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For the first time in years, record producer and rapper John Forte, a former member of the Fugees, spent the holidays out of prison and is planning a new life helping troubled youth.
It was a mission that Sen. Orrin Hatch assured Forte would commit to when the Utah Republican asked for Forte's release from prison in a 2006 letter obtained through an open records request.
"In prison he is teaching guitar and music to his fellow inmates. He is writing songs with messages that today's youth need to hear -- from someone they will respond to, like John Forte," Hatch wrote. "John will make a difference if allowed the freedom to do so and I am personally committed to helping make sure that he keeps his promises once he is released."
Forte was freed from prison on Dec. 22, about a month after President Bush commuted the seven remaining years on his sentence for a 2001 drug charge. Forte had been caught in an airport, receiving 31 pounds of liquid cocaine, valued at $1.4 million, from couriers for a drug ring.
"My contention here is not that John Forte is innocent or that he should not have been convicted and sentenced for his crimes," Hatch wrote in his letter. "My contention is … that the best interest of our society would be served, in this case, by allowing John his freedom -- a gift which he has vowed to use in the pursuit of helping at-risk youth abstain from drugs and drug activity."
In addition to Hatch, Forte had the support of folk artist Carly Simon, whose son attended an exclusive private school with Forte. She enlisted Hatch's help and even recorded a song that Hatch wrote.
In early December, Hatch told The Tribune that he had urged the commutation of Forte's prison sentence because he is a "genius."
"He was no risk to society because he was not a drug user," Hatch said. "And, frankly, he's a genius."
Hatch said he had spoken to Simon and Forte's mother before weighing in with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Hatch's office had refused to release a copy of the letter Hatch wrote on Forte's behalf, but it was obtained from the Justice Department through an open records request.
"John Forte is a very special individual with uniquely outstanding talent," Hatch wrote in his letter. "His continued incarceration is benefiting no one and we believe that he can contribute to the war on drugs in ways that commercial ads and law enforcement cannot."
In a letter published in the Star-Ledger of New Jersey in November, Forte wrote: "Senator Hatch is a superhero of a mentor to me. I am looking forward to putting our creative minds together in the studio, sooner rather than later."
Forte's New York attorney, Aarti Tandon, could not be reached Wednesday for comment, but she had told the New York Post when Forte was released that the rapper planned to dedicated himself to helping youth.
"He wants to help young kids understand they have options and help deter them from making some of the mistakes he made," she said.