Crime

Fat Joe says Tekashi69 was in a frantic state of mind just weeks ago ... correctly predicting the feds were gunning for him.

We talked to Joe Tuesday -- right after he wrapped up his Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway in NYC -- and asked him about the ominous warning he gave Tekashi 9 months ago. If ya missed it, Tekashi went on Joe's "Coca Vision" podcast and Joe warned him about catching heat for associating with the wrong crowd.

Fat Joe asked Tekashi, "Can you control your friends? The police tried to set me up so many times ... 1 million percent they are plotting on you." Joe says his prediction played out almost exactly as he feared.

TMZ broke the story ... Tekashi was indicted on 6 federal charges, some of which carry max sentences of life in prison.

Ex-Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon has been charged with lying to cops to cover up the Larry Nassar scandal ... and now she's facing years behind bars.

The ex-prez has been charged with 2 felony and 2 misdemeanor counts after an investigation determined she lied about knowing of complaints against Nassar in 2014.

According to court docs, the felony counts carry up to 4 years in prison and the misdemeanors up to 2 years.

In the docs, Simon said she was aware of a review of allegations against a sports doctor, but didn't reveal she knew it was Nassar.

Simon resigned from her position in January ... shortly after Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse.

This is the 3rd school official charged as a result of the investigation into the Nassar scandal ... the school's former dean of Osteopathic Medicine, William Strampel, and ex-gymnastics coach Kathie Klages were also charged.

Michael Avenatti's alleged domestic violence victim claims they had an argument that turned violent -- with him being verbally and physically abusive -- and now she has a restraining order against him.

The woman, Mareli Miniutti, says she and Avenatti were in the master bedroom of their apartment arguing about money on November 13, when he called her an "ungrateful f**king bitch" ... according to docs. She says he followed her into a guest bedroom while verbally berating her and hitting her "forcefully" in the face with pillows. She claims he said, "Do not disrespect me. You don't get to sleep in my house tonight."

In the docs, Mareli says Avenatti grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her off of the bed in the guest bedroom -- and when she escaped his grasp, she started texting a friend. She claims he grabbed the phone out of her hand ... and started screaming for help out of a window.

According to the docs, Avenatti then dragged her by her right arm and out into the public hallway of the apartment building. She says she was only wearing underwear and a t-shirt, and suffered scratches on her side and leg. The woman says she rang a neighbor's doorbell for help, but Avenatti allegedly grabbed her and dragged her back into his apartment and shut the door ... preventing her from leaving.

Mareli says she was eventually able to get out of the apartment, but she claims Avenatti rode down in the elevator with her while begging, "Don't do this Mareli, don't involve them" ... presumably referring to building security. She says security guards did take her into a room by herself while she waited for a friend to come pick her up.

Mareli says, in the docs, this was the second time Avenatti was physically violent toward her. She claims the first time was in February ... when he pushed her out of the apartment into the hallway where she struck her head against a neighbor's door ... and threw her shoes at her. She also claims he has a history of being "verbally abusive and financially controlling."

According to the restraining order, Avenatti must stay 100 yards away from Mareli and have no contact of any sort with her. A hearing is scheduled for next month.

TMZ broke the story ... Avenatti was arrested Wednesday after the woman filed a felony domestic violence report. The alleged argument and confrontation she describes happened late Tuesday night at their exclusive apartment in the Century City area of L.A.

Someone really wants Hailey Baldwin to drop her name and publicly take Justin Bieber's -- a demand they boldly made by tagging her L.A. billboard.

Check it out ... we got pics and video of a man spray painting -- aka vandalizing -- Hailey's PrettyLittleThing billboard Monday night. As we told you, Hailey changed her Instagram handle to @HaileyBieber over the weekend, but that clearly wasn't enough for this guy.

The guy first covered "Baldwin" with white spray paint, then scribbled "Bieber" over that in black paint. We'll give him this ... he's efficient. The entire process only took a few minutes.

The billboard is on Fairfax Avenue ... not far from The Grove. Looks like the tagger had to sneak onto the roof of an art gallery to access the billboard's ladder.

Tekashi69 is getting NO special treatment while he's in prison awaiting his bail hearing because he's chillin' with every other inmate in general population ... TMZ has learned.

6ix9ine's lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, tells us ... Tekashi has been placed in gen pop at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center as opposed to being held in a segregated part of the federal pen ... due to his celeb status.

That's interesting because the MDC is notoriously brutal, with inmates that are "extremely dangerous, violent, or escape-prone," according to the U.S. Justice Department.

There's also this ... prosecutors expressed Monday just how much of a target Tekashi had been prior to his arrest this weekend. One prosecutor told a judge ex-members of Tekashi's crew "wanted to super violate him" following his appearance on the 'Breakfast Club' ... where he accused his inner circle of turning on him.

