Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan Chapter 6): Someone Else’s Crack Rocks, Turning State’s Evidence, and a Rat in the Inner Circle

Summary

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DISGRACELAND – Cappadonna (Wu-Tang Clan Chapter 6):

Someone Else’s Crack Rocks, Turning State’s Evidence, and a Rat in the Inner Circle

Host: Jake Brennan
Date: September 28, 2023

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode peels back the legend and mythos of Wu-Tang Clan member Cappadonna, exposing how his life and career were rocked by crime, betrayal, and federal investigations. Host Jake Brennan delivers a true-crime narrative, dramatized with rich, immersive storytelling. The episode spotlights how Cappadonna’s personal challenges, a wrongful arrest, and entanglement with a notorious manager turned federal informant brought both drama and division to the Wu-Tang’s inner circle at the time the feds were building a case against the group.

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Key Topics & Breakdown

1. Cappadonna’s Roots & Early Arrest

[03:05–13:25]

• Cappadonna’s Reputation:

  • Raised as the “Original” MC on Staten Island, Cap stood above peers for raw talent, teaching key Wu-Tang members the art of rapping.
  • “If you wanted a fraction of his ability, you sat at his feet... and you did your best to be Cap’s equal. Don’t try too hard though. There was no being equal to Capadonna.” (Jake Brennan, 06:26)

• Wrong Place, Wrong Time:

  • Cap was falsely arrested for crack possession when a fleeing man dropped drugs at his feet.
  • Despite his protests, police seized the opportunity to arrest Cap, treating him as just another suspect fitting a profile.

• Impact of Arrest:

  • This foundational moment forced Cap to Rikers Island just as Wu-Tang was being formed, leaving him excluded during the group’s initial meteoric rise.

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2. Lord Michael Caruso: The Club King Turned Criminal

[17:00–26:23]

• Caruso’s Dual Life:

  • Once pivotal in New York’s rave scene, introducing ecstasy and UK acid house, Caruso quickly shifted from inclusive promoter to violent schemer.
  • He orchestrated fake police shakedowns (notably the “Goldilocks” robbery) and staged armed robberies under the guise of authority.

• Crossing into Wu-Tang:

  • Post-prison, Capodonna hires Caruso as his manager, seeking someone tough enough for Wu-Tang’s world. Caruso’s criminal swagger fit—at first.
  • “Managing a member of Wu-Tang wasn’t exactly a job for just anyone. You had to have some serious life experience and a set of brass balls.” (Jake Brennan, 18:31)

• Tour Antics & Scams:

  • Caruso pulls scams at shows, including fleecing Ivy League concert promoters and intimidating DC organizers, all while brandishing a gun.
  • Promoter's review: “You run into a lot of assholes, but Caruso was the biggest dickhead I ever had to deal with.” (Jake Brennan, 21:55)

• Critical Detail:

  • Caruso, despite his outlaw persona, is secretly a federal informant, cooperating in major cases, including against NY’s club king Peter Gatien and the mob.

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3. A Rat in the Inner Circle

[30:31–41:00]

• Rumors and Revelations:

  • As Caruso’s reputation grows more infamous, the Wu becomes suspicious.
  • Caruso works overtime attempting to dispel the “rat” allegations: “Don’t believe anything you read about me in the papers. It’s all bullshit.” (Jake Brennan as Caruso, 30:31)

• The Village Voice Bombshell ([~38:00]):

  • On May 23, 2000, The Village Voice exposes Caruso as a federal informant and impending mafia witness.
  • Wu-Tang’s spokesperson announces Caruso’s firing in Rolling Stone days later, but the fallout is severe: Cappadonna is also distanced from the group, drawing lines within Wu-Tang.

• Paranoia Grows:

  • The divide is public. Raekwon calls Hot 97 to minimize Cap’s status in the group, pointing out he was never an “original member.”

---

4. Federal Heat & Wu-Tang’s Fracturing

[41:00–end]

• Law Enforcement Pressure:

  • The ATF and FBI monitor Wu-Tang, seeing ties to organized crime, gun running, and money laundering.
  • Brennan reads directly from a real FBI memo outlining the full-scale investigation—revealing the level of seriousness and paranoia that swirled around Wu-Tang at the time.

