CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

The Jeffrey Epstein story just gets more and more suspicious, because now ... surveillance video from his failed suicide attempt has mysteriously vanished.

Prosecutors revealed in court Wednesday they could not locate the footage from outside of Epstein's cell on July 23 -- the day of his first reported suicide attempt at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in NYC. That was 2 weeks before he successfully killed himself ... according to the Medical Examiner's report.

The feds had no explanation for why the footage has gone missing -- they said they simply can't find it.

That could spell trouble for Epstein's cellmate at the time, ex-cop Nick Tartaglione ... who was reportedly accused of attacking Epstein that night. He formally requested the video be preserved 2 days after the suicide attempt ... in order to clear his name.

Now, it doesn't appear there's much evidence to prove one account over the other -- Epstein reportedly said Tartaglione attacked him, but he says he tried to save Epstein.

Of course, this all comes amid the highly-scrutinized eventual suicide -- which is now the subject of a criminal probe. Two prison guards on duty the night Epstein died have been accused of falsifying records -- making it seem like they'd made the required checks on Epstein's cell that night when they really hadn't.

Those guards have pled not guilty.

R. Kelly is officially responding to prosecutors' allegation he bribed someone to make a fake ID for Aaliyah ... in order to marry her.

The singer entered a not guilty plea Wednesday to the revamped federal indictment against him out of the Eastern District of New York. TMZ broke the story ... the indictment now includes an allegation of bribery pertaining to the alleged purchase of a fake ID for Aaliyah in 1994.

The ID falsely stated she was 18, and made it possible for Kelly to marry Aaliyah on August 31, 1994.

The feds added the Aaliayh allegation to an existing count of bribery in his racketeering case. Kelly joined the hearing by video from the Chicago jail where he's being held until trial. As you know, he's facing several other cases -- federal and state -- in Illinois, as well as Minnesota.

As for the Aaliyah thing ... R. Kelly's ex-tour manager, Demetrius Smith, has publicly backed the feds' claim his old boss had the ID made for his future bride, which was used to obtain their marriage license under false pretenses.

Aaliyah's family reportedly filed to have the marriage annulled the following year.

Tekashi 6ix9ine is facing the judge in federal court, and he's about to find out exactly how long he'll be locked up -- AKA, how much all that snitching shaved off his time.

The sentencing hearing got underway Wednesday at 10 AM ET, and prosecutors are breaking down exactly how valuable Tekashi was in helping them convict 2 members of the Nine Trey Bloods ... Anthony "Harv" Ellison and Aljermiah Mack.

Prosecutors told the judge they met with him 2 to 3 times a week, and he sang like a canary -- about his involvement in numerous crimes.

And, this was interesting -- did you know there's a rating system for criminals? For purposes of sentencing, the feds calculated Tekashi's criminal history at a category 2.

Here's the math on that: 6ix9ine got 1 point for his 2018 conviction for using a minor in a sexual performance (in a music video), and 2 more points for his involvement in the Nine Trey Bloods while on probation. Those 3 points put him in category 2. Keep in mind the highest/worst criminal history rating is a 6.

Tekashi was originally facing a minimum of 47 years in prison before agreeing to assist prosecutors by ratting out his former gang members. As we reported, he pled guilty to 9 counts when he entered his plea back on January 23.

Legendary swing coach Hank Haney says a past beef with Tiger Woods is why he was fired from his popular radio show ... claiming the PGA Tour got him canned to settle the score -- and now, he's suing.

Haney got axed as host of "Hank Haney Golf Radio" on Sirius XM just a few months ago ... and the reason appeared to be for comments he made about the LPGA.

Remember, the 64-year-old made flippant remarks about female Korean golfers on-air ... and he was ripped for them, with Michelle Wie calling them "racist and sexist."

But, in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports, Haney claims his firing had NOTHING to do with his comments ... saying the PGA Tour used the backlash over them as an opportunity to get back at him for his past criticism of Tiger.

Haney -- who famously coached Woods from 2004 to 2010 -- has blasted the golf legend over the years ... and he says the PGA Tour has harbored a "vendetta" against him because of it.

Haney says Sirius XM officials did NOT levy punishment for his comments until the PGA Tour got involved, saying the org "instructed" and pressured Sirius XM officials to can him.

Haney adds the firing caused him to lose important business with Callaway, saying if he had been able to keep his radio gig, the famous golf company would have continued working with him.

