Based on travel records， detectives suspect that Lawson is getting the dope in California， where he grew up. They told detectives Lawson paid Juvenile $40，000 to participate in the concert in Marysville and paid Jim Jones $100，000 tobet on it lyHeraldNet.com appear with him， court papers said. A video featuring Swag and Jim Jones was released on BET in January 2009. In the video Swag raps， “Its obvious Im being tracked by the feds.” Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Everett rapper Swag performs in Marysville in May 2009. He opened for multi-platinum artist Juvenile at the show， and credited his friendship with Juvenile for the rappers appearance in Marysville. But police say informants told them Swag paid Juvenile $40，000 to perform. His start-up record label， Paper Route Records， in 2009 booked multi-platinum rapper Juvenile at an unlikely venue — a Marysville steakhouse. Swag opened the show and later credited his friendship with Juvenile for rappers performance at the 500-person capacity restaurant an hour away from Seattle. Last spring Lawson was stopped at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport， where agents found $15，000 in cash wrapped in his clothes inside a Louis Vuitton carry-on. He told authorities he didnt like to use banks and the money was from two recent concerts. Informants have told police that Lawson had been running the illegal OxyContin market in Everett， according to the search warrant. Informants told investigators that even though Swag hadnt made any money in the music business， he appeared to have plenty of cash， according to court records. Police used informants to buy drugs from Swag. The informants told authorities theyve bought hundreds of pills from Lawson and his associates. One source told investigators Lawson approached him about finding a source who could supply Lawson 10，000 to 20，000 pills. The man told authorities Lawson was willing to pay up to $460，000. He said he came up on a bus with a half-ounce of e and turned that into a successful drug-dealing business， investigators wrote in the search warrant. Lawson said he brought up six fellow gang members， and told investigators that he quit selling crack e after he discovered that he could make even more money selling prescription painkillers. Lawson also was arrested in connection with a 2005 bank robbery at the Wells Fargo on Broadway in north Everett. A federal grand jury quietly indicted him in July after authorities reported that Lawson organized the armed robbery that netted more than $40，000. He also is a self-proclaimed memberbet on it lyrics of the West Covina Neighborhood Crips， a southern California-based street gang， prosecutors wrote. It didnt take long last month for word to spread that Swag had been grabbed by police. Messages started popping up on his Web site and Twitter account encouraging fans and friends to send him letters at the federal lock-up. • www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Ekz-cEio0 Drugs and money were seized in last months raids. Police have declined to discuss what other evidence they may have recovered. Several of the search warrants were authorized by a federal judge. Those warrants were sealed and remain unavailable to the public， said Emily Langlie， a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Seattle. One of the cars， a customized Buick Skylark， is featured in one of Lawsons music videos. That same video shows Lawson cutting and bagging white powder as if it were e. Wendt and Fairman are under indictment but free on bail. Lawson was indicted last month on federal drug charges. He and associates Terrance Fairman， aka Trick， and Karmen Wendt were arrested Dec. 16 when federal agents and detectives raided seven separate locations in Everett， Lynnwood and Mill Creek. !-- This allows you to fetch xml from adicio/other sites via a locked down proxy on theadicio server. Returns javascript var $stringVar = More about Swag He regularly flashes expensive-looking jewelry， luxury cars， stacks of cash and an eager entourage in his prolific online music and psuedo-documentary videos. • www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCk3RpSfYYE Wendt is listed as the owner of an Everett clothing store， Mimis Urban Wear. Detectives say bank records for the store showed deposits between 2008 and 2010 totaling more than $125，000. Meanwhile Wendt reported about $34，000 in sales during the same time. The police said the math suggests money laundering. Ill do it for free， the round costs a buck twenty， thats relief to thousands of locals..what say you... Informants told police that Lawson has spent thousands of dollars on lavish weekends and they found more than $150，000 cash in apartments he rented， most of it in the freezer. Detectives seized financial records in December from two local car dealerships that sold cars to Wendt. Lawson continued trying to launch his rap career. It wasnt working out， so he paid established artists including Juvenile and Jim Jones thousands of dollars to appear with him on stage. A few unsealed warrants were filed in Snohomish County courts. They provide some details about the allegations against Lawson， Wendt and Fairman. Police said Lawson didnt hide his criminal ties. He allegedly told agents that hes a gang leader who came to Everett from California in 1998. Police reportedly seized some marijuana， $10，000 and financial documents from the home during the 2008 search. Investigators spent two years piecing together their case， analyzing financial documents and interviewing witnesses. Investigators havent found any record of reported earnings by Lawson or Paper Route Records， according to court records. Paper Route Records doesnt appear to even have a business license in Washington， and detectives havent found its business license anywhere else. Swag， whose real name is Jevon Lawson， has been the target of a lengthy investigation into drug trafficking in Snohomish County. “What some people may not realize is some of these gangs are making a significant amount of money and living a high-roller lifestyle from drug sales，” said Everett Lt. Mark St. Clair with the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force. Several messages read: “Free Swag.” Lawson， 37， remains locked up pending trial. Federal prosecutors convinced a judge the rapper is a flight risk. Lawson， also known as Goldie， is associated with 25 aliases， seven birth dates and eight different Social Security numbers， according to court records. He has previous felony drug convictions out of California and Washington. bet on it lyHeraldNet.com，EVERETT — Everett rapper Swag favors lyrics about growing up hard， hustling and making something of his life. Swags rap persona may be more than just an image. If the cops have it right， he is exactly what his music says he is — a hustler， a drug dealer， a gangster. Detectives started investigating Lawson in 2007 after confidential sources reported buying crack at the Mill Creek-area house Lawson shared with Wendt， according to the court records. The indictment alleges that Lawson has been selling drugs in Snohomish County since at least 2004. There are no state employment records for Fairman even though it appears that he has considerable expenses， detectives wrote. Authorities say Lawson has been linked to two men who were arrested in July for the murder of an undercover police officer in Arizona during a marijuana deal gone bad. Swag， an avid self-promoter， has been making a name for himself on the local hip-hop scene and even appeared to have some pull with big-name artists. Documents seized in 2008 from Lawsons house included bank deposits totaling more than $100，000， according to court papers. Records of pre-paid debit cards showed more than $90，000 loaded onto cards held by Lawson and his associates. Numerous high-end vehicles have been purchased for tens of thousands of dollars， often in cash， according to last months search warrant. Lawson made the inquiry even after federal agents in 2008 raided the Mill Creek-area home he shared with Wendt. Swags official website is www.swaggalife.com. Here are links to some videos featuring Swag. Warning: lyrics and images may not be appropriate for some audiences: (Editor：admin) |