View source for Nicky Barnes

{{Short description|American convicted drug trafficker}}
{{For|the Australian water polo player|Nicky Barnes (water polo)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Nicky Barnes
| image_name = File:Nicky Barnes.png
| image_size = 
| image_caption = Barnes' [[New York Police Department|NYPD]] mugshot
| birth_name = Leroy Nicholas Barnes
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|10|15}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|||1933|10|15}}
| death_place = 
| net_worth = 
| alias = Nicky Barnes; "Mr. Untouchable" 
| conviction_penalty = [[Life imprisonment|Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole]] (1978)
| conviction_status = 
| spouse =         <!-- Do not include unless notable or relevant to the crime involved -->
| children =       <!-- (as above) -->
| relatives = 
| allegiance = [[The Council (drug syndicate)|The Council]]
| conviction = Drug trafficking (1978)
}}
'''Leroy Nicholas Barnes''' (October 15, 1933 – 2012) was an American [[crime boss]], active in [[New York City]] during the 1970s.

In 1972, Barnes formed [[The Council (drug syndicate)|The Council]], a seven-man [[African-American organized crime]] syndicate that controlled a significant part of the [[heroin]] trade in the [[Harlem]] area of New York City.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/nyregion/04nicky.html|access-date=May 2, 2010|last=Sam Roberts|title=Crime's 'Mr. Untouchable' Emerges From Shadows|work=The New York Times|date=March 4, 2007}}</ref> Barnes led The Council into an international [[drug trafficking]] ring, in partnership with the [[Italian-American Mafia]], until his arrest in 1977. Barnes was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]], eventually becoming a federal [[informant]] that led to the collapse of The Council in 1982. Barnes was living under the [[United States Marshals Service]] in [[Witness protection]] at the time of his death, and his [[obituary]] appeared in ''[[The New York Times]]'' seven years after his death.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/nyregion/nicky-barnes-dead.html|title=Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. Untouchable' of Heroin Dealers, is Dead at 78|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 8, 2019|last1=Roberts|first1=Sam}}</ref>

In 2007, Barnes released a book, ''Mr. Untouchable'', written with Tom Folsom, and a [[Mr. Untouchable|documentary DVD of the same title]] about his life.<ref name="Book">{{cite book|last=Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, [[Tom Folsom]]|title=Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments|year=2007|edition=March 6, 2007|publisher=Rugged Land|isbn=978-1-59071-041-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/mruntouchable00barn/page/352 352]|url=https://archive.org/details/mruntouchable00barn/page/352}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==Early life and career==
Leroy Nicholas Barnes was born on October 15, 1933, in [[Harlem]], [[New York City]], into an [[African-American]] family. A good student in his youth, Barnes left home early to escape his abusive [[alcoholic]] father, turning to [[drug dealing]] for income. Barnes himself became addicted to [[heroin]] for several years in his 20s until spending time in jail, when he ended his addiction. Barnes was sent to prison in 1965 for low-level drug dealing, and while in prison he met [[Joe Gallo|"Crazy" Joe Gallo]], a ''[[Caporegime|capo]]'' in the [[Colombo crime family]], and [[Matthew Madonna]], a heroin dealer for the [[Lucchese crime family]].<ref name="dea1975-1980">{{cite web|year=2007|url=http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1975-1980.html|title=DEA History 1975–1980|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155740/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1975-1980.html|archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} Gallo wanted to have a greater presence in the Harlem heroin market, but did not have any personnel to deal in the predominantly African-American areas. It is believed Gallo passed on his knowledge of how to run a [[drug trafficking]] organization to Barnes, and asked him to assemble the necessary personnel.<ref name="dea1975-1980"/> When Gallo was released from jail, he provided a lawyer for Barnes, who subsequently had his conviction overturned on a technicality.<ref name="panachereport">{{cite web|year=2007|url=http://panachereport.com/channels/hip%20hop%20gallery/HipHopShortStories/originalgangstas.htm|title=ORIGINAL GANGSTAS|publisher=ORIGINAL GANGSTAS|access-date=March 13, 2008|archive-date=May 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523230157/http://panachereport.com/channels/hip%20hop%20gallery/HipHopShortStories/originalgangstas.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> On his return to New York City, Barnes began to assemble his personnel, and began cutting and packaging heroin.

