December 10, 2025 • 33 mins
The empire is gone, but the influence remains.
This week on "Zone 7," Sheryl McCollum and journalist Lauren Conlin discuss Sean “Diddy” Combs’ life inside federal prison, from coveted assignments and rule violations to the month of good time he lost. Drawing on her extensive coverage from jury selection to sentencing, Lauren explains how Diddy's actions inside prison expose the difference between reputation and reality.
Their conversation then turns to the NBA's gambling scandal, where federal investigators are piecing together evidence from rigged poker games, high-stakes payouts, and the athletes now under scrutiny.
Enjoying Zone 7? Leave a rating and review where you listen to podcasts. Your feedback helps others find the show and supports the mission to educate, engage, and inspire.
Highlights:
• (0:00) Welcome to Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum and guest Lauren Conlin
• (0:30) Lauren on her new Los Angeles Magazine role and coverage of the Diddy trial
• (3:15) Revisiting earlier predictions: Diddy’s special treatment and coveted prison job
• (5:00) Sentencing day details: defense missteps, emotional pleas, and the judge’s “severe sentence” remark
• (10:15) Prison conduct issues: alleged alcohol incident, phone call violations, and loss of release time
• (13:00) Diddy’s Thanksgiving initiative with inmate group “Bankroll Bosses”
• (14:45) Sheryl reflects on Diddy’s physical transformation, rehab reports, and adapting to life in prison
• (21:30) NBA gambling scandal: Chauncey Billups, mob-linked poker games, and the $50,000 payoff
• (26:15) Mountain of evidence: texts, surveillance, and why the case could drag well into 2026
• (31:30) Who flips First? Cooperation deal and the government’s strategy to secure testimony
• (32:45) Sheryl closes the episode with a Diddy quote on prison life
Guest Bio:
Lauren Conlin is a New York based journalist and contributor for Los Angeles Magazine, recognized for her coverage of high-profile federal trials and celebrity cases. A former HLN and CNN correspondent, she is regarded as one of the most trusted voices in pop-culture crime and justice.
About the Host
Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a Metro Atlanta Police Department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide.
With more than 4 decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.
Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for "CSI: Atlanta" and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.
Social Links:
• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
• Twitter: @149zone7
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
• Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
Preorder Sheryl’s upcoming book, "Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Lessons in Life, Justice, and Joy from a Forensic Scientist," releasing May 2026 from Simon and Schuster.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Swans-Dont-Swim-in-a-Sewer/Sheryl-Mac-McCollum/9798895652824
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Y'all remember Lauren Conlin. She was the podcaster, reporter, host
of pop culture and true crime. I would really love
to have her tonight on this particular person to talk to,
but we don't have her. Who we do have is
the contributor for Los Angeles Magazine, Lauren Conlin. Hey, honey,
(00:28):
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you, Cheryl? That was so funny.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hey, congratulations, that's a nice new gig to add to
all your other gigs.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much. I am
so happy right now contributing for this very epic magazine.
And the magazine really is kind of shifting into crime,
an East Coast crime because clearly I am here in
New York City, so I'm covering a lot of New
York local cases for them. And it's great, it really is.
(01:01):
And I did get this job right after the Ditty trial,
and I am so thankful. I mean, the days of grinding.
I don't think I think I maybe missed half a
day at that trial, but those days were worth it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm gonna tell you, you covered that case like nobody else.
I went to you before any other news or host
or reporter period.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, thank you so much. That means so much to me,
and I felt like I did. I did have an edge,
I guess in some ways because I wasn't limited to
four minute hits or four minute clips. I was doing
you know, ten to twelve minute updates, which I found
to be really helpful to everybody because I had time
to really get into what happened on both sides, the
(01:49):
federal government as well as the defense, because just hearing
one side doesn't help anybody, and we do tend to
encounter that a lot in our fields. Sure you were
well aware of that, and yeah, to me, it just
it doesn't It doesn't help people really truly understand what's
going on. It creates more confusion at the end. You know,
(02:10):
let's say with Diddy, when people are like, wait, he
was found not guilty of sex trafficking. Wait a minute,
you know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So yeah, but you were there every day, and to me,
that made the biggest difference. You weren't reporting from Nebraska.
You were in front of the courthouse, you went inside,
You saw his family come and go, you saw witnesses
come and go, you spoke to many of them. Well, that,
to me, here's what it says. You have a three
(02:37):
sixty look at this case like most people couldn't write.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I mean, you're right, and I feel again, very fortunate
to have been there from jury selection all the way
up until sentencing. And it does give you more of
an idea of what's going on behind the scenes, and
it's it's tough, you know, sentence. I feel like I
(03:01):
don't remember the last time I was on with you, Cheryl.
Was that trial over yet or had it just finished?
I don't even remember. I know we talked about it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yes, I think it had just concluded. And that's why
tonight I'm so interested because we had made some predictions
that he was not going to stop criminal activity just
because he goes to prison. He's not going to stop
wanting special treatment. We talked about all those things, and
to me, they're coming true. And that's why I wanted
to bring you back to say, hey, we kind of
(03:31):
now understand what his life is like in prison, but
what about him what about the way he operates. I'll
give you an example, how in the world does he
have the job that he has. He's got a pretty
coveted job. Well, that to me reeks of special treatment.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know enough about the prison
system to say, yeah, this guy can walk in and
he can automatically be the assistant, you know, in the
chaplain's library. I have no idea how that works. So
if that is a gig that is coveted, and you know,
I mean, I would say yes, if your choice is
to clean the toilets and the showers versus yeah, you
(04:11):
know what I mean, like, yes, of course, that sounds
like a much better gig. Oh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I certainly, growing up Catholic has its pert, I'm telling you.
And here's the deal to your point, you know, working
in the kitchen, cleaning a toilet, or helping out in
the chaplain's library where you can walk around freely and
chit chat with other inmates, that's the gig you won't
There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Right of course. And it sounds like that, although I
did see, and I think it was on the Bureau
of Prisons website that all the inmates are generally paid
the same amount, which is next to nothing. It's crazy,
but but yes, that's correct. If I'm going to make
the same amount as somebody else, I would much rather
not have my head in a toilet. Yes, but yeah,
(04:58):
so I and you know, we didn't really talk about sentencing.
But I also I have to just say right now
that sentencing was the one of the longest days in
court that I've ever experienced. And I felt throughout the
entirety of the trial that Diddy had an incredible defense
team that you know, you get what you pay for,
(05:18):
and it really showed. So when sentencing came, I was
very surprised. I thought it was so sloppy. You know,
his team, they really just talked too much. I mean,
one of his lawyers, Nicole west Moreland, she you could
tell she really felt connected to Sean Colmes. But her
(05:38):
getting up there and kind of weeping about him and
how he changed her life, that just that for me
didn't sit well with me. I thought that was a
little bit too much over the top, and it just
kind of seemed to get worse and worse as the
day went on. So I was surprised, very surprised to
see how that day played out.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And I think a lot of people were shocked that
he was convince did for only two counts of transportation
to engage in prostitution.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, a lot of people were shocked. Again, if you
had sat through the trial, you would definitely see why
he was not convicted. There was just very conflicting evidence.
