Transcript Trips Up Snitch
Despite denials, records detail Alfamega's informant history
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Transcript Trips Up Snitch
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Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch -
Transcript Trips Up Snitch
AUGUST 13--We hate to pile on poor Cedric "Alfamega" Zellars, but when the rapper recently surfaced to claim that a TSG story about his previous work as an informant was wrong (and maybe even based on fabricated documents), we decided to revisit his days as a government snitch.
The 37-year-old Zellars, a protégé of T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris), was ditched by the superstar rapper after our May 5 report about his dealings with the Drug Enforcement Administration and testimony against Ali Baaqar, an Atlanta drug dealer. On these pages you'll find excerpts from Zellars's October 1996 testimony against Baaqar in U.S. District Court in Atlanta (the official transcript was retrieved from court archives).
During questioning by prosecutor Janis Gordon, Zellars acknowledged that he had agreed to "cooperate with the government," identified the "big drug dealer" for whom he once worked, and testified about four separate occasions he purchased large quantities of cocaine from Baaqar (who would later be convicted of drug trafficking).
During cross-examination, Zellars testified that he had fathered 13 children with 13 separate women, and detailed his contacts--which he initiated--with DEA and FBI agents. During one meeting with DEA Agent Lori Schlag, Zellars identified criminal associates when shown photos by the federal investigator. At another point during his testimony, Zellars referred to "several other guys I have gave information about."
The transcript also shows that Zellars's testimony was briefly halted when he was stricken with a stomach ache. When his cross-examination resumed, the convicted drug and weapons dealer spoke about his efforts to contact the FBI. "I had people calling, and I was writing," testified Zellars, who was then serving a nine-year prison sentence. When a defense lawyer asked him about providing information to the government, Zellars noted, "I been asked for information. They picked some of the guys up, but it didn't do nothing to help me. I just gave it."
Asked why he cooperated, Zellars answered, "Because they asked me." In return for his snitching, Zellars had 18 months shaved off his prison term. (25 pages)
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