A New York City notorious drug peddler and convicted murderer who ran the streets of New York in the 80s was gunned down on a Harlem street corner in his truck Sunday morning, police sources said.
Alberto “Alpo” Martinez, who is a drug kingpin from New York City, died on Sunday after being shot five times in a drive-by shooting as he sat in his 2017 Dodge Ram at 147th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard around 3:30 a.m.
Doctors could not save Martinez after he was rushed to Harlem Hospital. Martinez was in danger as soon as he returned to his old stomping ground, according to a high-ranking police source.
“You were in the witness protection program because you testified against other drug dealers,” the source said. You’d make a lot of enemies who have a score to settle,” the source said. “When you return to the same area, word will get out very fast. He’s back in the zone.”
According to the source, Martinez’s vehicle had paper plates from Texas, and it was unclear if the former Kingpin had left witness protection entirely or was just back for a visit.
Photos from the scene showed Martinez’s red truck ridden with bullets. “It seems pretty intentional when you shoot somebody five times,” a police source said. However, there were no immediate arrests.
In the 1980s, Martinez peddled drugs in the same area where he was gunned down before he was arrested for peddling crack in Washington, DC. In 2015, Martinez was released from a federal supermax prison, ADX Florence in Colorado, while serving a 35-year sentence there.
New York Rapper Cameron Ezike Giles portrayed Martinez in the 2002 movie Paid In Full. The movie was based on the story of Martinez and his partners Rich Porter and Azie Faison.
Martinez was also profiled on a 2012 episode of the TV series “Gangsters: America’s Most Evil” and name-checked by numerous rappers, including Nas in “Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)” and songs by Jay-Z and 50 Cent.
