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A

former city police officer already behind bars for bank robbery

is one of the suspects in the 1997 shooting death of rap star

Notorious B.I.G, the Los Angeles Times reported today. Investigators

are reportedly examining whether former Officer David Mack conspired

with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight to arrange the contract

killing of the 24-year-old rapper whose real name was Christopher

Wallace. Wallace was gunned down on March 9, 1997, after leaving

a music industry party at the Peterson Automotive Museum.

No

one has been charged in the shooting, which some blamed on a turf

battle between Death Row and a rival rap label in New York City.

Another theory behind the 360-pound rapper’s death is that he

was killed over a feud with gang members who claimed he owed them

money for providing security. Mack is under suspicion for allegedly

hiring longtime friend Amir Muhammad to attack Wallace, the Times

reported, citing confidential police documents and sources that

include a former detective assigned to the case.

A

witness placed Mack at the scene of the slaying, and another man

who was in the same vehicle as Wallace picked Mack out of a photo

lineup of six men, according to police documents. Mack is serving

a 14-year prison term for the 1997 bank robbery. Police have been

unable to locate Muhammad. Mack’s attorney, Donald M. Re, said

any link between his client and Wallace’s killing “sounds absolutely

ridiculous.” Knight attorney Robin Yanes called the theory old

and said: “Suge doesn’t know (Mack.)” Detectives have previously

identified Knight as a suspect, alleging that he may have ordered

Wallace’s killing while he was in jail on a parole violation.

He currently is serving a nine-year prison sentence stemming from

a 1992 attack on two rappers in a recording studio.

Mack

is also a former partner of Officer Rafael Perez, who has been

at the center of a growing corruption probe of the Los Angeles

Police Department. He is cooperating with prosecutors by giving

them details of setups and falsified police reports in exchange

for a lighter sentence on his conviction for stealing cocaine.

Perez’s information has resulted in 11 convictions being overturned

and more than a dozen officers have been suspended.