Hot 97 Fires Exec Paddy Duke After Learning Of His Alleged Involvement In Murder Of Yusef Hawkins

August 24, 2020 by Demi Lobo in Music with 0 Comments

Hot 97 Fires Exec Paddy Duke After Learning Of His Alleged Involvement In Murder Of Yusef Hawkins

Pasquale Raucci known as Paddy Duke has been fired from New York radio station Hot 97 following reports of him allegedly being involved in the 1989 murder of Yusef Hawkins.

Pasquale Raucci, was allegedly apart of a group of White men who surrounded Yusef Hawkins and three other Black teens and attacked them in Bensonhurst, a predominantly Italian-American area in Brooklyn. Pasquale Raucci’s crew allegedly mistook Yusef Hawkins and his friends for a different group of Black teens who attended a party at the home of a girl they thought started dating a Black man.

Yusef Hawkins, who was 16 at the time, and his three friends were allegedly being followed by a group of 10 White men that eventually turned into 30 men. Pasquale Raucci and the other men allegedly held bats while yelling racial slurs at the group like,

“Let’s club the n*ggers!”

A recent HBO documentary Storm Over Brooklyn, shed light on the incident, including Raucci’s alleged involvement as one of the 30 men.

HOT 97 released a statement on Twitter on the firing of Paddy Duke.

“After watching HBO’s Storm over Brooklyn, HOT97 was shocked and took swift action. Paddy Duke is no longer employed by HOT97. The march for social justice continues.”

Ebro and Peter Rosenberg of Hot 97’s Morning show both tweeted about Paddy Duke’s firing.

Some social media users also raised eyebrows at veteran radio personality, Angie Martinez, who is a former Hot 97 host. Angie Martinez began working at the legendary radio station at the age of 16, where she resigned at the age of 43, in 2014. She also featured Paddy Duke in the video of her 2001 track “Dem Thangs.”