Even though you know, one could argue that because doctor
don Hughes was not allowed to say certain things like
coercive control, and if she were allowed to say that,
(06:27):
things would have been a lot different, you could see
why the jury didn't convict him on that. However, however,
the judge made it perfectly clear during one of the
many arguments about either dropping the charges completely against him,
the Man Act charges, saying that they're outdated, they're racist,
(06:47):
they're unconstitutional, you know, all this stuff, and then also
saying that, you know, every person that's been convicted on
a Man Act charge has served less than a year
in prison, and he should be out already. You've got
those arguments. The judge was like, Oh, well, what I'm
doing here is I am allowed per x y Z
case law. I'm allowed to take all of the violence
(07:10):
that the defense admitted to and that we saw during
the trial, and I'm allowed to say that because of
this violence that these women endured during these Man Act violations,
I'm going to make sure that that is counted when I,
you know, decide on a sentence. So he you know,
he took into consideration what the pre trial services said,
(07:33):
you know, all of that stuff, and eventually, I think
it was just the very end of the day he
kept saying. I think he said, like three times I
have to impose a severe sentence because of X y
Z and the government originally wanted eleven years. So I'm
thinking to myself, oh my gosh, is this guy going
to get more than eleven years? I swear Cheryl he
(07:56):
said severe sentence or I have to impose one, literally
three times. So when he said fifty months, I was like, whoa, Okay,
here we go, and Diddy, he did not even he
didn't show any emotion at that point. I think he
knew he wasn't walking out of there. When Judge SOBERMANI
and started to speak, but up until then he was crying.
(08:18):
He was, you know, saying, I hate myself, I'm ashamed.
But yeah, at that point he knew he's gone away.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Well, I thought after the first no bond, the second
no bond, the third no bond, to me, that was
a clear message too, We're not letting you out until
this is over and the people have spoken. So, you know,
they thought he was a risk. They thought he didn't warrant,
you know, being released until the trial was over, which
I thought was the right call.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, and it goes back to what we do know.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I mean, you can maybe ignore a lot of things,
but you cannot ignore the video of him beaten Cassie Ventura.
You can't do it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No, of course not. And and I mean, what's more
is that that video was released in May of I
think it was. Is it twenty twenty three at that point?
Maybe it is, yeah, twenty No, twenty twenty four, I'm sorry,
twenty twenty four. And he knew what was going on,
he knew there was an investigation, he knew he was
(09:19):
being watched and Cheryl a month later, a month later,
he is with Jane at her house and violence erupts
and a third party is invited over and Jane has
been beaten at this point, and he apparently says to her,
(09:40):
you know you're going to go out there and you're
gonna s his d I don't care. And then she says,
you know, I don't really want to, and he's like,
you're not going to ruin my night, and then he
says to her, is this coercion? So that coupled with
the fact that in September, upon his arrest, he was
at a hotel and he had drugs, baby oil, astroglide,
(10:03):
all the things, all the ingredients for a freak off.
It really showed the FEDS that he was not taking
this seriously and he did not learn his lesson. So
that was huge for me. I was like, man, you
had a chance there, You had a chance. You could
have gotten released if you just weren't so cocky.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Well, let's talk about his behavior when he has opportunities.
So right now, Sean Diddy Combs is serving time in
a minimum security prison in New Jersey. He knows all
the rules. The first thing they're given is a rule book,
and then he's got people telling him he meets with
his legal team every week, doesn't he.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, they have phone calls and I'm not sure how
often they meet in person, but definitely phone calls.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Okay, but he still has not obeyed every rule.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
What I want to say about that, I've gone back
and forth, you know, to his team, trying to get clarity.
I got some clarity on the alcohol allegation. What I
was told is that it was a roommate of his
or somebody close to him and it wasn't him. And
then on the phone call issue, I heard that that
(11:15):
was his lawyer had patched in a third party and
that they should have known, but they didn't know. And
so I'm not quite sure what happened. But what we
do know is that his release on the BOP website
went from May twenty eighth to something like June eighth
or something like that, basically like a yeah, he got
(11:37):
an added month. So something something happened. I'm just not
quite sure what it was.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And let me be really clear, he knew the rules.
So if his lawyer said, hey, I'm going to patch
in Joe, he should have said, no, that's against the rules.
Don't do that. Joe needs to call me back.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Right right, Yeah, I mean I don't, you know, I
don't know. Like sometimes I think about this and this
is just Devil's advocate. Like I get a rule book
from my kids' school. Do I go through the whole thing? No?
But also but you know what I mean, but like
he also has nothing to do, right, Like he has
nothing to do. So it's like go through the rule book, bro,
like go check it out, like you know, but I
so I don't know like he clearly did something.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, but let me say this. If that rule book
at your child school meant they could not go on
Christmas break, you'd read it.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Oh yes, oh god, yes, yes if you violate this
right right, right, he had.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
A month at it. Don't tell me he don't know
he would be figuring that out.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yes, totally. And that's what I'm saying, Like, clearly he
did something. I just can't I don't know the truth
behind it because it's going to be you know how
it is, like it's gonna be spun one way, it's
gonna be and yeah, so, but I will say that
he is clearly trying to make up for it with
(12:56):
the whole Thanksgiving initiative. I was going to.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Ask you about that next go right home, because here's
the thing. Listen, And I even if this is a stunt, y'all,
If this is a stunt for people to go, oh see,
he's doing great things while in prison Thanksgiving fading a
thousand inmates, I have no issue.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
With that, right right. I mean, he worked with an
inmate group called Quote bank Roll Bosses, and they funded
and organized basically an upgraded feast for about a thousand
people and they just supplemented, like, you know, they added
to the prisons already. I don't want to call it
a robust menu, but I guess it is more robust
(13:41):
than what they normally get. And they did this basically
through getting other ingredients through the commissary. They are obviously
not allowed to use knives, so they used inmate ID
cards to try to top things up. I know, crazy, yeah,
very very creative, and he was to do that. So
through his rep he just said that he wanted, you know,
(14:03):
he didn't want people to be as depressed as they
would be in you know, inside a prison during the holidays.
