.

Stevie Wonder's Nephew Accused of Attempted Extortion on Singer

Alpha Lorenzo Walker and girlfriend demanded $5 million

Stevie Wonder performs in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images
June 20, 2012 10:50 AM ET

Stevie Wonder's nephew is facing felony charges of extortion against the singer, reports the Los Angeles Times. Alpha Lorenzo Walker, 38, and his girlfriend Tamara Eileen Diaz, 38, are accused of threatening to reveal information about Wonder if he did not pay the pair a substantial amount of money. Police say the couple attempted to finagle $5 million before dropping their demands down to $10,000. Walker and Diaz were arrested May 2nd after undercover LAPD officers posed as Wonder's representatives. Both were scheduled for a preliminary hearing yesterday.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »