Leroy Barnes

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Leroy "Nicky" Barnes is a former New York City drug dealer who at one time, along with Guy Fisher, was one of the 2 biggest heroin dealers in New York.^[1] Barnes was dubbed "Mr. Untouchable" by the NY Times.^[2] Despite this moniker Barnes was eventually prosecuted and sentenced to prison for life by a young prosecutor named Rudolph Giuliani.^[3] After 11 months in prison Barnes turned states evidence and testified against Fisher and others in order to reduce his sentence.

In 1977, he was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.^[4] According to Barnes, while in prison, he discovered that his assets were not being taken care of, and that a friend was having an affair with his favorite mistress.^[5] This pushed him to become an informant, and he helped to indict 44 other traffickers, 16 of whom were ultimately convicted.^[5] In this testimony, he implicated himself in eight murders. In 2004, his cooperation with prosecutors was rewarded with an early release from prison.

Leroy Nicky Barnes has written a book about his life, on sale in March 2006 entitled "Mr.Untouchable."

His life will be documented on the BET series "American Gangster"

1 In popular culture
2 References
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] In popular culture

Rapper Loon said in "You Made Me" off Harlem World's "The Movement" album, "Thanks to my Moms and some help from Nicky Barnes I was raised in ways of a don..."
Rapper Shyne said in "Bad Boys Anthem": "Blame Nicky Barnes for hittin' my Moms ..."
In "Killa Cam" off of the 2004 LP Purple Haze, Cam'ron raps:

Yo, I'm from where Nicky Barnes got rich as fuck

Rich and Nay hit the kitchen, then we're pitchin' up

Rob Base, Mase, Doug E. Fresh switched it up

I do both, who am I to fuck tradition up ?

Nas writes, "Nicky Barnes was the 70's" in the song "Get Down" off his album "God's Son"
In 2005's "Carlito's Way: Rise To Power", Sean "Diddy" Combs plays "Hollywood Nikki", a character based on Nicky Barnes.