I'm paraphrasing, but he also said, I don't know if
you've seen some of these pictures surface of him appearing
to be very happy, happy, go lucky in prison. But
he described the prison prison life is quote a strong
(14:26):
brotherhood that quote feels a little bit like home in
a dark place. Interesting to me.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
You know, what choice does he have but to lean
into it. I mean, he is there, he's stuck there,
and going from the lifestyle that he had to where
he is at. I can't imagine mentally what that took
to accept. I mean, you're used to not just freak golfs,
(14:56):
but the best of everything. You have a door to
door limousine, you have housekeepers, you have whatever food and
drink you want whenever you want it. You have people
coming around you asking what more they can do for you.
And so when you are stuck, I don't care if
it is minimum security. You know, nobody wants that. So
(15:19):
for him to make that adjustment, his hair is now gray,
his beard is gray. He can't do anything about that.
He can't decide what he eats every day. He can't
decide when he wakes up or goes to bed. He
is told when to go to work, when to get up,
when he can shower. That's a different world for.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Him, right right. And I think that also, I think
he was so ready to leave the MDC. I honestly
think he would have been happy, quote unquote happy anywhere.
But there. I mean, I interviewed actually an inmate that
was part of Diddy's business class that he taught. He
(16:03):
taught this business class every Friday at the MDC, so
one of this or this in my name in particular.
He actually also wrote a letter of support for Ditty's sentencing,
and he you know, he also told me that the
MDC is truly the worst, most dangerous jail in the country,
and I was like, oh my gosh, Like I I
(16:25):
can't even fathom. Share Cheryl, I have not walked into
a prison ever in my entire life, believe it or not,
and that's something I need to do because I want
to do you know, I want to do inmate interviews
one day, but I've never walked into a prison, so
for me, it's completely foreign, and it just it makes
me think, like I don't even know what he means,
(16:46):
like how bad it is. You know, It's just one
of those things that I can't comprehend. So I just
think that Ditty was so excited to be out of
that hellhole that he's like, yeah, I don't even care,
I'm happy here whatever.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Yeah, And you know, to me, he looks healthier. So
they have said that he's in a drug rehab program.
I believe that's probably true. He looks like he's lost weight,
looks like he's working out, even though he's gone gray.
To me, he almost looks better than he did a
year ago.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, I will say, like in court his pants didn't
really fit him. It was I don't know, they kind
of were like halfway down his crack, these these khakis
that he always wore. It was weird because I'm like,
you're on there, you were, you're you were on the
best dress list. You were you know, uh, the what
is it? The met gala? He was always at the
met Gala. And now I'm looking at his plumber crack, right,
(17:37):
and these these khaki pants that don't fit him, these
wrinkly sweaters. And I did not think he looked good
during the trial, only because he looked so exhausted. And
I can see what you mean though, now at FCI
for Dix, Yes, he looks much better. He looks way
more relaxed. He looks like he's sleeping more Cheryl he does.
(17:58):
So I think that was all the stress of the
trial and the ndc OH.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
I would agree. I thought during the trial he looked horrible.
But I'm saying now he looks healthier than he did.
And you know, maybe he does have some folks around
him that are helping him. I mean, if he wants
to call it a brotherhood, I don't disagree with that. Again,
I think he's got very few options. You know, very
(18:24):
few people once they get out of prison, you know,
maintain those relationships. They rarely send commissary money, they rarely
send letters. Of course you're not supposed to associate with
known felons either, But I'm just saying most people, don't,
you know, go back and help many people.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yes, totally, totally.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So I don't know really how much the brotherhood is
really true. But while you're inside, I would agree.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's interesting. That's a great point.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Well, it's like a battle, buddy. It's like anybody if
they say, oh, I got really close to this woman.
We went to chemo together every Wednesday. Of course you
are because you're in the same boat. Nobody can understand
what you're going through. But the other person, just like
if somebody has triplets, they join a triplet group because what.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Do I know?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I had one at a time, Honey, that was a little
bit easier. So you know, to me, I get that
that they're stuck here. You know, they don't understand what
was happening. Some people were lying about me. You know,
the government just came after me. You know, I had
a target only for whatever reason. There's a lot of
things that other people feel the same way. They feel slighted,
(19:32):
they feel targeted. They feel like, you know, why are
they coming after me when there's quote real criminals out there.
So you know, he's got some people, I'm sure in
that audience that go, yeah, you're right. And you want
to talk about somebody teaching a business class. Can you
imagine how good that class was? Because if he can't
do nothing else, y'all, he can run an empire.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yes, And I think, you know, for me, that was
part of I think that that was probably the most
regius part of the trio, was the racketeering. I just
had a really hard time, like I had a really
hard time getting on board with you know, his whole empire,
bad Boy Records, bad Boy Productions, you know, Sean John
(20:18):
this everything he created was a criminal enterprise. I was like,
what are we No? I just could not wrap my
head around that. Did he do some really bad things,
you know, like blackmail, like the kid Cutty stuff. I
definitely believe that that happened, although cops had a very
hard time proving it. But I just did not think
(20:40):
that any of that was tied to his businesses. I
just didn't. I really didn't that. I had a hard
time with.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, I had a hard time with once I saw
that video, not thinking, Yeah, they're going to go after
everything they can, because if they can't get him on
some of the most violent, horrible things, then they're going
to do the al Capone thing. Get him on tax evasion,
get him on something so that he doesn't just walk
(21:13):
away free and continue to do the things that everybody
knows he's doing.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Yeah, and that video clearly made a difference. The judge
even said it, that video is really what got him
four years where it could have been two years. You know,
it's because it's admitted violence. Admitted violence.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Well, let's talk about other millionaires that the government's looking
at right now. What in the world is going on
with the NBA and the gambling.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Oh my gosh, this is so crazy. So most recently
I was in the Eastern District of New York and
I was reporting on the Chauncey billups arraignment and status
hearing where Chauncey, along with thirty one other defendants, have
been indited in this sweeping gambling indictment, which is like
(22:06):
gosh rigged poker games. And there's a I guess a
parallel indictment as well, and that is Terry Rosier from
the Miami Heat. I believe he is the I guess,
the most famous defendant on that indictment, but he has
been accused of illegal prop bets, and so I guess
these two indictments are kind of tied together because they
(22:28):
have some overlapping defendants on each one as well. But
for Chauncey Billups. They're alleging the government that Chauncey participated
in a rigged poker game by the mafia. And you know,
all the lawyers, all the mob lawyers are up there saying,
you know, there's no proof the mafia exists. Just FYI.
(22:49):
So I'm just gonna say it right now, the mafia.
It's alleged. Okay, guys, But yeah, so the mafia allegedly
rigged these poker games and they wanted to draw in
these high rollers so they would say, hey, Chauncey Phillips
is going to be here, so you've got to play
with him. And they're the government saying that Chauncey knew
(23:09):
when he played in this one particular game in twenty
nineteen in Vegas, he knew that the shuffler machine was rigged.
There was possibly maybe an X ray contraption under the table.
