CHARGES FILED AGAINST
MURDER INC. EMPLOYEE

According to reports, Brent’s federal indictment involves two counts of conducting financial transactions with more than $1 million that she knew to come from drugs. Authorities also say that beginning in Oct. 2000, Brent divided large cash deposits into smaller ones of under $10,000 to avoid federal reporting rules.

Brent was arraigned Monday and was released on $200,000 bail after pleading not guilty.

Federal officials have been probing the financial history of Murder Inc., which changed its name to The Inc. earlier this year after a spate of negative publicity, in an attempt to determine whether McGriff, a notorious crack dealer currently serving a 37-month sentence on a federal firearms conviction, helped Gotti found Murder Inc. with drug money, and whether Murder Inc. laundered McGriff's proceeds. The Inc. is currently a part of Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam unit.

According to the Associated Press, court papers say the feds have also linked McGriff to several drug-related murders, but have yet to file charges against him.

In the meantime, observers expect investigators to use the charges levelled against Brent to secure her cooperation in their ongoing probe.