Lead FBI Agent Reveals How LAPD Brass Obstructed Notorious B.I.G. Murder Investigation

Will the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. ever be solved? Phil Carson, the lead FBI agent who investigated the rap star's death on March 9th, 1997 says it will! The unsolved murder of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G” Wallace on March 9th, 1997 continues to frustrate fans and most investigators to this very day. However, there are some FBI agents and LAPD officers who have seen the proof related to B.I.G.’s murder firsthand.

Until now, the most outspoken of these investigators has been deceased former LAPD detectives Russell Poole and Greg Kading. Russell Poole and Greg Kading came to very different conclusions.

In his book “LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal,”

Russell Poole laid out evidence that rogue LAPD cops Rafael Perez and David Mack arranged the murder along with an alleged hitman named Amir Muhammad.

Court doc from B.I.G. Civil’s Suit claiming David Mack was paid $25,000 to orchestrate the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.

Greg Kading on the other hand, maintains B.I.G. was killed by members of the South Side Crips, over an unpaid debt in his book “Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by the Detective Who Solved Both Cases.”

B.I.G. only released one album while he was alive, Ready To Die. His follow-up, Life After Death was released on March 25th, 1997, 16 days after the revered rap star was gunned down.

But his influence is indisputable.

In fact, Biggie was just inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, like his nemesis Tupac Shakur. Ironically, B.I.G. and Pac are the only solo rappers to be initiated into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and regrettably, both of their murders remain unsolved to this day.

Will the assassins ever be brought to justice? Retired FBI agent Phil Carson believes so. Carson was the lead FBI agent designated to examine the murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

Carson supervised the team investigating B.I.G’s death. Carson was the man who interrogated dozens of witnesses as well as possible suspects.

Phil Carson maintains his investigation was destroyed by the highest-ranking members of the LAPD, including former LAPD Chief of Staff (2003-2005) Michael Berkow, who is currently the Director Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS).

In 2006, Berkow was named as a defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Ya-May Christle. Christle sued the LAPD, claiming promotions and assignments were being doled out in exchange for sexual favors.

Christle, who was part of the LAPD team that reviewed the B.I.G. investigative files also claimed that information she prepared regarding the rapper’s murder mysteriously disappeared and was never forwarded to the rapper’s family as ordered by the courts.

Berkow admitted he had a three-year affair with an officer in his unit, but he denied showing favoritism in return for sexual gratification.

He was eventually dismissed from the lawsuit, but in October of 2007, a jury awarded Sergeant Christie $1 million dollars after agreeing she was targeted for retaliation and demoted.

Phil Carson told AllHipHop.com that Michael Berkow contrived to impede his investigation with the help of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chuck Philips, who was supposedly using the Los Angeles Times as a vehicle to expose informants, spread disinformation, and ruin the investigation – as well as Carson’s reputation.

Chuck Philips was eventually fired by the Los Angeles Times for fallacious reporting concerning Tupac Shakur’s death after the thesmokinggun.com revealed that specific documents in Philip’s article were fabricated by a known con man named James Sabatino. 

Ironically, Philips told AllHipHop.com his reputation was also destroyed, when The Los Angeles Times retracted his story, “An Attack on Tupac Shakur Launched a Hip-Hop War.”

In part two of AllHipHop’s groundbreaking conversation with FBI agent Phil Carson and award-winning journalist Don Sikorski, the pair delve deep into the FBI’s investigation, the evidence against two infamous rogue LAPD cops Rafael Perez and David Mack, and the alleged triggerman Amir Muhammad.