Hip hop impresario Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is just the latest addition to the roster of rich men and women accused — or convicted — of unspeakable sex crimes.
They have had outsized influence in the worlds of showbiz, politics and business. All seem to have the same M.O.: Using that power to bury their filthy secrets, buy people off and kill police investigations.
In the famed comic strip Dick Tracy, cartoonist Chester Gould featured a rogue’s gallery of the detective’s grotesque roster of villains. There is no real Pruneface, FlatTop, Itchy or Mumbles but the crimes are just as heinous.
Here are some of the real-life villains.
SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS
411: Combs is currently caged on a slew of sex trafficking-related charges and the federal probe is making Hollywood powerbrokers nervous. More than 120 accusers are making twisted allegations that go back decades. They include violent sexual assault, facilitated sex with a controlled substance, illicit pornography and the sexual abuse of minors.
WHAT! Combs allegedly held “freak off” parties featuring teen girls, sex, baby oil, loads of drugs, execs and NBA stars.
QUOTE:
“Many powerful people … many dirty secrets.” — Lawyer Tony Buzbee
JEFFREY EPSTEIN
411: Billionaire hedge fund manager who wielded his money and power to get close to presidents and other powerful people. On his private jet, mansions in New York City, Palm Beach, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the rich pedophile sexually ravaged underage girls with his coterie of potentate pals. He killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
WHAT! One of Epstein’s twisted cronies gifted him French twins for his birthday. They were 12.
GHISLAINE MAXWELL
411: Epstein’s second banana is now serving 20 years in prison. The ex-British socialite was crucial to recruiting and grooming underage girls for sex. Sometimes she joined in for threesomes with Epstein and one of her recruits. Prince Andrew is her pal.
WHAT! Maxwell claims she was a courtroom proxy for the dead Epstein. A slew of women say otherwise.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN
411: Hollywood uber-producer Weinstein was charged with 11 counts of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual battery stemming from alleged acts between 2004 and 2013. He crushed careers and demanded sex from starlets for parts. Mr. #MeToo is serving a 23-year prison sentence. Next awards show season, ignore the preaching and remember: Everyone in Hollywood knew.
QUOTE: “I know the president of the United States. Who do you know?” — HARVEY WEINSTEIN
PETER NYGARD
411: CanCon. Years of perversion, sexual assaults and other horrors all came raining down on rag trade mogul Nygard. Now 83, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of 4 counts of sexual assault at his Toronto office. The judge said he was a sexual predator. Nygard is appealing. He also faces charges in New York.
WHAT! Nygard held “pamper parties” at his Bahamas mansion featuring sex with underage girls. His neighbour ratted him out.