Music mogul Rosemond pleads not guilty in NY

NEW YORK – Hip hop mogul James Rosemond has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he ran a cocaine trafficking ring between Los Angeles and New York.

The CEO of New York-based Czar Entertainment was arraigned Wednesday in Brooklyn.

Attorney Jeffrey Lichtman says his client is being framed. Prosecutors say the evidence includes secret recordings, e-mails and shipping records.

He's charged with running a criminal enterprise that shipped cocaine in music equipment cases, money laundering and obstruction.

He was arrested last month.

Shortly before that, an Internet report attributed to a prisoner alleged Rosemond orchestrated a 1994 ambush that wounded Tupac Shakur outside a Manhattan recording studio. Rosemond denies any involvement and the criminal complaint against him makes no mention of that case.

Rosemond is behind such hits as Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop."

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com