A number of days ago, blogger Rich Jones, who describes one of his hobbies as “liberating government documents using Freedom of Information Act requests,” posted online almost 100 pages of FBI and NYPD files on the Wu-Tang Clan’s Russell “Ol’ Dirty Bastard” Jones, who died of an accidental overdose in 2004. The file, though heavily redacted, does include evidence of a number of crimes committed by and against Jones, and implicates the Wu-Tang Clan as a whole in a number of them. Along with allegations of laundering money through their companies, the files indicate that the group had links to the Bloods, a violent street gang, and were “heavily involved in the sale of drugs, illegal guns, weapons possession, murder, car jackings, and other types of violent crimes.” (The NYPD was even considering a RICO investigation of the group, a measure traditionally used to fight organized crime.) Below, statistics and factoids pulled from the documents.
Minimum number of times Jones was arrested: 8
Number of those for violent offenses: 3, including attempted murder and assault with intent to cause serious injury with a weapon
What happened on January 15, 1999: Jones and several associates of his were involved in a shootout with NYPD officers following a car stop in Brooklyn’s 77th police precinct, which covers parts of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights.
Minimum number of murders the Wu-Tang Clan is believed to have ordered: 4, at least one of which was thought to have been in retaliation for a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate’s being robbed and another over money owed for drugs
Nicknames of the three named victims: “Pooh,” “Boo Boo,” and “Hoody”
Minimum number of times Jones was victim of an armed robbery: 2
Number of times he was shot in the first and second robbery, respectively: 1 (unclear where), 2 (in the arm and back)
How he got to the hospital after the second robbery: He drove himself there in his Range Rover.
Minimum value of jewelry stolen in that robbery: $10,000
Amount of money Jones was caught with, in heat-sealed bags, between 2000 and 2001: $4,500
Minimum amount of fines he paid in relation to his arrests: $5,500
Number of legitimate business run by Wu-Tang Clan: 16, including a clothes line, car leasing company, and, of course, record label
