Black Mafia Family - Who’s Who?

The original Creative Loafing series on the Black Mafia Family laid out the broad story. Below is our guide to who’s who as it relates to the story. 

Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory

Head of the BMF. Both an alleged drug crew and a legitimate record company called BMF entertainment

• DOB: June 21, 1968
• His son Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. plays his character in the Starz TV series BMF
• Began selling bags of cocaine in the streets of Detroit during high school years in the late 1980’s and began to establish a national multimillion dollar cocaine empire.
• @ age 20 – busted with several thousand dollars of cocaine
  • Sentenced to probation
  • Proceeds to be arrested several more times for the next 18 years à avoids conviction
• By 2004 – Federal prosecutors estimate that BMF made tens of millions annually
  • At least $270 million
• March 2004 – Launches record label BMF Entertainment
  • Bankrolled $500k music video “Still Here” by Blue Da Vinci
  • Published lifestyle magazine – The Juice
  • Profited from their street cred
• Referred to as Dude by his subordinates
• Was responsible for delivering the drugs to the Gate and a member by the name of J-Bo would distribute the coke
• For 2004 song “Still Here” - Creates billboards promoting music video with the message: “The World is BMF’s”
• October 2005 – arrested in a Dallas suburb and charged with CCE
  • January 2006 – Bond hearing
  • 2007 – plead guilty for CCE

Chad “J-Bo” Brown

Chief operating officer for BMF

Blue DaVinci

Sole artist signed to BMF Entertainment

• 2004 single “Still Here” à $500k video directed by Benny Boom and bankrolled by Meech
  • Guest Appearances by Fabulous, E-40, Lil Oowee
• Summer 2006 – had taken over as CEO of BMF Entertainment since Meech was locked up

Terry “Southwest T” Flenory

Brother of Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory who helped create the BMF empire.

• DOB: January 10, 1970
• 2000 - moved to LA to be with his girlfriend and her children
  • Lived in $3 million home on Mulholland Drive
• In 2001, had a falling out with his brother and moved to Los Angeles to start his own empire.
• Was worried about the excessive spending and attention Meech was getting
• 2004 - FBI and DEA had wire tapped his phone
  • In one conversation Southwest T would help support the brother of “Playboy”
• October 2005 – was arrested in his home in St. Louis
• Indictment filed in Detroit charged the Flenory’s for “Continuing Criminal Enterprise” statue

Anthony Jones

AKA Wolf or “Wolf-who-is-P-Diddy’s- Former-Bodyguard”

• Has an altercation with an ex-girlfriend at the Chaos Nightclub in Buckhead, Atlanta. The Ex-girlfriend was part of Meech’s crew and during the altercation was kicked out.
• He calls his friend Riz for backup
• Waits in front of Meech’s Cadillac and a series of gunshots leads his wounded body to Grady Memorial à Dies

Lamont “Riz” Girdy

Childhood friend of Anthony “Wolf” Jones who grew up with him in the Bronx. He was involved in the 2003 shootings in front of the Chaos Night Club.

• Following a series of gunshots, Riz was dead at the scene.

Brian Alt

Owner of the Chaos Night Club

• Was there during the night of November 11, 2003

Debbie Morgan – Woman of Jamaican descent, restaurant owner and mother of 4. Her son was killed execution style after an altercation with the BMF in 2004.

• Is suing The Velvet Room club for failing to protect her son

Rashinnabal “Prince” Drummond

– In 2004, he was nearly run over by one of BMF’s cars in front of the Velvet Room club in Midtown Atlanta. The confrontation between the two groups led to the death of Prince execution style.

Gucci Maine

Rapper from East Side Atlanta.

• Met Jeezy at Walters shoe store in downtown Atlanta.
• Already signed to Big Cat Records
• Collaborates with Jeezy à Jeezy provides a few verses and gets paid à Make song titled Icy
• April 2005, production of the “Icy” music video à Gucci Mane is wearing a 37-carat pendant that spelled “so Icy” = $40k in diamonds
• May 10, 2005 – Gucci Mane and a friend go to a strip club from there they leave with one of the stripers, named Foxy, to her house on Spring Side Run
• May 24, 2005 – posted bond on charges
  • Happened to be on the same day of the release of his first album – Trap House
• Summer 2005 – picked up in Miami on aggravated assault charges out of Fulton County (not related to BMF)
  • Used by feds to interrogate him on BMF activity

Dennis Scheib

Former attorney for Gucci Mane in 2005 case against Pookie Loc, who claims that BMF had ties to the incident

Ash Joshi

Current attorney for Gucci Mane in the 2005 case against Pookie Loc who claims that BMF had ties to the incident

Adora Andy

Spokeswoman for Dekalb County District Attorney’s office, spoke to CL in 2005

• Denied claims about BMF’s involvement

Special Agent Steve Emmett

FBI Atlanta Office, spoke to CL in 2005

• Declined to comment on BMF’s involvement in 2005 incident
• However, FBI was involved in other BMF probes

Jeezy

From Macon Georgia.