• Wu-Tang’s Internal Crisis:

  • Contracts and money become battlegrounds, as members chafe under RZA’s business arrangements. “It didn’t feel personal anymore. It felt like business.” (Jake Brennan, 41:30)
  • Egos and trust issues caused by Caruso’s betrayal sow doubt, destabilizing what appeared, from the outside, to be an unbreakable brotherhood.

• To Be Continued...

  • The episode closes with the FBI closing in and Wu-Tang on the verge of unraveling.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Cap’s Arrest:

  • “He didn’t belong in police custody. Not right now, he didn’t. That wasn’t his bag of dope. But this also wasn’t a rap battle, so Cap had less of a chance of winning.” (Jake Brennan, 11:23)

• On Wu-Tang's Trust:

  • “These other nine guys were the only guys he could trust. The guys he came up with, the guys he mopped the floor with at rap battles back in the day. Lovingly mopped the floor with, of course.” (Jake Brennan, 34:26)

• On Caruso’s Lies:

  • “Caruso did his own dirty work now... Haven’t you read stuff about yourself that isn’t true?” (Jake Brennan paraphrasing Caruso, 30:31)

• Rolling Stone Fallout:

  • “A spokesperson for Wu-Tang issued a statement that the group was distancing themselves from Caruso. The timing could not have been worse.” (Jake Brennan, 39:10)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:05] – Introduction to Capodonna’s legend and wrongful arrest
• [13:25] – Recap of how Cap missed Wu-Tang’s formation
• [17:00] – The rise and criminal evolution of Michael Caruso
• [18:31–22:10] – Tour stories and Caruso’s underhanded deals
• [30:31] – Caruso attempts to convince Wu-Tang he isn’t a “rat”
• [38:00] – The Village Voice expose drops
• [41:00] – Federal investigation into Wu-Tang and group splintering begins
• [42:49] – Episode closes with mounting federal pressure and to-be-continued tease

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Tone and Style

• Hardboiled, cinematic, and streetwise—Brennan’s storytelling oscillates between the poetic myth-building of hip-hop and the sinister tension of the true crime genre.
• Vivid analogies and colorful slang anchor the story in 1990s New York.

---

Summary

This chapter from DISGRACELAND presents the cautionary tale of how fame, street loyalty, and criminal associations collide in the life of Capodonna, who is both a victim of circumstance and a survivor of betrayal. The saga uncovers forgotten details behind the Wu-Tang legend—showing the personal cost, compounded paranoia, and near-legendary resilience at the heart of hip-hop’s greatest collective.

To be continued...

