HOLLYWOOD - The newspaper reporter who linked Sean 'Diddy' Combs to a gun attack on Tupac Shakur has issued an apology to the rap mogul over his fabricated story.
The Los Angeles Times ran an article on March 17 claiming Combs' former manager, Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy 'Henchman' Rosemond, was involved in a plan to ambush Shakur at a New York Recording studio in 1994.
Journalist Chuck Philips has staunchly defended his article, but--following a series of bitter refutes from Combs and Rosemond--has now confessed his investigation was based on bogus documents.
However, Philips insists he genuinely deemed the paperwork to be entirely factual while he was conducting his research.
He said in a statement released on Wednesday: "In relying on documents that I now believe were fake, I failed to do my job. I'm sorry."
Los Angeles Times editor Russ Stanton will launch an internal review of the documents and the working methods involved in the reporting of the phony story.
He says, "We published this story with the sincere belief that the documents were genuine, but our good intentions are beside the point.
"The bottom line is that the documents we relied on should not have been used. We apologize both to our readers and to those referenced in the documents and, as a result, in the story. We are continuing to investigate this matter and will fulfill our journalistic responsibility for critical self-examination."
Combs and Rosemond deny any involvement in the attack that saw Shakur shot five times, two years before he was murdered in Las Vegas. No one was ever charged in connection with the shooting, which was believed to have started a "gang war" that eventually resulted in Shakur's death.
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