In a story that would be better filed under a Hollywood crime thriller than coming out of courtroom testimony, music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is now being hit with allegations of an explosive secret $100,000 cash payoff to ensure a disgraceful 2016 video was buried. In the footage, which was later made public in 2023, Diddy is captured beating his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway.
On Wednesday, June 3, testimony started in Diddy's ongoing federal racketeering and sex trafficking case, and former InterContinental Hotel security staffer Eddy Garcia spilled the beans on an incredible hush-money exchange that reportedly took place backstage.
Garcia began with a phone call from Kristina Khorram, who had been in Diddy's employ then, asking if he could get his hands on hotel surveillance footage. She then claims she turned up to the property in person, and, after seeing the video, he cautioned her off the record, "It's bad."
But soon afterward, Diddy reportedly intervened himself. Garcia said the Bad Boy boss phoned him directly, offering a mixture of charm and desperation. Calling Garcia "Eddy My Angel," Diddy allegedly pleaded with him to buy up the tape, telling him: "If that s* ever surfaced, I'd be in big trouble."
Garcia told him to go take a hike, but he said he didn't even have access to the video servers. But Diddy was undeterred, stating that he felt Garcia could "make it happen " and promising to "take care of" him. And take care of him he did, in a manner that doesn't pass the smell test.
According to Garcia, he contacted his boss, Bill Medrano, who told him he'd get the video for a fee of $50,000. After terms were agreed to, Garcia dialed up Khorram and put Diddy on the line. His response? "I knew you could do it. Let's do it right away."
According to Garcia, Medrano entered the server room and, better still, to a camcorder. He transferred the footage to a USB drive, which he then handed over to Garcia, and things only got surreal from there.
Garcia told the court that he and Diddy had met at a high-rise apartment in West L.A., where a bodyguard greeted and escorted him to the upstairs floor. Inside, Diddy allegedly FaceTimed Cassie, who was wearing a hoodie, and asked if she still wanted the video suppressed. She reportedly agreed, saying she did have other obligations, such as a movie release.
Garcia says that Diddy had everyone show ID and sign NDAs, then fined them $1 million for talking about the party. In exchange for his silence, Garcia says, Diddy had $100,000 in cash counted out on a money machine (ten grand at a time) and delivered in a brown paper bag.
As Garcia departed, Diddy was also said to have warned: "Don't do anything you can't take back, don't go and buy any big house or new car," before he shot the man.
Garcia was earning $10.50 an hour at the time. Years later, his testimony could be the linchpin in a federal case that is pulling apart the legacy of one of hip-hop's most powerful figures.
Diddy has pleaded not guilty, and His lawyers have denied any criminality, saying the tapes were doctored and that all sexual encounters were consensual. But since the video was released to the public, the paper bag deal is off, and the silence is officially broken.
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