Gucci Mane's no-shows draw civil, criminal complaints

Both in the Florida civil suit and the pending criminal investigation in Pittsburgh, promoters are claiming booking agent Johnnie Cabbell, of Hitt Afta Hitt Entertainment, and Davis’ business manager Debra Antney took thousands of dollars to secure the rapper’s appearance for concerts, and hasn’t repaid the money since Davis, now in Fulton County Jail, had to cancel.

“Gucci Mane never showed up and my client lost $50,000,” Pittsburgh attorney James Cook said in a Feb. 23 letter to the U.S. Secret Service. “It later came to our attention that Radric Davis … did not even have the ability to show up to the concert.”

That’s because Davis was on travel restriction on the date of the Pittsburgh concert – Aug. 22, 2009 -- for violating the conditions of his probation.

“For him to accept the money knowing he couldn’t perform is fraud,” Cook told the AJC.

Marlowe Blake is the attorney for Stephen Gold, the Florida promoter suing Davis et al for failing to appear at a Thanksgiving concert in Lakeland called "Southern Swaggfest."

The law suit lists 20 dates between July and November that were canceled from Washington, D.C. and Detroit to Little Rock, Ark., and College Park.

And the complaint is demanding more than $175,000 in damages for the missed concert for promotional fees and deposits paid to Davis’ camp for the initial October date and the rescheduled November concert date.

Blake said the booking agent was even seeking money for another event just weeks before the Nov. 28 concert … and days before Davis was ordered to return to jail for probation violation.

“Four days before (Davis) was supposed to have his probation revocation hearing, Cabbell was in the Tampa area asking for even more money for an appearance at a party,” Blake said.

Gold’s complaint alleges that Antney, Cabbell and Davis conspired to get money for concert dates they had no intention to honor the obligation. The lawsuit sites civil racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations charges, claiming the multiple cancellations were part of an elaborate scheme.

“This thing was so widespread, it was intentional,” Blake said. “They would set up the concerts, (and) I believe they would have to have known Gucci had problems.”

Meanwhile, he said the continued concert planning drummed up lots of free publicity for the rapper’s then-pending new album, “The State vs. Radric Davis.”

“As they’re being rescheduled, they’re getting all this extra free promotion for Gucci,” Blake said.

Davis, of course, is in the Fulton County Jail until November for failing to complete mandatory community service and anger management classes, and leaving the state of Georgia in May 2009 without permission from his probation officer.

This, after he was convicted on a 2005 Atlanta-area assault charge.

Antney could not be reached Thursday or Friday, but Cabbell denied knowing that Davis was unable to leave Georgia when he arranged the concerts.

“The times that I booked the shows, I was under the impression that Gucci was going to be to them,” Cabbell said. “They never told me that he couldn’t leave the state.”

He pointed, however, to language in the appearance contract that protects his booking agency from legal action if artists miss shows.

“I’ve been assured by my lawyer that there’s nothing (they) can get from me,” Cabbell.

Still, he said he would return money paid for Gucci Mane appearances to the Pittsburgh and Lakeland groups.

“If they had asked for the money back, I would’ve given them the money,” Cabbell said. “We tried. They didn’t want the money … they wanted the show.”

Pittsburgh lawyer Cook says differently, however.

“I talked to Cabbell,” Cook said. “He was like, ‘screw you. Come get it, if you can.’”

Cabbell acknowledged that no one should have been paid, if Davis couldn’t make the shows.

“If he knew that (he was restricted), that’s fraudulent,” Cabbell said. “That’s a criminal offence, because you’re literally taking people’s money.”