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Tekashi 6ix9ine limps into court to plead not guilty to racketeering
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine limped into a Manhattan courtroom on Monday to plead not guilty to charges that he’s a violent, drug-dealing gang member — as his lawyer revealed that he was transferred to another jail because of “threats” from his co-defendants.
The rainbow-haired rapper, who sported his signature braids and navy prison scrubs, looked glum as he and three other alleged gangbangers were hauled back into Manhattan federal court a week after they were indicted on racketeering and firearms charges.
The courtroom, which was packed with relatives, erupted into laughter as Assistant US Attorney Michael Longyear laid out the litany of charges against the men.
He said there is surveillance video that links Tekashi to an April 21 shooting at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the “Gummo” rapper was set to perform an entrance song for one of the boxers on the evenings card.
“Who sang the intro song?” Judge Paul Engelmayer asked, prompting the chuckles.
“I don’t have that information,” Longyear replied.
Tekashi and his crew were at the venue for the bout between Adrien Broner and Jessie Vargas, one of three fights on the card that evening. But on their way to a VIP area, they were confronted by a rival rap crew and that’s when someone from Tekashi’s entourage squeezed off a single shot, TMZ reported at the time. No one was hit.
A .32-caliber shell was found at the scene but not processed after it was handled by arena staff. Tekashi and his pals stayed behind for police interviews — and none were found with a weapon.
Prosecutors accuse Tekashi, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, and five others of terrorizing the city as members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods, an offshoot of the nationwide street gang.
Also charged are his just-fired manager, Kifano Jordan aka “Shottie,” and three former associates, Faheem “Crippy” Walter, Jensel “Ish” Butler and Jamel “Mel Murda” Jones.
All but Walter, who wasn’t in the courtroom, pleaded not guilty.
Last week, The Post reported that Tekashi was transferred from a federal jail in Brooklyn to an undisclosed lockup due to threats to his life.
Outside the courtroom, his lawyer Lance Lazzaro said he’s in a “facility in Queens.”
“He was moved because of his co-defendants’ threats,” Lazzaro said. “He is pretty good but he’s not happy.”
His co-counsel, Dawn Florio, added, “He’s safe but he’s not happy to be in jail.”
Tekashi was mysteriously moved out of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn last week after also receiving threats from “other gang-affiliated inmates” while in general population, Lazzaro said.
Asked about Tekashi’s noticeable limp, the lawyer said, “he has not been attacked in jail” and blamed the impairment on the cuffs around his ankles.
Prosecutors said they’re pouring through Hernandez’s three cell phones and his social media, including Snapchat and Instagram, as well as his iCloud and email.
They alleged Tekashi filmed an April robbery in Times Square and that some of the ill-gotten gains, including jewelry, were found at his Brooklyn home in September.
Longyear said the suspected gang members were also responsible for other acts of violence.
“The purposes of the enterprise included preserving and protecting the power, territory, and profits of the enterprise through acts involving murder … and threats of violence,” he said.
Walter wasn’t in court Monday because he was taken back to the hospital related to gunshot injuries he suffered in a scuffle with restaurant security last month.
Walter faces gang assault charges in the brawl at Philippe Chow.
Tekashi, who was shackled at the hands and ankles and seated in the jury box in front of his three co-defendants, didn’t once turn around to look at them. Instead, he stared into space and looked up at the ceiling.
As the men were led out of court, Jordan shouted to the gallery, “I love all my family. We don’t fall, we don’t bend, we don’t break” and then, “Entertainment.”
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‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57
Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the megahit Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died Monday. He was 57.
The cause of death was ALS, which Hillenburg revealed he had been diagnosed with in March of last year.
“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS,” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family. Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere. His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”
Hillenburg graduated from Humboldt State University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in natural resource planning and interpretation, with an emphasis on marine resources. He then became a marine biology teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute (now the Ocean Institute) in Dana Point, California. This interest, combined with his artistic talent and love of the sea and its creatures, led him to write and illustrate stories as teaching tools with characters that would later become the denizens of SpongeBob’s home, Bikini Bottom.
He began his animation career in 1987, pursuing a degree in experimental animation at the California Institute of Arts in Valencia and earning his master of fine arts in 1992.
