New evidence has linked two associates of entertainment mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and the late Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace to the 1994 beating of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur.
The article, written by Chuck Phillips on the L.A. Times website reveals that although Combs and Wallace knew about the Shakur ambush before it happened, there is no evidence that supports that they were involved in the actual attack.
The story claims that Combs was present in the Quad Recording Studio with at least two dozen Bad Boy Records Associates when the assault took place ten floors down in the lobby.
Shakur was pistol-whipped, shot five times and left for dead outside a New York City recording studio.
"It was supposed to just be a beating but it turned into a shooting because Tupac pulled a gun," Philips said.
Afterwards Shakur wrote about who he believed was involved in a song.
Phillips maintains that "Tupac's shooting at the Quad was really catalyst for everything that happened afterwards, including the death of Biggie (Christopher "Biggie/Notorious B.I.G" Wallace).
"It started the whole thing off and if you lay it out in a timeline which I do, you can see; it's obvious and kind of sad for two guys to be this talented."
The two men reported to have been involved in the attack are James "Jimmy" Sabatino and Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond.
Sabatino is the son of a reputed captain in the Colombo crime family. Sabatino is said to have personally told Combs about the planned attack. Rosemond, it was speculated, was part of the attack as payback to Shakur for being slighted over prior agreements.
Soon after Shakur's 1994 assualt, sources claim Sabatino introduced Combs to mobsters and escorted the music executive to mobbed-up nightclubs in New York and Miami after he was welcomed into Combs' inner circle.
It's also alleged that Sabatino used fake credit cards to charge up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for posh hotel suites, limos and parties while doing busines with Combs during his 1997 No Way Out tour.
Sabatino's relationship with Combs allegedly continued as he worked with the mogul's Bad Boy Records until his 1998 arrest in London. Currently he is serving a 12 year sentence in a federal penitentiary for racketeering and wire fraud.
The implications are the latest in a series of events surrounding the murder of Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996 in Las Vegas, and Wallace, who met the same fate in Los Angeles a year later.
There is no evidence to suggest that Combs or Wallace were involved in the Shakur attack, only that they had prior knowledge of it.
Phillips also says the Shakur case has ties to the murder of Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell. One of the men present when Shakur was shot, Randy "Stretch" Walker, was later gunned down in Queens, New York on November 30, 1995, exactly one day to the date of the Quad Recordings shooting.
Combs and Wallace both denied any involvement in the 1994 attack. Combs or a representative could not be reached at EUR press time.
An interactive timeline, as well as audio of lyrics and videos from Shakur and Wallace is featured in Phillips' story available on the L.A. Times website: www.latimes.com/tupac.
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