Rapper Ja Rule leaves NY prison in gun case
By Michael Virtanen
The rapper was sentenced for both illegal gun possession and tax evasion.
ALBANY, N.Y. —Platinum-selling rapper Ja Rule has left an upstate New York prison after serving most of his two-year sentence for illegal gun possession, but is heading straight into federal custody in a tax case.
U.S. Marshals escorted the 36-year-old out of Mid-State Correctional Facility at 9:30 Thursday morning. It wasn't immediately clear where he'll serve time in the tax case.
The rapper, who had been in protective custody because of his celebrity, has some time remaining on a 28-month sentence for tax evasion. His sentences were expected to run concurrently.
Ja Rule may be eligible for a halfway house, defense attorney Stacey Richman said. An order to pay $1.1 million in back taxes is one of the main reasons he wants to get back to work, she said.
"Many people are looking forward to experiencing his talent again," Richman said.
Ja Rule scored a Grammy Award nomination in 2002 for best rap album with "Pain is Love." He also has appeared in movies, including "The Fast and the Furious" in 2001 and "Scary Movie 3" in 2003.
Ja Rule, who went to the prison in June 2011, is getting out at his earliest release date, state correction spokeswoman Linda Foglia said. He had two misbehavior reports for unauthorized phone calls in February 2012 and had work assignments on lawn and grounds crews and participated in education programs, she said.
In the gun case, New York City police said they found a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun in a rear door of Ja Rule's $250,000 luxury car after it was stopped for speeding, and he pleaded guilty in 2010.
He admitted in March 2011 in federal court that he failed to pay taxes on more than $3 million he earned between 2004 and 2006.
"I in no way attempted to deceive the government or do anything illegal," he told the judge. "I was a young man who made a lot of money — I'm getting a little choked up — I didn't know how to deal with these finances, and I didn't have people to guide me, so I made mistakes."
Richman said the 36-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, is looking forward to his daughter's graduation.
"He's a devoted father," she said.
Read more at MSN Entertainment
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