NY police to investigate Tupac robbery confession

New York police are investigating an online posting from a man who claims to have shot the late rapper Tupac Shakur during a robbery attempt in 1994, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

Convicted murderer Dexter Isaac claims to have been paid $2,500 by music manager James Rosemond to rob Shakur outside a Manhattan recording studio in November 1994, in which Shakur was shot five times.

Shakur survived the shooting but was later murdered in an unsolved 1996 shooting in Las Vegas.

Isaac is currently serving a life sentence in Brooklyn, New York, after having been convicted for charges including murder, fraud and robbery.

"Detectives plan to talk to him and hear what he has to say," police spokesman Paul Browne said Thursday.

Rosemond, a well-known manager of several high-profile artists, is currently a fugitive from federal authorities who allege he was involved in a large-scale cocaine trafficking enterprise.

Rosemond's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told Reuters Isaac was making up the story to help police build a case against Rosemond.

"This is not him being a good soldier or clearing his conscience. It's a desperate 17-year-old attempt to reduce his sentence," he said.

As proof, Isaac said he is still in possession of a chain necklace that he took from Shakur during the robbery.

He also claims in the posting to have information about the murders of Shakur in 1996 and another rapper, Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace in 1997, but did not elaborate.

The claim from Isaac was first posted on music website AllHipHop.com.

In the confession, Isaac said he is speaking out because Rosemond had accused him of being a government informant.

"Now I would like to clear up a few things, because the statute of limitations is over, and no one can be charged, and I'm just plain tired of listening to your lies."