Take Down Records Owner and Others Busted on Firearm, Drug Charges
By Chris Richburg
Alton “Ace” Coles, owner of Philadelphia Hip-Hop label Take Down Records and 18 other men and women were indicted Sunday (March 26) on firearms, drug and related charges, according to federal authorities.
On Wednesday (March 22), a federal grand jury returned the 175-count indictment, which alleged that Coles, 32, and Timothy Baukman, 30, had run a drug distribution ring and criminal enterprise.
Both men reside in Philadelphia.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the organization was responsible for distributing about 1,200 kilograms of cocaine and 600 kilograms of crack cocaine in and around Southwest Philadelphia from 1998 to August 2005, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Agents seized about $800,000 as well as three vehicles, three Philadelphia homes, and a house in Salem County, the ATF said.
Take Down Records gained street buzz for their breakout single “Scratchin & Survivin” by Take Down artists Bugsy & Snake featuring Rocafella’s Freeway.
The label released a DVD titled New Jack City: The Next Generation, which followed the story of “Ace” Capone, Tim Gotti and their Take Down Records family through the streets of Philadelphia in both movie and music video.
All of those indicted, who range in age from 24 to 35, are residents of Philadelphia, except for two men from New Jersey and one man from Baltimore.
Two of the indicted, 23-year-old Tyrek McGeth, and Dante Tucker, 31, both of Philadelphia, were still being sought.
