THE DOSSIER

In Stranger things, The Upside-Down is an alternate dimension existing in parallel to the human world. It contains the same locations and infrastructure as the human world, but it is much darker, colder and obscured by an omnipresent fog. The Upside Down is devoid of human life, instead being overgrown with ropy, root-like tendrils and biological membranes covering practically every surface. At le...

As the media scrum has gone quiet and the news cycle has moved on from the Homeland Security raids into Diddy’s homes, I am sure many media operations, and gossip hounds are really curious about what is next in this story? What is going to be the next puzzle piece in all of this?  I propose a quick game of looking into the uknown future for just a second, and to advocate an exercise in caution on...

Join hosts Nicole Luciano and Johnny ‘The Greek’ Anagnopoulos, two of the producers of The Dossier, as they break down all things crime and hip-hop, gleaned from their years of investigative work on the topic. From the Biggie and Tupac murders, to the twenty plus killings that are tangentially related to Death Row Records, Suge Knight, the Bloods, the East vs. West rivalry, the gangster cops insid...

In this final episode of this audio series, I needed to come full circle with an idea that I started twenty years ago as a young man, my instincts to uncover a battleground between Hip-Hop music and law enforcement was way ahead of the curve, and at that time with the completion of my documentary film Rap Sheet, I thought I had some answers, and clarity on what I set out to accomplish.   In hindsi...

Join hosts Nicole Luciano and Johnny ‘The Greek’ Anagnopoulos, two of the producers of The Dossier, as they break down all things crime and hip-hop, gleaned from their years of investigative work on the topic. From the Biggie and Tupac murders, to the twenty plus killings that are tangentially related to Death Row Records, Suge Knight, the Bloods, the East vs. West rivalry, the gangster cops insid...

As the news cycle churns, and people search for more answers around the HSI investigation of Puff, this last week an excellent article dropped in New York Magazine by acclaimed journalist Craig Jenkins, someone I admire, and a damn good writer.  The New York Magazine article stood out for various reasons, because as of now with no breaking news, Jenkins as the author took a more , “think piece” ap...

91 MURDERS in Hip-Hop, that is the current number of Hip-Hop artists who have been killed since 1987 when Scott La Rock was killed in the Bronx, and TakeOff was tragically taken from the world in 2022. 91 Murders, wherein close to 50 of those murders remained unsolved by the police. Some are long running investigations and some of these cases have taken on mythical status where the narrative of wh...

Join hosts Nicole Luciano and Johnny ‘The Greek’ Anagnopoulos, two of the producers of The Dossier, as they break down all things crime and hip-hop, gleaned from their years of investigative work on the topic. From the Biggie and Tupac murders, to the twenty plus killings that are tangentially related to Death Row Records, Suge Knight, the Bloods, the East vs. West rivalry, the gangster cops insid...

When the ticker came across the screen on CNN on March 26th, 20024 there was news footage of a HSI or Homeland Security tactical team raiding Diddy’s home, and it was at that moment people started to wonder what HSI is and why do they look like a paramilitary operation in the United States…. So, I wanted to be clear and really understand where did Homeland Security come from? AND WHY would they be...

The story of the Hip-Hop Cops when I started the documentary back in 2004, was that it was a secret unit, and it was shrouded in mystery, for many reasons. The journey of going inside Hip-Hop and law enforcement for two years, left me with a few takeaways, but more importantly it left me with a question inside my head that played over and over. Why was the Hip-Hop music industry at War with the Co...

Join hosts Nicole Luciano and Johnny ‘The Greek’ Anagnopoulos, two of the producers of The Dossier, as they break down all things crime and hip-hop, gleaned from their years of investigative work on the topic. From the Biggie and Tupac murders, to the twenty plus killings that are tangentially related to Death Row Records, Suge Knight, the Bloods, the East vs. West rivalry, the gangster cops insid...

Where to begin, with the news of Homeland Security Investigations raiding the homes of Diddy in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, it is very clear to me that something is afoot, combine that with rumors being reported that the Southern District is interviewing 3 what they are identifying as Jane Doe victims, and one John Doe, and Diddy has really hit a trifecta.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselv...

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...

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...

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 Ra...

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...

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 crim...

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 ho...

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 communicati...

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 rel...

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-u...

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 misdi...

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...

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 Dougla...

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 Det...