Former drug kingpin Alberto ‘Alpo’ Martinez fatally shot in Harlem: report
Martinez, who inspired the film "Paid in Full," was reportedly shot five times after leaving a club
Former drug kingpin Alberto ‘Alpo’ Martinez was reportedly fatally shot in Harlem in a drive-by shooting that took place early Sunday morning.
According to law enforcement sources, Alpo was hit multiple times in the chest in the shooting the occurred on West 147th Street near Frederick Douglass Blvd, around 3:20 am, New York Daily News reports. Several of his associates claim he was leaving a club when he was hit. Martinez was reportedly shot five times while in his 2017 Dodge Ram.
The EMS rushed Martinez to the Harlem hospital but he died during transport.
According to reports, cops have made no immediate arrests.
“It seems pretty intentional when you shoot somebody five times,” a police source said.
Martinez was portrayed by rapper Cam’ron in the 2002 film Paid In Full, which centers on a young man from Harlem who builds an illegal empire. The film is based on the true story of Martinez and his friends and fellow kingpins Azie Faison and Rich Porter. Martinez later admitted that he had Porter killed.
Martinez was arrested in 1991 for murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He reportedly turned state’s evidence while facing life in prison or the death sentence. He is said to have violated street code and turned snitch to protect himself. He testified against members of his drug organization in exchange for 35 years in prison.
Martinez was released in 2015 at age 49 after testifying against former associates. He was reportedly living under a witness protection program before allegedly surfacing in Harlem.
One Twitter user responded to his death by noting, “The streets never forget you may have changed your life and been living a different lifestyle but you gotta pay for the shit you did in 88/89/90/91”
Another commented, “He really thought he was safe in Harlem. He’s been out of jail for a while, I didn’t think they were gonna kill him. He got too comfortable and died because of his own arrogance. He should have never returned to Harlem.”
A third added, “He got to comfortable in Harlem ! I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t DC cats who got em knocked! He put a lot of DC cats behind the wall for life! He couldn’t have been that arrogant to think he wA gone live in New York City that long!”
In the tell-all documentary ALPO: The Documentary, Martinez detailed his involvement in the killing of Porter, saying:
“I was meeting Rich that night, he got into a van. Once he got in the van, I locked the doors. As I was pulling off, I was asking him ‘yo, Rich where did you get that coke from. that sht good was good’, because I wanted to make him comfortable. He’s like ‘I got it from my connect.’ From there I knew he was lying. So I turned to my little man [Big Head Gary], I gave him the nod … because he was short, so he could stand up in the van. Next thing you heard was two gunshots, bang bang. Richard slumped over, and it happened … I was very mad, I just killed a n*gga that I loved, a n*gga that I was making money with. A n*gga I called my brother,” Alpo said.
Martinez is referenced in several hip hop and rap songs, including tracks from Nas, Lil Boosie, JAY-Z, Drake, Meek Mill, The Game, and Pusha T.
Meanwhile, authorities have not yet confirmed that Martinez is dead.
NYPD Detective Francis Sammon confirmed to Heavy .com that there was a shooting but that the ID found on the victim by police “doesn’t match up with the name” of Alberto ‘Alpo’ Martinez.
“We are still working to identify him,” he said of the man who was shot.
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