NEW YORK — The long-time host of “The Late Show with David Letterman” found himself answering questions rather than asking them on Monday when a federal court in New York City conducted an audition for a possible role as a jury in a criminal prosecution.

In the serious setting of a criminal trial over a cryptocurrency fraud, Judge P. Kevin Castel questioned the famous bearded comedian, identified in court only as “Juror 16,” as he did three dozen other potential jurors to determine who would be on a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates.

On Jury Duty, David Letterman Auditioned For A Role He’s Never Gotten

The prospective jurors had already survived a general phase of questioning in which people are disqualified for hardship grounds, such as medical concerns or employment that they cannot leave. The experiment is planned to last less than two weeks.

When Letterman, who retired from his program in 2015, reached what could be the final round of jury selection, the judge threw a softball: “Where do you live?”

“Hartford,” David replied, demonstrating that he couldn’t get through a single syllable without cracking a joke.

“No, it’s a joke,” David promptly informed the judge. Hartford is in Connecticut, which would have barred him from the jury because it is outside the area from which jurors are selected.

“Nice try,” the court replied, adding, “You figured you would forego Queens,” another region outside the jurisdiction of the Southern District of New York. Queens is situated in the Eastern District of New York.

After David revealed his true residence — Westchester County — the two began a flurry of questions and answers that lasted nearly three dozen exchanges.

Along the way, the court, lawyers, and perhaps three dozen prospective jurors learned much about Letterman that the rest of the world already knows. He was born in Indianapolis, graduated from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and has a 20-year-old son attending college in Massachusetts.

When asked what he does for a living, David replied that he is currently “working for a company called Netflix.”

“Spouse or significant other?” Castel asked.

“I have had both. Letterman said, “Currently, I only have the spouse.”

When asked how he obtained his news, Letterman referred to the past, stating, “Every morning, I used to pick up the paper from the front porch. Now, when I switch on the computer, it displays an aggregation of news sources from throughout the United States and around the world.”

When asked what he likes to watch aside from the Netflix shows he’s engaged with, Letterman replied, “I enjoy sports.”

“I’m glad football is here. I’m glad it’s baseball season. I enjoy motorsports. “I enjoy pretty much what most Americans watch on television,” he stated.

The judge enquired whether he was an Indianapolis Colts football fan.

“I’m a huge Colts fan. “0 and 2, but still a fan,” he remarked, alluding to the Colts’ losses in their first two games of the season.

Letterman’s hobbies include fishing, skiing, and spending time outdoors.

On Jury Duty, David Letterman Auditioned For A Role He’s Never Gotten

“Have you ever been called to serve as a juror?” the judge enquired.

“Been called several times. “Just couldn’t make it happen,” Letterman replied.

“You know, this may be the charm,” Castel remarked, understanding that Letterman had a 50/50 chance of joining the panel.

“It would be a pleasure,” Letterman replied.

Finally, shortly before the jury was sworn in, Letterman was dismissed after a prosecution used a “strike,” which lets lawyers on either side remove a specific number of possible jurors from the panel for any reason. It was the third of four strikes issued by prosecutors. No reason was provided.

SOURCE | AP

NEW YORK — According to an indictment released Tuesday, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs presided over a dark empire of sexual crimes, coercing and abusing women for years, threatening them to keep them in line, and employing a slew of subordinates to cover it up.

The music mogul “engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse towards women and other individuals,” including physical violence, “to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct,” according to the indictment.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Has Been Indicted On Sex Trafficking And Racketeering Charges

It recounts him enticing female victims and male sex workers into drugged-up, often day-long sexual acts known as “Freak Offs.” It also alludes to an attack on his former girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, that was caught on film.

Combs was detained late Monday in Manhattan, some six months after federal agents raided his luxury mansions in Los Angeles and Miami as part of a sex trafficking probe. He was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon, and his three sons arrived early to observe.

Prosecutors said they will seek to detain Combs until trial. His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, stated outside the courthouse Tuesday morning that he will fight to keep Combs free, that he is innocent, and that he will plead not guilty.

“His spirits are good. He’s confident,” said the attorney, who added that Combs came to New York deliberately to “join the legal system and begin the case.”

According to the indictment, Combs, the 54-year-old founder of Bad Boy Records, led a criminal enterprise that engaged or attempted to engage in sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for prostitution, drug offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.

He’s accused of beating, punching, and dragging women, as well as throwing and kicking them — and then using his personal assistants, security, and household staff to cover it up.

“The evidence in this case is incredibly powerful,” prosecutors wrote in a request for Combs’ custody. They stated that they had questioned over 50 victims and witnesses and expected the number to increase.

According to the indictment, Combs and his colleagues used their “power and prestige” to intimidate and lure women into his sphere, frequently under the guise of a romantic relationship. He would then use force, threats, and intimidation to induce the women to engage with male sex workers in the “Freak Offs” – “elaborate and produced sex performances” that Combs prepared, directed, masturbated during, and frequently videotaped, resulting in dozens of tapes.

According to the indictment, he occasionally arranged for the ladies to fly in and assured their participation by obtaining and administering narcotics, influencing their employment, leveraging his financial assistance, and employing intimidation and violence.

The events may last several days, and Combs and victims would frequently get IV fluids to recover from the exertion and drug usage, according to the indictment. It stated that his employees supported “Freak Offs” by arranging trips, booking hotel rooms, equipping them with supplies such as medicines and baby oil, scheduling IV fluid deliveries, and cleaning the rooms afterwards.

According to prosecutors, police officials recovered cocaine, films of the “Freak Offs” and more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant during a search of Combs’ houses in Miami and Los Angeles this year. They said authorities also recovered firearms and ammo, including three AR-15s with defaced serial numbers, two of which were shattered into pieces in his Miami bedroom closet.

