Federal Investigators Examine a Link to the Quad Studio Robbery

In early 2003, the robbery at New York’s Quad Studio surfaced in a new investigation. Citing the New York Post, AllHipHop reported on January 5, 2003, that the search of Murder Inc.’s Manhattan offices by federal authorities was only the tip of an investigation that had already been underway for about a year. It reportedly involved money laundering, weapons offenses, and violence in the rap business, and the shooting of Tupac was also on the list of unsolved cases.

What the Investigators Were Looking For

According to these reports, federal prosecutors in Manhattan wanted to determine whether money had flowed between label head Irv Gotti and Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, a convicted drug dealer from Queens. The suspicion was that drug money might have paid for studio equipment, travel, food, and hotel rooms. What role McGriff allegedly played in the robbery of Tupac was left open by the report. AllHipHop explicitly noted that McGriff had neither been charged nor ever named as a suspect in the shootings.

The Night at the Quad

Tupac had entered the building shortly after midnight on November 30, alongside Randy “Stretch” Walker and Freddie Moore, among others. He was hit five times, Moore once, both survived. Walker was shot and killed in Queens exactly one year later to the day. More on this: Shooting 1994 and Stretch.