The prosecutor, Michael Longyear, said 'super violate' meant inflict harm on Tekashi, including possibly shooting him. He said they took Tekashi in after learning he was planning a trip to a Connecticut casino, and feared an attempt on his life could put innocent people in jeopardy.

As for the rapper getting placed in gen pop ... Lazzaro thinks Tekashi will be fine. His scheduled bail hearing for Tuesday was pushed to Wednesday since the judge was unavailable.

UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich has filed for a restraining order against her MMA fighter husband, Arnold Berdon, in the wake of a violent incident over the weekend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Rachael filed for the order herself in Hawaii on Nov. 19 -- and based on court docs, it appears the order was temporarily granted and is set to stay in effect until May 18, 2019.

As we previously reported, Ostovich was hospitalized with a broken orbital bone along with other injuries after an incident in Hawaii.

Multiple sources tell us ... Ostovich is pointing the finger at Berdon and that's why she's filed the restraining order.

Cops have opened a felony domestic violence investigation but have not released the name of the suspect.

We spoke with a family member who is very close with Berdon, who tells us Arnold is seeking a lawyer and intends to defend himself against allegations he attacked his wife.

We're told Berdon will argue he was attacked first and defended himself.

Berdon is also a pro MMA fighter. He's 27 years old with a 7-2 record, according to Sherdog.com.

He's listed at 5'9" and 135 lbs. Berdon's last fight was back in June -- a unanimous decision victory over Jeremias Fernandez.

UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich has officially pulled out of her upcoming fight against Paige VanZant -- citing the brutal injuries she suffered during an attack over the weekend.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 27-year-old Ostovich was hospitalized after she was assaulted on Hawaii -- and she's been diagnosed with a broken eye socket and other injuries.

Now, her manager has issued a statement explaining that Rachael is simply too hurt to get in the Octagon in January.

"A very unfortunate incident occurred Sunday night with Rachael Ostovich that ended with her suffering a fractured orbital and other injuries," Brian Butler-Au said.

"As a result of these injuries she will not be able to compete in her upcoming bout with Paige VanZant on January 19th."

"Rachael is now home from the hospital with her family and will be going back for further check ups on her orbital."

Butler-Au added, "We would like to thank the UFC for all their support on this matter as well as the fans and media for your concern."

As we previously reported, cops have opened a felony domestic violence investigation into the matter -- but so far, no arrests have been made.

Cops have also not released the name of the suspect.

One of Kylie Jenner's favorite artists had his work vandalized, and cops say a bad boy street artist is a suspect in the crime.

The newly opened Maddox Gallery in West Hollywood was covered in graffiti over the weekend, and law enforcement sources tell us street artist RETNA is a suspect in the investigation.

Sources tell us ... RETNA allegedly twice vandalized the art gallery with spray paint, first targeting the work of celeb-fave Damien Hirst and then returning to graffiti the gallery inside and out.

Check out the pics ... someone went to town on the gallery, and our law enforcement sources estimate the damages between $50-100k!!!

Eyewitnesses say RETNA was pissed because his own work was not hanging next to Hirst's -- an artist popular with Kylie, the Beckhams, Elton John, Jay-Z and Beyonce -- and last Monday, RETNA flanked Hirst's work with black spray paint.

After the gallery painted over the graffiti, sources say RETNA returned in a rage Saturday to vandalize the gallery inside and out with silver spray paint. We're told he was threatening staff members and ranting about how he wasn't being showcased.

After the first act of vandalism, a post on RETNA's IG appeared to take credit for the graffiti ... but it was later deleted.

Maddox Gallery director Sam Palmer is convinced RETNA is behind the vandalism ... telling us he vandalized "furniture, art, our front window, the gallery doors ... and more."

6:54 PM PT -- Legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- detail some of the charges Tekashi has been indicted on and why prosecutors want the judge to deny him bail. Prosecutors say in April, Tekashi waited in a car outside an NYC office building and recorded while his manager and other associates robbed some of Tekashi's rivals.

The incident where shots were fired at Barclays Center is also detailed ... and describes earlier in the night, Tekashi was present while someone from his crew fired multiple shots at another vehicle. Finally, the docs describe an incident in July where Tekashi allegedly ordered a hit on a rival ... a move that left one person shot in the foot.

There's also a photo of the gun recovered at Tekashi's Brooklyn home back in September by the feds, an AR-15 style rifle.

Tekashi will be back in court Tuesday to ask a judge for bail.

5:45 PM PT -- A courtroom sketch of Tekashi's arraignment has been released, and it looks like he was wearing his rainbow hair in pigtails and rocking a yellow outfit. We'll say this ... the artist definitely captured Tekashi's look better than that Tom Brady drawing did a few years back. Not quite as good as Paul Manafort's, though.

