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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS "PONDERING" SUING NETFLIX OVER 'Reckoning' SERIES, PRISON RELEASE DATE MOVED UP
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This is an I heart podcast, guaranteed.
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Human crime stories with Nancy Grace. Why won't he go away? Now we learn Sean Diddy Combs pondering suing Netflix over their Reckoning series. Reckoning is the name of it. And we learn his prison release date has been moved up. Insult to injury. That's right. Sean Diddy Combs argument with Netflix and 50 Cent over the documentary titled Sean Combs the Reckoning seemingly is set to wind up in court. This is what we've learned. Combs and his quote team are pondering their legal options over the Netflix docu series and quote, stolen the footage, quote. Okay, doesn't he have bigger problems? Sitting behind bars at a low security Fort Dix in Jersey, Combs escaped the most serious charges filed against him, including RICO and sex trafficking. He was found guilty on two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He's still facing literally dozens and dozens of civil lawsuits across the country. And a brand new sex battery case opened last month by the LA County Sheriffs. This, as we learned, with time served considered, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has moved his release date from June 4, 2028 to May 8, 2028. Wow. Let's jog our memory as to what happened at trial. Straight out to Lauren Collins standing by at the courthouse. Lauren, what happened today?
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A
Today in court, we heard from the government cell phone expert, the forensic expert who did the extractions on Cassie Ventura's cell phone. He talked about extracting a significant amount of deleted data and why certain things would appear here on the screen in evidence as we're seeing it. So for example, a deleted text thread might not have certain users names. So we've seen blanks, we've seen duplicate names. And he explained all of this away. After that. We heard testimony from Jane Doe, who is victim three. Now, Jane Doe described meeting Sean Combs early 2020 and, and she met him through a friend while they were on a girls trip. And she testified that this friend was, was once in a relationship with, with Diddy. So she kind of kept her distance. They exchanged numbers and from there they began a relationship after her friend moved on. And she actually talked about the fact that she was in a relationship with Sean combs from 2020 all the way up until his arrest. Now, Jane Doe testified that the relationship truly, truly started off as a fairy tale. He took her away to Turks and Caicos and then the Bahamas, but he also offered her $10,000 after this trip, he said, you know, I know that you haven't been able to work while you're on this trip. So here's some money. She talked about being a content creator. So that was her main form of income. She's also a single mother. And from there, the government kind of started to ask, well, which cities did he take you to? Did he pay you money often? To which she testified, you know, he paid me money frequently. He ended up paying her rent at some point and eventually about three or four months into their relationship, that's when he brought up being with another man. And he said this was a fantasy. And she said, okay. She didn't think that he was actually serious. Well, it turns out he was serious. She went to the bathroom, and this was after they had already been engaging in sexual activity for 12 to 15 hours prior. He goes and he calls someone he knows named dawn and arranges dawn for that very night. And then she describes going to a hotel room that night in Miami, corroborated the. The oil, the assistant setting it up. And then said she engaged in. In this act with Don while Diddy watched. Again, what we've heard before, and then after that, she said it was pretty much a door that was opened that she couldn't close. She testified telling him in writing numerous times that she didn't want to be with other men. She wanted to be with him, but because he was paying her rent, she felt obligated. She said her only form of income because she always had to be constantly ready for Diddy was Diddy's money that he was sending to her and the child support she was getting.
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Okay. Okay. Could you tell me how the jury was reacting? Lauren Conlon.
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The defense was actually admonished today when the judge warned them that Diddy was actually looking at the jury and kind of nodding his head during Nicole Westmoreland's cross examination of Brianna Bongalin. Apparently, he had gotten this warning before, and the judge told the defense, if he does this again, he will be removed from the courtroom.
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Joining me now, a special guest, longtime friend and colleague Rob Shooter. Rob was Sean Combs PR guru for years. He no longer works for him, thank goodness. Rob be grilling you. Even worse. Rob shoot. Host of Naughty But Nice podcast. That's at robsheeter.substack.com author of the Four Word Answer. Rob, I want to talk about what Mia has been saying on the stand all day and for several days, the fact that she lived in fear. You know, I believe it was you that first told me that Sean Combs ordered somebody to go get him a cheesecake at 3 o' clock in the Morning. And they did it. They found a place that was open. They got the cheesecake and brought it back to Sean Combs. It seems as if he was very imperious with his employees. To the fact that Mia describes ptsd, that's what she's describing. I've seen it in a lot of crime victims. Describe what you witnessed.
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C
My time working with Diddy was extraordinary, Nancy. I've never had a job. I've never experienced anything like that again. And I've gone on to work with stars even bigger than him. It was really gruesome. It wasn't a job, it was a life. He took over your life. He demanded you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He could be really bullying. He could also be very charming. And so I understand everything that Mia's saying. It's heartbreaking and it's an experience that very, very few thankfully, will ever know.
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Okay, I want to get back to these demands because if he could make a grown person get out of bed at 3am and Traverse Manhattan to get him a slice of cheesecake, and it had to be the best cheesecake, it couldn't be any crap that could get down at the Dagstino's, right? What could he make someone like Mia do who was already meek and mild and traumatized? I mean, I want to hear what it was like. You say it was a way of life. It was your life.
