A Murder, Inc. Confession?

NOVEMBER 14--Prosecutors in the Murder, Inc. rap trial, which is scheduled to open tomorrow, may seek to admit part of a 'confession' extracted from one of the rap label's principals. In a new court filing, a copy of which you'll find below, Christopher 'Chris Gotti' Lorenzo's January 2003 interview with Drug Enforcement Administration agents is detailed by federal prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny, who is seeking court permission to present jurors with some of Lorenzo's statements. In his DEA interview, Lorenzo (pictured at right) denied that convicted druglord Kenneth 'Supreme' McGriff was the secret power behind Murder, Inc., but acknowledged an extremely close relationship with the hoodlum, who was carrying Lorenzo's corporate credit card when arrested on a federal gun rap in December 2002. Lorenzo told agents that McGriff had a 'talent for finding new rap artists' and helped sign two performers, though the label did not pay him, opting instead to 'do favors' for the feared McGriff. One such favor was providing a 'free soundtrack' and the acting services of rapper Ja Rule for 'Crime Partners,' a movie McGriff produced. Lorenzo valued the soundtrack's worth at $1 million, an admission that investigators believe backs their contention that Lorenzo and his brother Irving (who heads the rap label) engaged in money laundering with McGriff. While Pokorny is not seeking to admit the entire DEA 'confession' (thus the lines through some of the letter's paragraphs), Lorenzo made several other interesting statements. For instance, he recalled a meeting with former Sony Records boss Tommy Mottola, who was seeking to sign a deal with the Lorenzo brothers: 'Mottola jokingly placed a gun and a bag of money on the table and stated, 'You're going to sign with me.'' The pitch from Mottola, who has long cultivated a wiseguy-like image, apparently failed to impresss the Lorenzos, who signed a distribution deal in 1998 with Def Jam. (3 pages)