4:49 PM PT -- Tekashi has been denied bail for now and will remain in custody pending trial. His attorney, Lance Lazzaro, proposed Tekashi be released if he paid the court $750k, surrendered his passport and remain on house arrest, suggesting that he wouldn't be a flight risk under those terms. Lazzaro's request was shot down ... but he plans to file an appeal with the judge during a bail hearing Tuesday.

Tekashi appeared calm in court, even though his hands and feet were shackled. His family, including his mother, was present during the arraignment.

3:30 PM PT -- According to the 17-page indictment, obtained by TMZ, Tekashi is facing 6 counts ... the most serious of which is discharging a firearm while committing a crime. That count carries a possible life sentence, and a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison.

His ex-manager, Shottie, is facing the same 6 counts.

Prosecutors say the acts of violence were intended to protect the gang's drug biz, retaliate against rival gangs or promote Nine Trey's rep on the streets.

2:55 PM PT -- Tekashi and his crew conspired to commit a slew of crimes, including drug deals, armed robberies and shootings ... according to the federal indictment.

The feds believe Tekashi himself pulled an armed robbery on April 3 along with his ex-manager, Shottie, and 2 other members of the Nine Trey Bloods. According to the docs, they robbed gang rivals at gunpoint.

The indictment also mentions the April 21 shooting incident at Barclays Center in Brooklyn ... and fingers Fuguan Lovick as the trigger man.

The indictment, first reported by the NY Daily News, lists 17 counts dating back to 2013.

The feds also say Tekashi and associates were hawking heroin, fentanyl, MDMA and marijuana all over NYC.

Tekashi69, his recently fired manager and 2 other former associates are in federal custody after getting busted on racketeering charges -- which almost certainly means the rapper's going to prison ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... 6ix9ine was arrested Sunday night by ATF agents in NYC, and the agents also hauled in his ex-manager, Shotti, at the same time. You'll recall Tekashi had just fired Shottie and much of his management team last week.

One of the other suspects arrested is Faheem Walter -- aka Crippy -- who got shot a few weeks ago during the altercation with Tekashi's record label head.

All 4 men are facing racketeering and firearms charges. We're told the investigation was a joint effort by ATF, NYPD and Homeland Security.

It's interesting, Tekashi was on "The Breakfast Club" just last week and admitted he only feared two things ... God and the FBI.

Tekashi was already skating on thin ice. As we reported, the judge who gave him probation in his child sex case had warned him to keep his nose clean ... or he'd be going straight to prison.

Brandi Glanville caught a dude red-handed ... allegedly breaking into her Range Rover, and the whole incident was caught on camera -- including a foot chase to nab the suspect.

It all went down Sunday afternoon on Ventura Blvd. in the San Fernando Valley -- Brandi was walking up to her whip just as the alleged thief was going to work. He tried to flee the scene, but another guy -- possibly Brandi's friend -- gave chase on foot.

A photog who happened to be shooting the former 'Real Housewives' star captured the crazy scene, and even followed the action down the road ... as Brandi's friend pinned the suspect down until police arrived to arrest him.

Ex-49ers running back Jarryd Hayne -- who's also an international rugby star -- was arrested in Australia for aggravated sexual assault and now faces up to 20 years in prison.

Officials say the accuser is a 26-year-old woman who claimed she hooked up with Hayne on Sept. 30 in what started as a consensual sexual encounter. She claimed the two met online.

But, at some point during the incident, the woman claims Hayne's actions turned criminal and she suffered injuries as a result.

Cops investigated the matter and ultimately determined there was enough evidence to charge Hayne with a crime -- "aggravated sexual assault inflicting actual bodily harm."

Hayne turned himself in to police on Monday and was released on bail several hours later.

A spokeswoman for NSW Police issued a statement to local media outlets saying -- "Police are investigating following reports a woman was sexually assaulted by a 30-year-old man in late September."

"The investigation is being led by detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad."

Hayne is a massive star in Australia -- and famously left the rugby world in 2015 for a brief stint with the San Francisco 49ers. He flashed potential on the field but it ultimately didn't work out.

It's not the first time Hayne has been accused of a sex crime -- back in 2015, a woman in the United States claimed Hayne raped her after she had been drinking and passed out.

Arizona Cardinals tight end Ricky Seals-Jones has pled guilty to misdemeanor assault stemming from a shoving match in an AZ hotel bathroom earlier this year ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, staffers at the W Hotel in Scottsdale told police Ricky bull-rushed his way into a guests-only restroom and gave this explanation to police -- "Literally, I had to piss."

Hotel staffers claimed they tried to politely turn Ricky away from the bathroom -- but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

A shoving match broke out and employees eventually tackled Ricky (6'5", 245 lbs) down to the ground.