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Why?
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C
It was our lives because we were young. He had picked people to work with him that he could control. There was nobody on his staff, including me, that was terribly experienced. It was all about him. He carefully groomed us all. He carefully selected us all. And if anybody came into his world who said no, who was too experienced, who knew better, they didn't last. He was the ringmaster. And we played along in his circus.
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B
Rob Shooter, you stated that Sean Combs has a very carefully choreographed personal image. And you told a story about making the press move at a private airport. I guess it was Teterboro. So as they all filmed Sean Combs pulling up, at first you didn't see the private plane. And he was so angry, he actually single handedly made all the press move where they were standing so he could re enter Teterboro. So when he got out of his suv, you could see the private plane behind him. Describe.
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C
Yeah, absolutely true. I was on the tarmac. The press was lined up waiting for him. Everybody from national shows to local press. And he drove, drove up in his car and he realized they were shooting this ugly airport terminal behind him. And he wanted a shot of this very, very expensive private plane. So what he did is he left. He restaged his entrance. We spun the press around and we had to go down that line, Nancy, and make sure every member of the press who were videoing deleted their original footage. So we did not leave this to chance. It was something that he had thought of. I wouldn't have thought this, but he told me, make sure they've all deleted the footage. I don't want. I don't want to give them the choice of deciding which footage to use. They'll use the one that I give them.
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So he got an entire fleet of the media to change their positions and delete video. I'm making a point. Listen to this.
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Shooter Brian Steele shows Mia a birthday shout out from Combs, captioned, beside every great man is a great woman. P.S. sorry I was acting crazy last night. Mia says Combs had threatened her life on a phone call the night before and she took this as his apology. Steele asks if she reposted the message despite the seriousness of the threat. And Mia responds, of course, reading off her profusely thankful caption. Thanks, Puff. Love you. You've shown me the world.
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B
So you're hearing Rob Shooter. The posts that Mia is making about a birthday wish, and then she gets cross examined about wishing Sean Combs happy birth birthday on a post. Now, I have seen rape victims go along to get along, whether it was your employer forcing sex on you, husband, partner, judge, and you don't want to make waves in the courthouse, so you put up with it and you just keep going. But he's really tearing her up on the stand about this Shooter. What do you make of it? You know him?
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C
Yeah, I think this is directed by Diddy. I think Puff is running this entire trial. He's telling his lawyers what to do, which might be a mistake, but his ego is very, very big. And news flash here, Nancy, it is possible to think love a monster. A person can be a terrible person and you can still have feelings towards them. And I think that's a mistake here that Diddy is making. I think people know the difference. And just because I post something, a birthday message, something towards you, doesn't mean you can't also be a terrible human being.
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B
Rob Shooter, are you surprised that Sean Combs has been able to keep so many alleged victims quiet for so long? We've seen multiple civil lawsuits occur after Cassave Ventura came out, and we are asking the wrong questions. We're saying, why are you suing him for money? You're in it just for the money. Cassie Ventura or Mia, instead of asking the question, why is Sean Combs paying millions and millions of dollars to keep these victims quiet? Why do you think so many victims have gone unheard until now? Maybe because of what we see happening to Mia on the stand.
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C
Yeah, yeah, I think there's going to be that We've seen. There's a long history of this. Money, power, fame are all really intoxicating. If you can't bully them with your fame, then you throw money at the problems. And I think we have to be honest here. The tape of Cassie changed everything. Once that videotape existed, Nancy, we saw what happened when somebody tried to leave. We saw Cassie running down a hallway. She's trying to get away from him and look what happened to her. That's why people didn't leave. Just the money wasn't just the fame, wasn't just the power, Nancy. It was the violence.
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Joining right now, Entertainment, Legal Affair commentator, host, podcast, the Armand Wiggins Show. Armand Wiggins, thank you for being with us. What's your takeaway from TODAY Friday in the courtroom?
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Thanks for asking, Nancy. So for me the biggest takeaway honestly is just the fact that he didn't love that girl. Like like she loved him. At the end of the day, I think that she was looking for a relationship, she was looking for a boyfriend, she was looking for a husband, she was looking for a lover. She keep rein. She kept reiterating that she was doing things for her lover, she was doing things for her partner, she was doing things for her man. She would bathe him after they would have these hotel nights. She would cook for him after they do these hotel nights. She would put on his favorite TV shows after she would do this hotel nights and she would do majority of all the work in these hotel nights and he and at the end of the night she would finally get to have some alone time with Diddy. I think that at the end of the day she wanted a relationship, she wanted a husband. He didn't want that. He wanted a freak off partner. He wanted a sex slave and he wanted to get his freaky fetishes off with her through other men.
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Armand, I'm curious. What do you think was the strongest evidence for the state this past week in the case against Strong Combs Right.
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Now as of the break, the strongest evidence so far for me was a video audio recording. So there actually was a video but they played the audio of where there was a hookup night at a hot at the hotel. Knights were Diddy, Jane Doe and one of the male escorts was there, and Jane Doe was wanting to put on a condom. And Diddy was saying, no, you've already been taking that D, why do you want a condom now? So I think that was the first time we actually got to hear some actual hotel night freak off information. And so to hear her ask, asking for condoms and Diddy not wanting her to actually use the condom was very powerful because it goes to the fact that, hey, he didn't want me to use these condoms and I didn't use the condoms because I just wanted to make my partner happy. And you could hear Diddy in the back saying, just let's get to it, let's keep it moving.
