Tag Archives: Ben Crump

Lawsuits Filed Against Landlord Over Deadly Bronx Apartment Fire

deadly bronx apartment fire

 New lawsuits are being filed that seek justice on behalf of the families killed in last month’s devastating Bronx apartment fire.  Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is behind the suits which target the building owner and investors over the tragic blaze that killed 17 people, eight of them children. 

Reportedly, a malfunctioning heater started the fire and doors that were supposed to close automatically didn’t, allowing smoke to escape and spread.

Attorney Ben Crump said safety rules were overlooked, adding the residents who lived in the 120-unit building were largely African immigrants, that were marginalized both before and after the blaze. 

“Windows couldn’t open up, and the smoke couldn’t escape, there is no proper egress in this building where people can escape, so literally they died from their lungs filling up with smoke,” Crump revealed in a press conference, according to CBS New York.

“If these were white citizens and you had 17 people lose their lives and others catastrophically injured that we would not only be talking about civil liability and civil citations,” Crump said, according to The Hill. “We would be talking about criminal culpability.”

The defendants named in the deadly Bronx apartment fire lawsuit include three investment firms along with building owners Bronx Park Phase III Preservation and the Bronx Phase III Housing company.

This news follows Fat Joe, and Cardi B, Bronx natives, and the New York City Mayor’s Fund launching relief efforts to gather money for victims and their families.

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Roc Nation Pens Open Letter to Georgia Governor Kemp Demanding Fair Trial in Ahmaud Arbery Case

Jay-Z and Roc Nation are doing their part to ensure a fair trial is conducted in the case of the 25-year-old African-American jogger Ahmaud Arbery who was shot and killed in Georgia in February.

Roc Nation credits the state for bringing murder charges against George and Travis McMichael, but the open letter is requesting that a third person, William Bryan, be brought up on charges as an armed accomplice to the crime. Bryan is reportedly the person who filmed the incident that took place in late February.

Another concern of Roc Nation as well as those seeking justice for Arbery is the perceived conflict of interest with District Attorney Tom Durden and the alleged murderer George McMichael who is a former police officer.

“In addition, we must demand District Attorney Durden recuse himself from the case, as the elder McMichael is a former police officer– a clear conflict of interest for District Attorney Durden,” the statement reads. “And calls for a special prosecutor be appointed by Attorney General Carr must be answered, to preserve the rule of law and the pursuit of justice.”

The Roc Nation statement is co-signed by Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Alicia Keys, Yo Gotti, Arbery family Attorney Lee Merritt, and Trayvon Martin Attorney Benjamin Crump. The open letter will appear in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a leading news outlet in Georgia.

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Kodak Black’s Mother Hires Trayvon Martin’s Attorney to Save her Son’s Life; Says She’d Commit Suicide if Her Son Dies in Prison

Earlier it was reported that Kodak Black believes that his life is in jeopardy while he is serving time. Well, if no one is taking him seriously, his mother is. So much so, his mom has enlisted the support and help of civil rights attorney Ben Crump to work his case and get him out.

Earlier in the week, Kodak Black (whose real name is Bill Kapri) shared that he believed that the correction officers and inmates at the facility he has been sentenced to are treating him poorly and threatening his life. His momma, Marcelene Simmons, is not having any of that and according to News 7 Miami, enlisted to high profile attorney to make sure nothing is happening to her baby.

“I want to make sure my son is OK,” said Simmons. “I want to make sure they don’t kill my son. If they kill my son, if my son dies, I’m going to kill myself too. My son, after God, my son is life to me. My son is everything for me.”

As a reminder, this is why she is concerned. Her son took to social media and got his entire Tekashi 69 on tattling on everyone in the prison wronging him.

