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Last week, I wrote another article about a previously unreported death. He was the antithesis of the old Nicky Barnes, a flamboyant Harlem folk hero who had owned as many as 200 suits, 100 pairs of custom-made shoes, 50 full-length leather coats, a fleet of luxury cars, and multiple homes and apartments financed by the fortune he had amassed in the late 1960s and 70s, first by saturating black neighborhoods with heroin and later by investing the profits in real estate and other assets. Answers is the place to go to get the answers you need and to ask the questions you want Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Where Leroy Nicky Barnes once ruled a conglomerate of heroin dealers known as The Council, he went to work at a suburban Walmart in the Midwest. In 1998, he was released from prison. In a joint interview with rival drug kingpin Frank Lucas in New York magazine, Barnes explained that he became a federal witness after feeling betrayed by his associates, especially Fisher. The daughters held a quiet private memorial and his death was recorded under the name he had assumed. I left Nicky Barnes behind.. He would try to do homework with us over the phone, the younger daughter says. . According to his autobiography, Mr. Untouchable (2007), Barnes started selling drugs at an early age. In the meantime, their still incarcerated father had vanished into the witness protection program.The daughters were also enrolled after federal authorities got word they had been targeted. In 2007 his autobiography "Mr Untouchable: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Heroin's Teflon Don" was released. The ability to choose.. Nicky Barnes was once quite open about how hed amassed his fortune. Prominent members of the Council include Frank James, Ishmeel Muhammed, Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, Thomas "Gaps" Foreman and Guy Fisher. Untouchable' Emerges From Shadows", "Nicky Barnes, 'Mr. She is a Board Certified Nurse Midwife and practiced at UAB before retiring to care for her family full time. The cover so affronted President Jimmy Carter that the White House ordered Mr. Barnes, who had been indicted again only weeks before, to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Or mostly. Its hard for us to think of Mr. Except for the creases in his jeans, he was just another Walmart employee. Nicki Lee Barbour Foster with Parents - P 2014. Though he spent part of his youth as an altar boy, he was also arrested for robbery before he was 10. Where he once chose from a fleet of luxury cars, he went about in what was just another used car in Middle America. On one occasion, the police found $130,000 in cash in his car and $43,934 in his apartment. Tongue in cheek, Mr. Barnes told Mr. Folsom for his book that he had always wondered why President Carter had been so offended by the magazine cover, since he had been sporting the most understated items in his wardrobe. The anonymity that cloaks Middle America is the life Im comfortable with, and what I want to be, he said in the 2007 Times interview. His memoir, Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments, was published in 2007,[12] and he appeared in a documentary about his gang life, also titled Mr. Untouchable (2007). Barnes, whose death was recently made known, was an American crime boss, active in New York City during the 1970s who led an international drug trafficking ring, in partnership with the Italian-American Mafia, until his arrest in 1978. How much heroin did you and your organization buy and sell? a prosecutor, Benito Romano, asked him during the trial of one of Mr. Barness associates. He had been driven from his Harlem home by an abusive alcoholic father and had been arrested for robbery before he turned 10. His favorite play was Othello. Nicky Barnes, Mr. "My sister and I have kept his passing private and have not released it. She also said that she and her sister may write a memoir about growing up as the daughters of a notorious criminal. The older daughter had to begin using a name other than the one her father had taught her to write. He became the first black man to own and operate the Apollo Theater in Harlem when he purchased it in 1977. He was 64 and had earned a college degree in prison, even written award-winning poetry. Extra Bite >>> JACK MAPLE, deputy police commissioner. The lawyer insisted that, yes, Mr. Barnes was ferried around in fancy cars, but he rented them. Sometimes called Mr. Untouchable, Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes became one of the biggest drug dealers in New York City during the 1970s. Shraman Mitra. A judge rejected the money, questioning its source, and instead Mr. Barnes used as collateral his equity in a $4.6 million federally aided Detroit housing project. Barnes was convicted six months later. [1] George Jung and the true story behind the