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B
Sean Combs, AKA Diddy, allegedly paid off an employee to the tune of $100,000 to get that Cassie Ventura video. Let's take a look at the Cassie Ventura beat down video. Now, it was speculated upon so much in the press, where did the video come from? Did it come from the raid on Diddy's mansion? Did he have it there? Where did it come from? Wow. You wonder why he paid $100,000. Did he think it would never come to light? Busted in court, sworn testimony that Sean Combs paid $100,000 to get his mitts on this video. And this video was like pulling the tiger by the tail. You can't hold on and you can't let go. Because once the feds say saw this, they had to do something. The statute of limitations had run in the local jurisdiction, so it was up to the feds. And what were they going to do? Stand there with their thumb up their rear end? No, they had to act. Ergo, therefore the multi count federal indictment. What was Sean Combs his reaction typically when he doesn't get his way? Because in court, when he was watching Brian Steele, who's a very, very good trial lawyer, he's a great defense attorney. Right. I've watched him in action. So Steele started off with Mia with the Andy and Mayberry approach, trying to get the answers, but yet being genial to her, he didn't want to beat up on Mia. And you could see Sean kind of going, ugh, ugh. Moving around and twisting around and holding his face, all that. I mean, the jury could see him and then suddenly Brian still has a change of heart. I mean, you can imagine if he, if Diddy is driving, is steering that ship, then he gets really mean to Mia. Still does. So Diddy not getting what he wants. Can you imagine how angry he was when he finds out that was $100,000 right down the crapper, there was another copy.
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C
Yeah, I'm sure he was absolutely furious. Let me tell you a little bit of a secret here about Puffy. But somebody with all the money that he has is incredibly cheap. He never wanted to pay for anything he didn't have to pay for. He wanted to get free clothes, free dinners, free tickets. If he went out to clubs, restaurants. He just didn't want to pay for stuff. And so for him to have to reach into his own pocket and pay $100,000, which I think for that tape is incredibly cheap, that tape is going to change his life. And so it was worth tens of millions of dollars for him to get it for $100,000 cheap. And then to find out he didn't get it all, there was another copy, he will have exploded.
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B
I'm just imagining when Sean Combs finds out there's another video floating around. Robert Crispin joining me, private investigator was with former federal task force Officer for the U.S. department of justice in the Miami Field division. They are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Former Homicide Crimes Against Children investigator. He is now@crispin investigations.com Crispin don't you just hate it when you blackmail somebody to the tune of 100 grand and there's another video floating around? Ruh row. I mean, really. Come on, think about it. Do you really think that no one.
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Else was going to have a video of Dinning kicking the hell out of.
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Somebody, especially Cassie Ventura? Come on.
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So here's the beauty of all this with the government.
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This cast a guard letter stuff.
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This king for a day, queen for a day.
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They need people to give testimony in.
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Lure of being indicted to say what happened. Standing by is investigative reporter Lauren Connell. She's been in the courtroom all day long. Star of Pop Crime TV on what a bomb. A stink bomb for the defense dropped right in the middle of that clutch of lawyers. $100,000 Diddy Bucks paid off for bribery. Bribery, which as Romani pointed out, is a predicate act. You have to have an underlying felony or predicate act to prove rico. Tell me how that went over in the courtroom.
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A
Yes, Nancy, we started off by getting a really big interruption by a woman that works for the mta. The entire courtroom turned around. This is before Eddie Garcia, the witness walked in, but that was quite a moment. She was screaming at the press, saying that the press is awful and the press is laughing at Diddy. And you should have seen Diddy's face as well as everyone in the courtroom, we were all in shock. But back to Eddie Garcia. I mean, this testimony was incredibly important to this case. As you know, he testified that he received multiple calls from Christina Forum, Diddy's assistant, before she eventually passed the phone over to Sean Combs himself. Eddie Garcia described talking to him, saying, you know, look, I already told your assistant here, but I don't have any clearance to obtain this video that you want me to obtain. I cannot go in this room. Only my boss can do that. And he described Diddy kind of just buttering him up, saying, you know, I know you can do it, Eddie. I believe in you type of thing. And he also described Diddy as being very nervous seeming on the phone, saying, look, this could destroy my reputation if it gets out now. He said, okay, you know, I'll talk to my boss, etc. And this was actually after receiving a call from Diddy and Christina on his cell phone. They started off by calling him at the general security desk. They somehow got his cell phone, which he said did make him a little bit nervous. And he said that, you know, he talked to his boss and he said, look, this is what's going on. They want this video. And his boss said, okay, tell him $50,000. They, they make this meeting happen where Diddy tells him a meeting place. He goes and gets this black USB from his boss at the Intercontinental. And he goes and he meets with Diddy and he describes being taken up to this room by one of Diddy's security guards. He meets with Christina Coram, and then eventually Diddy. And he says that after some back and forth, Diddy requested the IDs of Eddie Garcia and his boss and another gentleman. And one of the first testimonies we heard, I think it actually was the first one was Israel Flores, who also was on duty that day. But Eddie Garcia said, I don't think that Israel Flores is going to go for this. So they got the ID of somebody else and they texted these to him. He went in another room, came back, got an NDA. Eddie Garcia had to sign this NDA. And then eventually Diddy came back with a brown bag of money and a money counter. And he did not get $50,000. He got $100,000.
