The Rise and Fall of Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes, the Infamous Drug Dealer

Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes, also known as Mr. Untouchable, was one of the most infamous drug dealers in New York during the 1970s. He helped found a criminal organization known as ‘The Council,’ which handled a large share of the city's heroin trade. Barnes was arrested in 1977, jailed, and eventually released into the Witness Protection Program in 1998. This article explores Barnes's rise to power, his arrest, and his eventual release into the Witness Protection Program.

Born on October 15, 1933, in New York City, and called Mr. Untouchable, Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes
became one of the most infamous drug dealers in New York during the 1970s. He helped found a
criminal organization known as ‘The Council,’ which handled a large share of the city's heroin
trade. In March 1977, he was arrested, jailed, and eventually released into the Witness Protection
Program in 1998. Sometimes called Mr. Untouchable, Leroy ‘Nicky’ Barnes became one of the
biggest drug dealers in New York City during the 1970s. He helped found a criminal
organization known as ‘The Council,’ which handled a large share of the city's heroin trade.
According to his autobiography, Mr. Untouchable (2007), Barnes started selling drugs at an early
age. He ran with a street gang for a time and developed a taste for heroin, which quickly became
an addiction. In 1950, Barnes was arrested for possession of a hypodermic needle. He was later
arrested for possession of burglary tools and then for breaking into cars, which earned him a
three-year sentence at the Manhattan House of Corrections, more colorfully known as ‘The
Tombs.’ Released in 1954, Barnes returned to his life of dealing on the streets. He got nabbed by
the police on a drug charge in 1959 and was sentenced to five years at Green Haven State Prison.
While incarcerated, Barnes befriended known mob figure Matty Madonna. Both were engaged in
the drug trade, and reportedly shared information on their illegal enterprises. Barnes was released
in 1962, and sought to expand his underground operations.Barnes's dream of creating a huge
drug empire was interrupted in 1965. He was arrested for possession of more than $500,000
worth of narcotics, according to a report in The New York Times. The article indicated that the
police considered Barnes ‘one of the biggest distributors of narcotics in Harlem and the Bronx.’
At this time, it was estimated that about 50 people worked for Barnes in his drug operation.
Barnes claimed that he had been set up by the police on the possession charge in his
autobiography. In 1966, Barnes received a 15-to-20-year sentence, and went back to Green

Haven State Prison. There he converted to Islam, and studied law journals. Also during his time
at Green Haven, Barnes made friends with reported Mafia crime boss ‘Crazy Joey’ Gallo.”
“For a time, Barnes's ability to escape the long arm of the law earned him the nickname ‘Mr.
Untouchable.’ But his luck ran out in March 1977 when he was arrested on narcotics conspiracy
charges along with several of his associates. Barnes was also charged with operating a
continuing criminal enterprise. Before his trial started, Barnes appeared on the cover of The New
York Times Magazine. The accompanying article was titled ‘Mister Untouchable.’ President
Jimmy Carter reportedly saw the article and put pressure on prosecutors to convict Barnes.”
“Barnes is, police say, one of the biggest heroin dealers in the country. In his home base, Harlem,
the center of the New York City drug traffic, he is regarded as perhaps the biggest. But he is
more than that. To the police, to the drug community and to an extent in the uptown drug‐related
subculture, Nicky Barnes is a current legend. His appearances, either on the streets or at the stops
he makes on his rounds, attract attention; his name alone inspires awe because of a spit ‐ in ‐
your ‐ eye, flamboyant life style that is perceived by the street people as Barnes's way of
thumbing his nose at officialdom. To the street people, he is a presence. To the police, this
symbolic quality is as significant as the crimes they allege he has committed. To them he
embodies the new trend in drug trafficking, in which blacks and Hispanics, the new ethnic
successors in organized crime, have taken over from their predecessors, the Italian street
gangsters.”
“He may have the most voluminous file in the records cabinets of the Police Department's
Intelligence Section, a file filled with allegations, suppositions, the results of countless
surveillance, with confidential reports from street informants, with rumor. At one time his file

went by the name of ‘Operation Slick.’ The Unified Intelligence Division file is equally stocked,
only this agency puts out what it calls ‘blue books’ of crime. Barnes is listed in its ‘Black Major
Violators’ book. But he is also to be found in the file labeled ‘Italian Major Violators’ — this in
recognition, perhaps, of Barnes's reported ties to Italian sources of narcotics, and to his alleged
fondness for patterning himself after what possibly is his conception of the way organized crime,
Italian‐style, works.”
“Barnes gave an interview to The New York Times around the time of the book's release and
described his new life. ‘I live within my paycheck. I want to get up every day ... and go to work
and be a respected member of my community ... I'm not looking in the rear view mirror to see if
anyone is tailing me anymore,’ he explained. A documentary on Barnes, Mr. Untouchable, was
released in 2007. The story of his rival Frank Lucas also made it on to the big screen in the crime
drama American Gangster. Denzel Washington played Lucas, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. played
Barnes. While he has stayed out of trouble since his release, Barnes still sometimes yearns for his
days as a crime boss. ‘I miss it,’ he explained to The New York Times. ‘There was glamor,
money, influence, attractive women. I didn't have financial concerns, and I do have them now’."
He wanted to be, as he said, a “crime boss” which was not possible in a legitimate business. So,
he chose the other way.

Reference:
Nicky Barnes. (2019, April 16). Retrieved from :
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/nicky-barnes
Article 6 ‐‐ No Title. (1977, June 05). Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/05/archives/article-6-no-title-nicky-barnes.html