Brooklyn rapper Casanova is on the run after the FBI charged him with racketeering, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York, each of those individual crimes carry a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.
On December 1st, the FBI announced charges against 18 members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang, of which 34-year-old Casanova (born Caswell Senior) was one. The other 17 gang members are in custody, and the FBI is seeking help in locating Casanova. In a Twitter statement, the Bureau wrote, “We are still looking for Caswell Senior, aka Casanova, in connection with this case. He has connections to both NY and NJ. If you have information about his whereabouts, please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
Of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation, the FBI’s William F. Sweeney added, “Gorilla Stone is actually not ‘untouchable.'”
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss summed up the crimes, saying,
“Members of Gorilla Stone committed terrible acts of violence, trafficked in narcotics, and even engaged in brazen fraud by exploiting benefits programs meant to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of that, communities across the Southern District – from Poughkeepsie to Peekskill to New York City – suffered. Most shocking, as alleged in the indictment, a minor was murdered in furtherance of the gang’s activities.”
Casanova is not implicated in the murder. Via the Poughkeepsie Journal, gang member Brandon Soto allegedly shot and killed a 15-year-old boy on September 21st, 2020.
Casanova has been an active musician since at least 2016, and is best known for songs such as “2AM” featuring Tory Lanez and Davido, “Woah” featuring Jeremih, and “Coming Home” with Chris Brown. His notoriety increased last year, when he became one of a number of artists outed as gang members by Tekashi 6ix9ine during his trial. 6ix9ine also recalled brawling with Casanova in the tunnel of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center before an Adrien Broner fight. It is unlikely that 6ix9ine’s testimony was critical to this case, since it took place a full year before the murder.
We are still looking for Caswell Senior, aka Casanova, in connection with this case. He has connections to both NY and NJ. If you have information about his whereabouts, please call us at 1-800-CALL-FBI. pic.twitter.com/W38fCnBFpt
— FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) December 1, 2020