The Clifton neighborhood of Staten Island. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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The case in question concerns Anthony and Harvey Christian, a pair of brothers who last year were found guilty of running a local drug empire. The former was also found guilty of arranging the killing of a 17-year-old, but Anthony's lawyer is apparently bringing up the FBI documents as a way to deflect blame from his client."I'm not suggesting that Wu-Tang committed these crimes. The FBI did," the attorney told the Advance. "What I'm trying to ascertain is their stated belief in an official file that Wu-Tang ordered this homicide."What's tricky about this flashy bit of legal maneuvering is that we basically knew the FBI probed Wu-Tang's alleged involvement in the murders after the late Ol' Dirty Bastard's (largely redacted) FBI file got released via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request three years ago. That raises the question of whether this is a legit attempt by Gold to get a better sentence for his client, or just a way to generate press and revisit a salacious old allegation—for which no charges were ever filed—in hopes of muddying the waters.Update: 11/04: In a phone conversation with VICE on Wednesday, Gold said his primary concern is why the alleged Wu-Tang connection was documented by the FBI two months after the government's key witness implicated his client. "There's an inherent and obvious conflict there," he said.Wu-Tang Clan court filing by Staten Island Advance/SILive.comThe victims, those documents revealed, may have been marked for death in part because they robbed the family members of two of the famed Staten Island rap collective's founding members, RZA and Raekwon.
Now, the lawyer of one of those drug kingpins is asking for more police reports about the rap group's alleged involvement, as his client's sentencing looms.