I'm not sure about this particular instance, but either way,
they are saying Chauncey was aware, and he took fifty
grand that night as sort of like a thank you
so much for your help, and his bail was set
(23:32):
at five million dollars, which I thought was crazy. I mean,
it's a first offense for him, but I guess it's
a big one because he's facing it's a conspiracy, a
money laundering conspiracy, and a wire fraud conspiracy. So each
of those counts are twenty twenty years each. I do believe, though,
(23:53):
that in this case, Chauncey will be the only one
to go to trial. I don't think anyone else in
this case is going to make it to trial. I
think that he's the only one that has enough to
lose here. I think the other defendants, you know, they
might not have perfect records. I think if they could
take some kind of plea to get four years or less,
(24:15):
they would take that. And Chauncey, you know, he's already
been quote suspended from the NBA. But if he even
tried to take a plea and said, oh yeah, I'm
guilty of these federal crimes, I mean he'll never work again.
Maybe he'd get no jail time, but his life is over.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
So he somehow gets involved with the group and they say, hey,
you come play. Whether you win or lose, we're going
to give you fifty thousand dollars. You just because of
your name. You get other high rollers there that we're
gonna basically have as our victims.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Yes, that, and this is what's funny. I mean, my
husband thinks that we're not. I mean, listen, my husband
works in marketing guys, so don't take anything. He says, like,
you know, like literally, but he's like, well, I bet
you know, Chauncey somehow got into some kind of money
trouble or had some kind of gambling debt where maybe
he had to reach out to one of these guys
(25:11):
and they were like, oh, hey, we'll help you. You
just got to do this for us and you'll make money.
Because it's just weird. You know, he's worth millions upon
millions of dollars. His the home. He had a home
in Colorado that he put up for the bond. I mean,
he doesn't even live full time in Colorado. He just
he's got a lot of money. And so I think
many people are having trouble that he would risk it
(25:33):
all for fifty grand. You know, it's a lot to
you and I, but to him, it's like what are
you doing right?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
But again to your husband's point, it wasn't just the
fifty grand.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Maybe not, but we don't know enough yet, like we
have no idea, Like at this very moment, I was
sitting there like I don't even think he ever spoke
to anyone in the quote unquote mob. I could see
that happening too, where someone he just gets like a
third already, like hey, go to this game. They'll make
sure that you're well taken care of because they need
(26:04):
your face. Like I'm not even sure that you know.
So there's so much that we don't know. And the
government said that they have over a terabyte of evidence
that they need to get over to the defense attorneys,
and that this has now designated a complex case. So
the next hearing is not going to be until March
of twenty twenty six. And you know, they kept saying
(26:27):
this could take years, this could take years, And you
could see all these guys and the gallery who maybe
aren't incarcerated. I think about four of them are at MDC.
But these guys, like they have location monitoring services on,
which is basically like an ankle monitor where you have
to alert pre trial services every time you leave the house.
You know, a lot of them are only allowed to
(26:48):
go between New York and they're one state, and they
have families to support, they have, you know, places to be,
and so when they're hearing this stuff, and you know,
the attorneys are like, this could take years. You could
see it on their face like, oh my gosh, what
have I done? What is going on? And the judge,
his name is Judge ramone Reis. He was incredible. I
(27:11):
feel like he is, from what I've seen so far,
a very fair judge. And he actually said, look, I'm
not looking to drag this out. I want to go
to trial by September of twenty twenty six. So I
thought that was very cool of him to kind of
say that.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
You know, can you imagine going through the phone records,
the calls and text messages, the emails. I mean, these folks,
the connections that they have, the people that are in
their phone, the other famous people, the other athletes, the
other people with money. Can you imagine? No, I mean,
I mean to me, you're not gambling at this level
(27:49):
where you're not connected to people.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Right, of course. I just it's crazy that we live
in a world now that is so different from twenty
years ago. I mean, ugh, the text messages that get
people in so much trouble, or the voicemails that get people,
I mean, this is just I could go off the rails.
I mean, you think about the Politico, this is just random.
But exposing all of these these adults for being racist
(28:16):
and saying horrible things, It's just like, wow, this is
all through a text chain, like you guys actually put
this in writing. That's crazy. And then you've got Karen Reid.
I think both Trials we had to sit through the
cringiest days of just a couple fighting that we have
no business, you know what I mean. It's not that
it's our business to listen to this, but we have
(28:36):
to because this Trials is evident.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So and then you have a couple fighting, and then
you have a detective bragging among friends all through text
messages that are just horrible.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Exactly Cheryl. But I just know, if.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
You're putting together a million dollar poker game, you know
you're talking to a bunch of your buddies. You're talking
about all kind of locations and dates and times and
what the buy in is and everything. I mean, you're given,
you're given the playbook.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, yeah, I have to think that they do have
a significant amount of evidence on text messages somehow. But
I also thought the same for Diddy, though Cheryl I
thought like and not, you know, not to bring it
back to that, but you know, we were all told
through civil suits and it would be all these miners
(29:26):
and you know, lots of homosexual I mean, I was
just shocked when the biggest piece of evidence from the
government was Baby Oil and Cassie of course, but they
just they didn't have as much as I thought. So
I hope that I'm wrong in this case and thinking, well,
you know, we'll see. I don't know, because you would think, yeah,
you've got to tell these guys what's on the table
(29:47):
for them somehow.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
There's one big difference. Diddy did not do a lot
of his own setup. He had people do that for him.
He didn't go get the baby old you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's true, true, Yeah, absolutely Here.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
I think these ballplayers, they've got their own phone in
their hand and their text and friends, they're texting teammates,
people on other teams. They're setting it up themselves, is
what I think is happening. Like you think about how
many text messages we had to go through for me
and you and Barbara Butcher to have dinner. And that
(30:25):
was something the three of us wanted to do in
one weekend, but that took weeks of texting back and
forth to make that one evening happen. Can you imagine
if everybody's got to have one hundred thousand dollars buy in,
and we have to have a room, and we have
to have a bar, and we have to have a dealer,
and we have to have all of this. That's a
lot of planet. And I think that they've probably got
(30:47):
a whole lot of information.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
You are you were right, you are so right. I'm
laughing about that. And they also said, you know, they've
got surveillance video as well. So I'm thinking that we
might see, we might see enough text messages that can
point us to a direction that I'll say, I think
I know what's going to happen here, and then perhaps
the government will sort of, you know, close the loop
(31:10):
on that by saying okay, so you guys saw they
were planning to meet, but they didn't tell us really why,
and then we have the surveillance footage showing them meeting.
And then the next thing that happens is that, you know,
John Dover here is out two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars after the game that happened that night, after the
surveillance footage. So that's kind of what I'm thinking is
going to happen with some of that evidence.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Yeah, I can't wait to see it because I think
it's one of those less connects, some dots, and then
there's going to be more dots, and here's the reality.
