Diddy selling LA mansion as indictment is released. Miami should be next | Opinion

If the awful allegations detailed in a three-count indictment against Sean ”Diddy” Combs are to be believed, the hip-hop mogul is both a crime boss and a monster — a violent, cruel, abusive, hedonistic man who committed crimes in our backyard at his Star Island mansion on Miami Beach.

His neighbors, along with the rest of us, are no doubt horrified by the accusations of what Combs did to women, men, and anyone he felt like. The allegations included descriptions of forced sex parties called “Freak Offs” where drugged victims were forced to take part, sometimes for days.. Combs videotaped the parties, then used the evidence against his victims.

Combs has owned two homes on the exclusive island over the years but we’re betting he’s worn out his welcome this time. And probably not just on Star Island. Miami and Miami Beach gave him a key to their city, a blunder, in hindsight. But, who knew?

In March, when Combs’ homes in Miami Beach and Los Angeles were raided by federal agents, we got a hint of the wrongdoing. by an alleged victim, who also sued Combs. But on Tuesday, as Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, rattled off the stomach-turning allegations against Combs, the room fell silent. What Williams described Combs did to women and men at his home was brutal and cruel.

A 14-page federal indictment accuses Combs of racketeering, sexual tracking and interstate transportation for prostitution. He did it, Williams said, to “fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct.”

Combs’ attorney said his client is innocent and seemed offended that Combs was abruptly arrested in a New York hotel Monday night after he had “cooperated with authorities” — as if that would help absolve him from crimes, Williams implied.

Federal prosecutors say Combs hired, coerced, kidnapped and threatened sex workers in Miami, New York and Los Angeles to have sex in front of him with women who thought they were having a romantic relationship with Combs but became his victims. And yes, some of the women believed the music mogul would help them with their singing careers.

There is more. During parties that later in the evening turned into the so-called “Freak Offs, Combs drugged men and women to keep them obedient and compliant, sometimes for days. He then provided them IVs to help them recover.

These activities, conducted at his luxurious Star Island mansions and other lavish properties, were not parties but calculated crimes designed to satisfy his desires while ensuring his illicit operations remained concealed, Williams said.

“When Mr. Combs did not get what he wanted, he became violent, subjecting victims to physical, emotional and verbal abuse,” Williams said.

Women appear to have gotten the worst of it. Earlier this year, a security hotel video from 2016 appears to show Combs dragging, kicking and shoving his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway. Ventura filed suit in 2023. The suit was settled in a day.

For decades, Combs has been celebrated as a mogul, a visionary who turned his musical talents into a multimillion-dollar empire as co-founder of the Bad Boy record label. Now, though, he’ll be seen through the lens of the indictment, as the alleged leader of a criminal enterprise involving sex trafficking, forced labor and bribery. More charges may be filed in the case.

The federal raids on Combs’ properties netted traces of narcotics use and sexual supplies — but also three AR-15s with scratched-off serial numbers in his bedroom.

It all comprises a chilling portrait of a man who didn’t think the laws apply to him. Combs has denied all the charges but a judge in New York on Tuesday smartly refused to set bail, keeping Combs in custody.

Combs has put his Los Angeles home on the market. Let’s hope he does the same with his Star Island property.

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This story was originally published September 17, 2024 at 5:32 PM.