On March 19, 58 year old Eugene Henley Jr. surrendered to authorities the day after a combined law enforcement task force released a 107 page indictment, containing 43-counts of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. These charges include embezzlement, extortion, fraud, robbery, and tax evasion stemming from his dual roles as an activist and entertainment executive.
A native of Los Angeles’ Hyde Park neighborhood, Henley is a larger than life figure known on the streets as “Big U.” An alleged “O.G.” (original gangster) of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips Street Gang, he spent time in the penal system on charges of drug trafficking and robbery before turning his life around at the turn of the millennium.
In his new incarnation as an activist, entrepreneur , and philanthropist he started a charity called “Developing Options,” purporting to steer youth away from the pratfalls of drugs and violence. At the same time he mentored local talent, most notably rappers Kurupt and Nipsey Hussle, under the banner of his “Uneek Music” music company.
Still rumors of unsavory criminality continue to plague him. Legend has it that the character of neighborhood bully “Deebo” played by the late actor Tommy Debo “Tiny” Lister Jr. in the 1995 blockbuster movie “Friday” was based on Big U.
The recent indictment claims these positive overtures were merely a smokescreen to enable Henley to continue his shady activities under cover of a third separate organization, “Big U Enterprises,” devoted to criminal activities. The investigation was a combined effort by the FBI, the IRS, the LAPD, the North Las Vegas Police, and the U.S. Department of Justice under the title “Operation Draw Down.”
“The invaluable expertise provided by the Operations South Bureau FBI Task Force on the Rollin’ 60’s criminal street gang has played a pivotal role in securing these charges,” said LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
In addition to these charges Henley is alleged to have instigated the Las Vegas kidnapping and murder of aspiring rapper Rayshawn Williams, who had traveled there to record a demonstration tape underwritten by Henley’s company. Shortly afterwards in January of 2021, Williams’ bullet-riddled body was found in a ditch in the desert by Las Vegas police.
For his part, Henley recorded a YouTube denial on his way to surrender in which he denied any wrong doing. Since then, he has indicated that his downfall was engineered by fellow music executive Cash “Wack 100” Jones, insinuating that Jones is a Federal informant, working in tandem with the FBI.
“Wack said 100 times he was gonna take my contracts,” Henley maintained in an online video.
“…y’all don’t understand what the FBI do to Black men who try to help their community.” Jones in turn has denied any involvement with Henley’s current legal problems.
