Guy Fisher | |
|---|---|
| Born | Guy Thomas Fisher July 21, 1947 New York City, U.S. |
| Criminal status | Released on Parole - October 28, 2020 (medical pardon) |
| Allegiance | The Council |
| Conviction(s) | Racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, conspiracy (1984) |
| Criminal penalty | Life in prison without the possibility of parole (1984) |
Guy Thomas Fisher (born July 21, 1947) is an American former mobster and drug lord who was once part of "The Council", an African-American crime organization that controlled the heroin trade in Harlem from 1972 to 1983. He became the first black man to own and operate the Apollo Theater in Harlem when he purchased it in 1977.[1] On October 28, 2020, Guy Fisher was released from federal custody on a medical pardon.
In 1984, Fisher was convicted of multiple counts of RICO violations, including continuing criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, and murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole.[2] Fisher's conviction was facilitated by the testimony of his former mentor, associate, and rival, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes. In 1978, Barnes was tried and convicted on multiple racketeering counts and sentenced to life without eligibility for parole. The prosecutor in the case was Rudolph Giuliani, later mayor of New York City. Eleven months after his incarceration, Barnes telephoned Federal prosecutors indicating that he would agree to become a government informant in their case against Fisher and others. Barnes claimed that he decided to testify because Fisher was having an affair with his mistress. In exchange for his information, Barnes was released into the federal Witness Protection Program.
He is uncle to basketball player Corey Fisher.
Fisher has been mentioned in numerous hip hop songs:
Fisher's life was the subject of a 45-minute documentary entitled The Guy Fisher Story[2] and of an episode of BET's American Gangster.[7]