Kenneth "Ken" Rosenberg (born 27 January 1953) was an American mob lawyer and music producer who was known for his association with crime bosses Sonny Forelli and Tommy Vercetti during the 1980s and his work as Madd Dogg's producer in the 1990s.
Biography[]
Rosenberg in 1986
Ken Rosenberg was born to a Jewish-American family, and he studied to become a lawyer. Rosenberg cheated on his exams and established his own business, K. Rosenberg & Co., which was headquartered at the Hotel Harrison in Miami, Florida. Rosenberg became the lawyer for Sonny Forelli and his Mafia family, and he facilitated Forelli's establishment of a cocaine operation in Miami in 1986. In preparation for a drug deal with Victor Vance and Lance Vance, Rosenberg established connections with the bolivian colonel Juan Garcia Cortez, and he set up a deal with the Vance brothers at the Miami docks. The deal went sour, and Rosenberg became paranoid and hid in his hotel.
The 1980s[]
Lance Vance, Tommy Vercetti, and Ken Rosenberg in 1986
Rosenberg went on to work with Tommy Vercetti, a Forelli mobster who had just been released from prison, and Vercetti decided to set up his own operation in Miami rather than give Forelli a cut of his hard-earned money. Rosenberg helped him with establishing contacts in the city, introducing him to real estate mogul Avery Carrington as well as helping him with setting up a bank heist in Little Havana. It was around this time that his paranoia - caused by an angry Forelli's threats - led to him abusing cocaine. Rosenberg became a nervous wreck, and he eventually became too much for Vercetti to handle. Vercetti sent Rosenberg to a rehabilitation center in Carson City, Nevada, far away from Miami, and he spent several years in isolation.
The 1990s[]
In 1992, Rosenberg left rehab as a clean man, but Vercetti ignored his telephone calls, and Rosenberg was left all alone. However, he was chosen by Don Salvatore Leone to help with managing Caligula's Casino in Las Vegas, and Rosenberg was the neutral link between the Leone crime family, Sindacco crime family, and Forelli crime family who ran the business. However, he did not know much about the casino business, and the families began to fight over the casino, with Rosenberg fearing that he would be killed. After the death of Johnny Sindacco, the Forellis were on the warpath, and Carl Johnson decided to help Rosenberg in leaving Las Vegas before the Leones could kill him. Johnson told Leone that he needed Rosenberg for a job, but he instead drove him to the airport and told him to leave for Los Angeles. There, CJ had him become a music producer to help the career of struggling rapper Madd Dogg, giving Rosenberg a third chance.