NEW YORK – A syndicated hip-hop disc jockey was arrested Friday on charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child amid an uproar over his on-air racial and sexual rants about a radio rival's wife and 4-year-old daughter.
Police officials began a hate crime investigation of DJ Star on Thursday after reviewing a transcript of his recent remarks about DJ Envy and his family.
DJ Star (real name: Troi Torain) was contacted by police Friday and ordered to surrender a 9mm handgun and target practice permit at police headquarters. When he arrived, he was arrested, said police spokesman Paul Browne.
After city Councilman John C. Liu and other outraged elected officials called a press conference to publicly scold Torain, he was fired Wednesday from his job at WWPR-FM (Power 105). The station's owner, a unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc., said it found his statements "wholly unacceptable."
Not satisfied, the politicians demanded a criminal investigation — and got one.
"This is a real consequence for Torain and sends a real message to other would-be racist pedophile radio stooges that they are not immune from the law," Liu said.
A call to Torain's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, was not immediately returned. Brafman had apologized on his client's behalf Thursday, calling the remarks "unsuitable and inappropriate."
In the comments made between May 3 and Monday, Torain — co-host of the "Star & Buc Wild Morning Show" — offered $500 (euro387) to any listener who could provide information about the school the rival disc jockey's daughter attends and used racial slurs when talking about his wife, who is part Asian.
"I will come for your kids," Torain said, according to transcribed excerpts provided by Liu's office. "I finally got the information on his slant-eyed, whore wife."
Torain also called the couple's child a "little half a lo mein eater" and said he wanted to "do an R. Kelly on your seed, on your little baby girl. I would like to tinkle on her."
The comments apparently alluded to videotapes in 2002 showing a man bearing a strong resemblance to singer R. Kelly having sex with someone who appeared to be an underage girl and then urinating on her.
Torain and half-brother Timothy Joseph, or Buc Wild, joined Clear Channel Radio in March 2004 and began working at Power 105 in January 2005.
Their show aired in markets including Philadelphia, Miami and Richmond, Virginia.
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