Ex-Prosecutor Won’t Be Tried in Rap Case

The state attorney general’s office has declined to prosecute former Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Lawrence M. Longo, who was fired for his handling of a 1992 assault case involving rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight, Longo’s attorney said Monday.

The lawyer, Donald Wager, said he was notified of the decision last week, after state authorities concluded a criminal investigation.

“Based upon the evidence available at this time, we have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against your client,” Senior Assistant Atty. Gen. Carol Pollack wrote in a letter to Wager. “If new evidence is presented to us, we will, of course, reevaluate our conclusion.”

Meanwhile, Longo attended a civil hearing Monday, at which he appealed the decision of the district attorney’s office to terminate him after 27 years of employment.

Longo was fired after questions were raised about his handling of Knight’s 1995 plea bargain. Longo’s family had financial ties to Knight that created the appearance of a conflict of interest, the district attorney’s office said.

Knight signed Longo’s daughter Gina to a $50,000 record deal with his label, Death Row Records, last year and lived in a Malibu Colony home owned by Longo’s family while the prosecutor was overseeing Knight’s case. The home was leased to Knight’s attorney.

Longo argued that his financial dealings with Knight created no conflict because they came well after the record company owner agreed to plead no contest in 1995 to two felony counts of assault in exchange for probation. Knight admitted that he used a gun during an attack against two aspiring rappers. He was sent to prison this year after he violated his probation.

At the hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven A. Sowders, head of the district attorney’s investigation, questioned Gina and Frank Longo about the singing contract and the Malibu lease.

Longo’s daughter, the only white performer on Death Row’s artist roster, has said she received her deal solely on the basis of her singing ability. Under questioning, she was unclear about dates and could not recall details of the encounter between her father and Knight at a dinner to celebrate her contract signing.

Sowders asked her if they spoke or shook hands.

“I wasn’t paying attention to anyone but myself,” she said.

When asked later if there were any time limits on her agreement to record an album for Death Row, she replied:

“I’m confused about dates. I didn’t ask about time limits.”

Sowders also questioned Longo’s son Frank, an attorney, who rented the family’s Malibu Colony house to Knight’s attorney David Kenner for a year at $19,000 per month. Kenner has said he allowed Knight to live at the house. Frank Longo said he also helped negotiate his sister’s contract with Death Row.

He added that he was aware his father had prosecuted Knight but said his father’s involvement in the case did not appear to cause a conflict.

“It didn’t seem like a problem to me,” the younger Longo said. “The case was over.”

Wager said he was confident that the Civil Service Commission hearing the case will return Longo to his job.

“There is no law, no rule, no department regulation that would prevent him from entering in this kind of agreement,” he said. “His children are grown. They are on their own.”

Sowders disagreed.

“They should have told us,” he said.

After the hearing, Sowders said Longo’s children appeared to be covering for their father.

“There is a lack of recollection,” he said, adding that the “family is very loyal.”

Saying he was determined to fight for his job, Lawrence Longo accused the district attorney’s office of “trashing my reputation.”

“I’m going to get my job back,” he said.