Law&Crime Sidebar - Cartel Member Claims P. Diddy Ruined His Thriving Drug Business in Bizarre Lawsuit

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

Starting point is 00:00:35 will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. An alleged affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel has filed a lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, claiming after trying to solicit the gang for business opportunities, Combs ruin this man's livelihood. We're going to break down these shocking allegations, and most importantly, the judge's very firm decision. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime, I'm Jesse Weber. Another perhaps unexpected development in the Sean Diddy Combs saga we want to talk to you

Starting point is 00:01:21 about. This is the hip-hop and rap artist and producer is facing multiple lawsuits, alleging sex trafficking, assault, rape, and as the reported investigation into human trafficking out of the Southern District of New York continues with a grand jury allegedly being impaneled and hearing evidence, although to be clear, no charges or arrests have been made. While all this is going on, we have a new development for you that I want to talk about. A man named Alfredo P. Gonzalez has filed a defamation action against Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment. And this is out of New York, This is in federal court suing for $666,000 in damages, very specific there. Defamation, of course, is publishing a false statement against someone that damages or harms their reputation.

Starting point is 00:02:11 But there is something to note about Mr. Gonzalez. And that is that he is actually locked up. Yes, he is currently incarcerated in the Centennial Correctional Facility out in Colorado. And apparently, Mr. Gonzalez alleges that he is a member of the Sinaloa drug cartel. This is the cartel that is considered to be one of the oldest drug distribution organizations out in Mexico, that it has trafficked everything from marijuana, cocaine, heroin, meth, fentanyl into the United States. This is according to a Congressional Research Service report. And he seems to be filing this action pro se, meaning he is acting.

Starting point is 00:02:54 as his own attorney. He's representing himself in this. Hey, so I want to thank Upside for sponsoring this episode of Sidebar and making episodes like this happen. Upside is a free app that gets you cash back on daily essentials like gas and grocery. So when I pump my gas, I can use it and get cash back when I fill up my tank. And yes, this is actual real cashback that can go right into your bank account. So once you have the Upside app, you claim an offer for whatever you're buying an upside, you pay as usual using a debit or credit card, you follow the steps on the app and you get paid. So to find out how much you could earn, click the link in the description to download upside or scan the QR code on screen and use our promo code sidebar and you'll get an extra

Starting point is 00:03:31 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. Hope you can check it out. So the chief United States district court judge Laura Taylor Swain out of the Southern District of New York issued an order that lays out the allegations and the law and I'm going to go through it with you. And I won't reveal just yet what the order says, what the judge's decision. is we're going to get there. But first, let's talk about this. So the order reads, quote, on or about May 5th, 2021, plaintiff received a telephone call from an unidentified business partner of Combs. The business partner told plaintiff that Combs was, quote, wanting to set up some business deals with the Sinaloa cartel. Plaintiff responded by saying that he was always willing

Starting point is 00:04:16 to set up business deals with the rich for drugs. Combs' business partner stated that he was looking to make a deal to get some young girls and boys for a party in New York. While plaintiff wanted to speak to Combs himself, he told the business partner that such an arrangement could not happen because the cartel did not sex traffic underage kids. The business partner told plaintiff that he had nothing to worry about. Combs had everything on Lock Street slang for no one can F with us. Plaintiff told the business partner that there was no money in sex trafficking. The business partner then told plaintiff that he was making a big mistake for not taking the offer from Combs.

Starting point is 00:04:58 And the call ended without an agreement. Okay, let's stop right there. Before we even move on, on one hand, for anybody who's been following our coverage here on, sidebar has been following what's been going on with Sean Diddy Combs, this in many ways fits with the narrative that we have heard already in other lawsuits against Sean Diddy Combs. For example, in the lawsuit filed by Combs, former producer, Rodney Little Rod Jones, he claims Combs and others consorted with underage girls that they trafficked them, that Combs had spiked their drinks. Another lawsuit filed by a woman named Liza Gardner alleges Combs sexually assaulted her

Starting point is 00:05:37 when she was 16 years old back in the 90s. There's another allegation that he gang raped a 17-year-old girl. So these allegations laid out by Mr. Gonzalez are consistent with what we have heard already in prior lawsuits. Now, we don't know if Mr. Gonzalez's, his claims are true or not, if any of these conversations happened. And I think a fair question could be, why was Combs or his associate trying to reach out to Gonzalez specifically?

Starting point is 00:06:08 The gang aspect, I will say, is interesting, too, why Combs would want to affiliate with a renowned gang like cartel, like the Sinaloa cartel. While we have not seen any allegations that Combs was associated, with the Sinaloa cartel or wanting to be a part of that organization. There have been allegations against Combs regarding illegal firearms possession, involvement in shootings, an attempted assassination, illegal narcotics possession and distribution, intimidation, racketeering. So there have been these kinds of gang-affiliated allegations asserted against Sean Combs.