The first one that gets the deal, that's the one
you need to watch because he's going to tell it all.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I think a bunch of the alleged mafia guys are
already working out deals. I think Damon Jones, the former
NBA player, is definitely working out a deal. I mean
they basically said it in his during his arraignment. The
judge kind of preemptively was like, oh, and mister Jones,
we understand you might be in the beginning stages of
(32:10):
negotiation with the government. And I was like, ooh, oh,
my goodness. So yeah, I think that, Yeah, definitely, there's
gonna And that's.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
When you know it's too late to throw your phone
in the ocean.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
It's too night, way too late. Oh my goodness, way
too late.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well listen, I appreciate you, miscontributor to the Los Angeles Magazine.
This has been great information. Again, congratulations on the new job.
Even though you still have all your other jobs. We
can find you all over the place. But I just
appreciate you so much.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Oh my gosh, I love you. I love coming on
with you any time. I love to talk to you.
I always learn so much from talking to you, Cheryl,
So thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Y'all. I'm going to end Zone seven the way that
I always do with a quote. There's a lot of
misinterpretation about prison. It's nothing but a positive thing. Sean
Diddy Combs. I'm Cheryl McCollum, and this is Zone seven.
Y'all remember Lauren Conlin. She was the podcaster, reporter, host
of pop culture and true crime. I would really love
to have her tonight on this particular person to talk to,
but we don't have her. Who we do have is
the contributor for Los Angeles Magazine, Lauren Conlin. Hey, honey,
(00:28):
how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you, Cheryl? That was so funny.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hey, congratulations, that's a nice new gig to add to
all your other gigs.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much. I am
so happy right now contributing for this very epic magazine.
And the magazine really is kind of shifting into crime,
an East Coast crime because clearly I am here in
New York City, so I'm covering a lot of New
York local cases for them. And it's great, it really is.
(01:01):
And I did get this job right after the Ditty trial,
and I am so thankful. I mean, the days of grinding.
I don't think I think I maybe missed half a
day at that trial, but those days were worth it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I'm gonna tell you, you covered that case like nobody else.
I went to you before any other news or host
or reporter period.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, thank you so much. That means so much to me,
and I felt like I did. I did have an edge,
I guess in some ways because I wasn't limited to
four minute hits or four minute clips. I was doing
you know, ten to twelve minute updates, which I found
to be really helpful to everybody because I had time
to really get into what happened on both sides, the
(01:49):
federal government as well as the defense, because just hearing
one side doesn't help anybody, and we do tend to
encounter that a lot in our fields. Sure you were
well aware of that, and yeah, to me, it just
it doesn't It doesn't help people really truly understand what's
going on. It creates more confusion at the end. You know,
(02:10):
let's say with Diddy, when people are like, wait, he
was found not guilty of sex trafficking. Wait a minute,
you know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
So yeah, but you were there every day, and to me,
that made the biggest difference. You weren't reporting from Nebraska.
You were in front of the courthouse, you went inside,
You saw his family come and go, you saw witnesses
come and go, you spoke to many of them. Well, that,
to me, here's what it says. You have a three
(02:37):
sixty look at this case like most people couldn't write.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
I mean, you're right, and I feel again, very fortunate
to have been there from jury selection all the way
up until sentencing. And it does give you more of
an idea of what's going on behind the scenes, and
it's it's tough, you know, sentence. I feel like I
(03:01):
don't remember the last time I was on with you, Cheryl.
Was that trial over yet or had it just finished?
I don't even remember. I know we talked about it.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Yes, I think it had just concluded. And that's why
tonight I'm so interested because we had made some predictions
that he was not going to stop criminal activity just
because he goes to prison. He's not going to stop
wanting special treatment. We talked about all those things, and
to me, they're coming true. And that's why I wanted
to bring you back to say, hey, we kind of
(03:31):
now understand what his life is like in prison, but
what about him what about the way he operates. I'll
give you an example, how in the world does he
have the job that he has. He's got a pretty
coveted job. Well, that to me reeks of special treatment.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know enough about the prison
system to say, yeah, this guy can walk in and
he can automatically be the assistant, you know, in the
chaplain's library. I have no idea how that works. So
if that is a gig that is coveted, and you know,
I mean, I would say yes, if your choice is
to clean the toilets and the showers versus yeah, you
(04:11):
know what I mean, like, yes, of course, that sounds
like a much better gig. Oh.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
I certainly, growing up Catholic has its pert, I'm telling you.
And here's the deal to your point, you know, working
in the kitchen, cleaning a toilet, or helping out in
the chaplain's library where you can walk around freely and
chit chat with other inmates, that's the gig you won't
There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Right of course. And it sounds like that, although I
did see, and I think it was on the Bureau
of Prisons website that all the inmates are generally paid
the same amount, which is next to nothing. It's crazy,
but but yes, that's correct. If I'm going to make
the same amount as somebody else, I would much rather
not have my head in a toilet. Yes, but yeah,
(04:58):
so I and you know, we didn't really talk about sentencing.
But I also I have to just say right now
that sentencing was the one of the longest days in
court that I've ever experienced. And I felt throughout the
entirety of the trial that Diddy had an incredible defense
team that you know, you get what you pay for,
(05:18):
and it really showed. So when sentencing came, I was
very surprised. I thought it was so sloppy. You know,
his team, they really just talked too much. I mean,
one of his lawyers, Nicole west Moreland, she you could
tell she really felt connected to Sean Colmes. But her
(05:38):
getting up there and kind of weeping about him and
how he changed her life, that just that for me
didn't sit well with me. I thought that was a
little bit too much over the top, and it just
kind of seemed to get worse and worse as the
day went on. So I was surprised, very surprised to
see how that day played out.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
And I think a lot of people were shocked that
he was convince did for only two counts of transportation
to engage in prostitution.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, a lot of people were shocked. Again, if you
had sat through the trial, you would definitely see why
he was not convicted. There was just very conflicting evidence.
Even though you know, one could argue that because doctor
don Hughes was not allowed to say certain things like
coercive control, and if she were allowed to say that,
(06:27):
things would have been a lot different, you could see
why the jury didn't convict him on that. However, however,
the judge made it perfectly clear during one of the
many arguments about either dropping the charges completely against him,
the Man Act charges, saying that they're outdated, they're racist,
(06:47):
they're unconstitutional, you know, all this stuff, and then also
saying that, you know, every person that's been convicted on
a Man Act charge has served less than a year
in prison, and he should be out already. You've got
those arguments. The judge was like, Oh, well, what I'm
doing here is I am allowed per x y Z
case law. I'm allowed to take all of the violence
(07:10):
that the defense admitted to and that we saw during
the trial, and I'm allowed to say that because of
this violence that these women endured during these Man Act violations,
I'm going to make sure that that is counted when I,
you know, decide on a sentence. So he you know,
he took into consideration what the pre trial services said,
(07:33):
you know, all of that stuff, and eventually, I think
it was just the very end of the day he
kept saying. I think he said, like three times I
have to impose a severe sentence because of X y
Z and the government originally wanted eleven years. So I'm
thinking to myself, oh my gosh, is this guy going
to get more than eleven years? I swear Cheryl he
(07:56):
said severe sentence or I have to impose one, literally
three times. So when he said fifty months, I was like, whoa, Okay,
here we go, and Diddy, he did not even he
didn't show any emotion at that point. I think he
knew he wasn't walking out of there. When Judge SOBERMANI
and started to speak, but up until then he was crying.
