One of the more notorious Harlem drug kingpins of the 1980s is dead.
Alberto “Alpo” Martinez was gunned down in New York City early Sunday morning.
Martinez had been in the witness protection program, so details are still a bit fuzzy as to whether he had left the program or was just in NYC visiting.
Paid in Full
Martinez’s life was portrayed in the 2002 movie “Paid in Full.”
He was one of the prominent kingpins in the drug world initially working out of New York, but he eventually expanded into other cities, with the most notable being Washington, D.C.
In 1990, Martinez was indicted on drug charges, but the indictment was later dismissed.
Martinez was then arrested in 1991 in D.C. on drug charges and conspiracy to commit murder, as well as 14 counts of murder, among other charges.
Facing a death sentence, Martinez decided to roll and become a federal witness, rolling over on many members of his organization.
He was eventually sentenced to 35 years, then released into witness protection in 2015.
Exactly why Martinez was back in New York is unknown, but it did not take long for word to get out.
An unnamed police source warned that there were a lot of people with scores to settle, and that is apparently what happened here.
Martinez’s Dodge Ram was found at 3:30 a.m. Sunday morning at 147th & Frederick Douglas Boulevard, riddled with bullets.
Martinez was hit five times in the assault.
Ironically, the name of the movie based, in part, on his life, could not be more fitting.
Source: New York Post
