New York, Jul 7: Hip hop mogul James Rosemond has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he ran a cocaine trafficking ring between Los Angeles and New York.
The CEO of New York-based Czar Entertainment was arraigned Wednesday in Brooklyn.
Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman says his client is being framed. Prosecutors say the evidence includes secret recordings, e-mails and shipping records.
He's charged with running a criminal enterprise that shipped cocaine in music equipment cases, money laundering and obstruction.
He was arrested last month.
Shortly before that, an Internet report attributed to a prisoner alleged Rosemond orchestrated a 1994 ambush that wounded Tupac Shakur outside a Manhattan recording studio. Rosemond denies any involvement and the criminal complaint against him makes no mention of that case.
Rosemond is behind such hits as Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop." AP