(08:18):
He was, you know, saying, I hate myself, I'm ashamed.
But yeah, at that point he knew he's gone away.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Well, I thought after the first no bond, the second
no bond, the third no bond, to me, that was
a clear message too, We're not letting you out until
this is over and the people have spoken. So, you know,
they thought he was a risk. They thought he didn't warrant,
you know, being released until the trial was over, which
I thought was the right call.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, and it goes back to what we do know.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
I mean, you can maybe ignore a lot of things,
but you cannot ignore the video of him beaten Cassie Ventura.
You can't do it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
No, of course not. And and I mean, what's more
is that that video was released in May of I
think it was. Is it twenty twenty three at that point?
Maybe it is, yeah, twenty No, twenty twenty four, I'm sorry,
twenty twenty four. And he knew what was going on,
he knew there was an investigation, he knew he was
(09:19):
being watched and Cheryl a month later, a month later,
he is with Jane at her house and violence erupts
and a third party is invited over and Jane has
been beaten at this point, and he apparently says to her,
(09:40):
you know you're going to go out there and you're
gonna s his d I don't care. And then she says,
you know, I don't really want to, and he's like,
you're not going to ruin my night, and then he
says to her, is this coercion? So that coupled with
the fact that in September, upon his arrest, he was
at a hotel and he had drugs, baby oil, astroglide,
(10:03):
all the things, all the ingredients for a freak off.
It really showed the FEDS that he was not taking
this seriously and he did not learn his lesson. So
that was huge for me. I was like, man, you
had a chance there, You had a chance. You could
have gotten released if you just weren't so cocky.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Well, let's talk about his behavior when he has opportunities.
So right now, Sean Diddy Combs is serving time in
a minimum security prison in New Jersey. He knows all
the rules. The first thing they're given is a rule book,
and then he's got people telling him he meets with
his legal team every week, doesn't he.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Yeah, they have phone calls and I'm not sure how
often they meet in person, but definitely phone calls.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Okay, but he still has not obeyed every rule.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
What I want to say about that, I've gone back
and forth, you know, to his team, trying to get clarity.
I got some clarity on the alcohol allegation. What I
was told is that it was a roommate of his
or somebody close to him and it wasn't him. And
then on the phone call issue, I heard that that
(11:15):
was his lawyer had patched in a third party and
that they should have known, but they didn't know. And
so I'm not quite sure what happened. But what we
do know is that his release on the BOP website
went from May twenty eighth to something like June eighth
or something like that, basically like a yeah, he got
(11:37):
an added month. So something something happened. I'm just not
quite sure what it was.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And let me be really clear, he knew the rules.
So if his lawyer said, hey, I'm going to patch
in Joe, he should have said, no, that's against the rules.
Don't do that. Joe needs to call me back.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Right right, Yeah, I mean I don't, you know, I
don't know. Like sometimes I think about this and this
is just Devil's advocate. Like I get a rule book
from my kids' school. Do I go through the whole thing? No?
But also but you know what I mean, but like
he also has nothing to do, right, Like he has
nothing to do. So it's like go through the rule book, bro,
like go check it out, like you know, but I
so I don't know like he clearly did something.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Okay, but let me say this. If that rule book
at your child school meant they could not go on
Christmas break, you'd read it.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Oh yes, oh god, yes, yes if you violate this
right right, right, he had.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
A month at it. Don't tell me he don't know
he would be figuring that out.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yes, totally. And that's what I'm saying, Like, clearly he
did something. I just can't I don't know the truth
behind it because it's going to be you know how
it is, like it's gonna be spun one way, it's
gonna be and yeah, so, but I will say that
he is clearly trying to make up for it with
(12:56):
the whole Thanksgiving initiative. I was going to.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Ask you about that next go right home, because here's
the thing. Listen, And I even if this is a stunt, y'all,
If this is a stunt for people to go, oh see,
he's doing great things while in prison Thanksgiving fading a
thousand inmates, I have no issue.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
With that, right right. I mean, he worked with an
inmate group called Quote bank Roll Bosses, and they funded
and organized basically an upgraded feast for about a thousand
people and they just supplemented, like, you know, they added
to the prisons already. I don't want to call it
a robust menu, but I guess it is more robust
(13:41):
than what they normally get. And they did this basically
through getting other ingredients through the commissary. They are obviously
not allowed to use knives, so they used inmate ID
cards to try to top things up. I know, crazy, yeah,
very very creative, and he was to do that. So
through his rep he just said that he wanted, you know,
(14:03):
he didn't want people to be as depressed as they
would be in you know, inside a prison during the holidays.
I'm paraphrasing, but he also said, I don't know if
you've seen some of these pictures surface of him appearing
to be very happy, happy, go lucky in prison. But
he described the prison prison life is quote a strong
(14:26):
brotherhood that quote feels a little bit like home in
a dark place. Interesting to me.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
You know, what choice does he have but to lean
into it. I mean, he is there, he's stuck there,
and going from the lifestyle that he had to where
he is at. I can't imagine mentally what that took
to accept. I mean, you're used to not just freak golfs,
(14:56):
but the best of everything. You have a door to
door limousine, you have housekeepers, you have whatever food and
drink you want whenever you want it. You have people
coming around you asking what more they can do for you.
And so when you are stuck, I don't care if
it is minimum security. You know, nobody wants that. So
(15:19):
for him to make that adjustment, his hair is now gray,
his beard is gray. He can't do anything about that.
He can't decide what he eats every day. He can't
decide when he wakes up or goes to bed. He
is told when to go to work, when to get up,
when he can shower. That's a different world for.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Him, right right. And I think that also, I think
he was so ready to leave the MDC. I honestly
think he would have been happy, quote unquote happy anywhere.
But there. I mean, I interviewed actually an inmate that
was part of Diddy's business class that he taught. He
(16:03):
taught this business class every Friday at the MDC, so
one of this or this in my name in particular.