==The Council==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS2Ji3WgRFw "Mr. Untouchable"] the Nicky Barnes Story {documentary)}}
In 1972, to deal more efficiently with other black [[gangsters]] in Harlem, Barnes founded [[The Council (drug syndicate)|The Council]], a seven-man organization consisting of Barnes, Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, [[Wallace Rice (gangster)|Wallace Rice]], Thomas "Gaps" Foreman, Ishmael Muhammed, Frank James, and [[Guy Fisher]]. The Council was modelled after the [[Italian-American Mafia]] families, where it settled disputes among the criminals, and handled distribution problems and other drug trade related issues.<ref name="panachereport"/>

By 1976, Barnes' operation spread throughout all of [[New York State]] and into [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Canada]]. According to [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA) records, Barnes' operation in 1976 consisted of seven lieutenants, who each controlled a dozen mid-level distributors, who in turn supplied upwards of 40 street level dealers each.

Barnes set up front companies to protect some of his assets, such as numerous [[car dealerships]], which appeared to be rented through those companies. The DEA eventually discovered the true ownership of the companies and seized the cars, including a [[Bentley]], a [[Citroën SM]], a [[Maserati]], a [[Mercedes-Benz]], a yellow [[Volvo]], and several [[Cadillacs]], [[Lincoln Continental]]s, and [[Ford Thunderbird]]s. Barnes' net worth had reached over $50 million at the height of his career. A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' article estimated Barnes purchased hundreds of tailor-made suits, [[Italy|Italian]] shoes, coats, and jewelry, which alone was valued at over $7 million.<ref name="dea1975-1980"/> During this time, Barnes had become the dominant [[drug lord]] in Harlem, and was given the name "Mr. Untouchable" after successfully beating numerous charges and arrests. It is believed while under surveillance, Barnes would often make pointless stops and go on high-speed chases with little purpose other than to aggravate those following him.<ref name="dea1975-1980"/> The Council also employed [[contract killer]]s, including Robert "Willie Sanchez" Young.<ref>{{cite news|date=April 26, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 8, 2019|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/nyregion/prince-charming-hit-man.html|title=Her 'Prince Charming' Turned Out to Be a Crazed Hit Man on the Run|author=Wilson, Michael}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Hired Killer Sentenced|work= The Evening Press |location=Binghamton, NY|date= November 11, 1980|page= 7-A}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Hitwoman' charged in 6 slayings|agency=UPI|work= Pacific Stars and Stripes |location=Japan|date= February 16, 1980|page= 7}}</ref>

==Arrest and conviction==
On June 5, 1977, ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' released an article titled "Mr. Untouchable", featuring Barnes posing on the front cover. The magazine told Barnes that they were going to use a [[mug shot]] of Barnes unless he posed for the cameras. Barnes, who hated mug shots, agreed and took the shot.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} In response to Barnes' apparent confidence in his own invulnerability, President [[Jimmy Carter]] ordered the [[United States Justice Department|Justice Department]] to intensify its efforts to prosecute him.<ref name=nyt/><ref name="Obituary" /> The resulting prosecution saw Barnes convicted for [[drug-related crime]]s and sentenced to [[Life imprisonment|life in prison without the possibility of parole]] on January 19, 1978. The chief prosecutor in the case was [[Robert B. Fiske]], then the [[United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York]].

