FBI files released in rapper Notorious B.I.G. killing

(CBS/KCAL) LOS ANGELES - The FBI has released hundreds of pages of records from its investigation into the slaying of rapper Christopher Wallace, better known as Notorious B.I.G.

The records spanning eight years stem from a civil rights probe the bureau conducted on the killing.

Records show FBI agents on both coasts participated in an 18-month investigation aimed at finding out who killed Notorious B.I.G., and to determine whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved.

The inquiry ended in early 2005, after federal prosecutors concluded there wasn't enough evidence to pursue a case against any Los Angeles Police Department officers or another man implicated in the rapper's 1997 shooting death.

The New York rapper was gunned down in 1997 outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, as he was leaving a music industry party. No suspects have been named in the killing.

The heavily-redacted records show agents in California and New York conducted surveillance on possible witnesses and suspects and traded information with attorneys for Wallace's estate in an attempt to solve the killing.