T.I.’s Road to Redemption: The Reckoning aired last night and Tip sat down with MTV’s Sway for one final interview before he starts his sentence in May. Tip tells Sway that he’s over the questions about his weapons charges and arrest stating: “This is the last time…After this I’m done! Don’t ask me no more questions bout this OK? Finito!” OK…Tip! I think we get it. You don’t want to be asked anymore questions about your legal issues, right? Right.
Meanwhile, while Tip’s keeping quiet, reportedly his snitchin “A”zz bodyguard, 34 year old Corey Williams is NOT. Williams was intrumental in developing the weapons case in that he had monitored conversations with T.I. and wore a wire on the rapper during a face-to-face meeting. He also agreed to testify against his former employer as a “confidential witness” after the bust went down. After all that, Williams did not get off easily. He still received the exact same penalty as T.I. (366 days) even though their criminal records are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Williams had a clean record prior to his October 2007 arrest, and he immediately agreed to cooperate with federal agents after being caught in a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) sting operation.? T.I. had a string of felony convictions and way more serious charges. But none of that mattered in the grand scheme of things.
One day before Harris entered his guilty plea in a crowded courtroom last March, Williams appeared before Judge Pannell to cop to a felony information charging him with purchasing firearms for Harris and other individuals. Williams was represented by defense lawyer Mildred Dunn, who negotiated her client’s plea with prosecutors Todd Alley and Francey Hakes (who also handled the Harris case). There were no spectators in Pannell’s courtroom that afternoon.
Williams is currently imprisoned in a minimum security federal lockup in Edgefield, South Carolina and is scheduled for release in late July, just two months after his former boss reports to serve his sentence. The moral of this story kiddies? Money talks.
Williams may decide to keep quiet from now on…who knows? But he could make a fortune on a book deal. If you got some extra time on your hands, check out The Smoking Gun for more of the juicy details as well as the official court documents on the case.