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B
Crime stories with nancy grace. Sean Diddy Combs, facing dozens and dozens of civil lawsuits and brand new sex assault charges, is now considering a lawsuit of his own, threatening to Sue Netflix and 50 Cent. There's no telling what evidence will come out at a civil trial. Even though he would be the plaintiff, he could be Put on the stand to testify. Oh, please, go ahead, sue Netflix. They've got a deep pocket. They can fight back and they will put you right on the stand. Sean Combs. And I can't wait to see it. Sean Combs accusing the Netflix CEO of quote, corporate retribution after being allegedly rebuffed by combs on a 2023 documentary project. Right. Okay, so this is a get back. Okay, good luck with that. Sean Combs. But you know what? That's what I said before the jury trial and boy, was I wrong. I don't know what the jury was thinking, but they let him off on the most serious charges. While Sean Combs is pondering their words, not mine, a lawsuit against Netflix and 50 cents. We also learned Combs has taken his 60, 61.5 million dollar LA freakoff mansion off the market. Nobody's buying that thing. And I think I know why. Lauren Conlon, other. In addition to all the weapons, I mean a lot of weapons. What can you tell me about women's shoes with 7 inch platform heels?
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A
It was pretty wild to see a special agent hold up 7 inch heels in court that just happened to be patent leather and red. We saw Balenciaga boots that had three different cell phones in them. And then we saw a fourth cell phone in a separate room. We saw a Gucci bag that was filled with a rolled up $100bill. Different types of pills, yellow, orange, pink, different powders. We saw eye drops. And later these drugs were tested and they were confirmed to be coke, ketamine and MDMA actually in an eyedropper. And there were actually three orange tablets they found with Tesla symbols on them. And oh, we also saw Xanax. Drugs were tested for Xanax. There also was a wooden box in the bathroom they found and on top of that wooden box was a gold inscription that said puffy. There were mushroom pills in that and then a bag of crystal rocks that turns out was mdma.
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B
You know, Sydney Sumner. That reminds me of one of the first times we heard about a male escort. We heard that one male sex worker showed up, knocks at the door, Cassie comes to the door wearing scantily clad lingerie and these heels. I guarantee you it's not Diddy walking around in 8 inch platform heels. He has the women dress up in various outfits and we see all those heels at his Miami mansion. Sydney.
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And we heard a similar story from both of the male escorts that have testified that they believe they were coming for some kind of bachelorette party. And then this woman opens the door, she's by herself except for her purported husband in the corner of the room. And she's disguised. She's wearing some kind of lingerie, a matching wig, some kind of heels. And it just doesn't, it doesn't make sense. The defense's theory that they're saying that this is all just private sex matter For Sean Diddy Combs, there is no reason to own half of a Spencer store. Just keep that in your home. If that's purely for personal use where there's not more than one person involved, you're not having copious amounts of freak off parties. It just, it doesn't crack.
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B
We've heard about a Louis Vuitton bag, a huge Louis stuffed full of horse tranq, ecstasy, cocaine, pink cocaine, plan B, birth control pills, and of course high powered Viagra. Diddy needs his Viagra. Okay, I'm gonna have to go to our shrink in a moment about mushroom pills, crystal rocks that are MDMA and what effect that has. You know, I'll ask him right now. Joining me, Scott Johnson, forensic psychologist, 33 years addressing sex predators. Forensicconsultation.org is where you can find him. Author of Physical Abusers and sex predictions offenders. When I love you turns violent. That's another book. Scott Johnson, thank you for being with us. What is MDMA and what effect does it have on a person?
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D
All right, so you have the ecstasy basically by the street name and you have people that become delusional. It's difficult to say no. At higher levels it may cause a euphoric statement where people are kind of out of touch with, with reality, sort of delusional. But it's very difficult to say no or to resist when you're under the influence of these medications.
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B
Ecstasy, Molly is a stimulant with psychedelic properties. That's what it is. And if you drop it in one of these ladies drinks, there's no telling what effect it's going to have on her. Lauren Conlon. Very quickly, Lauren, I want to ask you about what happened when we got to Diddy's bathroom of his mansion that was raided. The bathroom?
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A
Yeah. And then we got to a bathroom where we saw two containers. And in one container there was 25 bottles of baby oil and 31 bottles of Astroglide. And I actually spotted two rubber duckies. Little bit confusing. And when they asked a special agent, was there more baby oil that you found? He said yes. And there was because we saw a mini crate of baby oil during his direct testimony. The now right around when he was testifying Diddy's sons Justin and Christian walked in and Diddy turned around. He didn't smile, but he nodded his head at them.