Transcript

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Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about Wu Tang CL Capodona are insane. He was arrested for possession of someone else's crack. He did time at Rikers island at the very same time Wu Tang Clan was being formed without him. He joined Wu Tang once. They were already famous, but he unknowingly brought a rat into their inner circle. He hired a manager with a criminal past who was actually a federal informant testifying in two cases, one involving the Mob. And despite making a questionable hire, Capodonna made great music. Some of the greatest hip hop music on some of the biggest hip hop albums from the Wu Tang universe. Unlike that clip I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop for my melotron called Wolf Kisses MK1. I played you that clip because I can't afford the rights to Maria Maria by Santana featuring the product gmb. And why would I play you that specific slice of nylon stringed cheese? Could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on May 23, 2000. And that was the day the Village Voice ran a bombshell expose that revealed Capodanna's manager to be a shady Al Capone wannabe, turned state's evidence and gotten cozy with the feds on this episode, Someone else's crack doing time. Criminal Pass A rat in the inner circle in Wu Tang Clan's Capodanna. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgrace. The cipher was strong, not a cipher as in the final Supreme Number. The Supreme Numbers being the guiding philosophy of the 5% nation, aka the nation of Gods and Earths. But a cipher, as in a group of rappers standing in a circle making music. A crowd gathered around and people bobbed their heads and they cheered on their favorites, the known names and the newcomers alike. Their presence raised the stakes. Higher stakes meant a Stronger Cipher. The cipher wasn't the only strong thing. The music was strong too. Old school. 15 years old, give or take. The Honey Drippers impeached the President. The James Brown groove, if James Brown was like the third hardest working man in showbiz, crackled from the 45 on the turntable and the DJ looped the instrumental section of the song with a second turntable and a duplicate 45. The kick drum, the hi hat, the snare popping like a slap in the face. It was funky, lean, the perfect foundation for a rapper to lay down a few bars. The MCs passed the mic around and did their best to top the guy before them. It was simultaneously nerve wracking and thrilling. And maybe you go into a rap battle feeling a little self conscious. Maybe you size up the other guys waiting their turn and get that familiar pang of inadequacy. By the time the groove gets going and the cipher starts to do its thing, though, you're feeding off of that energy. You're confident and then you're invincible. You are strong. Just like the music, just like the cipher. But if you had to follow him, that was the end. As soon as he took the mic, you were done. Only took him half a verse to render you irrelevant. There was a reason they no longer called Darryl Hill by his birth name. They called him Original with a capital O. Because when you're the neighborhood's og, you get treated with respect. They called him the Slaying Reverend, the Staten Island Slick Rick. They called him Cappuccino. And finally they called him Capodanna. Because in the world of ciphers and rhymes and impromptu rap battles, Cap wasn't just the Don. He was the captain of the Dons. Words were pure rhythm in his head. Rhyming one word to the next came as easily to Cap as breathing came to anyone else. No one could touch him. Not RZA. Not RZA's cousins either. Not old dirty bastard. Not GZA, aka the genius, a bonafide hip hop godhead who hailed from Bed Stuy. Not that the other MCs didn't try. In fact, many of them were taught how to rap in the first place by Capodanna. Breath control, word choice, the mechanics of a line. Cap knew how to do all of it first, and he knew how to do all of it best. If you wanted a fraction of his ability, you sat at his feet on any given street corner or back staircase on Staten island and you did your best to attempt to be Cap's equal. Don't try too hard though. There was no being equal to Capodanna. He was always one step ahead in his mind and on the mic. Everyone in Park Hill knew this. Yet not everyone in Staten island saw him this way. In fact, some saw Cap as something else. A menace, a part of the problem, and for no other reasons than the music he liked, the clothes he wore and the color of his skin. Never was that more clear than one day in the early 1990s when Cap, around 20 years old, was chilling on the street corner. There was no cipher today, just words forming rhythms inside his head. Preparation for the next cypher was a constant. But as Cap prepared, suddenly there was someone else. A guy right there in Cap's peripheral vision. Running, panting, sweating. Cap turned his head to look. The world pumped on the brakes. The air got thick. The guy hauling ass in Cap's direction moved in slow motion. He was gradually getting closer. Behind him, Cap saw two NYPD officers in close pursuit. Their movements were just as drawn out and pronounced. Arms pumping slowly, legs pounding the pavement with giant earth shattering steps. The guy was close to Cap now, his labored breathing like a slowed down windstorm. And just as he passed by, he dropped something and the whirl quickly hit the gas. The slow mo splintered into pieces. Cap's head snapped to follow the guy as he tore past him, nearly knocking him away over in the process. Cap looked down at the ground and saw a paper bag crumpled there at his feet. He turned his head back to where the guy had come from. And now those two cops were right there. So close he could smell the chocolate glazed on their breath. And the cops paid no mind to the other guy. He was long gone. Didn't matter. They had what they wanted. They told Cap to put his hands where they could see them. They grabbed Cap like he was Staten Island's most wanted. They made sure it wasn't gentle. One of the cops picked up the bag from the ground. He reached inside and pulled out vials of crack rocks. Cap felt the cuffs go on as he was read his rights. This was his cipher now. A circle of steel locked tight and strong around his wrists. But he didn't belong in police custody. Not right now, he didn't. That wasn't his bag of dope. But this also wasn't a rap battle, so Cap had less of a chance of winning. Instead, Cap lost. Big time. The NYPD didn't care if the other guy got away. They were done running and they took whoever they could get. And who was this guy? Not a rapper dealing out unbeatable rhymes. He was a street hood dealing out crack. A pestilence. They'd testify under oath that that was true. Some 7ish years later in 1997, this arrest was once again of importance not just to the NYPD, but to the FBI and the ATF as well as because in 1997aman named Robert Johnson, an alleged known associate of Capodanna, was gunned down by two masked men on Staten Island. It looked like a hit, and at least one of the guns used in the murder could be traced back to a batch of guns bought in Steubenville, Ohio by other known associates of Cap's hip hop group Wu Tang Clan. But back in the early 90s, when CAP was arrested for the bag of crack dropped at his feet, Wu Tang Clan weren't yet a thing. They were just about to be. The RZA began to assemble his soon to be legendary collective right around the time that Cap was apprehended. Cap, of course, was a no brainer for the collective's original lineup. He had style, he had rhymes, he had an unfuckwithable flow, and he was one of Staten Island's best. If pushed, several of the other members of Wu Tang were would probably admit that they were not equals when it came to Capodanna's skills. But equality had nothing to do with it because his Wu Tang Clan took shape and then took off like a shot. They did so without the original with a capital O, without the slang Reverend the Staten Island Slick Rick, because Capodanna was doing time at Riker's island for someone else's drugs.

