Thug Life Army

Hip-hop record moguls Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother Chris go on trial next month for allegedly using money supplied by convicted drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff to fund their music label The Inc. (formally Murder Inc.); which gave rise to hip-hop star Ashanti and rap star/actor Ja Rule.

The bookkeeper for the plagued record label bogged down in a money-laundering scandal, admitted yesterday that she cooked the books to disguise large deposits.

"I know what I did was wrong and knew it at the time and apologize for my conduct," said a 5 1/2-month pregnant Cynthia Brent, who came clean about her role in the scheme involving hip-hop/rap impresarios Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother Chris.

Her lawyer, Paul Schechtman, says he hopes to keep the mother-to-be out of prison so her baby is not born behind bars. She faces up to a year in prison.

Brent told Brooklyn federal Magistrate Judge Victor Pohorelsky that she performed a shifty accounting maneuver called structuring at The Inc., formerly Murder Inc.

That meant any deposit over $10,000 would be broken down into smaller amounts to keep regulators from flagging them.

"I would break a $15,000 deposit into two deposits of $9,000 and $6,000 and deposit them on separate days," she said.

Between October 2000 and September 2001, she filtered more than $100,000 through the banks using this system.

Schechtman said the plea deal is not exchange for her cooperation with a case against the hip-hop record label owning brothers the Lorenzos.

The trial for Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and his brother Chris for allegedly using money supplied by convicted drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff to fund the music label will begin next month.