Voletta Wallace was horrified. [5], Photographer Eric Johnson said that he was supposed to photograph Biggie in Los Angeles in 1997, but that he could not be pinpointed to a location because Biggie kept getting death threats. [26], The criminal investigation into Wallace's murder was re-opened in July 2006 to look for new evidence to help the city defend the civil lawsuits brought by the Wallace family. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Not only had the Shakur and Smalls investigations hit dead ends, he says, but McClure needed his elite detectives for more pressing matters. So detectives took a different approach. And so when you have these guys and [theyre like], What did you see? SpouseParentChildSiblingFamily memberOther, Sweet James has my permission to help provide a free police report, Tupac Shakur; Credit: PHOTO COPYRIGHT NEWSCOM, Ciel Spa aka @CielSpaBH located the SLS Hotel i, Welcoming over 100,000 people every year, what beg, The holiday season is a time of giving! Poole's theory quickly gained solid ground in high places, and motivated Voletta Wallace to sue LAPD in federal court. Yesterday (October 4th), Greg Kading, a Medal of Valor recipient for bravery, spoke with HipHopDX (courtesy of Rare Bird Lit) in a two-part interview, with the first half of Q&A dedicated to his investigation into the murder of Notorious B.I.G. Remember, theres a scene in there where theyve got these two guys in there that theyre interrogating, and they convince the one guy in one room that the other guy is ratting out on him, and then they start to that opens the door for them to then [be like], Oh, okay, well if hes ratting him out then Im gonna do it. Well, its kinda that same psychological technique that we use a lot in law enforcement. What real benefit does the LAPD have in closing the case when all it's going to do is create a negative public response?". Unsolved case Kading added: "Suge would have figured out she spoke, but the reality was that he was not going to kill or harm the mother of his child, especially if she is working with law enforcement. Three years later, listening to the confessions fingering Sean Combs and Suge Knight, Kading felt he could almost see the finish line. However, Kading and Daryn Dupree, an LAPD gang detective on the team, copied Swann's words in police journals. Once Swann admitted her participation in the murder conspiracy, the FBI tried to use her to draw a confession from Knight. The release was criticized by the long-time lawyer of his estate, Perry Sanders Jr., who objected to an autopsy. [36] The suit against the City of Los Angeles was finally dismissed in 2010. They robbed Suge on a personal and professional level. Trust me, if theres anybody that I wanted to be guilty, it was David Mack. Theresa Elizabeth Swann (1925-2007) - Find a Grave Memorial By the time Kading had Swann in the hot seat, two other sources had pointed to Poochie (Fouse) as Smalls' probable killer. She's named "Theresa Swann" in Murder Rap for her own protection. He goes, Maybe its Kenny, or maybe it was Keke. So there were these four different names that that informant gave out. However, Kading says the cop who replaced him as lead investigator into Combs and Knight was a bizarre choice by LAPD brass. Amir Muhammad was a name actually, there was never an Amir Muhammads name, there was just an Amir, which was part of a clue given by a jailhouse informant named Michael Robinson. So much so, says Kading, that in July 2006 he was handpicked to lead the Biggie Smalls murder investigation. DX: And did you interview David Kenner about this meeting? I was like, 'We'll wipe their ass out, quick. For the third time, Wilson determined that a discovery violation had occurred. Teresa Swann Marketing Operations Manager Carbondale, Colorado, United States 477 followers 476 connections Join to view profile Exclusive Resorts About Marketing professional experienced in. [6], On March 9, 1997, at 12:30a.m. (PST), Wallace left with his entourage in two Chevrolet Suburbans to attend an after-party at Steve Stoute's house in the Hollywood Hills. After Greg left, we finally made the decision, McClure says. DX: Now, I don't know if you can answer this question, but I do need to ask it: Is "Theresa Swann" actually former Death Row Records artist, and mother of Suge Knight's nine-year-old daughter,. Greg Kading: I would love to sit down and show you their actual statements, because you see that Lil Cease doesnt give that description in his initial interview. Again, the defense attorney found out, and again, Wilson hammered Searight. [21], Muhammad, who was not an official suspect at the time, came forward to clear his name. But Kading says the big money was an official $50,000 reward being offered in an entirely different case that Smith knew something about. View Teresa Swann results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Now chief of police in Montebello, McClure says Kading's perception is skewed. We had very explicit orders that any developments regarding Mack, Perez or any other L.A.P.D. Cooper declared a mistrial in Voletta Wallace's civil suit against LAPD and fired a stern warning shot at the department, awarding Voletta Wallace more than $1 million in legal fees. Harry Billups (suspected shooter by, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 20:52. But investigators are like softball parents: Their kid is always better than your kid. Suge told her to go see Poochie and take care of Biggie. I had no idea there were such powerful