movie. How much heroin did you and your organization buy and sell? Barnes was asked by prosecutor Benito Romano during one of the trials of his former associates. At its zenith, the Nicky Barnes crime collective, known as the Council, had an annual income of $72 million, according to the film. Because his testimony against members of the criminal underworld of which he had once been a part now made him a target, authorities provided Mr. Untouchable with a shot at a new life by giving him a new identity entirely in the program. nicky barnes daughters. Eventually, Barnes was resentenced to 35 years. Oct 22, 2014 - Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes once ruled the drug trade in Harlem. Nicky Barnes, an ostentatious New York City drug lord who was played by Cuba Gooding Jr in the Ridley Scott film American Gangster, is dead. He is also survived by one daughter and son-in-law, Crystal and Charles Meade of Union City; two sons and daughters-in-law, Rance and Patti Barnes of Union City and Micah Barnes and Heather . He was said to have inspired Jim Croces 1973 hit song Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, and to have been the model for Wesley Snipess galvanic drug dealer in the 1991 film New Jack City.. The potency of Nicky Barnes is unparalleled and some have found it difficult to medicate with this strain. Barnes eventually decided to testify against some of his former associates, including Guy Fisher, in an attempt to shorten his sentence. Barnes didnt attend school after junior high, and after escaping his abusive home the young boy became a junkie on Harlems streets. They were self-made men. In the thousands of pounds, Mr. Barnes replied, referring to the period from 1970 until his conviction. After a two-month trial, Barnes and 10 of his co-defendants were found guilty. All Rights Reserved. His daughter, Carley, and her husband, Josh Lickteig, adopted Caleb from Kampala, Uganda, in 2012. First announced in September 2019, it was confirmed that Will Smith would be starring in his next big role on Netflix, The Council, the biopic Nicky Barnes, the notorious drug kingpin of Harlem in the 1970s.We're still waiting on filming to begin on The Council, however, we will be keeping you up to date with cast news, production updates, trailers, and the Netflix release date. Untouchable), take a look at the life of infamous drug dealer George Jung and the true story behind the movie Blow. Did you give it to him? the younger daughter recalls. Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes (Leroy Antonio Barnes) was born on 15 October, 1933 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA, is an Actor. only ordering the hits. The daughters were able to be in periodic touch with Barnes. Assistant District Attorney David Blatt (left) and detectives wait as Nicky Barnes, a.k.a. Mafia underboss Sammy The Bull Gravano was sent back to prison after he had his own son sell drugs. HARLEM HEROIN KINGDOM ROMANCE GONE WRONG: THE LOVE TRIANGLE THAT KILLED NICKY BARNES' COUNCIL - The sexy and seductive Harlem gun moll Beverly (Shamecca) Ash was at the center of a romantic feud that pitted legendary New York crime lord Nicky Barnes versus his protege in the drug game Guy Fisher. Untouchable, Barnes got his start in New Yorks criminal underworld as a competitor of the Italian Mafia before partnering with them. He was once called 'Mister Untouchable': Nicky Barnes was a ruthless drug kingpin that flooded the streets of Harlem and New York City with heroin in the late 1960s while reportedly murdering. After two decades in prison, Barnes marveled at the fast pace of a Midwestern suburb that he previously would have found to be the municipal equivalent of a sleepy yawn. The next and final morning, Friday, found Nicky Barnes sitting in the empty jury box, looking bleary. Evidence against him was routinely lost. Witnesses regularly forgot what they had seen, who they had seen, and couldnt be sure enough to testify. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The Constitution doesnt allow prosecutors to convict people because theyre doing something morally wrong, said Barnes. car chases and redefined bling. Both daughters remember him playing with them and occupying a big part of their lives. Mr. Barnes had, indeed, been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1978, but by the early 1980s he could no. Nicky Byrne has welcomed his daughter into the world after he announced the happy news on Twitter. He also denied that he was a murderer; he had only ordered others to kill, he said. Untouchable and challenged the authorities not only to arrest him which they had already done repeatedly but to imprison him for life. Smith, 51, has signed on to play New York City crime lord Nicky Barnes in Netflix's upcoming crime drama "The Council." As Indiewire. For months, the police thought they had the alleged perpetrator until the defense itself . His bravado had largely evaporated. February 22, 2021. A generation later though, Mr. Lucass notoriety was magnified in a New York magazine article by Mark Jacobson, which in 2007 became a book and movie called American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington as Mr. Lucas and Cuba Gooding Jr. in a small role as Mr. Barnes. Captain Man - in the Nickelodeon comedy series "Henry Danger" (2014-2020). These guys could be shrewd and witty when they wanted to be. But now it can be said that Nicky Barnes is definitely not around anymore, in any form. Leroy Nicky Barnes ran a tight, murderous ship and it gave him a supreme cockiness captured by his nickname, Mr. Nonetheless, his wealth, power, and connections kept Barnes fairly protected from the law for a while, at least. Mr. Barnes was known to hand out holiday turkeys in Harlem like a Tammany ward heeler and proudly keep bound volumes of his courtroom testimony. They Fell Victim To The Irish Famine In 1847. 12,704. His two grown daughters, who had been in foster care after their mothers arrest, were also given new identities under the witness protection program and moved to be with him for a while after his release. Mr. Barnes was born in Harlem on Oct. 15, 1933, and grew up around Eighth Avenue and West 113th Street. My first kiss was with the most chivalrous little boy I ever met in my life. Nicky Barnes was born and raised in Michigan. As he testified, more about his own criminal past came to light. How fast people walked.. Fortunately, those experiences are likely what theyll remember about the man. Barnes claimed they cheated their way to an arrest. Peter Landesman . Being in prison for the rest of your life, Mr. Barnes replied. March 20, 1975. He stayed out of prison for another three years after this incident. . Barnes, in the film, fingers the bullet on the desk in. Barnes set up front companies to protect some of his assets, such as numerous car dealerships, which appeared to be rented through those companies. In 1972, to deal more efficiently with other black gangsters in Harlem, Barnes founded The Council, a seven-man organization consisting of Barnes, Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, Wallace Rice, Thomas "Gaps" Foreman, Ishmael Muhammed, Frank James, and Guy Fisher. Her mother Georgina joked that she was a Daddy's girl when she was a baby but now she's turning into her father's mini me. He cavalierly posed in 1977 for a New York Times Magazine cover article that, in effect, validated his folkloric moniker as Mr. Barnes criminal enterprise wasnt just stunningly profitable, but highly deadly. By 1976, Barnes' operation spread throughout all of New York State and into Pennsylvania and Canada. Schooled in the Streets. I also knew his chief rival, Frank Lucas. His memoir, Mr. Untouchable: My Crimes and Punishments, was published in 2007,[12] and he appeared in a documentary about his gang life, also titled Mr. Untouchable (2007). Barnes gave an interview to The New York Times around the time of the book's release and described his new life. The elder daughter remembers him teaching her how to swim and how to write her first and last names when she was no more than 5. Mr. Barnes posed for the cover of The New York Times Magazine in 1977, an act of defiance that offended President Jimmy Carter and caused the Justice Department to step up efforts to prosecute Mr. Barnes. Arrests on charges of possession of burglary tools and breaking into cars led to confinement at the Tombs in Lower Manhattan. The real-life Barnes partnered with the Italian-American Mafia on international drug distribution until his arrest in 1978. Manuel Cemetery. Barnes died of cancer on June 18, 2012, but since he was under witness protection, his death was not . Go home. 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. Affection and hugs, his younger daughter says. In the 1970s, Leroy Nicholas Barnes was the notorious de facto incarnation of Ron ONeal in Gordon Parks Jr.s 1972 film Super Fly. Mr. Barnes was the flamboyant dope peddler who flooded Harlem and other black neighborhoods with heroin, led cops on frivolous 100 m.p.h. He sometimes turned on the TV at home, but it was to news or sports. Nicky Barnes has a pungent earthy taste with fuel undertones and slight musk aroma. But no matter how much Barnes had broken the law, he was now helping the government and soon he was rewarded. Thus, after decades of abiding by a certain code and adhering to the unofficial rules of the drug game, Barnes decided to pursue an entirely new, unorthodox option: working with the police. The group's motto, according to Barnes, was "treat my brother as I treat myself.". Username Password * Remember Me Forgot. Of course Nicky Byrne's daughter Gia also has big blue eyes and blonde hair, she's the image of her father! He estimated hed earned a minimum of $5 million before his 1977 conviction and he