Frank Lucas | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | May 30, 2019 Cedar Grove, New Jersey, U.S. | (aged 88)
Occupation | Drug lord |
Spouse | Julie Farrait (m. 1967) |
Children | 7 |
Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking (1976) Drug trafficking (1984) |
Criminal penalty | Sentenced to 70 years imprisonment;[1] served five years[2][3][4] Sentenced to seven years imprisonment[4][5] |
Frank Lucas (September 9, 1930 – May 30, 2019) was an American drug lord who operated in Harlem, New York City, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas boasted that he smuggled heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen,[6][7] as depicted in the feature film American Gangster (2007), which fictionalized aspects of his life. This claim was denied by his Southeast Asian associate Leslie "Ike" Atkinson.[8]
In 1976, Lucas was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 70 years in prison, but after becoming an informant, he and his family were placed in the Witness Protection Program. In 1981, his federal and state prison sentences were reduced to time served[2] plus lifetime parole.[9] In 1984 he was convicted a second time for drug offenses, and was released from prison in 1991.[10] In 2012, he pled guilty to attempting to cash a $17,000 federal disability benefit check twice, and because of his age and poor health, received a sentence of five years' probation.[3]
She spent five years in prison for aiding her husband's narcotic smuggling trade. Having to get used to the public life again after living like a 'ghost' since her release, the making of her partner's life on the big screen has brought back many memories, some good and some bad.