As a result, Haney says the PGA Tour cost him "millions."

Haney says this isn't the first time the league has tried to "disrupt and interfere" with his business ... claiming it tried to block his "The Big Miss" book sales back in 2012.

Haney also accuses the PGA Tour of playing a huge role in the cancellation of his popular 'Haney Project' show on the Golf Channel.

Talk about a cartoonish crime straight out of 'The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show' ... cops are on the lookout for a thief who can only be described with a drawing, albeit a pretty good one.

This story's hilarious, even though the man who got burned probably isn't laughing. A street artist in Riverside, CA claims he was jacked 2 weeks ago during the city's Festival of Lights after drawing a would-be customer's caricature ... who then made off with his money bag.

Riverside police say the artist told them the suspect -- who's described as a 5-foot, 1-inch black man in his early 20s with black hair and a mustache -- requested a caricature of himself, sat down for the entire session and then allegedly snatched $500 from the artist.

Sounds like the suspect made a clean getaway (for now, anyway) and the only thing cops have to go off is the portrait he left behind. Cops note ... his features are exaggerated!

That said, they're asking for the public's help in IDing and nabbing this crook. Our suggestion -- call in the Scooby-Doo crew, or any number of acclaimed animated do-gooders.

Quality Control CEO "Pee" Thomas is completely incapable of handling his kids -- which is why he doesn't -- according to Lira Galore ... who's calling his recent fatherhood claims into question.

The custody battle between Pee and his baby mama is getting nastier, and according to new docs ... Galore says he's unfit to take care of their 8-month-old, Khaleesi, because he doesn't take care of ANY of his 5 minor children.

According to the Galore ... Pee also lied about her allowing him unsupervised visitation with their daughter, which he claimed in response to her accusing him of abuse and asking for $15 million for her injuries. She says that is "simply untrue."

Galore alleges Pee always has his "current female friend, girlfriend, or any other women" take care of his kids whenever he has one or more of them in his custody. She claims he just uses his children for photo opportunities on social media ... then hands them off.

Lira says this even happened to her when she was in a relationship with the record exec behind Migos and Cardi B -- she often acted as a "babysitter" to Thomas' other children because she says he was not interested in spending time with them.

There's more -- Galore also doubles down on Pee being abusive toward her, and claims to have evidence he was physically abusive to 2 of his other children's mothers ... and even his own mother.

Galore says Pee lives a dangerous lifestyle that's unsafe for their child. She adds in the docs that his statements about her being physically abusive toward him and abusing drugs are flat-out lies ... and she vehemently denies them.

Tekashi 6ix9ine should remain behind bars and suffer like those impacted by the crimes he helped to commit ... so say his victims in a letter to the judge.

In letters submitted Tuesday, 2 people describe the April 2018 armed robbery in NYC, which the rapper testified was intended as a revenge hit on Rap-A-Lot Records and its honcho, J. Prince.

As we reported ... 6ix9ine claims members of his Nine Trey gang planned to rob JP and his people after a perceived diss, and pulled off an armed robbery on Rap-A-Lot reps in the lobby of a building.

Problem is ... the 2 people they robbed were a couple publicists unrelated to Rap-A-Lot -- a case of mistaken identity. According to their victim impact statements -- obtained by TMZ -- the attack has had a lasting, negative effect on them.

One victim, a 33-year-old male, says the incident "destroyed the normal adulthood that I was striving for." He says he was far removed from a life of gangs and guns and adds ... "never have I been so scared as a cold, hard metallic gun was pressed against my abdomen."

He claims the attack made him scared for his life, and afterward, he became a recluse who was afraid to sleep in his own home. He says he still lives in constant fear someone associated with Tekashi will be sent to "finish the job." He ends his letter by asking the judge ... "Why should this person, who nearly ended my life, be free when I am not free?"

Tekashi 6ix9ine is in the dark and anxiously awaiting to hear his fate this week ... or so we're being told.

Sources at 69's federal detention facility tell TMZ ... Tekashi is feeling the pressure ahead of his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, where the court will decide how long he'll be behind bars going forward after cooperating with the feds and snitching his heart out.

Our sources say 6ix9ine is incredibly nervous -- despite his tough-guy public image -- and that he has no idea what to expect. We're told Tekashi knows he's at the mercy of the judge -- who can toss him in a cage and throw away the key for a long time if he sees fit.

