Lawyer raises alleged confessions by LA police to B.I.G. killing
RYAN PEARSON
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The first week of the Notorious B.I.G. wrongful death trial ended with an attorney recounting an unconfirmed but potentially explosive claim that one or two corrupt police officers had confessed to the New York rapper's slaying.
An anonymous tipster said two witnesses at a 2000 police disciplinary hearing knew of confessions by former officers Rafael Perez and David Mack, B.I.G. family attorney Perry Sanders Jr. told the judge Friday outside the presence of jurors.
If proven, the allegation could become the "centerpoint" of the family's case blaming the city and Los Angeles Police Department for covering up Mack's alleged involvement in the slaying, Sanders said.
Attorney Vincent Marella, representing the city, accused Sanders of "histrionics" but said the defense would look into the claim.
The two witnesses, one of whom had been jailed with Perez, "started to testify about Perez and Mack and were told to stop," Sanders said outside court. "And they both had been threatened by the LAPD a few days earlier not to testify."
Two people identified by the tipster Thursday told a family investigator they had been present at the hearing, which was held in a jail basement, and generally confirmed the man's account, Sanders added.
The judge sent the nine-person federal jury home early Friday and planned a Monday hearing on the issue outside their presence. Testimony will resume Tuesday.
The key witness Thursday and Friday was retired police detective Fred Miller, who recounted evidence against Marion "Suge" Knight, including an alleged confession, and said he once considered the rap mogul his top suspect.
According to the theory advanced by B.I.G.'s family, Mack arranged for a former college roommate to kill the rapper at Knight's behest.
B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace and also known as Biggie Smalls, was 24 when he was gunned down in 1997 while leaving an awards show after-party. No one was ever arrested and the case remains unsolved.
