As my persistence to tell the story of the Hip-Hop Cops increased, my “fixers” —Steve Lobel and Pistol Pete, delivered on their promise to secure me interview subjects. What sounded good in theory, was in reality far different, as their strategy was to merely accost artists and executives pretty much anywhere—at studios, at parties, concerts, on the street, back alleys—they even spotted Kanye West at an album release party and convinced him to do an interview in the back of the club’s...

As I have started the introspective study of my life since the documentary I created 17 years ago, I don’t want to stray from my initial inspiration that catapulted me into my fascination with law enforcement and Hip-Hop, but more specifically, the nuances, perception, and uneven legal ground created by criminal prosecutors using lyrics, and their visuals, to pursue their criminal cases.  Like the secret book I found, the use of song lyrics or the use of a music video to create a criminal...

If you have been listening in, a New York Times article about rap lyrics that I read by a pool in the Spring of 2022, really brought me back 17 years when I decided to explore the origins of a secret Hip-Hop dossier, and why the NYPD and federal government wanted to surveil, track, arrest and indict Hip-Hop Superstars.   The way I chose to tell my story was in the form of a documentary I called Rap Sheet, and where I left off was, I was now in business with Pistol Pete and Steve Lobel, and...

In Episode one, I talked about securing a weird dossier that was compiled by federal and state law enforcement to track Hip-Hop superstars, and their entourages, associates, and record labels. With the book in hand as a young journalist, I decided the best route to tell the story of the book was to actually make a documentary, but I had no experience, no money, and I didn’t know anyone inside the Hip-Hop industry, but f**k it I started anyway. At that time in 2007 I was fascinated by what...

My name is Don Sikorski. I grew up in the confines of suburban Norwalk, Connecticut, a fan of the hip hop music of Public Enemy, KRS One and Rakim. In 1994, at the age of 18, I left to pursue an interest in journalism and New York University. I was always fascinated by the rumors I heard surrounding hip hop culture, about murder, extortion, the laundering of drug money, the connection between criminal activity and the music. Little did I know at the time, that fascination would eventually...

In 1999, LAPD detectives Buford Watts and Fred Miller (whose name should ring a bell) served a sweeping search warrant on the following places while investigating the murder of Biggie Smalls: A 1995 Chevy Impala SS that was in the possession of Michel’le Toussant Knight 8200 Wilshire Boulevard – at the time the home of Death Row Records’ Company Offices The home of Michel’le Toussant Knight The home of Reggie Wright Jr. While information has been scarce for years about the affidavit...

As we get deeper into the FBI Files data dump, one correlation came to mind: at every step of the investigation by the FBI and Phil Carson, he had to constantly communicate to his bosses and many investigators within the FBI. He had to provide the path he wanted to take to get further evidence and information that would lead to a prosecutable case. This episode we dissect an electronic communication from April 22nd of 2004. It was defined as a restricted document and the Synopsis as...

Here at Dossier HQ, it is with a melancholy sadness that we end our years long quest to get disgraced former LA Times journalist Chuck Philips to come clean regarding his knowledge of the players and forces behind the murders of Biggie & Tupac. As many of our listeners know, Philips died in late January with Dossier Producers hot on his trail. Don Sikorski and the rest of the team have been in relentless pursuit of Philips for over five years, and our disappointment in the Grim Reaper...

The FBI investigation documents are broken out into a few categories: the last two episodes really looked at the idea of evidence, but more importantly witnesses, and informants that hold information.   The documents that we find more interesting, and really speak to the cover-up or a lack of effort on the part of the LAPD are contained in internal FBI memos that were circulated among the higher-ups at the LA Field Division.   Call it political, call it back-room deal making, call it having...

Don Sikorski continues dissecting what we’re calling the ‘Origin Document’ of the FBI’s investigation into Biggie’s murder, and this is where it gets interesting. FBI agent Phil Carson is outlining to his FBI bosses, the confidential informants, confidential sources, and witnesses to interview. Now, one caveat: in the world that any FBI agent steps into there are red herrings, the hiding and misdirection of truth, and to be clear, these documents are not gospel; but they do show the...

In Season One of The Dossier, retired FBI agent Phil Carson walked listeners through the origin of his investigation into the murder of Biggie. After receiving approval from his bosses at the LA Field Division, agent Carson began a months long fact finding mission, as he gathered evidence and spoke to witnesses. He then wrote an Electronic Communication (EC) to his superiors and broke down what he’d learned, requesting that the FBI open a full field investigation into the matter. In this...

Detective Frank Lyga had already been through more in the last few years than most officers deal with during a career. From the Gaines shooting to the multiple investigations into the incident, to the theft of his cocaine and the scrutiny that followed…Lyga needed a break.   That wasn’t remotely what he got, however.   First, he had to face off with powerful attorneys Johnnie Cochran & Carl Douglas in the wrongful death suit filed by the Gaines family. His reputation was already in...

