June 20, 2025

Friday 6/20 - The Diddy charges explained. RICO Unmasked: The Law That Could Take Down Diddy

Show Notes
Transcript

With the Diddy trial on pause for Juneteenth, Nate Oliver dives deep into the powerful RICO law at the heart of the government’s case. What does racketeering really mean, and how has it toppled mobsters, cult leaders, and celebrities before? Nate unpacks the history, the stakes, and the prosecution’s strategy—connecting the dots from John Gotti to R. Kelly to Diddy’s own courtroom drama. As the city buzzes and the world watches, this special episode explores how prosecutors build a criminal enterprise case, what the defense is fighting to prove, and why RICO could decide Diddy’s fate.

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WEBVTT

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Callaroga Shark Media. Welcome back to Did He Do It?

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The Daily podcast bringing you every raw, unfiltered detail from

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the Sean Diddy Combs sex trafficking and racketeering trial. I'm

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Nate Oliver, and with the courtroom dark for June teenth

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and only a half day session today, I want to

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take you deep into the legal engine powering this entire case. RICO.

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What does it mean, how does it work, and what

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does it really mean for Ditty's fate. Let's peel back

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the layers, look at history and talk about why this

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law is so feared and so powerful. Let's start with

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the basics. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act RICO

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was created back in nineteen seventy at a time when

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the government was desperate to break the chokehold organized crime

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had on American cities. Back then, mob bosses insulated themselves

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from prosecution by never getting their own hands dirty. They'd

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order hits, extort businesses, and run rackets, but the law

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always seemed to catch the low level guys, never the

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ones at the top. RICO changed that. It gave prosecutors

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a way to go after not just the foot soldiers,

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but the entire organization, bosses, accountants, lawyers, anyone who played

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a role in the criminal enterprise. But RICO didn't stay

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in the world of the mafia. Over the decades, it's

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been used to target street gangs, corrupt politicians, white collar criminals,

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and more recently, celebrities and business moguls. The law is broad.

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It lets the government charge anyone who participates in a

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criminal enterprise that commits a pattern of racketeering activity. That

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pattern has to include at least two crimes called predicate acts,

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within a ten year period, and those crimes can be

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anything from murder to bribery, drug trafficking to sex trafficking,

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money laundering to witness tampering. Here's the kicker. RICO doesn't

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require the government to prove that the defendant personally committed

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every crime. If you're part of the enterprise, if you

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help plan, cover up, or benefit from the crimes, you

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can be on the hook. That's why RICO is so feared.

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It's not just about what you did, but what you

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were part of. So how does this apply to Ditty?

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Prosecutors allege that Bad Boy Entertainment wasn't just a music

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label or a business empire. It was the front for

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a criminal operation built on sex trafficking, forced labor, bribery,

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and witness tampering. According to the indictment, Ditty and his

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associates lured victims with false promises, used drugs and threats

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to coerce them into sex acts, and then covered it

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all up with help from employees and security staff. The

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government's case is built on showing a pattern repeated acts

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of trafficking, bribery, drug distribution, and intimidation, all orchestrated by

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Ditty and his team. They're not just saying Ditty committed crimes.

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They're saying he ran an enterprise and that enterprise's business

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was crime. That's why you've heard so much in this

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trial about digital trails, financial records, and explicit videos. Prosecutors

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have laid out a web of texts, emails, payments, and

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testimony all to argue that these weren't isolated incidents or

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personal failings. They're painting a picture of a coordinated, ongoing

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pattern of racketeering activity with Bad Boy Entertainment at the center.

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The prosecution is trying to show that every assistant, every

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security guard, every accountant who helped move money or arranged

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travel was part of the machinery, knowingly or not, that

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enabled Ditty's alleged crimes. Let's talk about some of the

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most famous RICO cases, because history matters here. John Gottie,

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the infamous Teflon Dawn and head of the Gambino crime family,

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evaded conviction for years, but in nineteen ninety two prosecutors

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he used RICO to connect a pattern of murder, loan sharking,

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and illegal gambling, leading to Gotti's conviction and life imprisonment.

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The case was built on wire taps, surveillance, and testimony

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from former associates, showing how RICO can connect a web

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of criminal acts into a single sweeping case. Then there's

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Michael Milkin, the Wall Street junk bond king. In nineteen

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eighty nine, Milkin was indicted on ninety eight counts of

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racketeering and fraud related to insider trading. He pleaded guilty

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to six felonies, served twenty two months, and was banned

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for life from the securities industry. His employer, Drexel Burnham Lambert,

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avoided RICO charges by pleading to lesser felonies, but the

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threat of RICO nearly destroyed the firm. That's the power

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of the law's assets seizure provisions. Prosecutors can freeze your

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assets before trial, making it hard to pay for your defense,

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and forcing settlements or guilty pleas. Scott Rothstein, a Florida lawyer,

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ran a one point two billion dollar Ponzi scheme and

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was charged under RICO. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced

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to fifty years in prison with mandatory forfeiture of assets.