===Prison===
According to Barnes, while in prison he discovered that his assets were not being maintained, and The Council had stopped paying his attorneys' fees. Barnes discovered that one of his fellow Council members, Guy Fisher, was having an affair with Barnes' mistress.<ref name="time18940130">{{cite news|title=Mad, Mad Leroy Barnes|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954086,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102070112/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954086,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 2, 2007|quote=He came to believe that his lawyers were swindling him, his former blood brothers had cut into his turf, and one had started an affair with Barnes' favorite mistress.|work=[[Time magazine]]|date=January 30, 1984|access-date=April 9, 2011}}</ref> The Council had a rule that no council member would sleep with another Council member's wife or mistress, so in response Barnes decided to become a federal [[informant]]. He forwarded a list of 109 names, five of them Council members', along with his wife's name, implicating them all in illegal activities related to the heroin trade. Barnes helped to [[indict]] 44 other traffickers, 16 of whom were ultimately convicted.<ref name="time18940130"/> In his testimony, he implicated himself in eight [[murders]]. While in prison, he also won a national poetry contest for federal inmates, earned a college diploma with honors, and taught fellow inmates English.<ref name=nyt/>

==Release and life after prison==
After Barnes cooperated with the government by working as an informant, [[Rudolph Giuliani]] sought a reversal of Barnes' life sentence. Eventually, Barnes was resentenced to 35 years. By working in jail, he earned two months off his sentence for every one he served, and was released in August 1998.

In 2007, Barnes and his former competitor, [[Frank Lucas]], sat down with ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine's [[The Lampshade: A Holocaust Detective Story from Buchenwald to New Orleans|Mark Jacobson]] for a conversation between men who had not spoken to each other in three decades.<ref name="nym2007">{{cite news| url=http://nymag.com/guides/money/2007/39948 |title=Lords of Dopetown|work= [[New York Magazine]]|date= November 5, 2007}}</ref>

Barnes became part of the [[United States Federal Witness Protection Program]]. His memoir, ''Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments'', was published in 2007,<ref>{{cite book|title=Mr. Untouchable My Crimes and Punishments|author1=Barnes, Nicky|author2=Folsom, Tom|year=2007|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Rugged Land|isbn=9781590710418|url=https://archive.org/details/mruntouchable00barn}}</ref> and he appeared in a documentary about his gang life, also titled ''[[Mr. Untouchable]]'' (2007).<ref name="Book"/> On January 31, 2008, [[Howard Stern]] interviewed Barnes on Stern's [[Sirius Satellite Radio]] show.<ref>{{cite news|title=SCHTICKING TO HER MAN|work=The Howard Stern Show|date=January 31, 2008|url=http://howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1201755600|publisher=Howardstern.com|access-date=December 19, 2011|archive-date=June 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610024453/http://howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1201755600|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Death===
Barnes died from cancer in 2012; however, because he was under witness protection, his death was not contemporaneously reported under his birth name, and news of his death only became known in June 2019.<ref name="Obituary">{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/nyregion/nicky-barnes-dead.html|title=Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. Untouchable' of Heroin Dealers, Is Dead at 78|work=The New York Times|date=June 8, 2019|access-date=June 8, 2019}}</ref>

==Depictions in media==
* A character based on Barnes was portrayed by [[Sean Combs|Sean "Diddy" Combs]] in the film ''[[Carlito's Way: Rise to Power]]'' (2005). Starring [[Jay Hernandez]], directed by [[Martin Bregman]].
* Barnes was portrayed by [[Cuba Gooding Jr.]] in the film ''[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]]'' (2007), starring [[Denzel Washington]] as [[Frank Lucas]] and directed by [[Ridley Scott]].
* Barnes was portrayed by [[Derrick Baskin]] in the mini-series ''[[The Offer]]'' (2022).

==See also==
*[[Louis Diaz]]
*[[Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson]]
*[[Frank Matthews (drug trafficker)]]
*[[Benito Romano]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|author=Cooley, Will|title=The Work: Dealing and Violence in the War on Drugs Era|journal= Labor: Studies in Working-Class History|volume= 15|number=2 |date=2018|pages=77–110|doi=10.1215/15476715-4353704|s2cid=149479434}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=1086340|title=Mr. Untouchable (2007)}}

{{Lucchese crime family}}
{{American Mafia}}
{{Organized crime groups in New York City}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Nicky}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:African-American gangsters]]
[[Category:American crime bosses]]
[[Category:American drug traffickers]]
[[Category:American male criminals]]
[[Category:American prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Criminals from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:FBI informants convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Gangsters from New York City]]
[[Category:Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Lucchese crime family]]
[[Category:People from Harlem]]
[[Category:People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government]]
[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]