On Thursday, an attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in his upcoming sex trafficking trial asked a New York judge to be withdrawn from the case.
Anthony Ricco conveyed in a statement to the New York Post that he could not continue as effective counsel for Combs “under any circumstances.” The specifics behind his decision were not disclosed due to attorney-client confidentiality. Ricco’s withdrawal from the case came after a discussion with Combs’ lead attorney, Marc Agnifilo.
The New York Post reported that a judge must approve Ricco’s request to step down as Combs’ lawyer in this case.
Combs was apprehended outside a Manhattan hotel on September 16, 2024, facing federal allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking, and facilitating prostitution. Despite multiple attempts, Combs was denied bail by Judge Andrew L. Carter due to concerns about the potential for witness tampering. Combs’ legal representatives pushed for home detention with electronic monitoring, proposing a $50 million bail and offering Combs’ residence as collateral.
During the hearing, Judge Carter cited the government’s evidence of the defendant posing a danger and deemed the bail arrangement insufficient, stating, “The bail package is insufficient even on risk of flight.” Consequently, Combs’ bail request was declined for a second time.
In March 2024, federal authorities raided Combs’ homes in Holmby Hills, California, and Miami. Reports indicated that the raid was connected to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation that resulted in his arrest months later.
The reported raids also occurred four months after his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie Ventura, accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. In a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, she alleged that Combs drugged her and forced her to have sex with other men. The pair settled the lawsuit a day after its filing.
However, in May, a video surfaced showing Combs assaulting Ventura at a California hotel in 2016. After the video was released, Combs put out a video expressing remorse for his behavior. That video is mentioned in the criminal charges filed this week against Combs.
Two more accusers came forward a week after Ventura’s lawsuit. One of the women claimed Combs drugged and raped her at Syracuse University in New York in 1991. Combs denied those allegations before a third accuser, Liza Gardner, levied similar allegations against him.
In that case, Gardner claimed Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall drugged and raped her and a friend following an Uptown Records event in 1990. Gardner said she was 16 at the time of the incident. She also accused Combs of choking her a day after the assault
Days after footage of the 2016 assault was publicized, two more women filed lawsuits against Combs. One of those women was April Lampros, a New York Fashion Institute of Technology student who reportedly met Combs in 1994. Lampros accused Combs of sexually assaulting her on four instances between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s.
Lampros claimed Combs promised to mentor her and connect her with executives in the fashion industry. Instead, Combs allegedly forced her to drink before raping her in a hotel room. Lampros recalled another instance in which Combs forced her to perform oral sex on her in a parking garage while a parking attendant watched.
Combs has been accused of committing or facilitating sexual abuse in at least 30 other lawsuits — including one, filed in October, which alleges he and Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl in New York in 2000. Most recently, Jay-Z filed for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
Combs’ federal trial is set to begin in May.
[Feature Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File]
