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The Los Angeles Times has officially retracted a story published on March 17 that claimed that Sean Diddy Combs and Christopher The Notorious B.I.G. Wallace had advanced knowledge that Tupac Shakur would be assaulted at a recording studio in 1994.
The article, titled An Attack on Tupac Shakur Launched a Hip-Hop War, claimed that Shakur was beaten at Quad Recording Studios at the request of Jimmy Henchmen Rosemond.
The Los Angeles Times article, which heavily relied on FBI documents and unnamed sources, claimed that an unknown con man James Sabatino helped plan the attack with Rosemond and convicted criminal Haitian Jacques Agnant.
Shortly after The Los Angeles Times published Phillips controversial story, TheSmokingGun.com debunked the theory, by proving that Sabatino had forged FBI documents, which were used to support the story.
The Times has since concluded that the FBI reports were fabricated and that some of the other sources relied on — including the person Philips previously believed to be the “confidential source” cited in the FBI reports — do not support major elements of the story, The Los Angeles Times said in a statement today (April 7).
The paper also retracted comments Phillips made in two online chats on March 18th and the 25th. The company has also retracted comments made on their Soundboard blog on March 21.
The Times now believes that Sabatino fabricated the FBI reports and concocted his role in the assault as well as his supposed relationships with Combs, Rosemond and Agnant, the statement said. “Consequently, The Times specifically retracts all statements in the article, and in its related publications, that state or suggest in any way that Rosemond, Agnant and Sabatino orchestrated or played any role in the assault on Shakur or that they lured him into an ambush at the Quad studios.
The Los Angeles Times issued another apology to Sean Diddy Combs and Jimmy Henchmen Rosemond specifically, acknowledging that basic facts about the moguls were wrong.
Any statements or implications suggesting that Combs was given advance knowledge of the assault on Shakur, or played any role in it, are specifically retracted. In addition, The Times was mistaken in reporting that Rosemond has served prison time for drug dealing and was convicted in 1996 of drug offenses. The Times specifically retracts those statements.
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