FBI launches probe into judge who sent Meek Mill to jail
The outcry over rapper Meek Mill’s tough sentence has attracted the attention of the FBI, which has launched a probe into the Philadelphia judge presiding over the case, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Stars including Jay-Z and Rick Ross have criticized Judge Genece Brinkley for sentencing Meek, whose real name is Robert Williams, to two to four years in jail for a probation violation, even though the district attorney and Meek’s probation officer had asked for no jail time. He is currently in solitary confinement.
Meek’s attorney Joe Tacopina has publicly claimed Brinkley showed “enormous bias” against the star and acted “inappropriately” by repeatedly asking the rapper to drop his current management, Roc Nation, and sign with Philly music figure Charlie Mack, whom Meek worked with early in his career.
A source told us of the FBI interest in the case, “The feds have an interest in the judge and [her] potential relationships. This is an investigation looking into a possible extortionate demand. Undercover agents have been in the courtroom monitoring the Meek proceedings since April 2016.”
The source continued, “Mack had previously told Meek how he ‘knows the judge and he could help him with his case.’?”
But Mack insisted he doesn’t know Brinkley: “I’ve spent more time talking to you than I ever talked to the judge. There is no conspiracy, Meek is an old friend of 30-plus years.”
Brinkley also is said to have asked Meek — in her private chambers in front of Meek’s then-girlfriend Nicki Minaj — to record a Boyz II Men song and give a positive shoutout to Brinkley in the lyrics. Mack manages the R&B group.
A rep for the FBI Philly field office said, “Per [Justice Department] policy, we neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigations.” Brinkley didn’t respond to us, and the court spokesperson didn’t return calls. Tacopina said of a possible FBI probe, “That is something that I absolutely do not have the ability to comment on.”
Source: Page Six