Jay-Z Loses Empire State Of Fine, Named In Ticket-Fixing Probe

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and a slew of other high profile celebrities have been cited in a New York City investigation involving fixed ticket violations.

Details of the investigation hit the Internet Thursday (May 26).

Cops even showed Brooklyn love, letting rap superstar Jay-Z's driver off the hook for a speeding ticket, sources said. Two sources familiar with the A-Rod speeding ticket said he was driving on the West Side Highway near W.57th St. in 2009. A highway cop issued the ticket, but an NYPD sergeant later squashed it, the sources said. Yankees officials refused to comment last night. Rodriguez's spokesman declined to talk about the allegations. Revelations of special treatment for bigwigs emerged as Bronx prosecutors and the Internal Affairs Bureau conduct separate investigations into suspected ticket-fixing. (New York Daily News)

An inside source believes big name entertainers can easily get a pass with tickets.

"It was very easy for a big name towalk away from a summons," one police source said. "[Celebrities] have contacts everywhere. There's an eagerness to help because of who they are." (New York Daily News)

Additional reports suggest  Jay-Z's 2010 fine mysteriously disappeared.

A driver for Jay-Z also got a speeding ticket while driving on the West Side Highway, but a police officer "lost" the violation and the case was tossed, reports the News. Jay-Z's publicist declined the paper's request for comment. (NBC News)

Outside of legal issues, Jay is currently focused on completing his Watch the Throne collaborative album with Kanye West.

"Ye is just in an extraordinarily creative place--so much so I need to get him to focus so we can finish this," Jay said in a recent interview. "But music is his refugee right now." (Sky)