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[Jake Brennan]

1992, New York City. Goldilocks was clean out of ecstasy. He needed a re up. So he called his guy. Lord Michael wasn't just Goldilocks's E connection. Lord Michael introduced all of Staten island to the drug a few years prior. Around the same time, he also introduced Manhattan clubs to techno music from the UK in New York City in 1992, if you wanted the best new acid house tracks from across the pond or the best E that money could buy, you called Lord Michael. Goldilocks said he needed 20,000 hits of this stuff. Lord Michael said that would set him back $180,000, no problem. Goldilocks had the cash. His assistant would be right over to make the trade. Everyone called Goldilocks's assistant Mr. Purple on account of the fact that he wore purple clothes and dyed his hair purple. Or maybe it was because Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs had just hit theaters. Either way, Feud was impossible to miss. When he showed up at Lord Michael's swank Gramercy park apartment later that day, Lord Michael was waiting for him. So were two undercover cops who had planted themselves outside the apartment door. And before Mr. Purple could even step inside, the cops emerged from their hiding place, guns drawn, 100% serious. Purple was 100% fucked. They pushed him inside the apartment and the door swung shut behind them. The cops told Purple and Lord Michael to hit the floor. They both did. Purple was shaking with fear. One of the cops stared at the bulge in Purple's pants. Is that nearly 200 grand in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Purple wasn't laughing. The cops cuffed him. Then they cuffed Lord Michael lying next to Purple on the swank apartment's swanky floor. The cops took the 180 grand from Purple's pocket and left. When Mr. Purple returned to his boss Goldilocks empty handed and recounted the story about getting ripped off by two cops, Goldilocks didn't think it made sense. In fact, the story stunk. He couldn't help but wonder, was he being played? Was Lord Michael actually behind the ripoff? But Goldilocks suspicions were short lived. Lord Michaels no. 2 came around and told Goldilocks to chill. The only thing to be concerned about was crooked cops. New York was crawling with badge wearing degenerates And Lord Michael had nothing to do with the shakedown. This guy, Lord Michael's number two, he was very convincing. So convincing that Goldilocks bought it and then continued to buy drugs from Lord Michael. In reality, though, Goldilocks had every right to be concerned because the whole story was bullshit. The story, the police, the feigned innocence, all of it. The cops who busted Purple at Lord Michael's apartment, they weren't real cops. They were a couple of Lord Michael's thugs pretending to be cops. Lord Michael robbed his own client and then he paid his number two guy five grand to go bullshit that client and into believing he had been robbed. It hadn't always been like this. At first, Lord Michael, AKA Michael Caruso, was interested in drugs and music. Caruso was a major catalyst for rave music in America. When he brought a crate of techno 12 inches back to Staten island from the UK he was there for the dawn of disco 2000 at the infamous Limelight Club, where party animals like Michael Alec held court in long before Alec murdered and dismembered his friend, which you can hear all about in season one of Disgraceland. But I digress. The atmosphere at Limelight was all inclusive, positive and homicide free. No matter if you were a punk or a yuppie, straight or gay, cool or lame. Caruso's future shock parties, where MDMA and PCP get gobbled up like Tic Tacs and Pixy sticks, were the stuff of legend. Michael Caruso was at the forefront of American club culture as it was quickly changing. But Caruso's sudden clout and fame in the New York club scene changed him too soon. It was less about music and drugs and more about power grabs, home invasions, robberies and scams. Like the time he orchestrated the armed theft of $12,000 and a box of ketamine from the apartment of a party promoter they bound with duct tape during the promoter's birthday party, no less. As DJ Frankie Bones put it, Caruso wanted to be, quote, the Al Capone of raves. And if Caruso was Al Capone, then New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was Eliot Ness. Just like the city was cracking down on drugs sold on the streets, they began to crack down on nightclubs, Limelight