A self-styled Chicago community activist already on probation for bank fraud was charged yesterday (Nov. 15) with extortion for allegedly threatening to go public with tapes he said showed the wife of a professional athlete having sex with a musician alleged to be R&B star R. Kelly and another woman.
Derrick Mosley, 38, was arrested in his home and charged with extortion and operating a scheme to defraud. He was ordered held in custody pending a Thursday bond hearing. His attorney, Luis Galvan, had no immediate comment.
The athlete, his wife and the musician are never identified in the criminal complaint or the accompanying FBI affidavit, although reports suggest the musician on the tape is Kelly. The affidavit also describes conversations between Mosley and Rufus Williams, the Chicago-based business manager for the athlete and his wife.
Those conversations started Nov. 3, when Mosley told Williams in a phone call he had received two videotapes in the mail from an anonymous source with no return address, the affidavit says.
Mosley described himself as a minister and told Williams “the videotapes depicted Williams’ client, Individual A, engaging in sexual encounters with a professional musician,” according to the affidavit.
“Mosley stated that he was very upset and concerned about the tapes,” the affidavit says. “Mosley further stated that he wished to speak to Individual A about reform and her moral standing.” Williams reported the telephone call to the FBI.
The FBI affidavit does not say whether the videotapes actually existed or whether Mosley’s alleged remarks might have been part of a bluff. Federal officials declined to comment. Williams did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
After his call to the FBI, Williams met with Mosley while wearing a hidden recording device. In that Nov. 4 conversation, “Mosley described the tapes as very repulsive,” the affidavit says. It says Mosley told Williams “someone else would have called the tabloids and could have made millions if they knew it was Individual A.”
The following day, Williams asked Mosley in another phone call if he could be wrong about the person on the tape. “Mosley responded that they should have a big press conference and bring the tapes out and see if he’s wrong,” the affidavit says. “Mosley stated that it cannot be denied that it’s Individual A with the professional musician and another woman.”
In a series of conversations that followed, Mosley agreed to destroy the tapes and said that he might be hired for $20,000 to serve as a counselor for the athlete’s wife, according to the affidavit.
On Nov. 11, Mosley called Williams and said he wanted $20,000 immediately, according to the affidavit. He also left a voice mail message accusing Williams of stalling. The affidavit says Mosley provided Williams with a bank account number and said the money should be sent by wire.
Mosley is known in the Chicago area for stepping in as a spokesman for families hit by tragedies and speaking as a community activist after the E2 nightclub stampede last year.
He was charged with bank fraud in 1999 and later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year and placed on probation for five years. Prosecutors said they would oppose freeing him on bond pending trial because he already was on probation.
In a statement, Kelly’s spokesperson denied knowledge of the tape. “We have heard second-hand reports that the tape allegedly shows consenting adults, including someone identified as R. Kelly, engaged in sexual activity. Since we haven’t seen the tape, we can neither confirm nor deny that it is in fact Mr. Kelly. We can, however, confirm that no one is suggesting the tape depicts anything but the activities of consenting adults.”
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