Hip-hop mogul committed suicide, police say

A hip-hop mogul who managed Sean "Diddy" Combs, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey was found dead Thursday in his Bronx apartment, apparently a suicide, police said.

Chris Lighty, 44, was discovered at his home with a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. No note was recovered, but a 9-mm handgun was found at the scene and there was no sign of forced entry, said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the NYPD.

The medical examiner's office will determine a cause of death, but authorities said the shooting appeared self-inflicted.

Lighty was behind some of rap's leading figures, helping them attain not only hit records but also lucrative careers outside music. He had been a part of the scene for decades, working with pioneers like LL Cool J before starting his own management company, Violator. Recently, Lighty had been having financial and personal troubles.

Lighty is survived by his two children. He and his wife, Veronica, had been in the process of divorcing. The case was still listed as active, but electronic records show an agreement to end it was filed in June.

City National Bank sued Lighty, whose given name is Darrell, in April, saying he had overdrawn his account by $53,584 and refused to pay the balance. The case was pending.

He also owed more than $330,000 in state and federal taxes, according to legal filings. -- AP