Starting point is 00:06:44 And to be clear, though, these are all allegations. Combs hasn't been criminally charged. He hasn't been found liable in a civil service. suit, but you get the idea. Now, moving on. The order from the judge goes on to say, quote, the same unidentified business partner of Combs later communicated again with plaintiff, asking once again if he could help get some underage boys and girls over the U.S. border and that, quote, plaintiff could come to the party and watch the shows they put on. Plaintiff refused. He told the business partner that he wanted no part in their sex offender, S, not to contact him. That's

Starting point is 00:07:21 Sinaloa wants no part in their sex offender S. Plaintiff also insulted bad boy. The business partner then told plaintiff that he can make life hell because of how much power he has in the streets. Plaintiff told him to do what you do. Now the order then says that, quote, due to Combs' defamation of plaintiff, he has lost all of his business contacts in the state of New York. Plaintiff was informed by his own business partner that he cannot do business that helps bad boy out, that this this costs plaintiff a lot of money. Hmm. Now, my initial reaction was, this seemed to be a little bare bones, right?

Starting point is 00:07:58 Where is the defamation? What exactly was said? What were the statements that were made? How do you know that you lost all of your business contacts or your business livelihood because of Sean Combs? And what business are we talking about exactly? Well, those issues were kind of explored by Judge Swain. but in a different way.

Starting point is 00:08:23 She explains how a court has to dismiss a complaint for a variety of reasons. If the complaint is frivolous, if the complaint is malicious, meaning it was filed for improper purposes or reasons, or, and this is a very big one, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. That's another way of saying, even if we take all of your allegations as true, you haven't asserted an actual legal claim that the court can remedy. Give you an example, if I sue my friend because he says the sky is green, there's no legal claim. There's nothing I can sue him under. Now here, Judge Swain ruled that Mr. Gonzalez's

Starting point is 00:09:03 claims are frivolous, meaning it lacks an arguable basis either in law or fact. Quote, plaintiff without any legal basis appears to assert claims of defamation against the defendants, seeking damages arising from injury incurred to his illegal drug smuggling and sales business caused by the defendant's alleged defamation of plaintiff because he refused to arrange sex trafficking of underage children for the defendants, including what appears to be international sex trafficking. Since there are no apparent legal basis for any of these claims, the court additionally dismisses plaintiff's claims as frivolous. Now, keeping that in mind, that wasn't the only issue that the judge had either. No, in order to sue somebody in court, you need what's called

Starting point is 00:09:51 standing, meaning in order to sue, you need to show that you suffered an injury, that it is connected to what the defendant allegedly did, and that the court can provide a favorable remedy to you. And when we say injury, as Judge Swain explains, it's, quote, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered an invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized. an actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical. And by the way, federal courts only have jurisdiction over cases and controversies where a plaintiff has standing. So here, Judge Swain explains that Gonzalez has no standing,

Starting point is 00:10:31 and therefore the court has no jurisdiction over this matter. Why? Well, it was kind of alluded to before in when she said these claims were frivolous, because she says, quote, Plaintiff appears to allege that the defendants have injured him with regard to his illegal drug-smuggling and sales business by defaming him. Because plaintiff's business is not alleged to be a legally protected interest, however, plaintiff has not shown that the defendants have caused him an injury in fact for the purpose

Starting point is 00:10:59 of establishing standing. In other words, you are alleging you're breaking the law. And a court of law doesn't recognize providing a legal remedy if your criminal operations were harmed. You can't use the law to further or aid and allow. alleged criminal activity, right? And she even cites a case that says, quote, standing would not be recognized for a smuggler who asserted that his drug traffic was disrupted. Although the smuggler had been injured, in fact, the asserted interest is not one the courts will protect. And that makes

Starting point is 00:11:34 sense, right? So in this order, the judge dismissed Mr. Gonzalez's claims. And she even added how usually federal district courts will allow a plaintiff who's representing themselves to amend or modify a complaint to fix the problems. But here, she says it would be futile. There's no point. This isn't like he cited the wrong case law or the wrong statute or he didn't sign it. The whole basis of his argument doesn't work. This can't be cured with an amendment.

Starting point is 00:12:05 So therefore, she will not allow Gonzalez to submit an amended complaint. complaint. And so this action was dismissed. End of the story. Combs doesn't even have to respond. So bottom line here, you know when they say how anyone can sue anybody for anything? Yeah, sure, that's true. But it doesn't mean the case will go anywhere. And it doesn't mean there won't be consequences. Just an interesting little development in the Sean Combs story that we saw from some of these filings. We will, of course, keep an eye out for you on what happens next. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us.

Starting point is 00:12:44 And as always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this long crime series, ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Bye.

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Law&Crime Sidebar - Cartel Member Claims P. Diddy Ruined His Thriving Drug Business in Bizarre Lawsuit

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