Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams of cocaine – a charge that carries a minimum five-year prison sentence.
Hip-hop star, real name Willie Maxwell II, entered the plea before Judge Steven I. Locke in federal court in Central Islip, Long Island.
“I made arrangements with other people to distribute cocaine,” he told the judge.
Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded guilty in federal court in Long Island to conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams of cocaine. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Drugs seized by the FBI during the Fetty Wap investigation. Suffolk County District Attorney / MEGA
The $1.5 million in cash seized during the search. Suffolk County District Attorney / MEGA
He added that it was at least 500 grams and that some of the behavior occurred in Suffolk County.
When asked how he would like to plead, the “Trap Queen” rapper replied, “Guilt.”
The indictment carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of five years, Locke said at the hearing.
The charges carry a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years. Photo by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty Images
The plea is “standard” — and the rapper is not cooperating with law enforcement, his attorney Elizabeth Macedonio told reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom.
“He doesn’t cooperate. I want that to be very, very clear,” she said.
The New Jersey-born rap star appeared cheerful in the courtroom, and before the judge stepped on the bench, he repeatedly nodded, smiled and exchanged words with a group of four who came to support him.
“I love you guys,” Fetty Wap told them before they were ushered out by US Marshals after the hearing.
Federal prosecutors say the rapper was involved in a scheme in which he and his cohort picked up cocaine in Suffolk County and took it to his home state of New Jersey for distribution.
Prosecutor Chris Caffarone told the judge that if the case went to trial, the US Attorney’s office would produce significant evidence, including testimony and video footage showing Fetty Wap “out here on Long Island.”
Locke noted during the hearing that prosecutors had not given Fetty Wap a 5,000 letter, which is normally given to defendants who work with law enforcement to get them reduced sentences.
The musician had been held in special housing in a federal prison in Brooklyn since his pre-trial detention three weeks ago, his attorney said at the end of the hearing.
Macedonio said she was “very concerned about his housing” and that he was being subjected to “the harshest of conditions”.
She requested that he be transferred to another prison pending sentencing, to which the prosecutor did not object but said the ultimate decision rests with the Bureau of Prisons and the US Marshals Service.