Infamous Criminals And Outlaws Codexery

Frank Lucas

American drug lord who bypassed the Mafia in the heroin trade.

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Operating in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Frank Lucas was an American drug lord.[1] He bypassed intermediaries to purchase heroin straight from his supplier in Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle.[1] Lucas claimed he transported heroin inside the coffin pallets of deceased American soldiers, but his partner Leslie "Ike" Atkinson disputed this story.[1][2]

Key facts and history

In Harlem, he was taken under the wing of gangster Bumpy Johnson, though Johnson's widow claimed much of Lucas's narrative actually belonged to another hustler named Zach Walker.[3][4] Lucas restricted his heroin operation to relatives and close friends from North Carolina, and sold his product under the street name "Blue Magic"[5][6] Frank Lucas came into the world on September 9, 1930, in La Grange, North Carolina, and relocated to Harlem in 1946.[7] According to Lucas, seeing his 12-year-old cousin killed by the Ku Klux Klan was the event that pushed him toward a criminal path.[8]

A combined force of 10 agents from Group 22 of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and 10 New York Police Department detectives from the Organized Crime Control Bureau raided Lucas's Teaneck, New Jersey, home in January 1975, discovering $584,683 in cash.[9] A drug trafficking conviction led to a 70-year prison sentence for Lucas; however, after he became an informant, his punishment was lessened and he was placed into the Witness Protection Program.[10][11]

What the cited sources add

The "Return of Superfly" article describes Lucas as the leader of a heroin-dealing ring called the Country Boys, who would sit at 116th Street and Eighth Avenue in a beat-up Chevrolet called Nellybelle.[12] Lucas claimed he could clear up to $1 million a day selling dope on 116th Street.[12] The Biography.com account states that Lucas shot a local thug who reneged on a dope deal in the summer of 1966.[7] The Associated Press obituary reports that Lucas's former prosecutor Richie Roberts later became his lawyer and friend, even godfather to Lucas's son.[13]

The Guardian article notes that Lucas told the Associated Press in 2007 that he regretted supplying heroin that killed some users.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Return of Superfly", August 14, 2000; "American Gangster True Story – The real Frank Lucas, Richie Roberts", Chasingthefrog.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Is 'American Gangster' really all that 'true'?", CNN, January 22, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Frank Lucas (1930–2019)", Biography.com; "The Return of Superfly", August 14, 2000 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mayme Hatcher Johnson, "Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson", Oshun Publishing Company, Inc.; First edition (February 29, 2008), 2008, p. 159, 221, 248 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Return of Superfly", August 14, 2000 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jacobson, "A Conversation Between Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes – Money 2007 – New York Magazine", October 25, 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Frank Lucas (1930–2019)", Biography.com. facts only, no text reused. biography.com
  8. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McFadden, Robert D., "Frank Lucas Dies at 88; Drug Kingpin Depicted in 'American Gangster'", The New York Times, May 31, 2019; "Frank Lucas", Biography, April 2, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez, "The Raid in Teaneck", pub, 2007; Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez, "The Raid in Teaneck", pub, 2007; Lucas, "ORIGINAL GANGSTER", St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2010, p. 174 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kreps, Daniel, "Frank Lucas, 'American Gangster' Drug Kingpin, Dead at 88", May 31, 2019; Galbraith, Alex, "'American Gangster' Subject Frank Lucas Dead at 88", May 31, 2019; McFadden, Robert D., "Frank Lucas Dies at 88; Drug Kingpin Depicted in 'American Gangster'", The New York Times, May 31, 2019; "Frank Lucas, former drug kingpin who inspired 'American Gangster,' dies at 88", Associated Press, May 31, 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Frank Lucas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "U.S. Jury Convicts Heroin Informant", The New York Times, August 25, 1984; Cruz, Alicia (May 24, 2010). "Julianna Farrait, wife of 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas, arrested for trying to sell cocaine" . newjerseynewsroom.com.; Jailal, Sarada (February 25, 2008). "The daughter of American Gangster Frank Lucas speaks at Ambler" . The Temple News.; Kreps, Daniel, "Frank Lucas, 'American Gangster' Drug Kingpin, Dead at 88", May 31, 2019; "U.S. Jury Convicts Heroin Informant", The New York Times, August 25, 1984; Galbraith, Alex, "'American Gan en.wikipedia.org
  12. "The Return of Superfly", August 14, 2000. facts only, no text reused. nymag.com
  13. "Frank Lucas, former drug kingpin who inspired 'American Gangster,' dies at 88", Associated Press, May 31, 2019. facts only, no text reused. nbcnews.com
  14. "Frank Lucas, the drug lord who inspired American Gangster, dies aged 88", The Guardian, June 1, 2019. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Frank Lucas (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

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1. In what year did Frank Lucas die?

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Not quite. The answer is 2019.

2. In what year was Frank Lucas born?

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Not quite. The answer is 1930.

3. In which place was Frank Lucas born?

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Not quite. The answer is La Grange, North Carolina, U.S..

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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