Crime & Arrests

Michael Avenatti's new legal woes -- being accused of extortion and fraud -- could derail the case against R. Kelly ... that's what the singer's lawyer thinks.

R. Kelly's attorney, Steve Greenberg, tells TMZ ... now that Avenatti has been charged with extortion as well as bank and tax fraud, his credibility is now a centerpiece in the singer's case -- specifically, the circumstances surrounding how prosecutors obtained a key piece of evidence.

That evidence, of course, is a sex tape that Cook County investigators claim shows R. Kelly having sex with an underage girl, who's alleged to be 14 years old. It's what many believe to be a smoking gun against R. Kelly ... and the catalyst that led to a 10-count indictment.

Greenberg says the issue of "chain of custody" -- how Cook County got hold of that tape via Avenatti -- is now questionable. Greenberg strongly suggests the possibility the tape could've been altered before it got to prosecutors.

Sources connected to the case tell us that the man who handed the tape over to Avenatti is a whistle-blower who has a history of extorting R. Kelly.

We're told the man recently confessed to prosecutors in Chicago that he squeezed about a million dollars out of R. Kelly's team in the past to stop the tape from going public. So, the question ... if the guy got the cash, how would Avenatti have gotten it?

Remember, there were supposedly TWO R. Kelly sex tapes that Avenatti turned over to Cook County officials, but Greenberg tells us he's only aware of one.

Either way, if Greenberg can create reasonable doubt in the jury's mind as to authenticity ... he could get R. Kelly off. Hey, we've seen it happen before.

3/26 -- Avenatti tweeted early Tuesday morning thanking his supporters for their kind words. He then claimed that he "never attempted to extort Nike & when the evidence is disclosed, the public will learn the truth about Nike's crime & coverup."

6:13 PM PT -- Avenatti just held a brief press conference, saying, "I have fought against the powerful -- powerful people and powerful corporations -- I will never stop fighting that good fight." He added he's "highly confident" he'll be "fully exonerated."

4:33 PM PT -- Avenatti has just been released on a $300,000 bond. He didn't have to pay that amount, but it had to be co-signed by 2 people who say they're good for it.

While he's out on bond, his travel will be restricted to New York and California ... and all travel plans must be approved by the government. Avenatti is also barred from contacting Mark Geragos.

2:53 PM PT -- Avenatti's indictment will NOT have any major impact on the pending R. Kelly criminal case, in which he reps the family of Azriel Clary ... so says Gerald Griggs, who represents Joycelyn Savage's family. Griggs tells TMZ ...  that while Avenatti's criminal cases present problems for himself personally, Griggs says they'll have "minimal" effect in the R. Kelly matter. He adds, "[T]he ten charges are based on four independent accusers and other information independent of Mr. Avenatti. The Savage family continues to seek reunification with their daughter, and that process of justice continues on course for all the alleged victims of Robert Sylvester Kelly."

1:15 PM PT -- The Nike indictment says Avenatti had an unnamed co-conspirator, and we've confirmed reports it is famed attorney Mark Geragos.

12:08 PM PT -- Nike just broke its silence following the news conferences ... saying it "will not be extorted or hide information that is relevant to a government investigation. Nike has been cooperating with the government's investigation into NCAA basketball for over a year."

The shoe giant goes on to say, "When Nike became aware of this matter, Nike immediately reported it to federal prosecutors. When Mr. Avenatti attempted to extort Nike over this matter, Nike with the assistance of outside counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner, aided the investigation."

"Nike firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports, and will continue to assist the prosecutors."

If you recognize the law firm -- Boies Schiller Flexner -- the "Boies" is David Boies, the famous high-powered lawyer who's represented everyone from Al Gore to Harvey Weinstein.

In fact, Boies was also heavily involved with Theranos -- the blood testing company -- and was featured in the HBO documentary "The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley."

11:55 AM PT -- The NY Presser just finished up, and prosecutors there had quite a bit to say about Avenatti's alleged extortion efforts toward Nike.

Prosecutors in NY say the alleged Nike scheme played out over the course of a few days last week. Avenatti repped an AAU coach whose team had just lost a Nike sponsorship worth $72k a year. The coach claimed that Nike made payments to families of some high school basketball players, and Avenatti demanded payment from Nike to keep him quiet.

He was arrested Monday at the location where he was supposed to meet with Nike brass, presumably to strike a deal or keep the convo going.

