Source: Bernard Smalls / @BeanzGotGamez / Casanova
Brooklyn rapper Casanova is in a world of trouble, and he hopes to get some form of leniency from the judge ahead of his sentencing.
Spotted on HipHopDx, via AllHipHop, Casanova penned a letter to Judge Philip Halpern in hopes of getting a more lenient sentence. In the heartfelt letter, the “So Brooklyn” rapper renounced his ties to the Gorilla Stone Nation and admitted to having suicidal thoughts.
Per HipHopDX:
“I am telling you and anyone that will listen that I wanted out before I was arrested, and I am out. I learned through my music career that people will listen and that I don’t need to associate myself with a gang to succeed. I don’t need to associate with a gang even if I don’t succeed,” he wrote.
“While I have been in here I lost my father to cancer. While I put on that strong facade, all I wanted to do was end it. Surviving on Rikers Island and upstate correctional facilities were not easy with racial and gang tension and violence at its height.”
Casanova continued: “I thought I needed to stay in the life in name because it was a way to promote my career. I don’t care what the government tells you. I am telling you the truth. I was not involved in the daily activities of this gang. I wasn’t anyone’s boss.
“What I was and I regret this was a person that they could use to promote themselves in a world I swear to you I was trying to leave. I clearly did not do a good enough job of this as I did find myself in one bad situation after another.”
After being one of the 18 alleged Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang members named in a drug conspiracy RICO investigation, he has been behind bars since December 2020.
Casanova Is Looking At Some Serious Jail Time
In May 2022, Casanova pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and narcotics conspiracy despite maintaining his innocence. In his guilty plea, he admitted to trafficking at least 100 kilograms of marijuana and being a signal caller. He also admitted to his involvement in a 2018 NYC robbery that severely hurt a woman and a July 2020 Florida shooting.
If the judge throws the book at him, he’s looking at 60 years behind bars, 15 years minimum.
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Photo: Bernard Smalls / @BeanzGotGamez