• Was hip-hop royalty with an Indie label à Corporate Thugz Entertainment
• Publicly Affiliated with BMF
• Meech launches a record label early 2004 à Signs deal with Def Jam Records instead
• Collaborates on song with Gucci Mane titled “Icy” à the success of the song creates a public falling out between the two artists à Jeezy places a $40k bounty on Gucci Manes diamond encrusted necklace
  • In his diss-track he recommends Gucci to “stay strapped”

Loccish Lifestyle

Three members comprised of Carlos “Low Down” Rhodes, Shannon “Luke” Lundy, and Henry “Pookie Loc” Clarke

• In 2000 come to Atlanta for free style rap competition at the Atrium à won the prize
• Group name = way of life in on Macon streets
• Get an offer from Jeezy to join his record label CTE
• Low Down hesitates in taking the deal à isn’t sure this is the right move
• Terrance Bivins – Band manager

Henry “Pookie Loc” Clarke

One of the three members of Low Down.

• Becomes involved in attempted hit on Gucci Mane in 2005
• He flees the scene and is separated from the other four men involved in the incident
• He stumbles into the woods near Columbia Middle School in Dekalb county and is found dead by Dekalb county police three days later

Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington

– involved in the November 2003 shooting of Anthony Jones and Lamont Girdy

Carmello Crivello

– Deputy officer for Phelps County, Mo. In April 2004, pulls over RV on I-44 and find Jabari Hayes in possession of $9 Million worth of cocaine.{DIV}

Jabari Hayes

– In April 2004, was pulled over by Phelps County Mo. Police and found to be in possession of $9 million of cocaine.{DIV}

• Was pulled over three weeks prior, outside of St. Louis by DEA agents and found in possession of $600K of rubber banded bills

Christopher “Pig” Triplett

– pulled over with Calvin “Playboy” Sparks and caught with 9 kilos of cocaine near Florissant MO.

Calvin “Playboy” Sparks

- pulled over with Christopher “Pig” and caught with 9 kilos of cocaine near Florissant MO.

Rafael “Smurf” Allison

– in mid-September 2004, HIDTA agents wiretap his phone which leads them to an apartment complex near Howell Mill Rd and to his dealer Decarlo Hoskins

Decarlo Hoskins

– In mid-September 2004, HIDTA agents wiretap his phone and wait for a drug deal. They manage to arrest the men involved in the exchange. A month later they arrest Decarlo and charge him with possession of trafficking cocaine.

• He begins to talk about a crew selling coke down Boulevard

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)

– in the earlier months of 2004, several HIDTA offices met with at the Atlanta Police Department for a new initiative = target drug dealers in the Old Fourth Ward

• During meeting, they were told to look for “O” or “O Dogg”

Omari McCree – Aka “O” or “O Dogg”

• October 22, 2004 – HIDTA place wire taps on Omari’s phone à reveal his part in BMF
• High Ranking member of BMF and well-liked by Meech
  • Wire taped conversations led investigators to other prominent members
    • J-Bo
    • Blue DaVinci
    • Baby Blue – younger brother to Blue DaVinci
• 4 P.M – receives call from Meech’s personal assistant à tells him to lay low
• 1 A.M (6 hours after Meech is released from Bond) – personal assistant tells him to get to the Elevator
  • Leaves his neighborhood in North Druid Hills Road in a silver Porsche SUV à HIDTA agents lose track of him
• Few days later - drug bust with Jeffrey had Omari and Jeffrey in debt to BMF à went on the run
• June 2005 – found and arrested by Atlanta Police near Boulevard
  • Taken to HIDTA office in midtown and signs confidential source agreement form à begins talking
• August 2005 – began trail à entered a guilty plea
  • First in GA to be successfully prosecuted for a BMF-related crime
  • Sentenced to 15 years in prison