For the record .. the only thing that was coordinated between NY and California was how the bust would go down. That said ... these are two separate federal cases.

11:33 AM PT -- The L.A. Presser just wrapped, and investigators didn't pull any punches in condemning Avenatti's alleged criminal behavior ... calling him a "corrupt lawyer" who was only out for his own personal gain.

Among the most damning allegations in Avenatti's financial case ... Avenatti allegedly siphoned off a $1.6 million settlement he scored for a client in 2017 and hid it in a personal bank account that he controlled ... but never told his client a thing about it. The U.S. Attorney alleges Avenatti used that money to fund his lavish lifestyle and to help pay for his coffee business in California and Washington State. All the while, the client never received a penny.

What's more ... the U.S. Attorney and the IRS also claim Avenatti defrauded a bank for millions of dollars worth of loans by submitting fake tax returns between 2011 and 2013, in which he claimed to have earned around $4-$5 million a year each year and supposedly paid $2.8 million in taxes. The government says all of that was a lie ... he didn't file taxes those years at all.

Michael Madsen is behind bars ... after wrecking his Land Rover in Malibu, he got arrested for driving under the influence.

The veteran actor of Quentin Tarantino flicks like 'Kill Bill,' 'Hateful Eight' and "Reservoir Dogs" got into a single-car crash, hitting a pole, Sunday around 8 PM ... according to law enforcement sources. We're told the L.A. County Sheriff's Department deputies responded and, when they arrived, immediately suspected Madsen had been boozing.

We're told Madsen smelled of alcohol, so he was given a field sobriety test and, according to law enforcement, it didn't go well -- his BAC was .10.

The legal limit is .08, so Madsen was arrested for misdemeanor DUI. His bail has been set at $15k.

Madsen was also busted for DUI in Malibu back in 2012, when his BAC was twice the legal limit. He entered a 30-day rehab after that arrest, and the judge also ordered him to get outpatient treatment.

Tommie Lee shocked her closest friends when she showed up to court drunk ... they say she was in the process of getting sober before her recent relapse.

We broke the story ... the former 'Love & Hip Hop' star is back in jail for being wasted during a court hearing in her child abuse criminal case. We're told her BAC was 0.16 -- double the legal limit.

Sources close to Tommie tell TMZ ... she was trying her best to sober up in recent weeks, staying away from alcohol even though she was surrounded by vices. We're told Tommie was going out with friends who were drinking, and even stayed at a friend's house with a stocked bar inside, but she stayed off the booze.

But, Tommie fell off the wagon before last week's court appearance ... and our sources claim the stress of the case caused her relapse. She was indicted on child abuse charges earlier this year, and she's facing up to 54 years in jail if convicted on all 7 charges.

Adrien Broner got in trouble with the law again .... and he ended up in cuffs.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ the former boxing champ was in South Beach at around 9 PM Saturday, walking with fellow boxer Gervonta Davis, when he jaywalked on busy Collins Avenue and a driver honked at him. We're told Adrien got angry and smacked the hood of the car and began yelling at the driver.

Cops were already out in force because it's Spring Break, they heard the commotion and warned him to calm down or else he'd be arrested. We're told Broner then started yelling at the police so they cuffed him for a time but did not arrest him.

Broner didn't let the incident dampen his night. He went to Exchange Miami nightclub where he did the Bust Down dance and even jumped onstage.

Earlier this week Broner threatened to attack and even shoot gay people in a vile video posted to his social media account. He said, "If I got my gun on me, I'm shooting you in the f***ing face, and that's on God and them ... I don't like gay sh*t." The comments were directed at social media star Andrew C. Caldwell, the famous "I'm Delivert" guy. Caldwell had said Broner was flirting with him. Broner's response was to "punch the testosterone out you GAY ASS."

3/24 -- R. Kelly's request to travel to Dubai looks shaky at best now -- 'cause the Dubai government is coming out strong against the singer, saying he has no business coming there ... at least as far as they're concerned. The Dubai Media Office issued a statement Sunday, denying R. Kelly's claims that he might need to fly there for potential gigs ... with the agency saying there were no planned concerts for R. Kelly that the government was aware of.

The DMO also shot down claims by R. Kelly's legal team that he had plans to meet the sheikhdom's ruling Al Maktoum family ... calling BS and saying, "Authorities in Dubai have not received any request for a performance by singer R. Kelly nor are there any venues that have been booked."

8:02 AM -- The hearing has wrapped up. Greenberg formally asked for a copy of the sex tapes but the judge did not rule on whether Kelly's team will get copies just yet. Greenberg added the sex tapes should be protected from public viewing.

Also, Kelly's motion for permission to travel has been continued.

7:20 AM PT -- Kelly has just arrived to court. The hearing is now scheduled to start at 7:45 AM PT.

6:40 AM PT -- We will be live streaming inside R. Kelly's pretrial hearing in Cook County Courthouse. It's scheduled to start around 7 AM PT.

R. Kelly and his legal team are demanding to get their hands and eyes on the alleged sex tapes that prompted the 10 counts of sexual abuse ... and they're hoping to walk out of court Friday with them.

Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ ... prosecutors will begin handing over discovery materials during a court hearing Friday in Chicago. He says there's no guarantee what they'll get right off the bat -- could be police reports, case material from Kelly's 2008 trial but, obviously, the items they're most anxious to see are the 2 tapes Michael Avenatti turned over to Cook County prosecutors.

Greenberg says he hasn't seen the tapes -- which Avenatti claims show Kelly engaged in various sex acts with a 14-year-old girl -- so he can't really begin to mount a defense strategy. Once he does get them, a couple different things could happen.

He'll immediately order a full forensic analysis of the tapes ... if he and Kelly believe the tape does show the singer. If they don't think it's Kelly, Greenberg says he'll speed things up to trial.

For now, it's a waiting game since Kelly's team has no idea what prosecutors will hand over.

Kelly might also ask the judge to let him travel to Dubai for work -- he had to surrender his passport when he got arrested. Sources close to the singer tell us he could potentially get a gig there, but doesn't have anything booked yet.

Greenberg says he's not sure the judge will hear that request Friday, but it's on their "to do" list because -- make no mistake -- Kelly's desperate to make some cash.

3/25 -- For the record, Dre and Iovine donated a whopping $70 MILLION to the University. The department they funded -- The Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, was established to promote entrepreneurship, computer science and engineering, audio and visual design, and the arts. Dre and Jimmy wanted to inspire innovators.

3/24 -- Dr. Dre has deleted his Instagram post in which he touted his daughter's acceptance to USC with "no jail time." Lots of people pointed out how tone-deaf it came off considering he and Jimmy Iovine made a multi-million dollar donation to USC and literally have a portion of the school named after them.

Dr. Dre's rubbing a little salt in the wounds of Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and all the other parents involved in the college bribery scandal ... while gloating about his USC-bound child.

The music mogul and proud papa just shared a photo with his daughter, Truly Young, holding up her Certificate of Admissions letter from the University of Southern California ... and added a savage jab.

Dre wrote ... "My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!"

As we've reported ... Huffman, Loughlin and her husband are facing criminal charges for allegedly paying to get their kids into the prestigious school by fraudulent means.

Loughlin's daughters have already formally left USC and could be banned from campus forever.

Dr. Dre clearly doesn't think he has any reason to worry about something like that happening or any legal issues with her attending the college.

Some folks might take umbrage with the rapper's claim that his daughter got accepted on her own, though -- he and Jimmy Iovine founded the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy a few years back ... and there's a hall on campus named after them.

That may have had a little something to do with it ... just maybe.

Jordan Belfort could have been linked to Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and the other parents caught up in the college bribery scandal ... but he didn't take the bait.

The real-life "Wolf of Wall Street" was at LAX when we asked him about the admissions scandal involving schools like USC, Harvard, Yale, UCLA and Georgetown, and turns out ... he has a wild personal story about it.

Belfort tells us his son was applying to Georgetown and somehow, a shady character got his number and tried to rope him in ... but he and his son declined. He says the scheme went far beyond the old "wink wink" days of buying your kid's way into college with a donation too.

As for who was behind the recruitment process, Jordan speculates it could have been one of Rick Singer's "finders" ... but he's not certain.

As for Singer -- the ringleader of the scandal -- Belfort has some predictions on the legal ramifications of his crooked scheme ... and it goes beyond jail time.

1:19 PM PT -- Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, tells TMZ, "All you have to do is file a lawsuit -- but you have to prove it. And that's where they are going to have their problem."

He also stands firm, "Bob Durst did not have anything to do with Kathy Durst's disappearance and he did not kill Susan Berman and he doesn't know who did."

Robert Durst has just been sued for wrongful death in connection with the murder of his wife.

