As you may have heard, not too long ago, the government decided to crank up the heat on alleged insider traders, devoting considerable resources to nailing these guys and girls to the wall. Phone lines have been tapped, friendships destroyed. Last year, anyone who’d ever glanced in the direction of a person who’d had a 5 minute conversation with hedge fund manger Raj Rajaratnam went down, as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara sent the message that while you all may have been used to an era of loosey-goosey, he runs a much tighter ship. To that end, those committing non-violent crimes have been sent to jail for really, really long time, even if a unique constellation of ailments ravaging their bodies meant time behind bars would most certainly kill them. And with Bharara and Co showing no signs of easing up on their targets, some of you might be worried a stay in the big house may be in your future, having wittingly or unwittingly gotten on his bad side. But you need’t be! While Raj might tell you otherwise, according to at least one guy doing time, prison is not actually so bad. In fact, you might actually enjoy it.
Serving two years for gun possession, Ja Rule found a new posse behind bars — a couple of cons he calls “Hevey D” and “Koz.” The Queens-raised rap star says disgraced pol Alan Hevesi and corporate greed poster-boy Dennis Kozlowski took him under their wings. From Kozlowski, he got stock tips. From Hevesi, he heard about the perennial impasse in Albany. They watched Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert together…“I was studying for my GED and Koz came in and talked to me and said, if you need any help, let me know,” he said, two weeks after getting the degree. The ex-CEO told him to buy airline stock and study business. He starts taking college-level courses this month. Hevesi, 72, isn’t the first power player Ja Rule has met in prison: At Hudson Correctional Facility he played cards and basketball with Hank Morris, the strategist who pocketed $18 million in the pension scandal that doomed Hevesi. “Hank was my Spades partner, and we were undefeated in basketball,” Ja Rule said…“Outside, you don’t meet guys like this every day. This place is amazing,” Ja Rule told the Daily News during an exclusive interview at Mid-State Correctional Facility in upstate Oneida, N.Y.
Just something to keep in mind.
Rapper Ja Rule, serving two years for gun possession, finds new posse behind bars [NYDN]
I'm just amazed that Ja Rule could pass the GED… Now imagine what contribution he could have had to society if he decided to stay in school.
buy airline stocks? was koz long AMR before he went in…I hope his legal team works better than his stock picks.
It sounds like spending two years in an American jail maybe a better investment than getting your MBA.
~Eastern European HBS'13
Maybe Raj-Raj can work on his rap album while he is in the pen. Snitches get stitches!
Buy airline stocks? I'll have to look into that.
-UBS MD
I still think it's ridiculous he was only charged with gun possession…how much more evidence does the prosecution need for a murder conviction? I mean, I myself heard him confess to the crime over 4,000 times on the radio in the late 90's / early 2000's.
I think would have been a much better story if Ja Rule had DK help him study for the ethics portion on the CFA.
That man is a product of a poor environment. There's nothing wrong with him, I can prove it.
I'm sure they'll stay very close once they're back on the outside.
Motives
Whisky- all you want!
Not one George Sr. reference yet?
Give a bad tip on the inside and you get more than just the tip.
I'm Oscar!
Rob Gronkowski isn't afraid of prison. Prison is afraid of Gronkowski.
Airline stocks? Where'd you learn that, Ja? Drug school?
-Ghost of Landfill
:)
Sounds like he's really Livin' it Up.
Veni, vidi, vici, Ja.
-lil'pimpco
He just moved to the top of our list.
Please please please stop, we get that you are so wicked excited somehow you trolled over from sonsofsam.com. and combining with a Chuck Norris/Vin Diesel/Jean Claude Van Dam/Steven Segal joke ripeoff is not the career path you want for your boy
Koz had Ja-Rule enamored when they first met by telling him about his days supervising Midget Tossing..saying "shhit..Irv Gotti my Murder Inc crew ain't got nuthin on my boy Koz..now thats some gangsta shiittt"
Sounds like the plot to Wall Street 3
A Tip For Would Be White-Collar Criminals Weighing Consequences Of Playing It Fast And Furious*
I could add something snarky, but I think it's a pretty neat story, seriously. Hope you guys feel sweet making fun of an uneducated black rapper that grew up in the projects.
Actually networking of probably better at AA meetings- added benefit of emotionally vulnerable chicks, but the coffee isn't as good.
DK/Ja have another thing in common – they use the same party planner.
You best go back to step 1, Hoss. Taking advantage of "emotionally vulnerable chicks" is totes uncool Dude.
one step closer to the CFA
i find this deeply disturbing
If you're going to talk about me then at least spell my name right, Goddammit!
true
CLUB FED….Networking at its finest!!
stealing a page from Tyler Durden the NKI
D Bag.
ja be lyin. he was livin la vida homo.
+1
Murder, Inc.
Oooh, I got douchebumps when I read that..
Aside from my savvy investing in European Sovereign Debt, I can also drop dope lyrics.
"every thug needs a trader"
Jail > MBA > CFA
qHNzGm Thanks-a-mundo for the article post. Much obliged.