Based on the charges he's already pled guilty to, Tekashi faces, at minimum, 47 years in prison -- although he and prosecutors have asked for significantly less.

Lira Galore is a liar, and a forgetful one at that, according to Quality Control CEO "Pee" Thomas ... who's firing back at his baby mama's claims he's abusive and an unfit father.

First off, Pee flat-out denies Lira's allegations he was physically abusive to her a handful of times ... including while she was pregnant with their baby girl. Further, he says Lira's motives for suing him and making the abuse claims are suspect ... and he points to his track record of caring for 8-month-old Khaleesi.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Pee says, "It must be questioned as to why she allowed him unsupervised visitation with the parties' daughter and waited so long to file this monetary claim."

Also, in denying the abuse allegations, "Pee" claims he's been the victim of Lira's rage. According to the docs, he claims Lira was "physically violent towards him" when she was abusing various drugs.

TMZ broke the story ... Lira filed a $15 million lawsuit against Thomas, accusing him of the abuse. She included photos of her alleged injuries suffered at his hands.

Lira's not backing down .. in fact, she's also filed a motion of her own, asking the judge to force Pee to pay for her attorney. She says she's already racked up a $19k tab, and wants $20k right now from the record exec behind Migos and Cardi B.

Popeyes isn't the only chicken joint with problems ... the Colonel had a bit of a situation on his hands in Wisconsin this weekend when a woman called cops from the drive-thru.

A woman in Waukesha dialed for police Saturday after her sandwich was made wrong and the staff allegedly gave her attitude. According to reports, the lady told police the KFC crew tried making her another one, but that she didn't feel comfortable and wanted her money back.

Sure enough, officers responded to the fast-food chain and found the pissed off customer plopped in the drive-thru line. Apparently, they told both her and the KFC team to work it out among themselves ... as their beef clearly wasn't an emergency and just civil.

The fact cops showed up at all has gotta mean the situation was tense, 'cause there's no way an officer of the law would get sent out for something like this. Or so we thought.

Of course, this comes weeks after the renewed frenzy at Popeyes restaurants across the country, with wacky customers desperately trying to get their hands on their famed chicken sandwiches. Some of those incidents ended in beatings, and in one case ... death.

Harvey Weinstein just did a new on-the-record interview since the flood of allegations came pouring in against him -- and his first thought out ... he's a champion of women.

The disgraced movie producer -- who's now been criminally charged in relation to some of the allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse -- spoke to the New York Post from his hospital room in NYC, from which he was later discharged following his back surgery.

One of the big takeaways from the interview -- again, one of his first with a paper of record since 2018 -- is he thinks people are forgetting everything he's done for women in his career.

Weinstein says he feels like the "forgotten man," going on to add ... "I made more movies directed by women and about women than any filmmaker, and I’m talking about 30 years ago. I’m not talking about now when it’s vogue. I did it first! I pioneered it!"

He continues by saying, "It all got eviscerated because of what happened. My work has been forgotten."

For example, Weinstein cites giving Gwyneth Paltrow $10 million to star in the 2003 movie, "View from the Top" -- which he says was more than any of the men made at the time. He also says he got Felicity Huffman an Academy Award nom by casting her in "Transamerica" ... a move he considers super progressive, and something he thinks he deserves credit for.

He also says Madonna made him aware of the documentary, "Paris is Burning" -- which captures the drag culture of the city -- and apparently wants a pat on the back for bringing it to audiences in the U.S. and beyond by snapping up the distribution rights.

Weinstein goes on to tout his humanitarian efforts through the years and summed up his thoughts by saying, "If you remember who I was then, you might want to question some of this." He did NOT, however, specifically address any of the accusations against him.

He's going to trial on Jan. 6 on five different charges, including predatory sexual assault, a criminal sex act and rape. Weinstein faces life in prison if convicted -- he's pled not guilty.

Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have gone on the offensive in the College Admissions scandal, claiming prosecutors are intentionally hiding evidence that proves the famous couple didn't intend to secretly bribe anyone.

Lori and Mossimo's lawyers claim in new legal docs ... their clients made "legitimate donations" ... "At trial, Giannulli and Loughlin will help establish their innocence by showing that they understood both sets of payments to be legitimate donations and did not understand or intent that either set of payments would be used to directly or indirectly bribe Heinel [former USC senior associate athletic director]."