He actually also wrote a letter of support for Ditty's sentencing,
and he you know, he also told me that the
MDC is truly the worst, most dangerous jail in the country,
and I was like, oh my gosh, Like I I
(16:25):
can't even fathom. Share Cheryl, I have not walked into
a prison ever in my entire life, believe it or not,
and that's something I need to do because I want
to do you know, I want to do inmate interviews
one day, but I've never walked into a prison, so
for me, it's completely foreign, and it just it makes
me think, like I don't even know what he means,
(16:46):
like how bad it is. You know, It's just one
of those things that I can't comprehend. So I just
think that Ditty was so excited to be out of
that hellhole that he's like, yeah, I don't even care,
I'm happy here whatever.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
Yeah, And you know, to me, he looks healthier. So
they have said that he's in a drug rehab program.
I believe that's probably true. He looks like he's lost weight,
looks like he's working out, even though he's gone gray.
To me, he almost looks better than he did a
year ago.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, I will say, like in court his pants didn't
really fit him. It was I don't know, they kind
of were like halfway down his crack, these these khakis
that he always wore. It was weird because I'm like,
you're on there, you were, you're you were on the
best dress list. You were you know, uh, the what
is it? The met gala? He was always at the
met Gala. And now I'm looking at his plumber crack, right,
(17:37):
and these these khaki pants that don't fit him, these
wrinkly sweaters. And I did not think he looked good
during the trial, only because he looked so exhausted. And
I can see what you mean though, now at FCI
for Dix, Yes, he looks much better. He looks way
more relaxed. He looks like he's sleeping more Cheryl he does.
(17:58):
So I think that was all the stress of the
trial and the ndc OH.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
I would agree. I thought during the trial he looked horrible.
But I'm saying now he looks healthier than he did.
And you know, maybe he does have some folks around
him that are helping him. I mean, if he wants
to call it a brotherhood, I don't disagree with that. Again,
I think he's got very few options. You know, very
(18:24):
few people once they get out of prison, you know,
maintain those relationships. They rarely send commissary money, they rarely
send letters. Of course you're not supposed to associate with
known felons either, But I'm just saying most people, don't,
you know, go back and help many people.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Yes, totally, totally.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
So I don't know really how much the brotherhood is
really true. But while you're inside, I would agree.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
That's interesting. That's a great point.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Well, it's like a battle, buddy. It's like anybody if
they say, oh, I got really close to this woman.
We went to chemo together every Wednesday. Of course you
are because you're in the same boat. Nobody can understand
what you're going through. But the other person, just like
if somebody has triplets, they join a triplet group because what.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Do I know?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
I had one at a time, Honey, that was a little
bit easier. So you know, to me, I get that
that they're stuck here. You know, they don't understand what
was happening. Some people were lying about me. You know,
the government just came after me. You know, I had
a target only for whatever reason. There's a lot of
things that other people feel the same way. They feel slighted,
(19:32):
they feel targeted. They feel like, you know, why are
they coming after me when there's quote real criminals out there.
So you know, he's got some people, I'm sure in
that audience that go, yeah, you're right. And you want
to talk about somebody teaching a business class. Can you
imagine how good that class was? Because if he can't
do nothing else, y'all, he can run an empire.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yes, And I think, you know, for me, that was
part of I think that that was probably the most
regius part of the trio, was the racketeering. I just
had a really hard time, like I had a really
hard time getting on board with you know, his whole empire,
bad Boy Records, bad Boy Productions, you know, Sean John
(20:18):
this everything he created was a criminal enterprise. I was like,
what are we No? I just could not wrap my
head around that. Did he do some really bad things,
you know, like blackmail, like the kid Cutty stuff. I
definitely believe that that happened, although cops had a very
hard time proving it. But I just did not think
(20:40):
that any of that was tied to his businesses. I
just didn't. I really didn't that. I had a hard
time with.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Well, I had a hard time with once I saw
that video, not thinking, Yeah, they're going to go after
everything they can, because if they can't get him on
some of the most violent, horrible things, then they're going
to do the al Capone thing. Get him on tax evasion,
get him on something so that he doesn't just walk
(21:13):
away free and continue to do the things that everybody
knows he's doing.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Yeah, and that video clearly made a difference. The judge
even said it, that video is really what got him
four years where it could have been two years. You know,
it's because it's admitted violence. Admitted violence.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Well, let's talk about other millionaires that the government's looking
at right now. What in the world is going on
with the NBA and the gambling.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Oh my gosh, this is so crazy. So most recently
I was in the Eastern District of New York and
I was reporting on the Chauncey billups arraignment and status
hearing where Chauncey, along with thirty one other defendants, have
been indited in this sweeping gambling indictment, which is like
(22:06):
gosh rigged poker games. And there's a I guess a
parallel indictment as well, and that is Terry Rosier from
the Miami Heat. I believe he is the I guess,
the most famous defendant on that indictment, but he has
been accused of illegal prop bets, and so I guess
these two indictments are kind of tied together because they
(22:28):
have some overlapping defendants on each one as well. But
for Chauncey Billups. They're alleging the government that Chauncey participated
in a rigged poker game by the mafia. And you know,
all the lawyers, all the mob lawyers are up there saying,
you know, there's no proof the mafia exists. Just FYI.
(22:49):
So I'm just gonna say it right now, the mafia.
It's alleged. Okay, guys, But yeah, so the mafia allegedly
rigged these poker games and they wanted to draw in
these high rollers so they would say, hey, Chauncey Phillips
is going to be here, so you've got to play
with him. And they're the government saying that Chauncey knew
(23:09):
when he played in this one particular game in twenty
nineteen in Vegas, he knew that the shuffler machine was rigged.
There was possibly maybe an X ray contraption under the table.
I'm not sure about this particular instance, but either way,
they are saying Chauncey was aware, and he took fifty
grand that night as sort of like a thank you
so much for your help, and his bail was set
(23:32):
at five million dollars, which I thought was crazy. I mean,
it's a first offense for him, but I guess it's
a big one because he's facing it's a conspiracy, a
money laundering conspiracy, and a wire fraud conspiracy. So each
of those counts are twenty twenty years each. I do believe, though,
(23:53):
that in this case, Chauncey will be the only one
to go to trial. I don't think anyone else in
this case is going to make it to trial. I
think that he's the only one that has enough to
lose here. I think the other defendants, you know, they
might not have perfect records. I think if they could
take some kind of plea to get four years or less,
(24:15):
they would take that. And Chauncey, you know, he's already
been quote suspended from the NBA. But if he even
tried to take a plea and said, oh yeah, I'm
guilty of these federal crimes, I mean he'll never work again.
Maybe he'd get no jail time, but his life is over.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
So he somehow gets involved with the group and they say, hey,
you come play. Whether you win or lose, we're going
to give you fifty thousand dollars. You just because of
your name. You get other high rollers there that we're
gonna basically have as our victims.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Yes, that, and this is what's funny. I mean, my
husband thinks that we're not. I mean, listen, my husband
works in marketing guys, so don't take anything. He says, like,
you know, like literally, but he's like, well, I bet
you know, Chauncey somehow got into some kind of money
trouble or had some kind of gambling debt where maybe
he had to reach out to one of these guys
(25:11):
and they were like, oh, hey, we'll help you. You
just got to do this for us and you'll make money.
