A federal judge has just ruled to allow prosecutors to use the music videos of Michael "Rab" Garrett and Paul Rivera against them at their upcoming trial, as the pair are reportedly leaders of a Brooklyn drug gang called Together Forever Mafia who may have used actual weapons and cash from their lives of crime for the vids, according to Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.
"The court finds that excerpts of videos depicting the defendants with firearms, cash and drugs are highly probative to the weapons-related charges, narcotics trafficking and money-laundering charges," Judge Matsumoto said. He continued, "The defendants may offer evidence at trial that the weapons, cash and drugs depicted are 'props,' but it is up to the jury to weigh this evidence and decide what is depicted."
Garrett and Rivera's lawyers claim the videos depict "fictionalized dramatizations, boasting" and are a "part of the gangsta rap genre." The judge wasn't having it. The two men allegedly ran Together Forever Mafia from a tattoo shop located at 362 Sutter Ave in Brownsville, Brooklyn. They have reportedly been charged with trafficking crack and marijuana, sex trafficking and witness tampering.
See TF Mafia's "Black Out" freestyle above.
Source: NYDailyNews