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B
Is he guilty of all the counts or any of the counts in this federal indictment so far? According to my legal analysis, the charges of sex trafficking have been shown by not only Cassie Ventura, but another female witness as well. Transportation of male sex workers across state lines to engage in prostitution. Yes. Now racketeering is going to have to be explained to the jury. Racketeering. Just think about Tony Soprano. It is a loose confederation of people that engage altogether to achieve a criminal act in this criminal conspiracy. The act would be sex trafficking, bringing people in from various states to perform prostitution or and to force women to engage in freak offs against their wills. Bam. Easy. My question is what woman in her right mind would consent to have sex with not just a male escort? A lot of people do that. But a convicted killer slash male escort.
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D
Listen, at least two of the male escorts Cassie identified worked on the Showtime reality series Gigolos. One is also a convicted murderer. Akshaya Kubiak, who uses the name Ash Armand, beat Herlene Dulai to death. Kubiak claimed he blacked out after taking mushrooms with Dulai, one of Kubiak's clients. And when he woke up the next morning, she was brutally beaten to death.
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F
It's gonna sound just insane because it is insane. We took mushrooms together last night.
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A
There was a struggle.
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She's not conscious or breathing.
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C
We have the male detained right now. Officers and medical personnel arrived on scene and that female was pronounced deceased.
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B
This was one of the worst beatings.
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A
Of a person, of a human that I've seen.
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B
This whole situation is what horror movies are made. On the morning of the murder, they didn't call 911 first. They actually called another Gigolo. That from Paramount's Sin City Gigolo. They find the dead body and they don't call 91 1. They actually call another gigolo. Okay, you know to Rachel Fisher joining us, a special guest joining us. Rachel is an anti trafficking existence expert featured in the 22 documentary Surviving Sex Trafficking. She is a forensic nurse, a sex assault nurse examiner and expert witness and she is@legal rnconsult.org Rachel, thank you for being with us. It's one thing to talk about Diddy dressed up in a Muslim female burqa from the neck up. It's another thing to talk about. This male escort moniker is the Punisher. But it's another thing to force a woman, a that would be Cassie Ventura into sex with not just a Gigolo, but a convicted killer gigolo.
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G
That's the danger of forcing somebody to be involved in a commercial sex act. Whether you're the recipient or you're the one performing it and getting paid for it, that's still a commercial sex act that she was being course and forced into. You never know who's on the other end of the call when you click that ad online to order an escort, because you can get one faster than you can get a pizza in most places. And whoever shows up, you don't know their background. It's a very dangerous career to be in the sex industry. And many of the people that are there are not there willingly. And some are, but you never know what their story is on the other side and what they're going to come with. That's why we have so many that are murdered when they're in the sex industry. Or you get an in call where an escort comes to you and you get murdered or robbed. And it's a very dangerous thing that you're forcing somebody to be a part of. There are multiple people involved and so all of those people become part of that scheme.
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B
I wonder what Itty Bitty Diddy is feeling and thinking right now in a courtroom as a Homeland Security special agent describes everything that was found in his mansion that was raided. Crates of baby oil, Astro Glide. That's not against the law. What I care about are the federal counts in that federal indictment.
- [33:55]
E
Former assistant David James testifies that Combs was occasionally violent with private chef Jordan Atkinson. According to James, after an altercation at his Alpine, New Jersey home, Combs instructed him to file a few police report stating Atkinson was the aggressor and hit him first. James, who witnessed the altercation, says he simply drove around Alpine for roughly an hour before returning and telling Combs it was filed. James says he didn't want to comply with Combs request because he did not want to file a false report.
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B
Sidney Sunway joining me, investigative reporter, crime stories. Sydney, explain to me, am I getting this correct? The former assistant David James described an incident where Sean Combs allegedly attacked a female chef, but then wanted James to go file a police report stating it was the other way around. But James didn't do it.
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D
That's absolutely correct. James said that Combs and this chef got into an altercation in Combs immediately after it ended, came to James and asked him, look, let's go to the cops. Let's file a police report, but make sure it says that she attacked. She hit me first. She was the aggressor And James kind of did his. Okay, yeah, I'll do that. And he got into a car and just drove around for about an hour before returning home and saying, yep, filed it. It's in there. They'll contact me if they need anything else from us. And the whole time, he never spoke to a police officer about it because he didn't want to be.
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B
You know what is probative about this, Sydney? This right here. Here we have Rob Shooter Sean Combs beating the stew out of Cassie Ventura. She's holding up her little left hand to fight him off. And they're going to argue, according to Garagos. And of course, this could change. Just like the defense in Scott Peterson changed from a satanic cult, took Lacey to burglars, took Lacey. I mean, it changed over time. So at one point, Garagos let it slip that the argument to defeat this video is that Cassie, 90 pound Cassie is the aggressor here. She's the one giving him the booty beating over text from another woman. Okay, she's the aggressor. Same thing with the chef. See what I'm saying? The connection. So apparently that's his M.O. modus operandi, method of operation. He attacks the woman according to evidence and then says she's the aggressor. Did he ever take responsibility for anything, Rob Shooter?
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C
He took responsibility when everything went well. When things were going good, it was because of him. When things were not going well, it was because of everybody else. But this video here, Nancy, this is the case. To me, this. This video changes everything. And there's some irony that a man who has spent his whole life putting out images, videos to make him into the star he is, is ultimately, I believe, going to be brought down because of this video. That is something that is going to be in the jury's mind. And the excuses are just excuses.