Cops reviewed the surveillance tape and arrested him on 3 misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct and third-degree criminal trespass.

But, Monday in court, Ricky cut a deal with prosecutors -- in which he agreed to enter a guilty plea to Class 3 misdemeanor assault and, in exchange, the other charges were dropped.

It's a good deal for Ricky who was facing up to 8 months in jail if convicted on all original counts.

As part of his sentence, Ricky has been ordered to complete an alcohol abuse program. If he keeps his nose clean until May 2019, the conviction will be wiped from his record.

And, of course, the NFL will also likely mete out its own punishment for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

10:40 AM PT -- Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, tells TMZ that "Nothing in the DA's response gives us any more confidence in the integrity of the Grand Jury's proceedings."

He adds, "As for the hearing that the People fear will become a 'circus' - it is they who created the circus with the DA and the NYPD calling each other liars."

Harvey Weinstein's NYC rape case should absolutely move forward, according to prosecutors who insist the whole case has NOT been tainted by one rogue detective.

The D.A.'s Office filed its response to Weinstein's motion to dismiss and accuses Weinstein's team of trying to turn the case into a "circus" with Det. Nicholas DiGaudio at the center of it. As we reported, prosecutors dropped one count against Weinstein after it came out DiGaudio had engaged in witness tampering.

Prosecutors insist Weinstein's motion to dismiss all the other counts is based on "pure speculation." According to the docs, obtained by TMZ ... there's no evidence DiGaudio met with another key witness and, "In truth, the only reason the defendant wants a hearing is to provide a public circus that will further the public relations campaign the defendant has been waging from the outset of this case."

As we reported, Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, filed a motion earlier this month to have the case dismissed ... claiming one alleged victim, Mimi Haleyi, remained in contact with Weinstein 7 months after alleging he forcibly performed oral sex.

Brafman argued that because of former lead detective DiGaudio's previous incident of witness tampering, the case is tainted and should be thrown out.

A New Orleans man was arrested at a Willie's Chicken Shack after allegedly claiming he was going to "blow the bathroom up."

Problem is ... the guy claims he was talking about butt bombs -- not actual explosives!!!

And yes, this is a real story.

The man in the mug shot is 30-year-old Arthur Posey -- who hit up the Canal Street restaurant at night on Nov. 13.

Employees told police Posey made a violent threat against the place -- allegedly saying, "Y’all about to close right now because I’m going to get a bomb and blow this place up.”

When cops tracked down Posey, he claimed it was a giant misunderstanding -- explaining he told staffers he was going to "blow the bathroom up" ... meaning, he was gonna poop his brains out.

Cops didn't buy what Posey was selling and arrested him. He's now facing 2 counts of communicating false information of planned arson.

He's due back in court later this month -- where he'll try to convince a judge the allegations are just a bunch of crap.

Ever blurted out Jay-Z's famous lyric to "99 Problems"? Bet it's never resulted in cops pointing guns at you ... 'cause that's EXACTLY what happened to one man in Tennessee.

Davon Eddington tells TMZ ... he was in his backyard last week in Spring Hill, Tennessee drinking a beer and talking to his brother on the phone about LeBron James and the Lakers. Davon's brother called him a bandwagon Lakers fan ... to which Davon replied, "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one."

A neighbor, apparently overhearing the conversation, misinterpreted the lyric and told cops he thinks Davon's beating his fiancee -- who, BTW, was upstairs taking a bath.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, cops raced to Davon's home after the caller told them he heard Davon say he had "99 problems and this bitch ain't one."

Davon says cops ultimately got to his house and onto his property with guns drawn before they realized it was a total misunderstanding, to say the least.

Davon says cops apologized, 'cause it seems he got swatted. Davon kept his cool ... but it seems it's one particular neighbor who is NOT cool with him.

11:55 AM PT -- Ostovich has been released from the hospital.

3:45 AM PT -- Honolulu police tell TMZ Sports they have opened a felony domestic violence investigation. So far, we're told no arrests have been made.

UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich -- who was scheduled to fight Paige VanZant in January -- was attacked in Hawaii and sources tell us it was so serious, she's being hospitalized for major injuries.

Multiple sources tell TMZ Sports ... Ostovich was in Honolulu when the incident took place. Our sources tell us she's believed to have suffered a broken orbital bone.

We're told Ostovich's attacker is someone close to her.

If Ostovich did, in fact, suffer a broken bone in her face, it would almost certainly mean her January 19 fight with Paige VanZant at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn would be off.

We've reached out to Rachael's camp for comment -- so far, no word back.

27-year-old Ostovich is a rising star in the sport -- and the fight with VanZant would undoubtedly be the biggest moment of her career.