in particular, which Giuliani equated to a drug supermarket. In 1996, Giuliani brought the hammer down after a family blamed Limelights owner Peter Gaethjan for the drug overdose death of their son. Gation and New York club culture were put on trial, which meant suddenly, Michael Caruso needed a new place to crash. At the same time, Capodonna, a few years out of prison and since welcomed back into the Wu Tang Clan family as their unofficial 10th member, needed a personal manager. Caruso's reputation preceded him. Wu Tang were likely well aware of his role in those batshit robberies and violent power moves. Caruso's do or die lifestyle was endearing to some of them because it reminded them of the times when they had to make their bones in that world. Plus, managing a member of Wu Tang wasn't exactly a job for just anyone. You had to have some serious life experience and a set of brass balls to survive and this particular world. So Cap brought Caruso on board. Caruso tried to blend in, but like Mr. Purple before him, he was incapable of blending. An Italian guy with gold teeth and cornrows is gonna stick out. It may have been a foolish look, but it was only foolish until Lord Michael menacingly peeked out from behind the elaborate getup to put the screws to that night's victim. In 1999, at a show at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts, the victim was a fledgling concert promotion company. It cost AP Daddy Productions an arm and a leg to put on a show featuring Cap and inspect a deck. In fact, the Harvard undergrads behind AP Daddy were already hemorrhaging cash before the show even started. Why? Because Wu Tang took what they wanted and stuck AP Daddy with the bill, room service at the hotel, pants and shirts straight off the rack during a fan meet and greet at a hip hop clothing store. Caruso didn't need to flash a piece or tie anyone up with duct tape for this particular scam to work out. These Ivy League herbs were green as hell. All it took was a few members of Wu Tang's entourage selling tickets and VIP passes on the down low to people waiting in line outside the venue. Cap, Dec and Caruso left Worcester with cash lining their pockets, while AP Daddy were left begging their daddies for a bailout. That same year, at a show with Cap and Ghostface KILLA In Washington, D.C. things took a more violent turn. The concert promoter, an adult this time, offered Cap and Ghost a Ford Explorer to get them back and forth from the venue to the hotel. Caruso was pissed. He wanted something bigger. Where's the van? He asked to promoter. If I don't get a fucking van, I want a thousand dollars right now. The promoter looked at Caruso like he was from outer space. A what? A van. This was it, man. A Ford Explorer. Take it or leave it. Caruso made sure everyone could see the handgun he stuffed in the waistband of his jeans. It's about to get real in here, he said. I'm about to come up with some heat. Caruso never followed through with this threat, and he never got what he wanted either. But he made a last time lasting impression. The concert was incredible, except for having to deal with Caruso, which was a nightmare. And that's what the promoter later said anyway, adding that in this business you run into a lot of assholes, but Caruso was the biggest dickhead I have ever had to deal with. The concert promoter's candid opinion was not news to Capodonna, Ghostface, or anyone in Wu Tang. They all knew that Caruso was a dickhead, but he was their dickhead. Know what I mean? Here's the thing though, okay? Here's multiple things 1 Michael Caruso, aka Lord Michael, wasn't supposed to be messing with dudes in dc. Two, he wasn't supposed to be outside the state of New York. 3. He wasn't supposed to be associated with known criminals, which technically Cap and Ghost most certainly were. And four he definitely wasn't supposed to be carrying a gun. Why? Because Michael Caruso was a cooperating witness for the federal government. Some in law enforcement thought he had something to to do with the death of his housekeeper, which supposedly was a suicide. And in order to save his own ass, he turned state's evidence during the trial of Peter Gation in limelight. He was an informant, a rat, maybe even worse if what they said about his housekeeper was true. But just like Goldilocks before them, Cap and Ghost and Wu Tang only knew part of the Michael Caruso story and it was only a matter of time before they knew the whole thing. We'll be right back after this.

