a669: Ralph Conde was the victim of a robbery and was severely beaten (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: J Jolie <princessjolie25@hotmail.com>

Guitarist, singer, writer, and producer Ralph Condé who is currently with
Tabou Combo was the victim of a robbery and was severely beaten at his home
in Queens New York,on Monday February 4, 2001. The multi-talented Condé, was
working with a young African American male, when two of the guy's friends
who were waiting outside, came in the house, cut his phone cord,tape his
mouth, tied his hands and nearly beat him to death. We spoke to Ralph this
morning at the hospital; he gave us the details of what happened to him. As
he was talking, he had problems expressing himself, and breathing and it was
apparent each breath he took to form the words was a struggle. In his own
words, this is what he said happened

Konpadirek - Ralph, first how are you?
Ralph - I am doing much better than I was doing a few days ago, at least now
I am able to drink soup and Jello.

Konpadirek - What happened?
Ralph - I met this young man one day who told me he could rap, so I told him
maybe we could work together. Last Monday he came over, and a minute later
he told me he is going outside he'll be back. Someone was at the door and
two guys came and said the other guy is coming and that they are his
friends; I said ok fine. I started to play a track, and they keep telling me
to play it louder, and they seem to be looking around the apartment a lot.
Five minutes later they attacked me. They first put me in a headlock, then
they squeezed my neck so hard, and at that point I thought they were going
to choke me. They taped my mouth and tied my hands, and right away cut my
phone cord. They began beating me, punching me, and hitting me with
everything they could find. I got to a point where I felt I was at my last
breath, and I passed out.

Konpadirek - How did the police find you?
Ralph - When I woke up, I realized I was still alive, I struggled and
climbed the stairs; lucky for me they did not tie my legs. My landlord came
home around 5:00pm, I kicked at her door, and she called the ambulance to
come get me.

Konpadirek - Since when you've been at the hospital?
Rallph - I've been here since Monday night, I was not able to eat or speak.
At least today, I was able to drink some Jello.

Konpadirek - Any broken bones or permanent injuries?
Ralph - I have a lot of internal injuries, and my face to this point is
still swollen, but thank God the doctors say that there's a great chance I
may not suffer any permanent damage.

Konpadirek - Did they take anything from the house?
Ralph - I lost all of my equipments, close to $50,000, but in all honesty, I
am just happy to be alive. What they took from me are materials, my life
mean so much more.

Konpadirek - Have they caught the assailants?
Ralph - No, not yet but they will, there's a lot of detectives and police on
the case.

Konpadirek - How are you feeling now?
Ralph - I have been so traumatized, I couldn't honestly even tell you what
pain feels like right now, because it seems that's all I know. As you know,
I can't really stay on the phone, I just wanted to briefly tell you what
happened and thank everyone who cared enough to give me a call or inquire
about me.

Konpadirek- When will you be released from the hospital?
Ralph - I dont know yet, hopefully by the weekend.

Konpadirek - Before you go, anything else you would like to say?
Ralph - I wanted to thank them for their prayers, it helped. When I was
being beaten, I actually saw my life flashed in front of me, I really came
close to death, and I am really happy I am still alive. Thanks for your
support.

That was the end of our conversation with Ralph. I don't need to emphasize,
how important it is for us to show Ralph our support, What happen to him is
indeed extremely horrible and he is suffering tremendously, so please take
ONE minute out of your busy schedule to write him a brief note or pick up a
get-well card and send it to him to show our support and love, he needs to
know WE care.

Please be assured that ALL correspondence will be treated with
confidentiality and will be opened and read ONLY by Ralph. Feel free to pass
this message to your friends, and if you visit any other websites, please
feel free to post it as well.

All correspondence can be mailed to:
www.konpadirek.com
ATTN: Ralph Condé
P.O. Box 472985
Brooklyn, NY 11247

We ask his fellow musicians what they think of this situation and below are
their get-well wishes for Ralph.

" This is really horrible, I hope and pray he will recover soon. Please tell
him all of us here at T-Vice wish him a speedy recovery, and we will keep
him in our prayers" (Roberto Martino - T-Vice)

"Wow this is really horrible and incredible, Ralph was my homeboy, we use to
hang out every day, and I feel his pain. I am praying so hard that he comes
out of this ok. I hope to go see him today, and this act is so barbarous, I
can't even bring myself to think of it. This could've happen to any of us,
"tout pwoblèm yon mizisyen se pou yon lòt". (Shedley Abraham - NYAS)

"Wow this is really horrible and incredible, Ralph was my homeboy, we use to
hang out every day, and I feel his pain. I am praying so hard that he comes
out of this ok. I hope to go see him today, and this act is so barbarous, I
cant even bring myself to think of it. This could've happen to any of us,
"tout pwoblem yon mizisyen se pou yon lot". (Shedley Abraham - NYAS)



I feel his pain as a fellow musician, and I am still in shock from hearing
the torture he endured. I would like him to know that he have all of our
support and our prayers are definitely with him. I speak for all of us at
Zin when I say get well soon. (Alex Abellard - Zin)

This is truly sad, and I sincerely hope he recovers well. Today I was glad
to hear that he will not suffer any permanent injuries. From all of us here
at Zin we wish him well and will definitely keep him in our prayers. (Alan
Cave - Zin)

This is the first time I am hearing this stor, and I can't believe something
like that would happen to him. Just the other day, I was on the phone with
his brother, talking about an upcoming project we both are suppose to be
working on. My heart goes out to him, and wishes him well. (Armstrong Jeune
- New York All Stars)

I heard the news today, and called Fanfan twice and left him two messages. I
cant seem to find anyone to give me Ralph's coordinates, so please tell him
that I will pray for him, and hope he comes out of it well. (Robert Martino
- Top Vice)

Like the rest, I wish him a speedy recovery, and hopefully he will recover
from it all soon. We anticipate his return in the industry. I wish him a lot
of courage so he can continue on following his dreams and do what he loves
most, which is music. (Richard Cave - CaRiMi)



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