Kenneth McGriff

Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff (born September 19, 1960) is an American convicted former drug lord and gangster from New York City.

Kenneth McGriff
McGriff (right) and rapper Ja Rule, 2000.
Born (1960-09-19) September 19, 1960
New York City, U.S.
Other names
  • Supreme
  • Preme
Occupations
Years active1981–2006
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Criminal charge
PenaltyLife imprisonment

Background

McGriff rose to prominence in early 1981 when he formed his own crack cocaine distributing and manufacturing organization which he called The Supreme Team based in the Baisley Park Houses in the South Jamaica section of the Queens borough of New York City, New York. Under McGriff's leadership, the gang's numbers swelled to the hundreds and came to control the crack cocaine trade in Baisley Park, the neighborhood where McGriff was raised. In 1987, McGriff was arrested following a joint state and federal investigation and in 1989 pleaded guilty to engaging in a Continuing Criminal Enterprise. He was sentenced to 12 years incarceration. McGriff was released from prison on parole in early 1994 after serving approximately five years of his sentence. He was sent back to prison on parole violations by year's end, and served another 2½ years before being released in 1997.

Relationship with Murder Inc.

After being released from prison on parole in 1994, McGriff tried his hand at cinematography, seeking help from Irv Gotti to film a movie based on the Kenyatta series' novel Crime Partners. However, due to McGriff's reputation, the FBI soon questioned the intimacies of the affiliation with Murder Inc., culminating in a raid of the Murder Inc. offices in early 2003. McGriff faced accusations of drug trafficking while others with Murder Inc. were indicted on money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering charges.[1]

Other criminal activities

McGriff is alleged to have had a hand in the 2002 murder of Run-DMC member Jam Master Jay, and was convicted of ordering the 2001 death of rapper Eric "E-Moneybags" Smith, in retaliation for the death of McGriff's friend Colbert "Black Just" Johnson.[2] Federal authorities also accused him in connection with the attempted murder of 50 Cent.[3][4]

On February 1, 2007, McGriff was convicted of murder-for-hire at a federal court in the Eastern District of New York on charges that he paid $50,000 to have two rivals (Eric "E-Moneybags" Smith and "Big Nose" Troy Singleton) killed in 2001. The jury deliberated for five days before finding McGriff guilty of murder conspiracy and drug trafficking. On February 9, 2007, McGriff was sentenced to life in prison. Throughout this case he was defended by a court-appointed attorney because nearly all of his assets had been seized.

McGriff began serving his life sentence at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison in Colorado. In 2011, he was transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Lee, a high-security federal prison in Pennington Gap, Virginia.[5] As of 2021, he is housed at USP McCreary in Pine Knot, Kentucky.

See also

References
  1. MTV News Staff (4 January 2003). "Murder Inc. Offices Raided by Feds : Investigation into Irv Gotti Reportedly Leads to Raid". MTV. Federal investigators searched the New York offices of Murder Inc., the record label home of Ja Rule and Ashanti, on Friday as part of an ongoing investigation into label head Irv Gotti, according to The Los Angeles Times. On Saturday, the newspaper reported that a yearlong investigation into an alleged financial link between Gotti and a New York drug gang called the "Supreme Team" led to the raid. Authorities are reportedly investigating whether or not money from drug trafficking helped Gotti, real name Irving Lorenzo, break into the music business. Specifically, authorities are reportedly investigating an alleged link between Gotti and Kenneth McGriff, the convicted head of the Supreme Team.
  2. Rashbaum, William K. (February 2, 2007). "Man Convicted in 2 Killings; U.S. to Pursue the Death Penalty". The New York Times.
  3. "Feds Lay Out Alleged 50 Cent Plot". CBS News. September 7, 2005.
  4. Teather, David (2005-09-08). "US investigators uncovered plot to kill rapper 50 Cent". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. "McGriff's entry at the US Bureau of Prisons". Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
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