According to Reuters, former Fugees producer/rapper John Forte was one of the 14 offenders listed in Bush’s first round of presidential pardons — a power that we find absolutely NUTS. Before Forte was arrested for drug trafficking in 2000 for lugging around a briefcase containing $1.4 million worth of cocaine, he studied violin at the Phillips Exeter Academy and worked with the Fugees on their debut, The Score.
He’s BFF with Carly Simon’s son, Ben Taylor; both have been advocating on Forte’s behalf claiming an unfair trial and sentence based the fact that he was a firsttime offender and it was a non-violent crime. We guess it pays to suck up to the right children of ’70s legends.
Several bigger names are still waiting for their pardons from W., including Conrad Black, Marion Jones, and John Walker Lindh, the infamous “American Taliban.”