Prosecutor says Combs thought he was above the law

NEW YORK — Sean "Diddy" Combs thought his "fame, wealth and power" put him above the law as he led a criminal enterprise for two decades, using "power, violence and fear" to carry out brutal crimes, a prosecutor told a jury at the music mogul's sex trafficking trial during closing arguments Thursday. "Over the last several weeks, you've learned a lot about Sean Combs," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik began. "He's the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn't take no for an answer. And now you know about many crimes he committed with members of his enterprise." She said charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy were supported by proof that over two decades, Combs kidnapped one of his employees, committed arson by trying to blow up a car, engaged in forced labor, bribed a security officer and carried out the "brutal crimes at the heart of this case." Combs "again and again forced, threatened and manipulated" former girlfriend Casandra "Cassie" Ventura and an ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym "Jane" into "having sex with escorts for his own entertainment," Slavik said, speaking from a lectern positioned between jurors and the tables where prosecutors and defense lawyers sat. "The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted," she said. "He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law." Slavik said Combs "counted on silence and shame" to enable and prolong his abuse. He used a "small army" of employees — an inner circle that included personal assistants and bodyguards — to harm women and cover it up, she said. The theory of racketeering law is that "when someone commits crime as part of a group, they're more powerful and dangerous," Slavik said. "The defendant was a powerful man, but he became more powerful and dangerous because of his inner circle, his businesses — the enterprise." Combs and his inner circle "committed hundreds of racketeering acts," she said. As Slavik spoke, jurors saw photos of key figures in Combs' orbit, as well as excerpts from related testimony in the trial transcript and slides to categorize evidence. One slide listed crimes prosecutors allege as part of the racketeering conspiracy, including drug distribution, kidnapping, arson and witness tampering. Another slide listed drugs such as cocaine, meth, ketamine, Oxycodone and MDMA, that Combs' aides said they procured for him, or that federal agents said they found last year in raids of Combs' homes. Combs sat with his head down, his chair pushed back a few feet from the defense table, as Slavik spoke. He was wearing a light-colored sweater over a white button-down shirt and khakis. Since his arrest at a Manhattan hotel last September, prosecutors have said Combs coerced and abused women for years as he used his "power and prestige" as a music star to enlist a network of associates and employees to help him while he silenced victims through blackmail and violence. They've said the Bad Boy Records founder induced female victims into drugged-up, elaborately produced sexual performances with male sex workers in events dubbed "Freak-Offs." Defense lawyers have argued that Combs was involved in domestic violence but committed no federal crimes. They built their case for acquittal through lengthy cross-examinations of most of the government's 34 witnesses. Some witnesses testified only in response to subpoenas and made it clear to the jury that they didn't want to be there. Combs' lawyers contend there was no racketeering conspiracy because none of his employees agreed to be part of any conspiracy. But in her closing, Slavik said employees repeatedly agreed to commit crimes for Combs, such as delivering him drugs; accompanying him to kidnap his personal assistant, Capricorn Clark; and locking his girlfriend in a hotel room after he stomped on her face. Before Slavik began her closing, Judge Arun Subramanian told the jury they would hear a closing argument from a defense lawyer on Friday and a rebuttal by a prosecutor before he instructs them on the law and allows them to begin deliberating as early as late afternoon.