Last updated on September 5th, 2024 at 11:11 pm
During the 1980s, Harlem became the epicenter of the crack cocaine epidemic as the neighborhood became synonymous with drugs, crime, and gangs.
The area was ignored by the police, and the drug lords ruled the streets, transforming the historic 19th-century brownstones into drug dens and crack houses.
In this setting, a man named Alpo Martinez rose to prominence as the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Harlem,” becoming one of the most notorious drug lords in New York City.
In an unexpected twist, after being arrested in 1991, Martinez became a police informant and helped authorities bring down several of his former colleagues.
Childhood and Formative Years
Alberto “Alpo” Martinez was born on June 8, 1966, in East Harlem, New York City. A product of the streets, his childhood was shaped by poverty and the drug trade.
The allure of quick money and the influence and lifestyles of the older drug dealers caused Martinez to start selling drugs at the young age of 13.
Rise to Power
With his partners Azie Faison and Rich Porter, Martinez capitalized on the soaring demand for crack cocaine, forming an enormous drug operation that wielded massive influence and control over Harlem.
Known for his street smarts, business acumen, and understanding of the dynamics within the criminal underworld, Martinez ruled his drug empire with ruthless determination, which allowed him to rise above his competition.
Over time, disagreements over money, trust issues, and territorial control are believed to have led to increasing tensions between Porter and Martinez. The breaking point reportedly occurred when Martinez felt Porter was becoming a liability to the operation.
This was possibly due to suspicions of disloyalty or concerns about law enforcement. In an act of betrayal, Alpo Martinez fatally shot Rich Porter in 1990.
Expansion into Washington D.C. and Arrest
As with all drug lords, they eventually want more. With pressures from rival gangs and the police breathing down his neck, Alpo Martinez envisioned his business expanding beyond the confines of Harlem. He set his sights on Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was grappling with its own drug epidemic, providing an opportunity for someone like Martinez to exploit. The expansion into a new market allowed him to diversify his operations and tap into a different demographic of drug users.
What Martinez didn’t know was that there were already multiple investigations into his criminal activity going on. It wasn’t long after he expanded into Washington D.C. that he was arrested and faced charges related to drug trafficking along with 14 counts of murder.
Drug Lord Turned Informant
Due to the severity of his crimes, the worst-case scenario would be the death penalty.
The best case would be life in prison with no chance of parole. Either way, Martinez was looking at the end of his life.
But then the authorities offered him a third option. They told him that he could become a confidential informant and turn on all his friends in exchange for a 35-year sentence. Martinez took the offer.
Martinez began giving police all the names he knew. He ratted out his former bodyguard and enforcer Wayne ‘Silk’ Perry who was charged with five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His testimonies of other drug kingpins significantly crippled the cocaine trade in Washington D.C.
Witness Protection
In 2015, after serving almost 25 years of his sentence, Martinez was released from ADX Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado. He entered the witness protection program, where he received a new identity.
They gave him a new ID card reflecting his new name, Abraham G. Rodriquez. Authorities instructed him to relocate to Lewiston, Maine, where he could start to build his new life.
While in Maine, Martinez started his own construction company and made a whole new batch of friends. No one was aware of his past life and it seemed that he had left all that behind him.
But then he started making regular trips back to Harlem, risking blowing his cover every time he went. What he was doing while he was there is anyone’s guess but something was drawing him back to his old stomping grounds.
Death and Legacy
On October 31, 2021, Alpo Martinez was shot and killed in Harlem on one of his visits. Many people thought it was obvious that someone from his former gang had killed him in retaliation for him snitching.
There was no shortage of people that wanted to see Martinez killed but the facts are a lot less dramatic. It turned out that he was not shot by a former member of his gang or even a rival gang.
He had upset the wrong person during a road rage incident and was shot multiple times in the arm and chest. As he tried to drive away, he reportedly dumped bags of heroin out of his window.
He finally succumbed to his injuries and crashed into another car.
Even though Martinez got a great deal considering his crimes and was able to start a new life with a clean slate, the allure of the streets was too strong to resist. Even after serving 25 years in prison, it wasn’t enough for him to completely turn his life around.
Back in Maine, the people that knew him were shocked – The Abraham Rodriquez they knew would never do something like that.
Martinez’s life story has been the subject of various books, articles, and documentaries. His criminal exploits, betrayal, and eventual cooperation have been loosely dramatized in the movie “Paid in Full” (2002).
