed to enter a drug-diversion program in Oakland after his arrest last week on a charge of drug possession. Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo, whose label is the target of a federal money-laundering probe, was arrested Friday at the Oakland Coliseum during a concert by R&B star R. Kelly. Lorenzo was charged with misdemeanor drug possession after guards backstage discovered one Ecstasy pill and four Viagra tablets in his wallet during a security check.

The star of the film "Crime Partners," John Bryant, and his bodyguards were arrested this month during a routine traffic stop at Washington and La Cienega boulevards, police said last week. On June 13, Culver City police found two loaded handguns in a Cadillac Escalade driven by one of the bodyguards, authorities said. The car apparently was registered to Ja Rule, a star on the Murder Inc. music label. Murder Inc. is an affiliate of French media giant Vivendi Universal.

Murder Inc. has killed off the Murder. The rap label said Wednesday that it changed its name to The Inc., aiming to distance itself from violent imagery at a time when federal agents are investigating its alleged financial ties with a New York drug kingpin. "It seems as though no one is really looking at the talent," label chief Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo said at a news conference in New York, where he was joined by label stars Ja Rule and Ashanti.

Music magnate Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother, Chris Lorenzo, probably will be indicted this week -- possibly as early as today -- on racketeering and money laundering charges, people close to the case said. The U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, N.Y., is expected to announce the indictment at a news conference this afternoon.

Who is the real Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo? To federal investigators, he is pure trouble. They contend that Lorenzo opened the door of his legitimate business -- the Vivendi Universal-funded Murder Inc. record label -- to a convicted street criminal, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. McGriff, they say, used the company to launder cash from illegal drug sales. Lorenzo, in his first public discussion of those claims, tells a much different story. He describes himself as a loyal friend who did nothing worse than help the financially strapped ex-con go straight, and fulfill a dream, by producing a low-budget action film called "Crime Partners."

An associate of Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, the former drug lord whose ties with Vivendi Universal Inc.'s Murder Inc. label are under federal investigation, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in New York. Jon Ragin, a convicted drug trafficker, quietly negotiated a plea bargain last week with U.S. authorities in Brooklyn.

An associate of Murder Inc. chief Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo, whose music label is under federal investigation for alleged money laundering, was taken into custody Thursday as a suspect in the shooting of a New York police captain. Tyran Moore surrendered after a three-hour standoff with dozens of police officers at a residence in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. Moore, whose street name is Tah Tah, gained notoriety last year in a lyric on "Guess Who's Back?" by 50 Cent, the Queens rap star.