“Lieutenant F. Arroyo has been very vindictive towards me and I have a strong feeling it has something to do with me being set up, laced, bruised and brutally beaten two weeks before my court date. There is a big conspiracy going on in this building on Me. Santiago Torres is using her position wrongfully in Miami FDC and is abusing her authority. She has been writing falsified incident reports on me, to take phone privileges that I get once a week while in solitary. Also, doing anything to take my gain time so that I come home literally when I am supposed to. One morning, she pulled me out my cell to tell me she is going to “Take my pretty little girlfriend off my visitation list’. For no other reason but to add insult to my distress. Not being able to see my significant other while locked away in this hell hole. Also, I was denied visit with my mother on December 23, two days before Christmas. Not only does my incoming mail take an average of a month To get to me but they are messing with my outgoing mail as well.
My family hasn’t received any of my letters for the holidays. Which is borderline cruel and unethical, but as if all this is not enough, on December 31 New Year’s Eve to be exact, I was handed an empty tray for breakfast. I brough
t it to their attention, but nothing was done for me. Since the camera shows them entering a tray through my flap, but meanwhile there is nothing in my tray when i. opened it. They are strategically killing me slowly in here. I have been humiliated over and over again. I am highly disappointed in the way they have treated not only me, but all the other inmates in this facility. With their self serving agenda they will always side with their fellow officers whether right or wrong.”

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Lieutenant F. Arroyo has been very vindictive towards me and I have a strong feeling it has something to do with me being set up, laced, bruised and brutally beaten two weeks before my court date. There is a big conspiracy going on in this building on Me. Santiago Torres is using her position wrongfully in Miami FDC and is abusing her authority. She has been writing falsified incident reports on me, to take phone privileges that I get once a week while in solitary. Also, doing anything to take my gain time so that I come home literally when I am supposed to. One morning, she pulled me out my cell to tell me she is going to “Take my pretty little girlfriend off my visitation list’. For no other reason but to add insult to my distress. Not being able to see my significant other while locked away in this hell hole. Also, I was denied visit with my mother on December 23, two days before Christmas. Not only does my incoming mail take an average of a month To get to me but they are messing with my outgoing mail as well. My family hasn’t received none of my letters for the holidays. Which is borderline cruel and unethical, but as if all this is not enough, on December 31 New Year’s Eve to be exact, I was handed an empty tray for breakfast. I brought it to their attention, but nothing was done for me. Since the camera shows them entering a tray through my flap, but meanwhile there is nothing in my tray when i. opened it. They are strategically killing me slowly in here. I have been humiliated over and over again. I am highly disappointed in the way they have treated not only me, but all the other inmates in this facility. With their self serving agenda they will always side with their fellow officers whether right or wrong.

A post shared by KILL BILL (@kodakblack) on

There are two trending thoughts about this.

The first links back to the recent riots and outcries in the prisons in Mississippi that Yo Gotti and JAY-Z has been petitioning the justice system to step in and support reform measures.

The second questions how fragile he is in prison (because it is prison) but was so defiant to authorities, the press and #MeToo advocates when the allegations about him raping an adult-aged high school student in South Carolina in 2016 popped up and he was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Or when he called light-skinned Black women “easier to break down” and dark-skinned Black women “too gutter.” Or when he threaten to punch a pregnant Yung Miami in the stomach. Or when he made reckless comments about Lauren London days after Nipsey Hussle died. Or when he talked about singer Tiny from Xscape’s looks. Or trolling The Game, disrespecting Tupac and Biggie, telling Michael Rapaport to SABD, and even acting super suspect by hitting on lesbian rapper Young M.A.

By no means do any of his past actions justify ill-treatment while he is in the prison, but it also shows that he is no… angel and there might be more to the story than is being released in an Instagram post.

However, if his rights are being violated, Crump would seem to be the man to tap. He has a reputation of being no-nonsense and working hard to protect the rights of any Black person unjustly being harassed.

“We know something happened in that prison,” Crump said to the press.

As his regular attorney Devon M. Jacob revealed that he has had difficulty meeting ith his client because they have moved him from place to place, Crump offers the team’s belief on why this is happening, further making the case that his rights have been violated.

“We believe they intentionally moved him, so he couldn’t meet with his attorneys,” said Crump.

Just to be sure that he is “ok,” asserting not that he should be treated with special treatment, the legal team and his mother want to do a welfare check.

“She wants to make sure that while he’s in their custody, that he doesn’t end up dead,” said Crump, “so she is very concerned as well as all of her family that these allegations are to be taken seriously.”

“These allegations are to be taken seriously, so we’re here trying to get to the truth of what happened to Kodak Black,” said Crump. “His mother is demanding the truth.”

Kodak Black is currently serving a sentence to almost four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to weapons charges.

The post Kodak Black’s Mother Hires Trayvon Martin’s Attorney to Save her Son’s Life; Says She’d Commit Suicide if Her Son Dies in Prison appeared first on The Source.

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