Jeffrey Leahr

Close friend of Omari

• Attempts to aid Omari by alleviating some of the potential pressure from agents monitoring him
• Offers to bring the goods to his girlfriend’s apartment
• Placed into a separate patrol car after a traffic stop on I-75 at Pine Street in Jeffrey’s Porsche SUV with a duffle bag stuffed with 10 kilos of coke
• Released – investigators were hoping she and Jeffrey would keep talking on the phones
• Drug Bust had Jeffrey and Omari in debt to BMF à went on the run
• 2005 – entered a guilty plea deal for BMF-related crime

Courtney Williams

Girlfriend of Jeffrey Leahr

• Old Fourth Ward apartment
• Placed into a separate patrol car after a traffic stop on I-75 at Pine Street in Jeffrey’s Porsche SUV with a duffle bag stuffed with 10 kilos of coke
• Released – investigators were hoping she and Jeffrey would keep talking on the phones
• 2005 – entered a guilty plea deal for BMF-related crime

Tremayne “Kiki” Graham

Drug Dealer with ties to BMF who disappeared

• April 2004 – arrested on federal indictments out of South Carolina – charged with distributing coke for BMF
• The son-in-law of then Atlanta Mayor Shirley Frank
• Disappearance happened less than two months after his co-defendants – Ulysses Hackett – was shot to death with girlfriend in apartment
• Early summer 2005 – Graham is found and arrested in a Subway sandwich shop in South Carolina
  • Woodland Hills – location where Graham was staying
  • Found $1.8 million and 250 kilos of coke à estimated $25 million on street

Shirley Franklin

Former Mayor of Atlanta (2002-2010)

• Democratic party
• Had potential ties with BMF through relations with son-in-law Tremayne “Kiki” Graham

Ulysses Hackett

Shot to death in girlfriends Atlanta apartment

• Was awaiting charges that he and for running cocaine for BMF

Misty Carter

Shot to death in her Atlanta apartment with her boyfriend Ulysses Hackett

Rand Csehy

Former Fulton County Assistant District Attorney

• headed Fulton district attorneys investigation into BMF
• June 2005 – helped Atlanta Police obtain warrant and they believed they had the location of a car that belong to a BMF member near Boulevard
  • Had found and arrested Omari McCree.
• Prosecuted Omari, Jeffrey, and Courtney Williams
  • Following Omari’s trail and plea – had hoped to bring a RICO against Meech and BMF

Shayne and Kelsey Brown

Nephews of rapper Bobby Brown and were there for his birthday party at Justin’s (owned by P. Diddy)

A confrontation between two of BMF’s men led to an altercation with both boys stabbed in the neck with an ice pick

Shayne received severe lacerations on his face and neck that permanently altered his nerves and muscles and lost the ability to give normal facial expressions

• Kelsey was stabbed in the neck, however his injuries were not major

Cleveland David Hall

Owner of the 2002 Cadillac Escalade that served as the getaway for the two attackers in the Justin’s stabbing

• Stated that he was at Justin’s, however had nothing to do with the stabbings
• Shayne Brown identified Hall in a photo as one of the attackers
• Hall was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and party to a crime
  • Charges are later dropped

Marque “Baby Blue” Dixson

Younger brother of Blue DaVinci

• One of the attackers in the Justin’s stabbing
• August 3, 2005 – arrested during a concert at Centennial Park
  • Prosecution filed document stating the defendant has outstanding warrant issued by FBI
• March 9, 2006 – got into a fight with ex-girlfriend and was shot to death by ex-girlfriends death when the fight moved into the parking lot of the Living Room

Steven Whalen

Magistrate Judge for Meech’s bond hearing, January 2006

• Ruled that Meech was around the BMF organization, but his actions remain ambiguous
• Granted Meech $100k bond with the condition that he remain in his mothers custody in Detroit with house arrest
• US Attorney’s office overturns judgement

The original Creative Loafing stories:

Big Meech” Flenory and the Black Mafia Family were hip-hop royalty. But investigators say they had a darker side. Part 1 of 3
[https://creativeloafing.com/content-196219-bmf-hip-hop-s-shadowy-empire-part|BMF - Hip-hop’s shadowy empire - part 1]

Loyalty within the Black Mafia Family made the alleged drug enterprise nearly impenetrable. But one high-placed member would break BMF’s code of silence. Part 2 of 3
[https://creativeloafing.com/content-196220-bmf-hip-hop-s-shadowy-empire-part|BMF - Hip-hop’s shadowy empire (part 2)]

In the summer of 2005, the party would get out of hand for Demetrius Big Meech” Flenory and the Black Mafia Family. And the feds would be ready to make their move. Part 3 of 3
[https://creativeloafing.com/content-196221-bmf-hip-hop-s-shadowy-empire-part|BMF - Hip-hop’s shadowy empire - part 3)]