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New York rapper Casanova is among 18 people who have been indicted over alleged gang-related crimes, including racketeering, murder, drugs, firearms, and fraud offenses.
Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss and other law enforcement officials issued a statement on Tuesday, said Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang members "committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."
The statement said 17 of the 18 named in the indictment were in custody.
But the FBI's New York office then tweeted a picture of Casanova, whose legal name is Caswell Senior, saying he was still being sought.
Who is Casanova?
Casanova is a 34-year-old Brooklyn rapper who is currently signed to the record label Roc Nation.
He told Revolt Radio's The Breakfast Club about how he got involved in gang life from a young age before spending eight years in prison, where his roommate was later discovered to have been rapper ASAP Rocky.
The label's website shares a bio of the rapper, which says: "Casanova's commanding presence was shaped by his Flatbush upbringing, where he learned to deal with a variety of people and situations at an early age.
"Although his family provided him with a nice home and everything he wanted as a child, the corrupting allure of instant gratification and the high of peer acceptance had him committing robberies by the age of 11.
The bio said that he never aspired to a career in music but when he spent some time in the studio with a few people, he found success almost instantly with songs like "Don't Run".
It read: "Rap became a viable career option after "It Go Down When You Trappin," his take on Yo Gotti's 2015 hit "Down in the DM," led to club appearances—which led to money.
"He released his first original song, "Don't Run," in 2016, and the aggressive warning shot set New York City's radio and club scenes ablaze."
The rapper's name came up during Tekashi 6ix9ine's bombshell testimony against his former Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods associates in September 2019.
Tekashi 6ix9ine real name Daniel Hernandez, testified that his crew had clashed with other artists, including Casanova, who he claimed was in "another" Bloods group.
The pair reportedly had had an ongoing feud and in October, Casanova said he confronted 6ix9ine about comments he had made.
Casanova told The Hot97 Morning Show: "He took trolling to a whole other level. But at the end of the day, when I spoke to him, He was like, "Cas, I don't even know you." He was speaking proper English. And I said this is really a little kid."
Why is he wanted by the FBI?
On December 1, Casanova was among the 18 alleged members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang who were indicted on a range of criminal charges.
The rapper himself was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and firearms possession.
But the officials said that only 17 of 18 suspects were in custody.
We are still looking for Caswell Senior, aka Casanova, in connection with this case. He has connections to both NY and NJ. If you have information about his whereabouts, please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI. pic.twitter.com/W38fCnBFpt
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) December 1, 2020
As of 6.30 p.m. ET on December 1, the FBI said that Casanova was still at large when they tweeted: "We are still looking for Caswell Senior, aka Casanova, in connection with this case.
"He has connections to both NY and NJ. If you have information about his whereabouts, please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI" around 6:30 p.m. The other 17 defendants were in custody."
Newsweek contacted Roc Nation and the rapper's representative for comment.
What does the indictment say:
The names included in the indictment are Dwight Reid aka "Dick Wolf, Christopher Erskine aka "Beagle", Walter Luster aka "Shells", Deshawn Thomas aka "Don", Naya Austin aka "Baby", Brandon Nieves aka "Untouchable Dot", Ahmed Walker aka "Ammo", Brandon Soto aka "Stacks", Dezon Washington aka "Blakk", Robert Woods aka "Blakk Rob", Stephen Hugh aka "Chino", Jordan Ingram aka "Flo" Shanay Outlaw aka "Easy", Isaiah Santos aka "Zay", Roberta Sligh aka "Trouble" and Brinae Thornton aka "Luxury".
The indictment says that Brandon Soto was accused in connection with the September 21 killing of a minor in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The others were indicted in connection to charges including assault, drug distribution and weapons possession.
Naya Austin and Shanay Outlaw are charged with falsely using other people's identity information to file for COVID unemployment benefits.
The indictment also alleged that: "Members and associates of the Enterprise promoted and celebrated, in music and on social media, the criminal conduct of the Enterprise, namely narcotics distribution, acts involving violence, and the use of firearms."
Strauss said in a statement: "As alleged in the Indictment, members of Gorilla Stone committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Because of that, communities across the Southern District – from Poughkeepsie to Peekskill to New York City – suffered. Most shocking, as alleged in the indictment, a minor was murdered in furtherance of the gang's activities."
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. also said: "As the indictment alleges, the violence and drug activity committed by these gang members threatened the safety of our communities and placed innocent lives at risk.
"Their unabashed criminal behavior, as alleged, included the murder of a 15 year-old and even extended to defrauding programs meant for people suffering economic hardship due to the pandemic."