wisely invested these funds in legit businesses. New York Times "Nicky Barnes is not around anymore," said the balding, limping grandfather in the baggy Lee dungarees. He got nabbed by the police on a drug charge in 1959 and was sentenced to five years at Green Haven State Prison. I want to get up every day and get in the car and go to work and be a respected member of my community, Mr. Barnes said. Fortunately, he was sent to rehab in Lexington, Kentucky and said he never used drugs again. Nicky Barnes was soon caught and imprisoned for more than 20 years. On June 5, 1977, The New York Times Magazine released an article titled "Mr. Untouchable", featuring Barnes posing on the front cover. Nicky Barnes didnt. . He told neighbors and colleagues, if they asked, that he was a bankrupt businessman, worked at a Walmart and dreamed of opening a Krispy Kreme franchise. While incarcerated, Barnes befriended known mob figure Matty Madonna. Now the federal prosecutor has charged him with having run a massive conspiracy to distribute heroin from January . When Nikki was 14 years old, Bacharach considered she needed some time away from her mother to get better. Nicky Barnes was once quite open about how he'd amassed his fortune. From humble beginnings, he came to dominate the heroin distribution business. Barnes was then transferred to another facility with a special witness protection unit and testified in several cases. And he may have been right. She graduated from The University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and received a Masters of Science from University of Illinois Chicago. You cant have The Times write about you if you are a gangster and expect to get away with anything, said columnist Pete Hamill of the 1977 article. Infamous Harlem Drug Lord Nicky Barnes played by Cuba Gooding Jr in the Ridley Scott film American Gangster is reportedly pronounced dead. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. He had been a junior high school dropout and then a drug addict for a time before being sent to a federal treatment facility in Kentucky. Barnes criminal enterprise wasnt just stunningly profitable, but highly deadly. Mr. Barnes began cooperating with the authorities in the early 1980s. Nicky Barnes was forty-four when he was sent away. For him to be with us just answered so many prayers we had as little girls, the older daughter says. Answer: Absolutely! Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Make dinner, his older daughter says. Travel agencies, carwashes, gas stations anything legal that could launder money was fair game. Mr. Nicholas "Nicky" Barnes, 70, of the Clayton community passed away 7:00 a.m. Sunday, October 28, 2018, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. As they squandered the empire he had worked so long to build, Barnes felt cheated and double-crossed. His years and years behind bars of worrying and worrying about his daughters now ended in happy relief. He was 79 and had been free for 15 years. [5] 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. Untouchable, is booked at a Bronx police station. Upon learning of Barnes death last week, Robert Fiske Jr. the United States attorney in Manhattan in 1977 described the Harlem figures as having managed the largest, the most profitable and the most venal drug ring in New York.. That same year, he was played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the film American Gangster, which, to Mr. Barness irritation, focused not on him but on his leading challenger for peddling dope and bragging rights, Frank Lucas. In the 14 years since his release and before his death in 2012, Barnes legacy received a significant boost. President .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Jimmy Carter reportedly saw the article and put pressure on prosecutors to convict Barnes. Im not saying I was innocent.. He settled into a suburban apartment and went to work at a local Walmart. Our dad was very private and we wanted to respect that.. Thanks to his cooperation, he was released from prison and into the federal witness protection program in 1998. He stayed out of prison for another three years after this incident. In the thousands of pounds, Barnes replied. Even when he wore jeans he still ironed them, his younger daughter reports. Once a dope fiend himself, he kicked the habit, and became the main distributor of heroin in Harlem, NY. Our conversations around the dinner tale were much like any other family, the younger daughter says. I called Sterling Johnson Jr., a federal judge and former special narcotics prosecutor in New York City. He wept on the witness stand as he identified former associates as members of a council of narcotics traffickers who had vowed to treat my brother as myself. The associates lawyers scoffed at his testimony. [10] 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. Untouchable as being the same person as our dad. Hed