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B
You just stated that Combs spent an entire lifetime curating an image through video and photos. Like what? What image?
- [37:20]
C
Let me give you examples of this. There were images to make him look powerful, images to make him look important, images to make him look literally like a king. I got Diddy was People magazine, sexiest Men Alive issue. He wanted the COVID He did not get that. But he was in the issue and he shot it as if he was a king. He asked at the photo shoot if he could have a crown on his head, if he could have a coat, a fur coat. And he knew the power of images. I remember distinctly, he once said to me, rob, the story doesn't matter. The headline and the photograph is all anybody remembers. He knew the power of media, he knew the power of video, and he exploited it. And now it's going to bite him in the bum.
- [38:10]
B
Straight out to Sidney Sumner, Crime Stories investigative reporter who's been on the case from the beginning and has been analyzing Cassie Ventura's testimony. Sydney, the high points of Cassie Ventura's testimony explain.
- [38:23]
D
Nancy I think the high point of Cassie's testimony is that Diddy was in control of many aspects of her life. So she meets combs at just 19 years old. Their relationship begins when she's just about 21 and she talks talks about not even wanting to kiss Sean Combs. So the first time that they shared a kiss, they weren't a couple at this point. The first time he showed romantic interest in her was at her 21st birthday party in Las Vegas. And Cassie admits that the kiss left her feeling extremely confused. She ran from her party in tears, not sure what to do with that as a new artist in the industry. So their relationship, starting on that point and going from there, com, just continued to take more and more control of her life. And he was always there. She didn't pick up the phone. He would call her over and over until she did, or he would send security guards to come find her. So on top of the freak offs, which seems to be just a segment of their relationship, he coerced her into anything and everything. She didn't feel like she had an ability to say no to Combs, especially with the violence in the threats of releasing these videos. Ventura talks about keeping broken iPhones and broken laptops and things of that nature because she was so worried about what was on them, if anyone was to get their hands on them.
- [39:56]
B
Speaking of a laptop incident earlier on, we heard from witnesses. Philip, listen.
- [40:04]
A
Philip describes one evening where Ventura was at the computer during a break in sex.
- [40:09]
B
Combs yelled for his girlfriend to come to him, and when she did not, Combs threw a bottle of liquor at Cassie that shattered against the wall after missing her head by inches. Philip says Combs then dragged Ventura to another room and he overheard what sounded like a smack. Then Combs sang, when I tell you.
- [40:27]
A
To come here, you come here now, not later.
- [40:30]
B
Moments later, the couple reemerged and Combs demanded they resume. Joining us is Rob Shooter, publicist for Sean Combs. Rob, thank you for being with us. Also star of Naughty But Nice podcast and author of the Four Word Answer. You have a particular insight into another relationship, if it could be called that of Combs, which preceded Cassaventura. And it's basically a blueprint. Second verse, same as the first. And that would be Kim Porter, the mother of his children, now dead. Rob Shooter describe combs relationship with Ms. Porter.
- [41:14]
C
Puff's relationship with Kim was very much the same relationship he had with Cassie. In fact, some people called Cassie Kim 2.0. They had seen this method, they had seen this relationship, they had seen this grooming. And so Kim was shy, did what she was told, was very much on his arm. He didn't like her to talk very much. He picked the clothes that he would wear. He would decide the events that she would go to. Cassie seems to be doing that too, or have done that too. The difference, though, is that Kim didn't want to be a recording artist. Cassie really did. She wanted to make it big in show business. She wanted to record songs. And so my heart breaks for her because she was not only in debt to Diddy in her personal life, but also her professional life, which must have made it impossible, almost impossible for her to get away from.
- [42:16]
B
Special guest Joining me, Brett Brown, Executive director, SASS Surviving Assault Standing strong. You know, it's the same old thing. It's not a new story. And to try to explain why women stay, I mean, when a woman's faced with losing her home, losing her career, maybe losing her children, being blackballed in the industry, what would you do, what would you not do to ensure those things don't happen? What about it? Brett?
- [42:50]
H
Well, I think it's everything that you just said, the part that we're kind of missing is the beginning and the end. You know, these women, they want to be seen and they want to be respected and they want to achieve. And those desires get used against them in this power imbalance. And so whether we're talking about Harvey Weinstein or we're talking about Sean Combs, the recipe is still the same. And once they're on the hook with these powerful men, then become you enters the threats and the violence and the force. And so fear and financial insecurity and so many other things start to play in. And so it's not a matter of I keep going so I can get something. These women have to stay in this situation in order to stay alive. And it's interesting to me because Sean Combs, like any abuser, has spent an enormous amount of time on his reputation and on his look to make sure that he seems like the fun guy next door. And here is this predator sitting in a courtroom with a Bible. And I just wanted to say that even Satan quoted scripture in the Bible. And at the end of the day, he was still the devil.
- [43:53]
B
Lauren Collin, investigative reporter and star of Pop Crime tv. Lauren, thank you for being with us. What happened in court?
- [44:01]
A
We saw Kid Cudi testify, and it was fairly quick. It took a portion of the morning. And during opening statements, the prosecutors gave us a little bit of a taste about this break in that involved Diddy and assistant and one of his associates. Well, when Kid Cudi, AKA Scott Mescady, took the stand, it turns out that Diddy was the one that broke into his house, kidnapped one of his employees. Capricorn Clark, with an associate, went over there looking for Cassie. And this was after Sean Combs found out about this relationship that was going on between Kid Cudi and Cassie. And look, Kid Cudi said he was a little confused. Cassie had told him that she and Sean Combs were broken up. You know, they were on again, off again. So when he got this call from Cassie where she was very, very upset and alarmed. This was in 2011. He went to pick her up. He took her to a hotel, and it turns out she gave Sean Combs Kid Cudi's address. This came out that was a little confusing. So Kid Cudi finds out that Sean Combs at his house because Capricorn Clark, the assistant, calls him and Cassie from the driveway in the car, very scared, and says, look, Holmes is in the house. Now, Kid Cudi gets very upset. He says he's going over there. So he drives over there and he says that he calls Sean Combs and he says, hey, Mother Effer, why are you in my house? And Diddy says something like, I just want to talk. Now, when he gets to the house, Diddy is no longer there. He notices that, you know, nothing is broken, nothing is out of place. But he did have some Christmas presents for his family in Chanel boxes. Those were unwrapped on the kitchen table, and his dog was locked in a bathroom. He also noted that the surveillance cameras outside his house appeared to be pointed down. Now, after this, you know, he leaves. He sees that he's getting text messages from Combs, and he thinks to himself, okay, I don't really know if I want to get involved here, because who knows if he has weapons, whatever. So he actually calls the police and files a police report. Now, we've discussed this. It's December of 2011. Kid Cudi and Cassie go to Cassie's family home in Connecticut for the holidays. Sean Combs still is texting Kid Cudi, you know, trying to Talk to him, trying to, to, you know, get a meeting with him. And Cudi ignores him. And then Cassie ends up breaking up with him on his trip. He returns back to LA and a month later, it's January 2012. He is about 45 minutes away from his house. Kid Cudi and his dog babysitter calls him and says, your car is on fire in the driveway. A Molotov cocktail has somehow been thrown in the car. We then see pictures of the car. The roof is broken in or sunken in with a hole in it. The inside is all charred. He calls the police, files a police report, and then a few days later, he says, okay, you know, that's it. I'm contacting Combs and we're gonna work this out. So they have a meeting at the LA Soho House. He describes Drock, the security guard that we've heard about, multiple times ushering him into this room. And this got a lot of laughs, Nancy. He described Combs as facing this big window in the room with his back towards him, his hands behind his back. And he actually said he looked like a Marvel super villain. So he said also that Diddy's demeanor was so calm that it was almost bizarre. He offered him water twice, you know, and they seemed to work it out. And then at the end of the conversation, and Cassie joined later, by the way, and at the end of the conversation, Cudi says they shook hands. And while their hands were clasped, he said, well, what about my car? And Diddy basically was like, I don't know anything about your car. And they let their hands go and then, you know, they kind of walked out and that was that. And he said he hadn't seen him until a few years later, he saw him again at the Soho House. And this time Diddy was with his two daughters. And he apologized to Kid Cudi and said, look, look, I'm sorry for everything that happened, anything that went on between us. But Nancy, when Brian Steele got up to do the cross examination, he pointed out a couple things as that's his job. But he pointed out that during the break in Kid Cudi's door, there was no damage to it. The door was wide open and anybody could have walked in. He also pointed out that there were DNA or fingerprints pulled from the investigation into the car blow up. And those that DNA was actually, it belonged to a female.
- [48:57]
B
Okay, let me understand something. So one month later, after the whole Cassaventura relationship blows up, one month later, Kid Cudi's car is bombed with a Molotov. So isn't it true that Sean Combs had discussed blowing up his car?
- [49:19]
A
Yes. Cassie. This is through Cassie. She, she said that this was discussed and he was going to do it when one of Kid Cudi's friends were present.
- [49:29]
B
So Sean Combs fingerprints and DNA were not on the car that was blown up with the Molotov one month after Diddy threatened to blow it up. Okay, sorry. Not impressed. I mean, do you really think Sean Combs did. He was going to run down to the Sitgo or the Valero and pump his own gas into a container and make his own Molotov? I mean, he didn't even clean up his own disgusting hotel rooms that were covered with a baby oil slick. He made somebody else do it. So of course his DNA isn't there. Why is it important? Because that is what a criminal enterprise is. Now we see former assistant George Kaplan on the stand. Now talk about an unindicted co conspirator. That would be him. Listen.
- [50:19]
D
Assistant George Kaplan says he was sent to pick up drugs for his famous boss. Kaplan says Sean Combs gave him cash and a phone number to call.
- [50:35]
B
Crime stories with nancy grace. While pondering lawsuits and taking his mansion off the market. Sean Combs sitting behind bars. This as he appears to have called halt to his months long quest to find a buyer for that California home. It was the subject of Homeland Security raid. Agents stormed the property looking for evidence in a sex trafficking violation. Speaking of the 50 Cent documentary, now we learn. Sean Combs sons Justin and Christian are set to star in a docu series about their father's trial and conviction. Cha Ching. They plan to relive their dad's high profile trial in a new documentary series. It's Justin Combs, age 31. Christian King Combs, age 20. They have already appeared in a new trailer. At the end of that trailer, Justin Combs phone vibrates. He picks up a collect call from Fort Dix CI or his dad behind bars. Wonder what the bidding is for the Sean Combs documentary now being made by his sons. And I wonder if and how they will tackle damning evidence against their dad. Sean Combs Evidence like this.
