A notorious drug kingpin from New York City who was gunned down Sunday in Harlem spent at least a short time in a federal witness protection program that placed him in Lewiston, Maine, after his release from prison in 2015.
The 55-year-old former drug boss, Alberto “Alpo” Martinez, once led a cocaine-dealing empire that spanned territory from New York to Washington, D.C., according to The New York Times. It ultimately fell apart when he was arrested in 1991 and convicted of 14 counts of murder. Sentenced to 35 years, he got out in 2015.
Martinez, who cut a deal with the government to provide information on other crimes, apparently was assigned the name Abraham Rodriguez and provided a place to live in Lewiston, according to a few New York newspapers that cited police sources for the information.
Martinez, whose killing is under investigation, was featured in the 2002 film “Paid in Full” — with Cam’ron acting the role of Rico, meant to portray Martinez during the cocaine battles in New York City during the 1980s. Many hip-hop songs by artists like 50 Cent and Jay Z also featured him.
It is unclear how long Martinez stayed in Lewiston. By 2019, New York City papers said, he was back on the streets of Harlem, appearing in YouTube videos and bragging about some of the killings he’d been involved in decades earlier. It is not clear if he was still in the witness protection program when he was killed.
His son, Randy Harvey, told the Daily News in New York had been living in Maine and may have had a place in New Jersey as well.
The only Abraham Rodriguez listed in Lewiston appears to have created a company called 5 Star Construction Cleanup in 2017. The state dissolved it in 2018 for failing to file an annual report. A College Street apartment was listed on state paperwork as its headquarters.
It is not clear if it is the same man. Calls to the property’s landlord were not returned Monday.
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