The indictment describes Combs as a violent guy who choked and shoved victims, slapped and kicked them, and sometimes pulled them by their hair, resulting in injuries that took days or weeks to heal. According to the indictment, his employees and accomplices sometimes observed his brutality and either prevented victims from fleeing or followed down those who did.

It claims that Combs occasionally stored tapes of victims performing sex acts and used the recordings as “collateral” to ensure the women’s continued obedience and silence. According to the accusation, he reportedly exerted control over victims by offering professional possibilities, providing and threatening to withhold financial support, dictating how they appeared, monitoring their health records, and regulating their living arrangements.

According to the indictment, Combs and his colleagues encouraged witnesses and victims to remain silent by paying bribes and providing misleading accounts of what transpired.

All of this, prosecutors claim, was taking place behind the scenes of Combs’ global music, lifestyle, and clothing empire.

“A year ago, Sean Combs stood in Times Square and was awarded the keys to New York City. “He was indicted today and will face justice,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference on Tuesday. His office is filing the case.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Has Been Indicted On Sex Trafficking And Racketeering Charges

Combs relinquished the key in June after Mayor Eric Adams asked for it back.

Combs was regarded as one of hip-hop’s most important personalities before a slew of allegations surfaced over the last year.

Cassie, whose official name is Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit in November, alleging that he had battered and raped her over the years. She accused Combs of coercing her and others into having unwanted intercourse in drug-fueled circumstances.

The lawsuit was settled in one day, but months later, CNN published hotel security footage of Combs punching, kicking, and throwing Ventura to the floor. After the tape was released, Combs apologised, saying, “I was disgusted when I did it.”

The indictment refers to the attack without name Ventura and claims Combs attempted to bribe a hotel security guard to keep quiet about it.

Douglas Wigdor, Ventura’s lawyer, declined to comment Tuesday.

Combs and his counsel refuted identical claims made by others in a series of cases.

A lady claimed Combs raped her at the age of 17 two decades ago. A music producer sued Combs, claiming he was compelled to have sex with prostitutes. Another woman, April Lampros, claimed Combs subjected her to “terrifying sexual encounters” beginning when she was a college student in 1994.

The Associated Press does not normally name persons who claim to have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Ventura and Lampros did.

Combs has already faced legal issues. Notably, he was acquitted in 2001 of firearms charges stemming from a Manhattan nightclub shooting two years prior that injured three people.

SOURCE | AP

Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who formed the iconic pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was seventy.

Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet, and was raised in a musical family whose songs have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

“With heavy hearts, we announce that our dear father, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson, is no longer with us. We are astonished, sad, and heartbroken. “Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj, and Taryll Jackson said in an Instagram post late Sunday.

Tito Jackson, Member Of Beloved Pop Group The Jackson 5, Dies At 70

The Jackson 5, one of the final major groups formed by Berry Gordy’s Motown business, consisted of teenage and pre-teen brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and lead singer Michael. Gordy signed them in the late 1960s when Motown’s popularity was waning and tastes were turning away from the polished pop-soul of Motown’s heyday and towards the funkier sounds of Sly and the Family Stone.

The group’s breakout single, “I Want You Back,” was openly modeled after Sly and the Family Stone and topped the charts in 1969. The Jacksons followed up with three more No. 1 hits, “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There,” as well as “Mama’s Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye,” which reached the top five.

Some referred to their sound as “bubblegum soul.”

By the middle of the decade, the Jackson 5’s appeal had faded, and the group, except Jermaine, had moved to Epic and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their subsequent singles were “Enjoy Yourself,” “Lovely One,” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).” Michael Jackson became a multi-platinum solo performer in the 1980s, and duets with his siblings became uncommon following the 1984 album “Victory.”

In 1997, the Jackson 5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and long-time friend Diana Ross presented them during the ceremony.

Raised in Gary, Indiana, the Jackson 5 were led by their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitarist. Michael and his sibling La Toya would accuse him of aggressive behavior. Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the group’s least-heard member, serving as a background singer and guitarist.

Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009. Tito Jackson told The Associated Press in December 2009 that his younger brother’s death brought the family closer together.

“Definitely, it drew us closer together. Recognising the love we have for one other when one of us is not here, what a big loss,” he added, adding that he would personally never “be at peace with it.”

“I still have moments when I can’t believe it. “So I believe that will never go away,” he said.

In 2014, Jackson stated that he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson’s absence during their shows, which included foreign tours.

“I doubt we’ll ever get used to performing without him. He’s sorely missed,” Jackson stated, stressing that his brother’s presence remains “with us when we play.” It fills us with wonderful energy and makes us smile a lot.

Days before his death, Jackson wrote a message on Facebook from Germany on September 11, where he had visited a Michael Jackson monument with his brothers.

“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I went to the lovely tribute for our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We are grateful for this wonderful site that honours both his memory and our common legacy. Jackson wrote: “Thank you for keeping his spirit alive.”

Tito Jackson, Member Of Beloved Pop Group The Jackson 5, Dies At 70

Jackson was the latest of the nine brothers to record a solo album, with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” In 2017, he published a song called “One Way Street,” and in 2019, he told the Associated Press that he was working on his second album.

Jackson stated that he purposefully avoided pursuing a solo career in order to devote his time to raising his three boys, who created their music group, 3T. Jackson’s website includes a link to the single “Love One Another,” which features 3T and Stevie Wonder.

Jackson is also survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon, and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie, and La Toya, and his mother Katherine. Their father died in 2018.

Entertainment Tonight initially reported Jackson’s death.

SOURCE | AP