Hip-hop’s Jeweler Gets 30-month Prison Sentence
 

Call him the “king of bling” or the “hip-hop hookup,” but for the next 2 ½ years, Jacob Arabov will be known as a federal prisoner after pleading guilty Tuesday to lying to prosecutors probing a multi-state drug ring. The 43-year-old Russian immigrant must also cough up $50,000 in fines and kick down the government to the tune of $2 million in forfeiture payment. “I feel ashamed that I broke the laws of this country, a country that has been so good for me,” Arabov said. “I will carry this shame for the rest of my life.” It could have been much worst for Abrabov, who authorities accused of conspiring to launder an estimated $270 million in profits for Detroit’s “Black Mafia Family” drug ring during the 1990s. At the recommendation of prosecutors, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn imposed a minimum sentence of three years and one month. He lopped off another seven months from that, noting the defendant’s longtime charity work. He was arrested two years ago at his New York City jewelry store, which was frequented by many of the biggest names in the music industry. Do you think the sentence was fair?

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