Tupac-related fugitive arrested

New York - A fugitive hip-hop mogul recently linked by a convicted killer to a shooting that wounded Tupac Shakur was arrested on Tuesday in a drug case after he was discovered hiding out at a popular Manhattan hotel.

According to criminal complaint, the ring smuggled large amounts of cocaine into the New York City area and the proceeds back to Los Angeles in road cases normally used by musicians to transport their instruments and other equipment.

Authorities said Rosemond, 46, had been holed up at the W New York in Union Square under a false name. He was to appear later on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

His attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, said his client had been framed.

The charges are "the result of witnesses who have been bribed and threatened by the government to implicate Jimmy in the crimes charged," he said. "It's been a long time coming, but the government wants a fight so we'll give them one.

Unsolved

The arrest follows accusations reported last week by AllHipHop.com that Rosemond - CEO of New York City-based Czar Entertainment - orchestrated the mid-1990s ambush of Shakur outside a Manhattan recording studio.

The allegations were attributed to Dexter Isaac, who is serving a life sentence in an unrelated murder-for-hire plot. The website said he claimed he was paid $2 500 to rob and shoot the legendary rapper.

The complaint unsealed on Tuesday makes no reference to the Shakur shooting, and Rosemond's lawyer has denied he had any involvement.

Rosemond is behind such hits as Salt-N-Pepa's "Shoop" and also represents The Game and Sean Kingston, according his company's website.

Shakur survived the 1994 shooting, but was killed two years later in Las Vegas. The slaying remains unsolved.