Gotti Brothers In Murder Probe

Rap mogul IRV 'GOTTI' LORENZO and his brother CHRISTOPHER are under federal investigation for a vicious beating which led to the death of a New York drug dealer.

The brothers are suspected of wielding a piece of lumber "embedded with nails", according to one police report, to repeatedly bash ANTHONY SYLVESTER on the head until he fell unconscious before dumping his body in a vacant Manhattan lot on 20 October 1993.

Investigators say the attackers left Sylvester for dead, but the bloodied victim managed to survive the attack. He remained in a coma for eight months and then spent the next 10 years living in a hospice with round-the-clock assistance until he finally succumbed to his wounds on 29 October 2003, according to the NEW YORK POST.

Investigators recently handed over new witnesses and evidence in the case to the detectives, who are going before a grand jury to obtain a murder charge for the Gottis, whose record label THE INC is home to superstars ASHANTI and JA RULE.

But GERALD SHARGEL, a lawyer for Chris Gotti, calls the allegation "malicious, false and reckless".

Shargel insists the Gottis never knew Sylvester and, back in 1993, "were just hardworking kids just trying to make it as construction workers".

Police theorise that Sylvester either owed money to a drug dealer or had stolen narcotics from him.