The Estate of Kathleen Durst is suing Robert, who is currently on trial for the murder of his good friend, Susan Berman, claiming he murdered Kathleen January 31, 1982. According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the Estate believes based on Durst's alleged M.O. ... after shooting her in the back of the head, he cut her body into little pieces and disposed of the remains ... which have never been found.

The Estate believes the primary motive was his then-lover, "Dear Prudence" Farrow, gave him an ultimatum ... if he didn't divorce Kathleen she would end their affair. The Estate says Kathleen was threatening a divorce and a cut of their fortune. There was also worry she would expose illegal business practices of the Durst companies.

Durst is currently locked up in downtown L.A. where he is awaiting trial in the Berman case.

Durst arguably confessed to both murders on an open mic during filming of the HBO documentary, "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst." You hear him muttering, "You're caught ... What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Jussie Smollett's fighting to stay outta prison, but one of the brothers who allegedly helped him stage the infamous "attack" is fighting his ass off in the boxing ring -- and just rung up another W.

Abel Osundairo competed again Thursday night in the semifinals of the prestigious Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament at Cicero Stadium. He didn't score a first-round knockout like he did in the quarterfinals, but Abel still secured a unanimous decision -- and he's moving on to the finals, slated to go down next month.

After the match ... Abel was met by a horde of reporters. Abel didn't say much with his mouth but he did let his eyes do a lot of talking. Just ask this reporter who got a bit of a death stare.

Nevertheless ... Abel -- who wore a white robe with the American flag emblazoned on the back -- has proven he's got potential as a powerful southpaw. His vicious jabs set up a brutal knockdown in the first round. As we first said after his win last weekend ... pretty clear that Abel held back a LOT during the "attack."

As for Jussie's fight -- he's pled not guilty on the 16-count indictment, and is awaiting trial.

BTW ... the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament is arguably the most elite amateur tournament in the country. It's been around since 1923 and some of its past champions include Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston.

Adam "Pacman" Jones has agreed to a plea deal in his casino cheating case that will put him behind bars -- and also ban him from drinking booze for a YEAR AND A HALF ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 35-year-old was arrested in an Indiana casino last month after authorities say he cheated while playing a table game ... and then went ballistic on officials after he was confronted.

The former NFL star was hit with a bevy of charges ... including felony intimidation, felony battery against an officer and several misdemeanors.

But now, Jones has agreed to a plea deal that will send him to jail.

According to court docs, Jones will enter a guilty plea to one count of felony cheating at gambling and one count of misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.

In exchange, prosecutors have agreed to drop all remaining charges against the defensive back.

The terms of the deal would require Jones to spend 10 days behind bars ... while also serving a probation period that will bar him from drinking booze for a year and a half.

Jones also cannot possess a firearm or dangerous weapons without permission from his probation officer during that time frame ... and he's also been banned from the Rising Star Casino.

The agreement is not set in stone ... all parties still have to appear in court and a judge has to sign off on it -- but that's usually just a formality.

Jones is currently scheduled to be back in court next month.

Cesar Sayoc -- the domestic terrorist who pledged allegiance to President Trump and mailed pipe bombs to former President Obama, CNN and others -- is pleading guilty to a whopping 65 felonies.

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Sayoc's plea Thursday in a Manhattan federal court. The felonies include mailing 16 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction for mailing the improvised explosive devices in the October domestic terrorist attack.

Sayoc also pled guilty to multiple counts of interstate transportation of an explosive, illegal mailing of explosives with intent to kill or injure another and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony.

Punishment for the WMD charges can be up to life in prison. He'll be sentenced in September.

As we reported ... Sayoc was arrested in Plantation, FL after law enforcement swarmed a van covered in pro-Trump stickers. Sayoc set off panic across the nation after a rash of explosive packages arrived at the homes of prominent Democrats ... first at the home of liberal philanthropist George Soros.

Cops also intercepted packages intended for Bill and Hillary Clinton and then the Obamas.

Dallas Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers cut a deal in his weed possession case and won't face jail time ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 25-year-old was arrested back in August in Frisco, Texas just after Cowboys' training camp ... when cops say they found him with less than 2 ounces of weed.

Gathers was charged with possession of marijuana ... but on Thursday, he struck a deal with prosecutors and will avoid time behind bars for the incident.

Court officials tell us Gathers had his charge reduced from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class C misdemeanor in exchange for a guilty plea.

