Guy Fisher

The DVD cover to Fisher's documentary, The Guy Fisher Story.

Guy Thomas Fisher (born 1947) is a convicted racketeer who was once part of "The Council", a notorious African-American crime organization that controlled the heroin trade in Harlem from 1972-1983. He became the first black man to own and operate the Apollo Theater in Harlem when he purchased it in 1977.^[1] Fisher is currently serving a life sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Tucson in Arizona.

Arrest and conviction

In 1984, Fisher was convicted of multiple counts of RICO violations, including continuing criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, and murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole.^[1] Fisher's conviction was facilitated by the testimony of his former mentor, associate, and rival, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes. In 1978, Barnes was tried and convicted on multiple racketeering counts and sentenced to life without eligibility for parole. The prosecutor in the case was Rudolph Giuliani, who would later become mayor of New York City. Eleven months after his incarceration, Barnes telephoned Federal prosecutors indicating that he would agree to become a government informant in their case against Fisher and others. Barnes claims that he decided to testify because Fisher was having an affair with his mistress. In exchange for his information, Barnes was released into the federal Witness Protection Program.

Personal life

While imprisoned, Fisher received a PhD in Sociology. Guy is uncle to Villanova guard Corey Fisher, winner of the "6th Man of the Year" award in the Big East in 2009.

Fisher's life was the subject of a 45-minute documentary entitled The Guy Fisher Story^[1] and of an episode of BET's American Gangster.

References