forces involved in all of this.. Of course Suge had been around long enough in his life to know there are informants out there and you never know who they are. By 12:45a.m. (PST), the streets were crowded with people leaving the museum. The hit was allegedly orchestrated by Death Row Records boss Marion "Suge" Knight in response to the 1996 murder of his money maker Tupac Shakur and to maintain his hardcore gangster status, according to former LAPD detective Greg Kading. Like a tense scene from L.A. Law, they prepared a fake confession from Wardell Poochie Fouse, a close associate of Suge Knight's, then asked Swann to confirm it a creative tactic used by LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division. [14][15] The book stated that one of Mack's alleged associates, Amir Muhammad, was the hitman who killed Wallace. Also, the U.S. Attorney's Office redacted everything in Kading's journals that was not pertinent to Torres, but the defense found blacked-out entries that did relate to Torres. Greg Kading: No, actually I dont. Money that was immediate was what they worked for. This could be the result of his strict no-snitching policy, which would have prevented him from taking an informant deal to avoid the many years he has spent behind bars. Swanns lawyer secured her prosecution immunity for attempting to get Knights admission deal and she has stayed silent ever since. Suges criminal instincts kept him from taking the bait when she raised Biggies death. Read 10 highlights from the Keffe D confessions. Six months later, Bad Boy Entertainment rap star Christopher Wallace, best known as Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G., was shot to death in L.A. Keffe D places himself in the passenger seat of the old white Cadillac that famously pulled up, full of Crips, on the right side of the BMW carrying Shakur and Knight toward a club just off the Vegas Strip. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. . But, thats not how you conduct an investigation. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Shortly afterward, McClure decided to jam a spike in the investigation, Kading says. Murder Case: Finally Time for Answers? Ms. Wallaces belief that former L.A.P.D. Greg Kading: Yeah, absolutely. He added: If he was going to let some rival crew come in and try to murder him without a reaction, what did that do for the reputation hed spent years building? [3] Life After Death was scheduled for release on March 25, 1997. We took her statement, it was reinforced with these other statements by these other insiders, and then the circumstantial evidence of the car, the money transfers, all of the things that happened [that] led us to believe that she was telling the truth. They remain secret as the murder case is active. Cop's Book Says Sean Combs, Suge Knight Ordered Tupac and Biggie Voletta Wallace's lawyer, Perry Sanders, tells the Weekly he suspended her lawsuit in part because she and the federal judge on the case strongly believed that LAPD was relaunching the investigation in full force. The conversation was almost 12 years on from the murder and he would have suspected something with her all of a sudden bringing this stuff back up. He says that he heard that it was Amir, or Ashmir, or Kenny, or Keke. So when hes interviewed, and hes giving information to the detectives, he says this is what he heard, is that, It was a guy named Amir. It was a guy named maybe Amir or Ashmir. Hes not even sure. What real benefit does the LAPD have in closing the case when all it's going to do is create a negative public response?". [1] Retired LAPD Officer Greg Kading alleged that Marion "Suge" Knight, the head of Death Row Records, orchestrated the murder in revenge for the September 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur in a similar drive-by homicide by gunshot.[2]. Kading has no faith in the case ever being closed following Poochies death and the silence of Swann and Knight, who is serving 28 years for voluntary manslaughter after running down two men on a film set. he came to Theresa to grab $400 to get out of town. It was the right decision.. She could either go to jail or tell us what she knew about the murder. Under FBI policy, Swann's interview couldn't be recorded on tape, Kading says. The consequences were also overshadowed by the benefit and reward in their minds.. They were the fruit of an intensive investigation by a special task force of LAPD officers plus agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation that had begun years earlier, in May 2006. "[17], An article published in Rolling Stone by Sullivan in December 2005 accused the LAPD of not fully investigating leads concerning Death Row Records based on Poole's evidence. Kevin McClure with the blessing of brand-new LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. The law was only a deterrent if someone was stupid enough to get caught. to not identify former L.A.P.D. And, we were always recognizing because we had taken this to the federal investigative level including [having] the F.B.I. [16], Several days into the trial, the plaintiffs' attorney disclosed to the Court and opposing counsel that he had received a telephone call from someone claiming to be an LAPD officer and provided detailed information about the existence of evidence concerning the Wallace murder. Rapper Nas felt at the time that Wallace's death, along with that of Tupac Shakur, "was nearly the end of rap."