Jacob the Jeweler To Head to the Big House?So Jacob the Jeweler, né Jacob Arabov, is finally catchin’ the case, as Master P would say. The AP is reporting that he of the diamond necklaces and stretch Lexuses (sorry) has pleaded guilty to falsifying records and giving false statements regarding Detroit’s Black Mafia drug ring. As part of his plea bargain, prosecutors have dropped the money-laundering charges Arabov, previously faced; but he still is looking at 46 months in prison and a $2 million fine, though he has not yet been sentenced. One thing is sure, though: The plea probably pissed off Busta Rhymes, who defended Arabov in Vanity Fair last year, saying: “The charges are a bunch of bull@#!*. Anybody that affiliates themselves with people that are from the street, they always go the extra mile to investigate them why would Jacob come this far, purchasing a $12 million building on 57th St. — why would he do anything illegally?” Sigh. Oh Busta. If we’re going to start asking questions like that, then we’re also going to have to ask why you started sucking.
Jacob the Jeweler Pleads Guilty [AP]
Related: Is Hip-Hop’s Jeweler on the Rocks [VF]
UPDATE: This item has been corrected from the previous version.
the morning line
What the Bell?
• This shouldn’t necessarily sway anyone’s opinion about the Sean Bell shooting, but it’s, um, interesting: A drug dealer tells the police he was once shot by Bell. Cops call the story credible (shocker). [NYDN]
• Wesley Autrey, the Subway Superman, gains a Subway Lex Luthor in lawyer Diane Kleiman. Kleiman and her partner have allegedly swindled Autrey into a deal that would give them half of whatever he gets (book advance, speaking fees, etc.). [NYP]
• Jacob the Jeweler is heading to the courtroom on some serious charges: helping launder $270 million in drug money for a Detroit-based crime ring. Now that’s cred. [AP via amNY]
• JPMorgan Chase has released a twelve-page assessment that itemizes Brooke Astor’s fortune: $41 million in real estate, $23.5 million in stocks, and $816 in the bank. [NYT]
• And the day’s Headless Body Award (it’s our new, ad-hoc headline-pun prize) goes to Metro New York, for running the gamut from the awesome “Marky Marksman” (a Shooter review) to the god-awful “An Indie-sent Proposal” (a SXSW feature). [MetroNY]