American rapper and hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, known as Didi, who has faced shocking allegations of sexual abuse and violence in recent months, was arrested yesterday in New York on charges of racketeering and human trafficking.

The first paragraph of the indictment states that Combs "abused, threatened and forced women and everyone around him to fulfill his sexual desires, to protect his reputation and to hide his actions."

According to the indictment, the contents of which were published in full by CNN, the rapper relied on his employees, resources and the influence of the powerful business empire he led and controlled to create a criminal network in which he and his associates were involved in the trafficking of people, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, corruption and obstruction of justice.

In 14 pages, federal authorities provide shocking details about his alleged involvement in a series of crimes, which he denies.

- He is not guilty, he is innocent of those charges - said his lawyer Mark Agnifilo.

The rapper pleaded not guilty but was denied bail of $50 million and must remain in custody.

The indictment alleges that Didi used "certain employees" to continue and cover up his violence and human trafficking. But those employees are not named in the documents. They provided the rapper with sexual acts, dubbed "Freak Offs" in the document, and included sex workers and "supplying hotel rooms with various materials, including controlled substances, baby oil, lubricants, extra bedding and lighting." The same supplies, namely various narcotics and more than 1.000 bottles of baby oil and lubricants, were seized by police at his villas earlier this year.

Last November, his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura, known as Cashier, accused him of sexual assault and domestic violence, and many other women have followed in her footsteps, claiming to have been victimized by the rapper. This February, Combs' former producer Rodney Jones Jr. also filed a lawsuit, saying the musician tried to "force" him into sex with other men. All the allegations were given added weight by hotel security camera footage showing him assaulting and beating his ex-partner Cashier.

However, those who know his character and work know that this is not his first problem with the law.

From Harlem to the Stars

Sean Combs was born in 1969, in Harlem. His father was a driver who was killed just three years after Sean was born. His mother, Janice, was a model in her youth, but after her husband's death, she worked four jobs to support her son and daughter, Keisha. His mother insisted that he get an education, but also to fight for his goals by all means. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Combs recounted how his mother refused to let him home until he returned the money stolen from him by his peers when he was nine.

– She told me: "Go back there and get your money back." If someone raises a hand against you, do your best to never let it happen to them again. You have to defend yourself" - said the rapper.

But he admitted that he himself was temperamental, and that's how he got the nickname "Puffy", which he later used as a stage name for years.

He got his first job as a newspaper delivery boy at age 12, later working at a gas station and then at a Mexican restaurant, using his free time to sell lemonade.

Combs spent a summer with an Amish family in Pennsylvania through the nonprofit organization for inner-city children, Fresh Air, and they soon moved from Manhattan to Mont Vernon, a suburb of Westchester. They enrolled Combs in the prestigious Mount St. Michael's Academy, where he wore a uniform, played American football and developed ambitions.

"King" of student parties

He planned to become a professional athlete, but his wishes were thwarted by a broken leg. He enrolled at Howard University in Washington, which is mostly attended by African Americans, and created a different image there. He wore flashy clothes, threw parties and started creating his own company. Between lectures, he worked as an airport shuttle bus driver and sold old term papers, sodas and T-shirts.

He was very popular and often organized parties, and one of them was unexpectedly attended by 4.500 people. Because of this, the police closed the entire block of the student dormitory.

Then he had a desire to work in a record company and sent his CV to all the relevant companies asking for an internship. After a while, he got a position at Uptown Records, where he worked up to 80 hours a week in order to complete all duties for his superiors. When it became too much for him, he left his studies.

Combs continued to throw parties that kept up with the trends and gained the ability to attract more and more people. Because of this, one of his ventures ended in tragedy. Namely, he organized a charity basketball game on the Harlem College campus, but as many as 5.000 people showed up and a stampede ensued in which nine people died and more than 30 were injured. He was not prosecuted, but later said the case haunted him.

Entering the musical waters

Despite the incident, his popularity grows and he manages to sign a contract with rapper Christopher Wallace, better known by his stage name Notorious B-J-G. That's how his record company "Bad Boy Records" was born, which released Wallace's album "Ready to Die" in 1994.