[10]. [19], On January 19, 2007, Tyruss "Big Syke" Himes, a friend of Shakur who was implicated in Wallace's murder by the Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV and XXL magazine in 2005, had a defamation lawsuit regarding the accusations thrown out of court.[37]. detective Russell Poole. He told me where Biggie would be you know, that party at the car museum. Deaths Were Nearly 'The End Of Rap', "Review: Rappers' deaths probed in 'LAbyrinth'", "Slain rapper's family keeps pushing suit", "Witness in B.I.G. Swann Theresa is on Facebook. doesnt want the And there was an F.B.I. The theory was based on evidence provided by an informant named Psycho Mike[16] and the general resemblance of Muhammad to the facial composite generated during the investigation. I wouldve loved to have talked to Voletta Wallace during the investigation. The problem was we never got any. Theresa has been a resident of six cities, including Navarre, FL and Gulf Breeze, FL. Prior to leaving, the Los Angeles Fire Department closed the party early because of smoking and loud music. As a matter of fact, if you look at that official video the YouTube video, theres several versions of it but theres one that says official if you really dissect that, which we did, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that that is Poochie in his car in that dark-colored Impala. But it never happened.. As you will read in the book, I was pulled off the task force shortly after her confession and I never got a chance to do all the follow-up stuff that needed to be done. Greg Kading: No, I dont believe that. Kading is working on a new podcast and documentary about former rogue cop Christopher Dorner called Fury And Flames. The allegations that blame Tupac Shakur's murder on Sean Combs tend to strengthen a different, yet equally controversial, L.A. Times article from 2008, in which Philips fingers Combs for initially setting up a bloody mugging of Shakur in 1994, two years before he was killed in Las Vegas. L.A. Weekly has verified her identity as Knight's longtime lover and business associate but has chosen not to reveal her. And that something someone else coming forward to corroborate what we had didn't happen.. The prosecution basically got caught doing something they didn't know was wrong, but the judge ruled it a discovery violation, Kading says. The Murders of gangsta rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. We followed every viable lead that we had at the time and pushed it to the point where we needed something else to occur in order to move the case forward. Wait a minute, I have a clue with a guy named Amir on it. It was a very loose connection. She had been a resident . [5] The accuracy of the article was later challenged in a letter by the Assistant Managing Editor of the Los Angeles Times, who accused Sullivan of using "shoddy tactics." [20], The Los Angeles Times printed conflicting theories of the murder in different sections of the paper. I dont believe that at all. Kading planned to notify her last weekend that Murder Rap was going to print. At the time the multi-agency task force was formed by the LAPD, Smalls' mother, Voletta Wallace, was suing the City of Los Angeles for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars because she believed dirty cops had been involved in her son's murder. "Notorious B.I.G. He says federal agents are prepared to relocate her if necessary, to assure her safety in the wake of its publication. Keffe D tells Kading on tape that his nephew leaned over, and Orlando [Baby Lane] rolled down the window and popped him [Shakur]. Later, he adds, If they would've drove on my side [of the car] I would've popped him.. When Kading published a book about the case, he gave Suge's girlfriend a fake name: Theresa Swann. DX: Just bringing the investigation up to more currently What evidence did you collect in addition to the statements of Theresa Swann to tie Wardell Poochie Fouse and Suge Knight to the murder of Biggie Smalls? I have no reason to believe they were there, but I dont have any I havent seen the evidence that was in the civil case [brought by Voletta Wallace] regarding the L.A.P.D. Of course Suge had been around long enough in his life to know there are informants out there and you never know who they are. By the time Kading was cleared of wrongdoing in the TorresNumero Uno case, the Biggie Smalls investigation had been called off. Theyre much more likely to open up and begin to discuss things that present their own culpability in crimes when they think that somebody else has already opened the door, that somebody else has already ratted. After speaking with a handful of gang members, Philips wrote a 2002 front-page article accusing Biggie Smalls of paying the Crips $1 million to knock off his West Coast competition. . After a 25-year career in law enforcement, Kading retired in 2010 and began writing his book detailing the three years he investigated the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. DX: And, ultimately you believe Biggies mother is mistaken in her apparent loyalty to Russell Pooles original theory that Amir Muhammad murdered her son at the direction of former L.A.P.D. So that was the protocol we had. (Knight would survive that night's shooting with a bullet wound to the head.). Name: Theresa Kay Swann: Credentials: Real Estate Broker: Experience: 34 yrs: Complete Address: 13062 Hwy 190 W, P O . DX: Just out of curiosity though, did you ever converse with Russell Poole during your investigation? View Teressa Swann results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. So saying that, we have no reason to believe that Perez or Mack were there. Voletta Wallace's attorney Sanders tells the Weekly that Kading's book does not meaningfully refute theories that corrupt LAPD cops were involved, and Sanders does not believe that alleged co-conspirators Swann, Knight and Poochie could have known Smalls was at the Petersen Automotive Museum party on the night he was gunned down. Had Los Angeles lost the suit, the city's liability could, by some reckoning, have risen to $500 million, the estimate of Biggie Smalls' lost earnings. And theyre trying to help, and its all honest, but they influence each other, and sometimes they taint each others perceptions. LAPD took nearly a year to complete its investigation of Kading. Steven Katz, the lead detective in the Wallace investigation. And thats where the solicitation and the conspiracy was fostered. In what seemed like an instant, however, Kading went from the top of the world to the depths of a very public hell. Greg Kading: No, absolutely not. Theresa Del Signore OfficialUSA.com Records We were kind of bifurcated away from the civil investigation. I am a native Houstonian a city that I love regardless of our unpredictable weather. Kading has no faith in the case ever being closed following Poochies death and the silence of Swann and Knight, who is serving 28 years for voluntary manslaughter after running down two men on a film set. Unsolved case Kading added: "Suge would have figured out she spoke, but the reality. | music at popturf", "Notorious B.I.G. In 2006, Wallace's mother, Voletta Wallace, his widow, Faith Evans, and his children T'yanna Jackson and Christopher Jordan "CJ" Wallace, filed a $400 million second wrongful death lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) alleging that corrupt officers were responsible for Wallace's death. We are relying on her statement, but it is backed up by other people within Death Row, who were all trying to get $25,000 in untraceable funds for something Suge needed done. Confidential? Two months later, Federal Judge Stephen Wilson issued a shocking ruling, throwing out the verdicts. I had to believe that they wanted to find out who the murderer of my son was. Feeling frustrated and betrayed, Kading resigned. HipHopDX: I wanna start off by asking you about the crucial elements of The Notorious B.I.G. Kading added: Suge would have figured out she spoke, but the reality was that he was not going to kill or harm the mother of his child, especially if she is working with law enforcement. According to her, the solicitation was $25,000 and she gave Poochie 14 grand, clearly she kept the remainder. [5][13] In the book, Sullivan accused Marion "Suge" Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and a known Bloods affiliate, of conspiring with corrupt Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer David Mack to kill Wallace and make both deaths appear to be the result of the rap rivalry. The first bullet hit his left forearm and traveled down to his wrist; the second hit him in the back, missing all vital organs, and exited through his left shoulder; and the third hit his left thigh and exited through his inner thigh. Theresa Swann - Address & Phone Number | Whitepages [4] Other guests included Faith Evans, Aaliyah, Chris Tucker, the Wayans brothers, Ginuwine, Irv Gotti, Jewell, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, Missy Elliot, Timbaland, Kenny Burns, DJ Clue, Clark Kent, DJ Quik, Ed Lover, and members of the Bloods and Crips gangs. They included: In one snippet, Kading was made to sound as if he had helped Del Real's brother, Albert, evade spousal-abuse charges. Film 'City of Lies' Pulled From Release Schedule", "Mark Saylor dies at 58; former Times editor oversaw Pulitzer-winning series", "Man No Longer Under Scrutiny in Rapper's Death", "Informant in Rap Star's Slaying Admits Hearsay", "Hip-Hop Homicide "Worth More Dead Than Alive" Crime Library on", "LAPD launching new Notorious BIG task force", "Interview: Suge Knight paid Poochie $900 before killing B.I.G. Who is Teresa Swann? Nobody ever had anything beyond that. It was an in-person [meeting]. It was definitely necessary to follow-up on it, but it wasnt enough to build a whole theory around. officers in your findings as having been part of the Biggie Smalls murder plot? Journalist Randall Sullivan devoted both a sprawling Rolling Stone article and a popular novel to Poole's allegations. Theresa Swann | Facebook They robbed Suge on a personal and professional level. And Russell Pooles theory of course leads to the inevitable lawsuit about the police being involved because Russell Poole finds out that a guy named Amir had visited David Mack at the Montebello City Jail after his bank robbery arrest. Mack and Muhammad (a.k.a. Until this month's release of Murder Rap, the only real opposition to Detective Russell Poole's conspiracy theories about corrupt cops was a series of Los Angeles Times articles written by Pulitzer Prizewinning reporter Chuck Philips. It took only three days to find Muhammad, who had a current ad for his brokerage business running in the Times. But when Kading visited Voletta Wallace in Pennsylvania a couple weeks ago to hand her a copy of his book, he says she thanked him, saying it would prove very beneficial.. The fourth bullet was fatal, entering through his right hip and striking several vital organs, including his colon, liver, heart, and the upper lobe of his left lung, before stopping in his left shoulder area.