COP KILLER

Notorious BIG aka Christopher Wallace was assassinated by a hitman set up by a former Los Angeles Police Department officer called David A Mack according to a report in yesterday's LA Times.

In a story that looks increasingly like the plot of a James Ellroy novel, the paper revealed that detectives are investigating whether Mack conspired with Death Row Records founder Marion 'Suge' Knight to kill Biggie in 1997 in the parking lot of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles following the Vibe magazine awards. His triggerman - who actually shot the rapper - was also named in the report.

Mack's attorneys have dismissed the report; their client is already serving a 14 year sentence for an unrelated bank robbery conviction. Knight - in jail on an assault charge - has denied knowing Mack, though it was reported that both grew up in the same LA neighbourhood.

The 'new' Notorious BIG album 'Born Again' was released this week.