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The case highlighted rico's reach into white collar crime and

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its ability to dismantle entire business operations. Keith Ronier, founder

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of the Nexium cult, was convicted in twenty nineteen of racketeering,

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sex trafficking, forced labor, and wire fraud. Prosecutors showed that

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Ronier used a network of followers to recruit, exploit, and

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control women, branding them and keeping them in line through blackmail.

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Ronier was sentenced to one hundred twenty years in prison,

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and his case became a landmark in using RAIKO against

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cults and sex trafficking rings. R Kelly, the R and

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B Singer, was convicted in twenty twenty one of racketeering

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and sex trafficking. The government proved that Kelly, with the

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help of employees and assistants, coerced and transported women and

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girls across state lines for sex, using his fame and

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resources to silence victims. He was sentenced to thirty years

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in prison, with the court calling his crimes calculated and

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carefully planned and regularly executed for almost twenty five years.

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Even Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the Sineloa cartel boss, was

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convicted in twenty nineteen on RICO charges and sentenced to

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life plus thirty years with a twelve point six billion

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dollar forfeiture order. That trial was a masterclass in how

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prosecutors use raiko to tie together years of violence, drug trafficking,

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and money laundering into one case. Rico has also been

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used against street gangs, corrupt politicians, and even corporations. The

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law's power lies in its ability to connect a web

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of criminal acts into a single sweeping case, and it

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comes with severe penalties up to twenty years in prison

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per racketeering count, finds up to twenty five thousand dollars,

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and mandatory forfeiture of any ill gotten gains or business

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interests tied to the criminal activity. In civil cases, victims

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can sue for triple damages and the government can seize

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assets before trial even begins more in a moment. So

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what does this mean for Ditty? Statistically, federal prosecutors win

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convictions in over ninety seven percent of RICO cases that

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go to trial and the media in prison sentence is

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over seven years, but for cases involving sex, trafficking and violence,

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sentences can reach decades or even life. The prosecution's burden

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is high. They have to prove Ditty wasn't just a

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celebrity who crossed the line, but a leader or participant

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in an ongoing criminal enterprise. They need to show at

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least two predicate acts sex trafficking, bribery, witness tampering within

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a decade, all connected to the enterprise. They have to

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convince the jury that Bad Boy Entertainment wasn't just a

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business but a front for organized crime. Ditty's defense is

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fighting back hard. Their argument is that yes, there may

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have been questionable or even criminal behavior, but there was

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no organized criminal enterprise, just a series of messy personal

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relationships and business dealings. They're telling the jury, don't let

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the government turn a celebrity's private life into a mob case.

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They'll argue that assistants and security staff were just doing

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their jobs, not knowingly helping to run a criminal machine.

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They'll point to the lack of traditional mob structure, the

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absence of coded language in some messages, and the fact

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that many of the alleged victims remained in contact with

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Ditty for years. If the defense can convince even one

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juror that these were isolated incidents, or that Ditty's business

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was just that a business, not a criminal machine, he

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could walk on the rico charges. But if the jury

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buys the prosecution story, if they see a pattern, a structure,

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a criminal enterprise, Diddy could be facing a very long

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sentence and the collapse of his empire. For the accusers,

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this trial is about more than just justice for themselves.

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It's about exposing how power, money, and silence can create

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a machinery of abuse that's almost impossible to escape. And

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let's not forget the spectacle. Reco cases are always high drama,

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but when you add celebrity media and the me too era,

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the stakes feel even higher. Every day outside the courthouse

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there are crowds, some chanting for justice for survivors, others

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waving banners declaring Ditty's innocence. The media presence is overwhelming,

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with satellite trucks parked along the block and reporters broadcasting

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live updates for networks around the world. Vendors hawk t

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shirts and buttons, and a few opportunistic street performers draw

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crowds with ditty inspired dance routines, adding an almost surreal

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layer to the The day's gravity inside. The atmosphere is tense.

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The jury listens to explicit videos, digital trails, and emotional testimony.

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The judge keeps a tight rain on courtroom conduct, reminding

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everyone of the seriousness of the charges and the need

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for impartiality. Did He sits mostly still, occasionally glancing at

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the jury or jotting down notes for his attorneys, visibly

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frustrated by the relentless drumbeat of evidence. So as we

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head into the weekend with the courtroom quiet and the

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city buzzing, remember Rico is the backbone of this case.

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It's what lets the government tie together years of allegations,

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dozens of witnesses, and mountains of evidence into one sweeping narrative.

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And when court resumes, every question, every witness, every piece

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of evidence will be about one thing. Can the government

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prove that Didy wasn't just a man who made mistakes,

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but the mastermind of a criminal enterprise. That's where we

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stand as the TCH trial pauses for the weekend. I'll

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be back tomorrow with updates from Friday's testimony, with every

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new twist, every legal battle, and every rumor from inside

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and outside the courthouse. I'm Nate Oliver and this is

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did he do it?