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There were several interviews that are currently on the Hot 97.1 website NYC that Frank Lucas, and Richie Roberts were interviewed at length and Frank Lucas confirmed much of what was said and done in the movie or denied it clearing up if things happened that way or not. Direct quote from Frank Lucas was 85% of the movie was 100% true I.E. the scence when he is meeting with his brothers for the first and kills the guy on the street. Also you have to qualify Frank's responses with Richie Roberts because Richie says things that Frank was not 100% forthcoming about. Link is here http://www.hot97.com/podcasts/index.aspx Good luck guys hope this makes a better article. 24.168.152.238 (talk) 05:17, 21 November 2007 (UTC)
("big-balled" breeding bull?!) Is this necessary?! Who exactly contributed this? Do you think that because your writing about a drug lord you need to write like this? I have young daughters who access Wikipedia for homework assignments and I know you could discribe a breeding bull without saying "big-balled". I'm beginning to question the accuracy of all Wikipedia content. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.65.70.56 (talk) 20:20, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
frank Lucas was called one of the most notorius thugs of all time because he did something no one will ever be able to do no matter what or how hard they try. He bought $5.2 million dollars into America in cascets that were owned by the military.
Although this is a short article, it's definitely not "one of the worst" as the poster below me wrote. My question is, why is this article protected? Gregsinclair 08:44, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
Not an Absolute Mess but Lacking information Whoever has time and is a member should try to help cause Frank Lucas is an interesting person and with the movie coming out there is going to be more interest here is an interview and story that will help out http://nymag.com/nymag/features/3649/
Lacking vital information
http://nymag.com/nymag/features/3649/
This is one of the worst articles I've ever seen on wikipedia. (And given the abysmal quality of articles in general, that's saying something.)
I can't believe this hasn't been pulled!!
There's no dates for Lucas (we don't even know if he's still alive!).
There's no birthplace for him.
And it isn't even in proper wikipedia/encyclopedia format.
Despite that the so-called "Cadaver Connection" (a group of sergeants major shipped the heroin inside coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam) was obviously what gave Lucas the ability to control the smack market in New York, there's no information about it.
Nor is the fact that the government was beginning to systematically dismantle the Mob families mentioned. Without the weakening of the Italians, Lucas would have ended up in a swamp in New Jersey. hey
But how did he organize it? My guess would be vets returning to Harlem somehow hooked up with Lucas. They had the dope and needed an, ah, customer for it. But the reader has to guess because the editor doesn't tell us.
And given Ridley Scott's penchant for massive alterations of history (just watch Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven, excellent movies but to call the rewriting of history poetic license is being polite)...we're unlikely to get the real story in American Gangster.
But there's nothing in the article which explains this.
PainMan 19:26, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
besides all the citing, its just bad english. i mean seriously i couldnt get through a sentence without thinking wtf. Robkehr 17:49, 29 October 2007 (UTC)
he was even higher than the italian mafia
The problem with all these things is that a lot of them would be next to impossible to find; the only people who would really know more about Frank Lucas than what's in American Gangster are D.E.A. agents who have studied up on heroin dealing in the '70s, frankly. There was an article called "The Return of Superfly" about him, mostly written from points he himself had given to a reporter, but I don't think any of them mentioned his child-hood, and only his operations in New York City during the late '70s as a dealer. I just watched the last half hour of a special that involved him, along with Leroy Barnes and several other people. What I do know is, he's still alive, though he's reduced to a wheel-chair because of a car accident that broke both of his legs and diabetes crippling his hands, though I don't know when either of these things happened. I also believe it's relevant, if not already added, that when Lucas first came into the spotlight of dealing with whatever his product was dubbed (Blue Magic? I forget, something like that), a lot of people over-dosed on his heroin because of it's extreme potency. 12.107.246.221 04:25, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
Well, that's a good quote. He's more powerful than the Mafia and other crime groups in the dope trade at that time because that's what a character in the movie American Gangster said. Please, people, don't use quotes from movies to write historical articles. It seems as if most of the information in this article was written by somebody who saw the movie and the recent documentary on Frank "Superfly" Lucas and used those two sources (and those two sources alone) to write this article -- despite a few references being linked to fool readers into believing actual research went into writing this other than watching a movie or a television show.
As for the "Cadaver Connection," that was just what the narrator of that documentary said -- instead of continually saying "Coffin Connection" like what was in the subtitle of the documentary. So somebody here heard that, and BOOM, all of the sudden it's fact and the actual name of this supposed heroin pipeline Lucas claims to have organized and operated is the Cadaver Connection.
Also, a lot of information that has come out lately has been proven to be lies told by Frank Lucas. The movie (and the recent documentary on Frank Lucas) is based on lies told by an inventive ex-heroin trafficker. To read more about the myth Frank Lucas has invented about himself see the below link. There are other recent, credible articles announcing that Frank Lucas is an imbellisher, if not outright liar, of the truth; however, the below article has the best layout and covers all the bases. (Also note that Lucas was little more than a flunkie to Bumpy Johnson and not Johnson's self-proclaimed "right-hand man in Harlem.")
Lock & Key 05:57, 8 November 2007 (UTC)
Why "as far as he knows"? This qualifier needs to be elaborated on or removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.206.28 (talk) 03:49, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
well the added 'citation needed' bit doesn't actually seem to help at all. Why does it say "as far as he knows" people don't say "George W Bush has two children, as far as he knows." or "The Pope doesn't have any children, as far as he knows." If there was some speculation about Frank Lucas having an affair and children with another woman, then it might make sense to say "as far as he knows". So, somebody please remove "as far as he knows". If someone can give some explanation as to why someone might speculate that he actually fathered more or less than 7 children then they can put it back.75.72.206.28 (talk) 00:28, 22 November 2007 (UTC)
Any sources for what he is currently doing Is he getting royalties from this film? I know criminals in prison don't profit from novels/movies made about their crimes, but go to charity or victimes instead. Does this apply to Frank Lucas? He isn't in prison anymore. Jstanierm (talk) 04:34, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
In an interview with MTV, November 2007 Lucas shares further insights into the film, background, and--at least on the surface--his perspective: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573648/20071106/story.jhtml. ~~Alxsteele 23:47, 04 December 2007 (UTC)~~
The intro to this article claims the story of drugs being smuggled in the coffins of soldiers returning from Vietnam is untrue, but the source linked gave a "page could not be found" error. While the first reputable source I could find, a NYTimes article ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/nyregion/01gangster.html ) confirms the coffin-smuggling story.
Of course the NYTimes has been wrong before, so if someone has another source contradicting it, please add it to the relevant section of the intro. For the moment I have added a "citation needed" note.
Frostlion (talk) 18:29, 2 February 2008 (UTC)
Reference #6 (http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/film.american.gangster.ap/index.html) is the same AP article published January 17th in which Lucas himself and multiple DEA agents are quoted saying the "Cadaver Connection" is a fabrication.
Mikeferrier (talk) 03:57, 8 February 2008 (UTC)