avoided convictions for so long that he presumably began to believe that his own nickname represented an undeniable fact. I dont turn on the blender when Im at home so I can talk. Im not looking in the rearview mirror to see if anyone is tailing me anymore, he said. Harlem's Nicky Barnes Died in 2012 at 78 Years Old According to His Daughters!!! A New York Times article estimated Barnes purchased hundreds of tailor-made suits, Italian shoes, coats, and jewelry, which alone was valued at over $7 million. A fan of flashy cars, he drove around in expensive vehicles such as Mercedes and Citron-Maseratis. He took a particular interest in their education. Leroy Nicholas Barnes AKA Nicky Barnes is known for being one of the biggest organized crime drug dealers during 1970s in New York City. In the end, the New York heroin wars of the 1970s its personalities, mesmerizing stories of corruption, and shockingly casual violence have been a tremendous source of interest for writers, filmmakers, artists, and crime history buffs. Frank Lucas, the drug lord who inspired American. Then, learn about the wild life of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar. He was comfortable in his skin, the older daughter says. VALRICO, Fla. - Six months ago fate found 78-year-old Gary Barnes when a woman named Olivia Robles found him. [1] The Justice Department prosecuted Barnes for his drug-related crimes and he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on January 19, 1978. But can they prove it?. Last week, however, his long, tumultuous story came to an end. [5] When Gallo was released from jail, he provided a lawyer for Barnes, who subsequently had his conviction overturned on a technicality. The younger daughter also remembers the bicep swing, though she was not more than 2. I dont turn on the blender when Im at home so I can talk. "When I went to the joint, I gave Guy Fisher a woman of mine and told him to look out for her, take care of her," Barnes said. So this one might have been a lot longer than I was. Courtesy of Holly Foster Wells. A documentary on Barnes, Mr. Untouchable, was released in 2007. Nicky? If we had reported Nicky Barness death promptly, chances are it would have appeared on the inside obituary page, like Frank Lucass. His lawyers insisted, though, that law enforcement officials exaggerated his wealth and his lifestyle. According to The New York Times, the extravagant pusher owned hundreds of suits, 100 pairs of custom shoes, countless luxury cars, and numerous properties for his wife and many girlfriends. Mr. Barness daughters had also been given new identities under the program. Because of his new guise, his death, in an unidentified place, was never reported under the name Leroy Nicholas Barnes. Untouchable and in a documentary film of the same name. Liberace on Eloise McElhone Show on WPIX plays mini piano for benefit of Ona Munson who guested with him. Shutterstock. But now it can be said that Nicky Barnes is definitely not around anymore, in any form. For the Australian water polo player, see, Life in prison without the possibility of parole, life in prison without the possibility of parole, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, United States Federal Witness Protection Program, "Crime's 'Mr. According to the NY Times, Barnes passed away at the age of 78 or 79, his daughter confirming the news through email. It was in kindergarten. By November, the Council had generated $100 million in heroin sales, a fact which inspired the DEA to ramp up its investigation of . He frequented nightclubs and had numerous girlfriends in addition to his wife. So Barnes struck a bargain with the U.S. attorney, who by then was no longer Fiske, the original prosecutor, but Fiske's successor, U.S. Attorney John Martin. Untouchable, until his conviction in 1977. First as a competitor and then with the connivance of the Italian Mafia, Mr. Barnes rose in the late 1960s to become the kingpin of an empire that imported and distributed millions of dollars worth of heroin in New York, Pennsylvania, Canada and elsewhere, all the while murdering rivals. His choice now was to focus on the positive, not on what might have been, but on what could still be. But, by his daughters account, Barnes had been happy to be making an honest living. Respectable, but also Mr. MADONNA, club person, megastar. Mr. In 2007, his fame was briefly rekindled in a book by Tom Folsom titled Mr. In the account I quoted, the suspect was never identified by name. One was his ex-wife, Thelma Grant, who pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and served 10 years in prison. Untouchable of Heroin Dealers, Is Dead at 78 https://t.co/3GmHk7dtEu , Nicky Barnes is not around anymore, said the balding, limping grandfather in the baggy Lee dungarees.Nicky Barness lifestyle and his value system is extinct, he went on, speaki pic.twitter.com/dmCOH7BHtS, Trending Press News (@trendingpress1) June 8, 2019, This is Nicky Barnes, it read. In the old days, he said meekly, I wouldve been embarrassed.. He is a 42-year-old British-American actor, director, producer, and writer, probably best recognized for landing the role of Ray Manchester - a.k.a. Nicky Barnes didn't. He was so appalled at being eclipsed that he struck pre-emptively. The saddest part of all, the judge said from the bench, is that the great majority of people he is affecting are people in his own neighborhood.. Leroy Nicholas ("Nicky") Barnes, who was born in 1933 in Harlem, was one of the most powerful New York drug dealers of the 1970s. Frank Lucas was another highly-successful heroin dealer in 1970s New York. Fanfiction Fantasy Romance Steve Daughter Bucky Loki Rogers Barnes Hydra Time Travel Iron Man. And after his prison days ended, he started taking control of Harlem. An extensive undercover operation had gathered the evidence used in the case. YouTubeCuba Gooding Jr. portrayed Leroy Nicky Barnes as a volatile, image-driven criminal. A good student in his youth, Barnes left home early to escape his abusive alcoholic father, turning to drug dealing for income. In return for his cooperation, the government released Mr. Barnes from prison in 1998. And he had found fabulous wealth of another kind in his daughters and grandkids. March 20, 1975. While the once rich, famous, and beloved hero of Harlem was now trapped behind bars, his former associates, his wife, and his numerous girlfriends used and abused his money. Also during his time at Green Haven, Barnes made friends with reported Mafia crime boss "Crazy Joey" Gallo. He really wanted to just blend in, the older daughter reports. With the first hand testimony of the Godfather himself, Nicky Barnes. Guy Thomas Fisher (born July 21, 1947) is an American convicted racketeer who was once part of "The Council", an African-American crime organization that controlled the heroin trade in Harlem from 1972 to 1983. And I am respected., He added: Im not looking in the rearview mirror to see if anyone is tailing me anymore. In the meantime, a lesser heroin dealer named Frank Lucas became the subject of a New York magazine article that become the basis for the movie American Gangster. Successful gangsters cannot be known.. He became a federal informant and agreed to testify against the entire organization, the girls mother included. In it Barnes tells his story. Mr. Barnes insisted on his innocence even after he was found guilty in 1977 of heading a major drug distribution enterprise in Harlem that had conspired to sell, wholesale, $1 million in heroin a month. After Barnes cooperated with the government by working as an informant, Rudolph Giuliani sought a reversal of Barnes' life sentence. advertisement advertisement Death Nicky Barnes died of cancer on June 18, 2012, at the age of 78. Barnes, who hated mug shots, agreed and took the shot. This week, after learning of Mr. Barnes's death, Robert B. Fiske Jr., the United States attorney in Manhattan in 1977, recalled him as having overseen "the largest, the most profitable and the most venal drug ring in New York.". Will Smith will take on the role of New York City crime boss Nicky Barnes in his next Netflix film The Council. He had been given a new identity, but seemed to remain what he had always been at his core, what he might have more manifestly been from the start had he been raised in the suburban circumstances where he passed his later days. He fled from an alcoholic father. Barnes himself became addicted to heroin for several years in his 20s until spending time in jail, when he ended his addiction. That name was once as notorious as any in New York City and beyond. Will Smith is trading in his family-friendly aura and big blockbuster stardom to portray American crime boss Nicky Barnes in a biopic for Netflix called "The Council.". [1] Barnes led The Council into an international drug trafficking ring, in partnership with the Italian-American Mafia, until his arrest in 1977. rachel longaker married adams homes class action lawsuit nicky barnes daughters. The new Nicky Barnes promptly submerged himself so thoroughly in mainstream America that barely anyone beyond his immediate family knew his new name, his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive. 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. Id rather be out as a witness than be in there and what they characterize as a stand-up guy., Nicky Barnes, Mr. Nicky Barnes, New York drug lord known as Mr Untouchable, dead at 78 Barnes had entered the witness protection program and died in 2012 aged 78 - or possibly 79 - according to the New York. This week, one of his daughters and a former prosecutor, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Mr. Barnes had died of cancer in 2012. And with that, Mr. Barnes achieved a goal that his former self would have loathed, even feared: to be forgotten.