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[Jake Brennan]

Don't believe anything you read about me in the papers. It's all bullshit. Michael Caruso was running that smokescreen again. He told Capodon and the guys in Wu Tang Clan whatever he had to in order to convince him that he wasn't the guy they were beginning to think that he was. Just like he convinced Goldilocks that he didn't rob him, even though he actually had. But unlike that business with Goldilocks, Caruso no longer had a number two to deliver the message for him. He did his own dirty work. Now, haven't you read stuff about yourself that isn't true? Cap knew better than to believe everything he read in the papers. The Times, the Post, the whatever the fuck. If you believe the papers and you believe believe that Wu Tang were gun runners or gang bangers, that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had reason to launch a probe into those dubious claims, or that the FBI had reason to investigate the group not as a musical collective but as a criminal organization. Cap knew what it was like to be seen as something you weren't. Case in point? The time he was arrested for someone else's drugs, when they were thrown at his feet. It was his word against the NYPD's. He had no other choice. But he didn't bitch and moan about taking the heat. He did his time at Rikers for a crime he didn't commit. And let's say for argument's sake, there were other crimes he committed in his lifetime that was beside the point. The point was that he was innocent of this particular crime, and this crime was the only one that got him sent away. It didn't give him much faith in the justice system. It reinforced something that he already knew, that he was not equal in the eyes of the law. But as a 5 percenter, he had to strive to be equal in the way he lived his life. Deal equally with all people. That's what Supreme Number Six was all about. Equality. Six was also the number of the devil, because the devil has the power to be equal to man. But Wu Tang had strength in numbers to keep the devil at bay. And when Cap emerged from his prison stay a free man, he was welcomed into the Wu Tang family with open arms. His first appearance as part of the clan was the 1995 single ice cream, a track from Raekwon's Only Built for a Cuban Lynx album. The next year, he traded verses on Ghostface's solo debut, Iron man, and even made the COVID too. And then the year after that, Cap made his official Wu Tang debut on the Wu Tang Forever album, most notably on the hit single Triumph. At first, Cap was a featured performer rather than an official full time member. But that was just on paper. In spirit, he was a member. These other nine guys were the only guys he could trust. The guys he came up with, the guys he mopped the floor with at rap battles back in the day. Lovingly mopped the floor with, of course, because that was a big part of their rapport then and now, giving each other shit. Your verse was tight, no doubt, but I'm a to fucking destroy you on this next go round one. Upsmanship raised the stakes. It made a strong bond even stronger. Strong like a cipher. Strong in the way only 10 equally worthy MCs can be Michael Caruso. Though Cap was beginning to wonder if that dude was equal to the rest of them. From the jump, Caruso trafficked not just in party drugs, but in deception. He used a friend who taped thousands of pills to her body under her large flowing sundresses to move ecstasy from London to New York without drawing suspicion. The punch that he served at Future Shock Nights, the club night, was spiked with mdma. And what about the death of Caruso's housekeeper in his apartment? The guy had his brains blown out, but Caruso swore it was a suicide. But when the cops first showed up to the crime scene, caruso was holding the.32 in his hand. And the housekeeper had something like 100 pills worth of Valium in his bloodstream. If you're that fucked up on volume, how could you hold a gun to your own head, let alone squeeze the trigger? Then there was the fax. 30 pages sent to Wu Tang's offices from a Village Voice reporter. The fax was full of legal documents, Village Voice articles. Ironclad proof that the group had a rat in their midst. Still, it's unclear if anyone in the Wu Tang camp even put eyes on this facts. When Ghostface Killa was approached by someone from the Voice to comment on Caruso and the allegations surrounding him, Ghost got defensive. How could you say that about Mike? Ghost replied. He's a good guy. Michael Caruso, meanwhile, doubled down on defending himself. He swore to Wu Tang that he'd never told the feds anything about them. In fact, he said he never informed on anyone, period. Whether Ghost or Cap or any of them knew it at the time, they weren't being told the whole truth. And when the truth did come out, it shook Wuang Clan to their core. On May 23, 2000, the Village Voice published an article that went deep into Michael Caruso's crimes and transgressions. The article made it very clear that Caruso had managed to con just about every everyone he associated with, including Wu Tang Clan. It outed Caruso as a rat in the Peter Gation case. It labeled him a federal informant. But there was more. The article shed light on Caruso's latest role as a cooperating witness in a case against a former business partner who had ties to the New York mafia's five families. Caruso was set to testify against this wise guy in just a few months time. Just three days after the Voice article hit stands, a headline in Rolling Stone magazine read, Wu Tang Clan fires Manager after Village Voice Expose. A spokesperson for Wu Tang issued a statement that the group was distancing themselves from Caruso. The timing could not have been worse. This was the moment that the ATF and the FBI were beginning to watch every little move the Wu Tang made in preparation for a RICO prosecution case that labeled the hip hop group a major criminal organization. Associating