The lawyers want to get info on whether USC knew of Rick Singer's activities with various parents and students. If there's evidence USC knew ... Lori and Mossimo will clearly argue this was not bribery ... that payments had become institutionalized.

Kodak Black says he's been living in hell behind bars, and he seems to be blaming correctional officers for much of his misfortune ... straight from the horse's mouth.

The incarcerated rapper posted a lengthy message Saturday on Instagram, claiming he was drugged with a laced substance back in October -- which he alleges resulted in him being denied medical attention and, later, pepper-sprayed by a guard he says turned a blind eye.

Kodak cites several physical altercations he's gotten into with different inmates over the past several months, many of which he claims were either escalated by correctional officers on hand or neglected altogether. At one point, he claims he had to be put into a wheelchair.

The bigger picture ... Kodak says he's being treated like a dog in Miami's FDC prison -- where he says he's been holed up in the "Box" for the past 45 days without proper care.

For example, he cites little to no access to the commissary, poor hygiene and a regimen of psych meds that he doesn't seem to think are helping at all. On top of all that, Kodak says he's had to mourn the death of his good friend, Juice WRLD ... who passed away last weekend.

He ends his rant by saying, "I want to shed this light on police brutality and the tactics they use to cover their behinds" ... adding a #JUSTICEFORKODAK for good measure. Of course, we'd heard these claims before from his camp -- but now, it's coming straight from KB.

The guy Kevin Hart believes tried to extort him in the sex tape scandal ... is 2 more steps closer to getting off scot-free in the case after a new court order.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, J.T. Jackson scored in court Friday when the judge dropped 2 of the 3 remaining charges he was facing. The judge said there was insufficient evidence to move forward with prosecuting Kevin's ex-friend with attempted concealing and selling stolen property, and one count of unauthorized use of personal identifying information -- basically, identity theft.

Jackson is still facing an additional count of identity theft, a felony ... in connection with the sex tape. Prosecutors alleged Jackson tried to score money from Kevin in exchange for the 2017 video of Kevin with Montia Sabbag in a Las Vegas hotel room.

Remember, the stiffest charge Jackson was facing -- attempted extortion -- was dropped back in September. As we reported, prosecutors didn't think that charge would stick because Jackson never directly made a specific financial demand of Kevin or his people.

Jackson's attorney, Jacob Glucksman, tells us, "We’ve maintained innocence since day one and as things have unfolded our beliefs have been confirmed. We will continue to fight this until Mr. Jackson’s name is cleared.

He adds, "The D.A. is grasping at straws and is being pressured by Mr. Hart's team of lawyers and agents, but we will continue to prevail."

Eva Marcille is taking round one in the child custody battle her ex-BF started, now that a judge in Georgia's told him to kick rocks ... back to Cali.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star will maintain full custody of her and Kevin McCall's 5-year-old daughter, Marley Rae. The reason's simple ... Kevin failed to show why the case belonged in Georgia when an L.A. Superior Court judge issued the original custody order.

As we first reported, Eva and Kevin have been going at it in court for some time now. She begged the judge NOT to give him custody ... claiming he's a violent "ticking time bomb."

Last month, Kevin went to court to plead his case but that went south too. He got into a tussle with a cop in court, and took a nasty tumble down an escalator. Kevin believes he was the victim in that incident.

And, it gets worse for Kevin ... according to legal docs, there's a warrant out for his arrest in L.A. for missing a court date in his felony domestic violence case involving another woman.

Ex-NFL star Clinton Portis is accused of defrauding the NFL and stealing money from the league's healthcare program ... and now, the former RB is facing up to 20 YEARS behind bars.

United States Department of Justice officials say Portis and 9 other ex-NFL players developed a scheme back in 2017 to make money off of the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Plan.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, some of the names involved in the scam included Robert McCune, John Eubanks, Tamarick Vanover, Ceandris Brown, James Butler, Fredrick Bennett and Etric Pruitt.

Officials say the scheme wasn't too complicated ... Portis and the former players allegedly made up fake claims, submitted them to the plan (which is designed to help retired players pay for medical bills) and were reimbursed.

Officials say some of the fraudulent claims included the players looking to be reimbursed for things like pricey hyperbaric oxygen chambers, ultrasound machines and electromagnetic therapy devices designed for use on horses.