Because it's just weird. You know, he's worth millions upon
millions of dollars. His the home. He had a home
in Colorado that he put up for the bond. I mean,
he doesn't even live full time in Colorado. He just
he's got a lot of money. And so I think
many people are having trouble that he would risk it
(25:33):
all for fifty grand. You know, it's a lot to
you and I, but to him, it's like what are
you doing right?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
But again to your husband's point, it wasn't just the
fifty grand.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Maybe not, but we don't know enough yet, like we
have no idea, Like at this very moment, I was
sitting there like I don't even think he ever spoke
to anyone in the quote unquote mob. I could see
that happening too, where someone he just gets like a
third already, like hey, go to this game. They'll make
sure that you're well taken care of because they need
(26:04):
your face. Like I'm not even sure that you know.
So there's so much that we don't know. And the
government said that they have over a terabyte of evidence
that they need to get over to the defense attorneys,
and that this has now designated a complex case. So
the next hearing is not going to be until March
of twenty twenty six. And you know, they kept saying
(26:27):
this could take years, this could take years, And you
could see all these guys and the gallery who maybe
aren't incarcerated. I think about four of them are at MDC.
But these guys, like they have location monitoring services on,
which is basically like an ankle monitor where you have
to alert pre trial services every time you leave the house.
You know, a lot of them are only allowed to
(26:48):
go between New York and they're one state, and they
have families to support, they have, you know, places to be,
and so when they're hearing this stuff, and you know,
the attorneys are like, this could take years. You could
see it on their face like, oh my gosh, what
have I done? What is going on? And the judge,
his name is Judge ramone Reis. He was incredible. I
(27:11):
feel like he is, from what I've seen so far,
a very fair judge. And he actually said, look, I'm
not looking to drag this out. I want to go
to trial by September of twenty twenty six. So I
thought that was very cool of him to kind of
say that.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
You know, can you imagine going through the phone records,
the calls and text messages, the emails. I mean, these folks,
the connections that they have, the people that are in
their phone, the other famous people, the other athletes, the
other people with money. Can you imagine? No, I mean,
I mean to me, you're not gambling at this level
(27:49):
where you're not connected to people.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Right, of course. I just it's crazy that we live
in a world now that is so different from twenty
years ago. I mean, ugh, the text messages that get
people in so much trouble, or the voicemails that get people,
I mean, this is just I could go off the rails.
I mean, you think about the Politico, this is just random.
But exposing all of these these adults for being racist
(28:16):
and saying horrible things, It's just like, wow, this is
all through a text chain, like you guys actually put
this in writing. That's crazy. And then you've got Karen Reid.
I think both Trials we had to sit through the
cringiest days of just a couple fighting that we have
no business, you know what I mean. It's not that
it's our business to listen to this, but we have
(28:36):
to because this Trials is evident.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
So and then you have a couple fighting, and then
you have a detective bragging among friends all through text
messages that are just horrible.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
Exactly Cheryl. But I just know, if.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
You're putting together a million dollar poker game, you know
you're talking to a bunch of your buddies. You're talking
about all kind of locations and dates and times and
what the buy in is and everything. I mean, you're given,
you're given the playbook.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah, yeah, I have to think that they do have
a significant amount of evidence on text messages somehow. But
I also thought the same for Diddy, though Cheryl I
thought like and not, you know, not to bring it
back to that, but you know, we were all told
through civil suits and it would be all these miners
(29:26):
and you know, lots of homosexual I mean, I was
just shocked when the biggest piece of evidence from the
government was Baby Oil and Cassie of course, but they
just they didn't have as much as I thought. So
I hope that I'm wrong in this case and thinking, well,
you know, we'll see. I don't know, because you would think, yeah,
you've got to tell these guys what's on the table
(29:47):
for them somehow.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
There's one big difference. Diddy did not do a lot
of his own setup. He had people do that for him.
He didn't go get the baby old you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's true, true, Yeah, absolutely Here.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
I think these ballplayers, they've got their own phone in
their hand and their text and friends, they're texting teammates,
people on other teams. They're setting it up themselves, is
what I think is happening. Like you think about how
many text messages we had to go through for me
and you and Barbara Butcher to have dinner. And that
(30:25):
was something the three of us wanted to do in
one weekend, but that took weeks of texting back and
forth to make that one evening happen. Can you imagine
if everybody's got to have one hundred thousand dollars buy in,
and we have to have a room, and we have
to have a bar, and we have to have a dealer,
and we have to have all of this. That's a
lot of planet. And I think that they've probably got
(30:47):
a whole lot of information.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
You are you were right, you are so right. I'm
laughing about that. And they also said, you know, they've
got surveillance video as well. So I'm thinking that we
might see, we might see enough text messages that can
point us to a direction that I'll say, I think
I know what's going to happen here, and then perhaps
the government will sort of, you know, close the loop
(31:10):
on that by saying okay, so you guys saw they
were planning to meet, but they didn't tell us really why,
and then we have the surveillance footage showing them meeting.
And then the next thing that happens is that, you know,
John Dover here is out two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars after the game that happened that night, after the
surveillance footage. So that's kind of what I'm thinking is
going to happen with some of that evidence.
Speaker 1 (31:32):
Yeah, I can't wait to see it because I think
it's one of those less connects, some dots, and then
there's going to be more dots, and here's the reality.
The first one that gets the deal, that's the one
you need to watch because he's going to tell it all.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
I think a bunch of the alleged mafia guys are
already working out deals. I think Damon Jones, the former
NBA player, is definitely working out a deal. I mean
they basically said it in his during his arraignment. The
judge kind of preemptively was like, oh, and mister Jones,
we understand you might be in the beginning stages of
(32:10):
negotiation with the government. And I was like, ooh, oh,
my goodness. So yeah, I think that, Yeah, definitely, there's
gonna And that's.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
When you know it's too late to throw your phone
in the ocean.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
It's too night, way too late. Oh my goodness, way
too late.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well listen, I appreciate you, miscontributor to the Los Angeles Magazine.
This has been great information. Again, congratulations on the new job.
Even though you still have all your other jobs. We
can find you all over the place. But I just
appreciate you so much.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
Oh my gosh, I love you. I love coming on
with you any time. I love to talk to you.
I always learn so much from talking to you, Cheryl,
So thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
Y'all. I'm going to end Zone seven the way that
I always do with a quote. There's a lot of
misinterpretation about prison. It's nothing but a positive thing. Sean
Diddy Combs. I'm Cheryl McCollum, and this is Zone seven.
Host
Sheryl McCollum
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