After being cleared by LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Detectives, the District Attorney’s office and THREE Shooting Boards, Detective Frank Lyga thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.  That feeling would not last long. Two weeks after LAPD Chief Bernard Parks announced that he’d been cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of Kevin Gaines, two pounds of cocaine belonging to one of Detective Lyga’s cases would mysteriously vanish. Suddenly, Frank was considered a crooked cop, a...

As Detective Lyga’s career twisted in the wind following the shooting death of Kevin Gaines, he would face a multitude of attacks from inside and outside the LAPD. It was just days after the incident that the Gaines family would hire Johnny Cochran as their attorney, who along with Carl Douglas immediately began to paint Lyga as an “out-of-control racist cop.” At the same time, the Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) investigation continued, headed by LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Detectives, while...

When any police department gets into trouble, leadership will do their best to triage the problems right away. At the biggest police departments like the LAPD or NYPD, a lot of times these internal task forces are developed, wherein seasoned investigators along with a version of Internal Affairs decide to roll up their sleeves and go after their own. But do they really? In these circumstances, sometimes begrudgingly, police departments will put together joint task forces that include FBI...

In the immediate aftermath of the death of Kevin Gaines, the story of the cop versus cop shootout in broad daylight would become world news within 24 hours of the incident.   While Frank Lyga received support in the hours after the shooting all the way up to Chief Willie Williams, soon after the narrative would begin to change. Especially as the Gaines family hired Johnny Cochran, and then-Head of Internal Affairs Bernard Parks pulled his personnel package. As former detective Lyga takes us...

If you say the name Rampart to anyone, maybe they have heard and identify it with an immense police scandal inside the Los Angeles Police Department. In this podcast, I believe if you counted, it has been mentioned 100s of times. There also is case to be made that when people say RAMPART, they might tell you they know what the story is, BUT DO THEY REALLY understand and know the various aspects of it? Now coming up on its 25 year anniversary, I felt the need to really go back in time for my...

March 18th, 1997 - The events of that afternoon would have far reaching effects that are still felt to this day. Detective Frank Lyga’s life and career were never the same. That could also be said for the Los Angeles Police Department, which immediately faced a racial divide among fellow officers that only grew more intense once Gaines’ family hired attorney Johnny Cochran. It also served as the match that would eventually turn into the flame that became the Rampart Scandal and engulfed the...

Rehashing the day after Biggie was killed is old news, for you maybe it isn’t. What isn’t old news is Chuck Philips’ article on March 10th of 1997. In reading this for the first time with fresh eyes, it’s like staring at a painting in the Louvre for three days, and on the fourth, you find a different pattern. The headline of the article reads “Gangsta Rap Performer Notorious B.I.G. Slain.” Barely 24 hours after the murder of Biggie, the narratives being pushed by the LAPD begin to form...

Since March of 1997, former LAPD Detective Frank Lyga has been an enigma, followed by whispers and innuendo regarding his involvement in the shooting death of fellow LAPD officer Kevin Gaines. With the exception of a 23 year old interview with PBS Frontline, the notoriously press shy Lyga has never gone on the record about his time at the LAPD with anyone inside the media. Because of that, very little is known about the man outside of what transpired on March 18th, 1997. That’s about to...

It was in 1995, that the relationship between Chuck Philips and his obsession with Suge and Death Row Records started. Suge Knight was cold and calculating, and any journalist allowed around him at that time would have been part of a quid pro quo or they would have been intimidated by Suge with threats of violence. Suge trusted Chuck, but more importantly, Suge understood the power of the LA Times, and what it could do for him, Death Row Records, and his stable of artists. It might be hard...

Randall Sullivan has built a journalistic legacy over the course of his career. He was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone for over 20 years, and his work has been published in places like the Washington Post, Esquire & Guardian.   He also has authored numerous books, including The Curse of Oak Island, The Price of Experience, Untouchable, The Miracle Detective, LAbyrinth & Dead Wrong.  As Randall and Don continue their conversation, they touch on a number of topics related to the...

In 2002, Randall Sullivan decided to publish LAbyrinth, what I consider the best piece of journalism ever written about the LAPD cover up of the murder of Biggie.  I can still vividly remember reading the book and realizing that I too wanted to become a reporter, an investigator, a writer. In some ways, you can make a case that Randall’s work inspired me and was a pivotal moment in my life. To imagine that almost 20 years later that I would become Randall’s friend and co-worker is staggering...

It must be five years now that I have kept a color-coded binder of information under my desk inside my home office. The binder was sent by a fellow television producer, and it was very thorough. The full Dossier is a catalogue of the work of a journalist who has worked for the LA Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Rolling Stone, Spin, the Village Voice, the hip-hop bible Source Magazine, and many others. The name of this journalist is Chuck Philips. What if I explained to...

After coming across Waymon Anderson’s name in numerous LAPD, FBI and civil trial documents, Don Sikorski tries to unpack his story in relation to the murder of Biggie. We take a closer look at documents from a Habeas Corpus hearing in 2008, and the testimony Waymon Anderson gave under oath in open court. Sikorski is re-joined by fellow Dossier producer John Anagnopoulos to discuss the relationship between Anderson and disgraced former LA Times journalist Chuck Philips. Episode note - We...