Alpo Martinez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
June 8, 1966
- Alpo Martinez
- Alpo
- Po
- Abraham G. Rodriquez
Alpo Martinez | |
|---|---|
 Martinez, c. 1986. | |
| Born | Alberto Geddis Martinez June 8, 1966 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 31, 2021 (aged 55) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | Drug lord |
Criminal status | Deceased |
| Convictions | a) murder b) conspiracy to commit murder c) various drug charges |
| Criminal charge | a) 14 counts b) 1 count c) several counts |
| Penalty | 35–year sentence |
Date apprehended | November 6, 1991[1] |
Alberto Geddis Martinez, better known as Alpo Martinez, Abraham G. Rodriquez (witness protection), or more simply as Alpo or Po (June 8, 1966 – October 31, 2021) was an American drug dealer from Harlem, New York City, of Puerto Rican descent. He rose to prominence in the mid-1980s. In addition to New York, Martinez expanded his drug trade to other cities, notably Washington, D.C.
Martinez started selling drugs at 14 years old in East Harlem. In 1985, he met West Side Harlem drug dealer Azie Faison.[2] Martinez started to move up the chain of drug dealers in Harlem and eventually became one of the biggest drug dealers in the city.[3] Martinez later moved to Washington, D.C. in 1990 to expand operations where he quickly became involved in the city's underworld and elevated his drug activities. He met Wayne 'Silk' Perry, a notorious gangster and D.C. enforcer, who would later become his bodyguard and hitman.[4]
Arrest
On November 7, 1991, Martinez was arrested in Washington, D.C. for selling drugs. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, various drug charges, and 14 counts of murder, including the murder of former friend and drug dealing partner Rich Porter, D.C drug dealer Michael Anthony Salters aka Fray[5] and Brooklyn drug dealer Demencio Benson.[6] Facing the possibility of either the death penalty or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, Martinez turned informant and testified against members of his organization.[7] For his testimony against Perry (who received five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole), Martinez was sentenced to 35 years in prison.[8][9]
2015 release
Martinez was released in 2015 while serving a 25-year sentence for 14 counts of murder at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison located in Fremont County, Colorado. He was released after testifying against former associates and had been living under a United States witness protection program in Lewiston, Maine, under the assumed name, Abraham G. Rodriquez, until shortly before his death in 2021.[10][11] According to the website, Martinez was in the federal witness protection program awaiting a new identity.[12]