Nicky Barnes

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For the Australian water polo player, see Nicky Barnes (water polo).

Nicky Barnes
NYPD mugshot of Nicky Barnes
Born
Leroy Nicholas Barnes

(1933-10-15)October 15, 1933
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 2012(2012-06-18) (aged 78)
Other namesNicky Barnes; "Mr. Untouchable"
AllegianceThe Council
Conviction(s)Drug trafficking (1978)
Criminal penaltyLife in prison without the possibility of parole (1978)

Leroy Nicholas Barnes (October 15, 1933 – June 18, 2012) was an American crime boss, active in New York City during the 1970s.

In 1972, Barnes formed

Italian-American Mafia, until his arrest in 1977. Barnes was sentenced to life imprisonment, eventually becoming a federal informant that led to the collapse of The Council in 1977. Barnes was living under the United States Marshals Service in Witness protection at the time of his death, and his obituary appeared in The New York Times seven years after his death.[2]

In 2007, Barnes released a book, Mr. Untouchable, written with Tom Folsom, and a documentary DVD of the same title about his life.[3][4]

Early life and career

Leroy Nicholas Barnes was born on October 15, 1933, in

drug trafficking organization to Barnes, and asked him to assemble the necessary personnel.[5] When Gallo was released from jail, he provided a lawyer for Barnes, who subsequently had his conviction overturned on a technicality.[6]
On his return to New York City, Barnes began to assemble his personnel, and began cutting and packaging heroin.

The Council

External videos
video icon "Mr. Untouchable" the Nicky Barnes Story {documentary)

In 1972, to deal more efficiently with other black

Italian-American Mafia families, where it settled disputes among the criminals, and handled distribution problems and other drug trade related issues.[6]

By 1976, Barnes' operation spread throughout all of

New York State and into Pennsylvania and Canada. According to Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) records, Barnes' operation in 1976 consisted of seven lieutenants, who each controlled a dozen mid-level distributors, who in turn supplied upwards of 40 street level dealers each.

Barnes set up front companies to protect some of his assets, such as numerous

contract killers, such as Robert Young aka Willie Sanchez.[7][8][9]

Arrest and conviction

On June 5, 1977,

Justice Department to intensify its efforts to prosecute him.[1][10] The resulting prosecution saw Barnes convicted for drug-related crimes and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on January 19, 1978. The chief prosecutor in the case was Robert B. Fiske, then the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
.

Prison

According to Barnes, while in prison he discovered that his assets were not being maintained, and The Council had stopped paying his attorneys' fees. Barnes discovered that one of his fellow Council members, Guy Fisher, was having an affair with Barnes' mistress.

murders. While in prison, he also won a national poetry contest for federal inmates, earned a college diploma with honors, and taught fellow inmates English.[1]

Release and life after prison

After Barnes cooperated with the government by working as an informant,

Rudolph Giuliani
sought a reversal of Barnes' life sentence. Eventually, Barnes was resentenced to 35 years. By working in jail, he earned two months off his sentence for every one he served, and was released in August 1998.

In 2007, Barnes and his former competitor,

Mark Jacobson for a conversation between men who had not spoken to each other in three decades.[12]

Barnes became part of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. His memoir, Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments, was published in 2007,[13] and he appeared in a documentary about his gang life, also titled Mr. Untouchable (2007).[3][4] On January 31, 2008, Howard Stern interviewed Barnes on Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio show.[14]

Death

Barnes died from cancer on June 18, 2012; however, because he was under witness protection, his death was not contemporaneously reported under his birth name, and news of his death only became known in June 2019.[10]

Depictions in media

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Sam Roberts (March 4, 2007). "Crime's 'Mr. Untouchable' Emerges From Shadows". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  2. ^ Roberts, Sam (June 8, 2019). "Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. Untouchable' of Heroin Dealers, is Dead at 78". The New York Times.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59071-041-8
    .
  4. ^
    IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ a b c d "DEA History 1975–1980". 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "ORIGINAL GANGSTAS". ORIGINAL GANGSTAS. 2007. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  7. ^ Wilson, Michael (April 26, 2019). "Her 'Prince Charming' Turned Out to Be a Crazed Hit Man on the Run". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  8. ^ "Hired Killer Sentenced". The Evening Press. Binghamton, NY. November 11, 1980. p. 7-A.
  9. ^ "'Hitwoman' charged in 6 slayings". Pacific Stars and Stripes. Japan. UPI. February 16, 1980. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b Roberts, Sam (June 8, 2019). "Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. Untouchable' of Heroin Dealers, Is Dead at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  11. ^
    Time magazine. January 30, 1984. Archived from the original
    on November 2, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2011. He came to believe that his lawyers were swindling him, his former blood brothers had cut into his turf, and one had started an affair with Barnes' favorite mistress.
  12. New York Magazine
    . November 5, 2007.
  13. ISBN 9781590710418
    .
  14. ^ "SCHTICKING TO HER MAN". The Howard Stern Show. Howardstern.com. January 31, 2008. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2011.

Further reading

  • Cooley, Will (2018). "The Work: Dealing and Violence in the War on Drugs Era". Labor: Studies in Working-Class History. 15 (2): 77–110.
    S2CID 149479434
    .

External links
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