18. The End of the Road For Lucas
Frank Lucas’ career as a heroin bigwig ended in 1975, when his New Jersey home was raided by law enforcement, who found $584,000 in cash. He was tried on federal and state charges, convicted, and sentenced in 1976 to 70 years in prison. He then cut a deal by testifying against his former colleagues. Lucas and his family were placed in the Witness Protection Program in 1977, and his testimony and evidence he gave the authorities helped secure over 100 drug-related convictions.
He was rewarded for his cooperation in 1981 with a sentence reduction to time served plus lifetime parole, and walked out of prison, a free man. Lucas returned to prison in 1984, after he was caught and convicted of trying to swap some heroin and cash for a kilo of cocaine. He was sentenced to seven years, and released in 1991. He then walked the straight and narrow – or at least was not caught and convicted of anything major – until his death in 2019.
Related: 10 Fascinating Things About New York’s Black Mafia.