Rico's punishment? He has to keep his nose clean for the next 90 days ... and, if he does, the conviction will be wiped off his record.

Rico also had to pay fines and court costs.

It's good news for the young tight end ... his role on the Cowboys is in limbo after Dallas brought back veteran Jason Witten this offseason.

Police and prosecutors believe podcast host Adam Grandmaison's life really was in danger when a guy busted in during his live stream and put a gun to his head ... 'cause the suspect's been charged, and he's still behind bars.

The hip-hop host of the "No Jumper" podcast -- known as Adam22 -- was violently interrupted while recording his show Sunday when the gunman pointed his weapon at Adam and threatened his life.

According to the L.A. County D.A.'s office ... the suspect, 24-year-old David Tran, has now been charged with one count of attempted second-degree robbery. He's still in custody and being held on $100k bail.

After video of the scary moment surfaced, many skeptics wondered if Adam staged it for publicity. Adam spoke to us and made it clear -- it was 100 percent real and serious, and everyone was fortunate there were no deaths ... especially the gunman.

As we reported ... Adam's security at his BMX and clothing store took control of the situation by quickly taking the guy down, and Adam ended his live stream and called the cops.

Here's VIDEO of ex-Denver Broncos QB Chad Kelly being chased out of a Denver-area home by a man wielding a vacuum cleaner tube ... all while Kelly's dressed like an idiot in his Halloween costume.

Yeah, it's bizarre.

It's all part of Kelly's criminal case stemming from the bizarre October 22 arrest -- after Kelly left Von Miller's big Halloween party and wandered into a random person's home.

Cops say the 24-year-old plopped down on the couch next to a woman who was holding her baby. Kelly was allegedly mumbling incoherently.

The woman called for help -- and a man who was inside the house grabbed a piece from a vacuum cleaner and used it as a weapon to chase the QB out of the home, striking him several times along the way.

In the footage, taken from the security camera at the home -- you can see Kelly (apparently dressed as Woody from "Toy Story") bolting out of the home.

Kelly was later arrested and charged with felony criminal trespassing ... and you can see in police station video we've obtained, the QB was distraught over the arrest.

But on Wednesday, the QB struck a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of 2nd-degree criminal trespass -- a class 3 misdemeanor -- and in exchange, the felony trespass charge was dropped.

As part of the deal, Kelly was also sentenced to 1 year of supervised probation, 50 hours of community service, and fines and fees.

For the Broncos' part -- they released Kelly shortly after the incident, with GM John Elway saying, "Even though Chad's no longer part of our team, we've offered to help him however we can and are supportive of him in every way possible."

Kelly is currently a free agent looking for another team.

TMZ Sports has obtained footage showing Dallas Cowboys defensive captain Tyrone Crawford brawling INSIDE a Florida bar ... destroying several giant security guys.

The video shows Crawford -- 6'4", 280 lbs. -- fighting off a team of bouncers at the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Panama City Beach, Florida on March 15.

Unclear what started the brawl ... but it escalated VERY quickly -- with at least FOUR big bouncers desperately trying to subdue the NFL player, who is just too powerful to overcome.

Crawford is just wrecking everyone -- using brute strength and powerful punches to take down everyone in his way.

At one point, 4 bouncers -- in red shirts -- are ganging up on Crawford ... who frees himself and clocks one of the bigger security guards, sending the bouncer crashing down to the ground.

As we previously reported, the fight spilled outside and cops were called to the scene ... where Crawford continued to get physical with multiple police officers.

There is video that shows Crawford barreling through 2 cops and then shoving 2 other cops while they are trying to arrest a man allegedly involved in the bar fight.

Crawford was NOT arrested that night and has not been charged with a crime.

The NFL went to the bar on Tuesday in an effort to view surveillance footage and collect information on the incident. Unclear if the bar allowed the investigators to watch the video.

According to the police report, the bar also has surveillance from inside the Saloon ... but the responding cops noted there were several blind spots that missed key moments in the altercation.

The good news... our video, shot by a bar patron that night, could fill in the blanks.

The league has disciplined players in the past for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy despite not being arrested, charged or convicted of a crime ... which means Crawford could be punished if the NFL finds his actions violated the PCP.

We've reached out to Crawford and the Dallas Cowboys but they haven't commented on the situation.

We also reached out to the NFL regarding their investigation but they aren't commenting either.