Murder Inc. head Irv Gotti was arrested backstage at an R. Kelly concert in Oakland, California, on Friday night for possessing ecstasy.
The producer, whose real name is Irving Lorenzo, was booked that night at the Alameda County Jail in Oakland for possession of a controlled substance and released on bail.
According to Russ Giuntini, a prosecutor with the Alameda County district attorney's office, Gotti was stopped at a security checkpoint backstage at the Network Associates Coliseum, where R. Kelly was performing that night. Police found a single MDMA tablet, commonly known as ecstasy, in Gotti's pocket along with some prescription Viagra tablets.
Gotti has been under investigation by federal prosecutors for money laundering and fraud charges involving his record label and his relationship with convicted drug dealer Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff.
Gotti is scheduled to appear in front of a judge in Oakland on Tuesday (August 19). If he's found guilty of a misdemeanor, the prosecutor said, he won't face jail time but will most likely be mandated to appear in the county's drug diversion program.
—Joseph Patel