Charles Patton,Lupe Fiasco’s mentor and business partner was sentenced by Judge Dennis Porter to 44 years in prison on several drug charges.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Patton was caught with 6 kilos (approx. $1 million) of heroin back in 2003. It is reported that he had worked his way to the top of Chicago’s drug industry, negotiating with Nigerians and using profits from record deals to buy heroin and sell it in the city.
“There is a large amount of money that he received from the sales of
heroin,’‘ said Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Coughlin. “And he was
able to start up a record company.”
Though there was no explicit connection of Lupe Fiasco to the drug ring, there were recorded conversations of Patton and Fiasco discussing splitting up “whole yellow” and “whole red ones.”
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In the prosecution, a witness testified that the colors referred to $10 packets of heroin. Fiasco testified that it was referred to mixing and prepping music tracks, and denied involvement in the drug trade.
In a letter to the court, Lupe wrote
“I love Charles . . . I am deeply saddened by his circumstances and will stand by him and his family no matter what occurs.”