That same year, he won an award for Best Animated Concept at the Ottawa International Animation Festival for his animated short “Wormholes,” which went on to be shown at various international animation festivals. From 1993 to 1996, he would pursue work in television as a director and writer on Nickelodeon’s series “Rocko’s Modern Life.”
From there, he began to work full-time on writing, producing and directing the animated series that would eventually become “SpongeBob SquarePants.” The first episode aired on Nickelodeon on May 1, 1999, and the series commenced its full run on July 17 of that year. The series has aired nearly 250 episodes to date. It appealed not only to children but older viewers as well, with college students even organizing viewing parties for the show.
The series has won both US and British Emmy Awards, Annie Awards and ASACP Awards and has been dubbed or subtitled in more than 60 languages, including Urdu, Azerbaijani and Maori.
Hillenburg also wrote, produced and directed “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” which was released in 2004 and went on to gross over $140 million worldwide. Hillenburg then wrote the story for and was the executive producer of the sequel, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” in 2015.
Hillenburg — or Steve as he was known to family, friends and fans — was born Aug. 21, 1961, at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. After leaving the military, his father, Kelly N. Hillenburg Jr., became a draftsman and designer for aerospace companies. His mother, Nancy, taught visually impaired students.
He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Karen Hillenburg, son Clay, mother Nancy Hillenburg (nee Dufour) and brother Brian Kelly Hillenburg, his wife, Isabel, and nieces Emma and Hazel.
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Harvey Weinstein accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old virgin
An aspiring actress says she was a 16-year-old virgin when disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in New York, according to an amended Manhattan federal racketeering lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The woman, a former model from Poland identified only as Jane Doe in the court papers, said that after agreeing to meet for a business lunch in 2002, Weinstein instead took her to his Soho apartment.
“…Weinstein wasted no time in aggressively and threateningly demanding sex,” the suit alleges. He told the distraught starlet that if she wanted to be an actress she had to give in to his perverted desires.
“Weinstein threatened and pressured Jane Doe, saying that he had ‘made’ the careers of Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and that neither would be working without him,” the suit alleges.
“He then took off his pants and forcibly held Jane Doe while taking her hand and making her touch and massage his penis,” the filing states.
Weinstein allegedly became enraged when the terrified teen objected and refused to let her leave — but eventually relented, the suit says.
The underage catwalker had just met Weinstein three days earlier at a soiree for her modeling agency Next.
After picking her up in his car for what she thought was a business lunch, she told him she was only 16, the papers say.
The pervy producer pursued the model for the next decade, getting her an extra role in the “Nanny Diaries” in 2004 — but she continued to resist his demands for sex.
In a 2008 after-hours meeting in his Greenwich Street office to arrange for her to sign with the modeling agency Marilyn, Weinstein spotted Christina Aguilera on a nearby TV and allegedly said, “‘Wow, I’d really like to f—k that p—-y’ then unzipped his pants and began touching his penis,” the filing states. Jane Doe fled the room.
But later she continued to discuss her career with Weinstein, including trying out for “Project Runway.”
Weinstein “ensured she never received work” because she refused to hop into bed with him, she alleges. The abuse and harassment left her depressed and exacerbated her anorexia, the suit says.
She is the 10th victim to join the class action lawsuit against Weinstein, the Weinstein Company and Miramax, accusing them of assault, battery and racketeering.
The women all claim that Weinstein lured them to hotels and auditions under the guise of furthering their careers and sexually assaulted or raped them.
The suit, filed by firm Hagens Berman, says that the companies, which it calls the “Weinstein Sexual Enterprise,” were aware of the producer’s alleged illegal conduct and enabled it by threatening victims and paying them off.
In September, a federal judge instructed three women — Melissa Thompson, Caitlin Dulany and Larissa Gomez — to consolidate their suit with six other class-action plaintiffs —Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Thomas, Melissa Sagemiller and Nannette Klatt.
The new complaint, filed Wednesday, added plaintiff Jane Doe, describing her disturbing allegations for the first time.
Weinstein’s civil lawyer, Elior Shiloh, declined to comment.
“This claim is preposterous,” said Weinstein’s criminal lawyer Ben Brafman. “Like so many other women in this case who have already been exposed as liars, this latest completely uncorroborated allegation that is almost 20 years old will also be shown to be patently false.”
Article via PageSix