It’s the end of the World as he knows it.
A Brooklyn jury convicted murderous drug kingpin Damion (World) Hardy of all counts Wednesday, guaranteeing the ex-boyfriend of rapper Lil’ Kim will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Hardy, 40, was found guilty of ordering six murders and a slew of drug trafficking, attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery counts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Soumya Dayananda told the jury that for more than a decade Hardy created a “world of violence” around the Lafayette Gardens housing project in Bedford-Stuyvesant .
Hardy’s lethal orders were carried out by Cash Money Brothers hitman Aaron (E-Bay) Granton who was also convicted of being the triggerman in five drug-related killings.
The jury forewoman did not refer the verdict sheet as she responded “proven’ and “guilty” to each of the racketeering acts and charges in the 24-count federal indictment.
Hardy was arrested in 2004 but the case dragged on for years because he was found not competent to stand trial due to schizophrenia and delusional behavior.
Meanwhile, several of Hardy’s henchmen pleaded guilty and cut deals with the government to testify against their once-feared leader.
Prosecutors won a legal victory to have Hardy forcibly medicated in order to stand trial. He showed no reaction as the verdict was announced, sitting at the defense table with the same blank look on his face as throughout the trial.
Granton, 40, slouched in his seat and turned to stare down the family members of murder victim Darryl Baum. Then he made a mock salute to them with his left hand.
May Davis, the mother of murder victim Ivory Davis, said justice came on what would have been her son’s 42nd birthday. Davis was gunned down outside a Manhattan nightclub in 2000.
“I prayed for this day,” she said outside court. “It’s been a long time waiting. I pray for them (Hardy and Granton). I was angry but I’m hoping to forgive them.”
“Everybody can rest in peace now,” added Denise Davis, the victim’s aunt.
Federal Judge Frederic Block said he was ready to sentence the two thugs right away because they face mandatory life sentences.
Defense lawyers Jean Barrett and Carl Herman said the convictions would be appealed.
Hardy, and his brother Myron, who went by the nickname “Wise,” formed CMB around 1991 and aggressively seized control of the crack dealing in the area through violence attacks on rivals, prosecutors said. The gang was named after the drug crew in the Wesley Snipes’ film “New Jack City.”
The evidence in the case reflected the times with “pager records” showing how the gang members communicated through beepers. In the end, though, it appeared that Hardy was buried by testimony of the 10 cooperating witnesses who turned against him.
“Today’s verdict is the culmination of more than a decade of work by prosecutors, special agents and detective to dismantle the Cash Money Brothers gang and hold Damion Hardy and Aaron Granton accountable for their heinous crimes,” said acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie.