Los Angeles Times Retracts '94 Tupac Shooting Article
Published: Monday - April 7, 2008
Words by Ronnie Gamble
Tupac Shakur (Photo: Interscope)
The Los Angeles Times website, LATimes.com, retracted a March 17th article that became the talk of conversation during that week, regarding the 1994 shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur.
In the story, written by Times staff writer Chuck Philips, details were uncovered that implied that both Diddy and Notorious B.I.G. were aware, beforehand, that Shakur was going to be attacked. And also implicated veteran hip-hop manager, Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond, as one of men behind the attacks.
The paper has now removed the article and all related materials from its website, and has apologized for its error, claiming they were "the victim of a hoax."
The March 17 article reported that newly discovered information supported Shakur's claims that associates of Diddy orchestrated an attack in which Shakur was injured at the Quad Recording Studios in New York on Nov. 30, 1994.
The information, which came from the purported FBI reports and other sources, said that James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond, a talent manager; Jacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant, a figure on the New York hip-hop scene; and James Sabatino, purportedly one of Combs' associates, arranged the assault on Shakur because they were angry that he had rejected overtures to sign with Combs' Bad Boy Records.
The paper now believes that Sabatino fabricated the FBI reports and concocted his role in the assault as well as his supposed relationships with Combs, Rosemond and Agnant.
The paper offered an apology a week after publishing their report.
"In relying on documents that I now believe were fake, I failed to do my job," Philips said in a statement. "I'm sorry."
"We should not have let ourselves be fooled. That we were is as much my fault as Chuck's. I deeply regret that we let our readers down," added Deputy Managing Editor Marc Duvoisin.
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