with a guy who associated with guys connected to the mafia, not a good look. What's more, learning that someone in your camp was a snitch. And not just a snitch, but a snitch working to aid the federal government was enough to turn even the most minor paranoia into full blown delusion. And so, just as Wu Tang were distancing themselves from Michael Caruso, Wu Tang distanced themselves from Capodanna. Or at least some in Wu Tang did. Raekwon, for one, called in The New York hip hop station Hot 97 to say that Cap was never an original member. Just look at the back of the Wu Tang Forever cd. Those tracks say featuring Capodonna. But the splintering of Wu Tang didn't stop there. It was the year 2000, the millennium. Big change was on the horizon. Hip hop was continuing to evolve. Jay Z, Outkast, Diddy, Lil Wayne and Eminem dominated the airwaves. It was also the year of Wu Tang's third studio album, the W, another number one hip hop and R B album, another platinum seller. And their clothing line, Wu Wear, was just a success. Successful from a business perspective. Looking from the outside in, Wu Tang had never been stronger. But from the inside, looking out, things weren't so stable. Doubt had been introduced into the group's own private Shaolin. But with that doubt came the question of equality. Were they all being treated equally and fairly? Was one guy making more than the rest? Egos started to call the shots more. One by one, guys began to ask RZA to release them from their contracts. These were the contracts that RZA set up with each member eight years earlier in 92 when the group first signed with Loud Records. Contracts that split their earnings 5050 with RZA and Wu Tang Clan Productions. All the guys in wu Tang had one of these contracts. All except JZA, who didn't do written contracts with his brothers. JZA did handshakes. But this wasn't 1992 anymore. And Wu Tang wasn't just a group of neighborhood guys looking to lift themselves off the streets and into a better life. It was the year 2000. They had the better life. And the better life felt different. It didn't feel personal anymore. It felt like business. Just what Wu Tang's business was at this particular moment in time depended on who you asked. Federal Bureau of Investigation memo 452000 precedence routine case ID number 281F NY 271747 Wu Tang Clan synopsis requests the assistance of the FAST unit to be involved in the above captioned case details. The Wu Tang Clan is a well known musical group from the Staten Island, New York area that specializes in and rap type music. The Wu Tang Clan was started in the early 1990s and was founded by. It is primarily made up of the above case captioned individuals who are more widely known by their street names in the music industry. Now the guns purchased by the Wu Tang Clan have been traced to the Steubenville, Ohio area. Once individuals have proven themselves as good and loyal members of associates, they are offered contracts to record rapid rap music under one of the Wu Tang Clan's record labels. Numerous recording companies were incorporated and bank accounts established. Some of the legitimate businesses operated by the Wu Tang Clan include record companies, record labels, albums, real estate, a car leasing company, a clothing line and a production company. This case is being worked in conjunction with Squad C30, Violent Crime Gang Squad, the U.S. attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, the 120 Precinct Detectives Unit, NYPD Staten island in the Richmond County District Attorney's Office, Staten Island. It is anticipated that the RCDAO Forfeiture Unit will also be involved in this case. It is requested that the NY FBI's FAST unit become involved with this matter. Also, it has been assigned to the task of identifying the flow of monies through the assets and entities controlled by the Wu Tang Clan and will work in conjunction with the FAST Unit. The FAST Unit, or Financial Analysis Strategic Targeting, was a top secret unit developed as part of the FBI's Anti Money Laundering investigations and intelligence strategy. The team was made up of customs agents, FBI agents, the DEA, the Brooklyn DA's office, the Manhattan DA's office and new York State Police. In order to identify targets, gather intelligence and then pass that information along to cooperating agencies. The FBI was undeterred in its pursuit of equality, specifically in that important value in American society where everyone has equal justice under the law. The law was there to be obeyed. No one was above it. Not the Gambino family and not Wu Tang Clan. Agents at the FBI New York field office dug through old arrest records courtesy of their NYPD colleagues to find some more dirt on the hip hop group. They planned to turn this anthill into a mountain. Drug deals, robbery, shootings, stints at Rikers, whatever they could get to build their case. And through blood, sweat and tears, earned the justice that they craved. They were close. They just needed a little more time and a few more pieces of hard evidence once they'd get there. And when they did, Wu Tang Clan as the world knew them would come crashing to the ground all the way back to the streets from where they came. I'm Jake Brennan and this episode of Disgraceland is to be continued.

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Foreign.

[Jake Brennan]

Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes [e-mail] if you're listening, as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a member right now by going to Disgraceland membership Members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free. Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month. Weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelandpod.com membership for details, rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. Disgraceland Graceland Pod and on [e-mail] Disgraceland Pod Rocka Rolla He's a bad bad man.

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