A fierce battle soon began with the rival label "Death Row Records" from Los Angeles, headed by Shug Knight, who was responsible for the rise of one of the greatest rappers of all time - Tupac Shakur. It was then that Tupac was shot five times during a robbery, and later claimed that Combs and Wallace knew about the attack plan. Although they denied having anything to do with it, their conflict continued, and the shadow of suspicion lingered over them after Tupac was killed in a shooting in Los Angeles in 1996. Wallace was killed six months later in a drive-by shooting just minutes after leaving a party he attended with Combs. Conspiracy theories about Didi's involvement in these crimes persist to this day.

Solo career

None of this stopped Combs from succeeding. He released his first single under the stage name Puff Diddy in January 1997, and the same year he released his first album, on which he dedicated one of the songs to Biggie. "I'll Be Missing You" became the first rap single to debut at number one on the Billboard Top 100 charts.

The following year he was nominated for four Grammy Awards, and thanks to the restaurant and fashion line "Sean John" - his fortune began to grow at a dizzying speed.

He bought a villa in the Hamptons where he organized the first "White Party" with a strict dress code, which became a traditional annual gathering of the big stars.

Anger Management Course

As his influence grew, so did the scandals in which he was involved. Thus, in 1999, he was arrested for beating up one of the key people at Interscope Records in broad daylight, but avoided prison and had to attend a one-day anger management course. Just three months later, he was involved in a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub while in the company of his then-girlfriend. Jennifer Lopez. The couple was celebrating in an elite club, when one of the guests threatened his protégé, the rapper Shine. There was a fight, and then a shooting in which three people were wounded. Combs fled with J.Lo, his bodyguard and driver, carrying a stolen gun for which he did not have a permit. But the police intercepted him and he ended up in court where he was found not guilty.

However, during the media spectacle that his trial turned into, it became apparent how much influence the rapper has on the public. His fans gathered outside the court with banners and shouted messages of support, asking the judge to acquit him of the charges.

Just a few weeks later, he completely changed his image and chose a new name – Pee Diddy.

- When I change the names, I put periods on those eras - he said in an interview for "Vanity Fair" in 2021.

His fashion brand Sean Jean became so popular that the rapper was nominated for men's designer of the year. However, it turned out that his creations were made in makeshift factories in Honduras, where people worked in inhumane conditions for extremely low pay.

Two years later, he performed at halftime of the Super Bowl, America's biggest sporting event, where he launched his famous "Vote or Die" campaign during the presidential election.

Then he decided to drop the "Pi" from the name, so it became just "Didi".

By the time his then-partner gave birth to twins, five months after his longtime friend gave birth to his daughter Chance, Combs was involved in the career of young singer Cassandra Ventura, who would become a symbol of his downfall.

Although he had already broken the identity of the "brazen and assertive Puff", he still had outbursts of anger, and in 2014 he allegedly punched his co-star Drake in a nightclub in Miami, and in the same year he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and threats of terrorism and to the coach of one of his sons.

time for "love"

He changed his name again, this time to "Love" in 2017, just a year after his ex-partner Kim Porter, the mother of his three children, died. She was found dead in her home in Los Angeles, and the medical examiner determined that she died of pneumonia.

For a while it seemed that Cassandra Ventura, whom he met when he was 37 and she was only 19, was the only woman in his life, but the couple separated in 2018. Since then, he has been linked to Dana Tran, who gave birth to his daughter Leo in December 2022, but also to other significantly younger women.

However, in November 2023, news broke that Cassandra had sued him for rape and long-term relationship violence. Although his lawyers settled with Cassandra in just a day, a number of other women have come forward claiming to have been the target of the rapper's wrath.

Police searched his homes in Los Angeles and Miami, and although they found no evidence against him at the time, one of his associates was arrested for possession of narcotics. Combs' lawyers claimed it was a "witch hunt" and attempts to extort money from their client, but in May this year shocking footage from hotel security cameras was leaked, showing the dark side of his nature. The rapper later apologized, saying there was no excuse for his behavior in the video and that he was praying to God for mercy and forgiveness.

Given the new charges against him, it looks like he's in for a long court battle.