NYC Drug Lord Sentenced To Life For Murder

A remorseless drug lord with ties to hip hop and Hollywood was spared the death penalty Friday by a jury that instead sentenced him to life in prison without parole for having two rivals killed.

Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, 46, who had listened calmly as federal prosecutors called for his death, showed no reaction as the jury announced he would not receive a lethal injection.

"The client feels relieved and we feel relieved to have gotten to death's door and not have it open," defense attorney David Ruhnke said.

Before federal marshals led McGriff back to jail, he waved to three rows of his friends and family and gently tapped his chest above his heart. McGriff hugged one of his attorneys, then gave a friendly nod toward the prosecutors.

Jurors, who deliberated about 2 1/2 hours on the sentence, convicted him last week of paying $50,000 for the 2001 killings of an obscure rapper named Eric "E-Money Bags" Smith and Troy Singleton.

Prosecutors said Smith was killed in revenge for his fatal 1999 shooting of a McGriff associate, while Singleton was targeted because McGriff felt he might retaliate on Smith's behalf.

"You missed the party," McGriff text messaged a friend after Smith's slaying.

The jury forewoman said the prosecution's deals with cooperating witnesses — including the actual killers — and McGriff's fear at the time of the slayings that he was targeted for a violent death were mitigating factors against the death penalty.

McGriff was the founder of the Supreme Crew, a brutal drug gang that operated in Queens during the 1980s. At its peak, the Supreme Team's network of dealers was making $200,000 a day, authorities said.

After McGriff did prison time on a drug conviction, he was released in 1997 and aligned himself with neighborhood friend and music mogul Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo. Defense attorneys claimed this was part of McGriff's plan to create movies and music.

The one-time street thugs produced one film, "Crime Partners 2000," a straight to video affair that featured rappers Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg and Ice-T.

Prosecutors said McGriff returned to the drug business in New York and Baltimore. Lorenzo and his brother, Chris, were indicted with McGriff but acquitted at a separate trial of using their label Murder Inc. to launder $1 million in drug money.

McGriff also was convicted of drug dealing but acquitted of lesser drug and weapons charges.