- [52:04]
D
Assistant George Kaplan says he was sent to pick up drugs for his famous boss. Kaplan says Sean Combs gave him cash and a phone number to call so.
- [52:14]
B
Sean Combs could talk a grown man into going and buying his drugs for him. No wonder this went down in the courtroom. Listen.
- [52:24]
E
Diddy's former assistant George Kaplan takes the stand. Kaplan tells the judge he is only here because of a subpoena. And he plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment right. Judge Subramanian grants Kaplan immunity, but the deal does not cover perjury.
- [52:37]
B
Let's see, a little snippet of all the drugs seized at Sean Combs mansion. Now, we know that Frank Black was a name, a pseudonym, used to check Sean Combs in and out of hotel rooms. Also used to get fake prescriptions, which is illegal. You think that Sean Combs rolled up in his SUV to the CVS or the Duane Reade or the Walgreens and got his own stuff? No. There had to be a minion. Troy Slayton. Sean Combs convinced Kaplan to perform crimes for him. Buying drugs, get illegal drugs, such as mdma. Also convinced him to get prescription drugs under a fake name. Where's Slayton? Also a crime. So now he is talking his minion into buying his Astro Glide lubricant, his baby oil, his candles, his liquor, all of that. And importantly, critically, using the company credit card choice. Leighton.
- [53:59]
C
Well, buying Astroglide, although it may sound gross in this situation, not illegal. Buying drugs. Yes, illegal. But that doesn't make a RICO case. The government still has to prove that the purchasing of the drugs was for. Was to advance the criminal enterprise. Was to advance his business interest, his legitimate business interests. He had.
- [54:25]
B
You think Diddy took all those drugs himself? No, that was being dropped in the woman's drinks. I mean, you need to go back to law school, man, and take a refresher course on rico. RICO is anything, any act that advances a crime. And the crimes have to be laid out in the indictment. Which they are. I've already read them to you. I'll read them again. Sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, robbery, obstruction.
- [54:52]
C
Those are all terrible things. But that doesn't make rico. You have to prove what did he.
- [54:58]
B
Was using all those drugs for. He'd be dead if he took them all. He was feeding them to these women in their drinks. What do you think the Astro Glide the baby oil is for? For a free cough, according to these women, against their will. And bringing in male sex workers from another state, that is against the law. Rico different.
- [55:17]
C
That would be that. Sex trafficking. So we're mixing up two different things there, Nancy. You know that those are separate. Yes.
- [55:26]
B
You're the one that said Astro Blind had nothing to do with it. It has everything to do with it. Just like the baby oil.
- [55:33]
C
Just because somebody is having a rock star is having a drug fueled party doesn't mean that they're guilty of RICO.
- [55:41]
B
To Dr. Bethany Marshall, that video of the literally a Dixie Dumpster going down the hallway of the hotel. Dr. Bethany. How do you convince grown men and women to do your illegal bidding and clean up your bodily fluids? Your sperm, Nancy. Your baby oil, your Astro Glide. And they do it, all of it, Nancy.
- [56:06]
H
Probably what he did is he started out being super charming with them, pretending.
- [56:11]
B
To be their friend, buying them gifts, pretending to advance their interests in some way.
- [56:16]
H
And once he gained their trust, he.
- [56:18]
B
Would send them out on some criminal act.
- [56:21]
H
Once they committed the criminal act, now.
- [56:23]
B
They were stuck and could not get away. Isn't it true, Sidney Sumner, that sworn testimony is that Sean Combs tried to bribe a security guy?
- [56:34]
D
That's correct, Nancy. He tried to hand this security guard a stack of money as big as his hand to leave them alone and to just drop the whole situation and not get Cassie Ventura out of that Intercontinental Hotel room.
- [56:50]
B
So, Tom Smith, former NYPD star of Gold Shields podcast. Tom Smith. I guess it's just a diddy world and we all live in in it because all these people are so afraid or have their careers at stake, they go along with it. It will be a cold day in H E double L that I would go clean up somebody else's bodily fluids unless my children threw up. It's not going to happen. But all these people just went along to get along.
- [57:16]
C
Yep. And it's influence and it's, it's his power that controlled them. What can he do for them in the future? How can he propel their, their jobs, their careers, anything like that that all is involved in this power trip that he was on. And like, you know, Nancy, once you get away with it a little bit, you keep pushing the envelope to the next level. To the next level.
- [57:38]
B
Right now, Sean Combs in a federal courthouse being charged and being tried for a multi count federal indictment. And what RICO means, which is the major prize for the state, is that Sean comes headed up a criminal enterprise involving many, many crimes, including arson, blowing up Kid Cudi's car. While lawsuits fly, release dates moving closer and closer, and documentaries in the works, we wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye.
- [58:19]
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.