In the streets of Harlem, New York, one individual had the ability to lead change, topple empires, and even create them. That’s called power, and one drug kingpin named Alpo Martinez had it all. He was the real-world Scarface, but that power in his hands became something evil, something that enjoyed violence, murdered without bias whether business partner or brother, and ultimately something that led to his demise.
Alberto “Alpo” Martinez, who became the drug Kingpin nicknamed The Mayor of Harlem, began his path to conquest at birth on June 8, 1966.
Coming into this world he had two things working against him. The first was being born without a father present in his life, and the second was the environment which he was born into. The 80s saw the introduction of the crack epidemic, which added to the already growing list of drugs flooding urban communities.
That meant, impoverished neighborhoods with little opportunities and support gravitated to criminal activities to thrive financially. The problem was that the symptoms of this lifestyle were bloodshed, death, and the risk of losing your freedom to the law. Alpo would later experience all three.
His mother tried her best to stop that future from happening. Knowing the vices of the environment, she tried to keep him on the straight and narrow,
but Alpo had this other side to him, one that wanted money, power, and respect. Her attempts at getting him an education first directed her to enroll him in a Roman Catholic School. From there he switched to the Automotive High School before finding himself at the Julia Richman High School.
This, however, didn’t last long. It seems Alpo was too drawn to the underworld. His mother was struggling to make ends meet, and Alpo wanted more than a life of hardships in the projects. A change started happening, one that led Alpo and some childhood friends to indulge in petty crimes to earn cash.
As time progressed, so did his fascination with that lifestyle. He wanted the clothes, the flashy cars, the status of the drug dealers whose names rang out among young men with nothing else to strive for. By age 13 Alpo was already on the street corners hustling for drug dealers.
Sure enough, he would find his way into trouble with his first arrest by law enforcement.
It didn’t take long for him to get back to his old ways. As a business-minded individual, Alpo knew exactly who he had to befriend to level up his life. It was a teenager by the name of Azie Faison.
Faison had built up a reputation in the streets as a young success story in the coke business. For his age, he was driving the newest model vehicles and living more lavish than grown folks triple his age.
Alpo wanted that lifestyle, so he approached Faison requesting work. Eventually, Alpo’s persistence convinced Faison to give him a chance. Alpo began selling small bottles of powdered coke, and at the rate he was going, Faison was impressed. Little did he know, Alpo was a cunning young man who knew how to fake the result he wanted. At times the product never sold out, so Alpo would take money he had saved up and give Faison his percentage, making it appear like all the drugs sold out.
Faison was persuaded by the illusion, and it was time for Alpo to push to take his rise in the underworld a step higher. He would initiate the conversation with Faison to be a member of his crew, not just someone buying product from him. Coincidentally, around that same time, it turned out someone tried to shoot Faison.
Alpo saw this as the perfect opportunity to build trust between him and Faison. He retrieved two firearms and joined Faison on a hunt to murder the person responsible. Alpo proved himself as a soldier who was ready to shed blood for Faison and Faison took notice of that. From then forward, Alpo was a part of his crew responsible for the dirty work.
His reputation was already ruthless, but now his name became something to fear. That was who Alpo was. Business was business. There was no room for mercy or leniency, and it aided in spreading his presence through the underworld as someone not to mess with. This would only elevate when Faison introduced him to the next big drug dealer in the city – Rich Porter.
Together they were a force to be reckoned with.
Alpo and Rich would build a close friendship with time as their movement took over the streets of Harlem. Young, rich, and powerful, they moved coke through the city, establishing themselves as Kingpins that had no limits to the violence they’d carry out to remain at the top.
The money was flowing in the hundreds of thousands per month. Alpo Martinez dreamt of the status he now had. His flair and style sparked fashion trends, his jewelry and extravagant attire demanded attention,
and contesting his reputation ended in death for those bold enough to interfere with his money.
But, in that line of business, there’s always someone who wants what you have. Always someone who thinks they’re just as ruthless, or even more. And right then, the inevitable clash begins its descent into collision.
Alpo’s empire began crumbling when the first of the kingpin trio was targeted and left for dead. In August 1987, Faison left a basketball game to re-up on his drug products for sale which he stashed away at his aunt’s house. In an exclusive VLAD TV interview, he recalls the scenario that still haunts him to this day.
Joined by a female companion and a male affiliate, Faison went to his aunt’s house, but upon exiting the elevator, they were accosted by armed robbers who pushed them into the apartment.
The robbery ended in 6 persons being shot and left for dead in the apartment. Faison was wounded 9 times – 2 bullets to his head, 1 to his neck, 1 to his shoulder, 1 to his hand, and 4 to his leg. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
and by some miracle, Faison survived the attack. Sadly 3 persons didn’t make it, including his aunt.
Finding out it was his sister’s boyfriend who orchestrated the robbery, Faison realized that the lifestyle they lived only had one end and tried to warn Alpo and Rich Porter, but they were blinded by the money and power.
Maybe if Alpo listened to what his friend said at that time, things wouldn’t go the way they did. The money kept on piling up, but that money would fracture the relationship between Alpo and Rich. Alpo found out that Rich was overcharging him for the product, contradicting the agreement they had.
In the mind of Alpo, this was the height of disrespect to try to rob him through underhanded means. Around the same time on December 5, 1989, Rich Porter’s 12-year-old little brother, Donnell Porter was kidnapped.
The kidnappers sent a severed finger from Donnell and a tape of him pleading for his life. Their ransom request was half a million dollars. That ransom would never be paid, and Donnell would be murdered. It wasn’t due to a lack of trying, but Rich would be murdered before he could get a chance to get his brother back. In a shocking twist, the person behind Rich Porter’s murder was his close friend Alpo Martinez.
In a later documentary released by Alpo, he recalls flying to New York and picking up Rich on January 3rd, 1990, at this location.
After confirming Rich was lying to him about where he was receiving the coke from, he indicated to the affiliate who was with them in the car to murder Rich. As it turns out, Rich didn’t die from the initial two shots, which prompted Alpo to finish the job before dumping the body at this location off into the woods.
In a later interview confession with police, Alpo coldheartedly stated that killing his close friend and brother was strictly business.
Approximately three weeks later Alpo was shot in the back as assailants tried to kidnap him in the DC area.
He was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition and rushed into surgery to try and save his life.
Alpo would pull through, and with another chance at living, he didn’t turn away from the lifestyle. Instead, he doubled down and partnered with a ruthless enforcer named Wayne Perry to wipe out anyone and anything in his path.
The murder toll skyrocketed. Alpo was at this point unstoppable, but it was that same power that led to his demise. Sure enough, Alpo would be arrested in November 1991 for cocaine distribution and a string of murders.
In an attempt to salvage some form of freedom, he turned into an informant, selling out persons he called his associates in order to dodge the death penalty. With his cooperation, Alpo was sentenced to 35 years for his crimes.
Spending 25 of those behind bars, he was released on parole in 2015 under witness protection. Given a new identity and life in Lewiston, Maine under the false name Abraham Rodriguez, his life was continued away from anyone wanting revenge.
Alpo, however, was in love with his title as the Mayor of Harlem. He was drunk on attention. Ultimately, he chose to return to Harlem and did so in extravagant fashion.
Alpo was outside doing it all and living life like the past would never find its way back to him.
On the night of Halloween on October 31st 2021, Alpo attended a party, not knowing the timer on his life was about to expire.
At around 3 am, Alpo left the party on West 147th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard and entered into his red Dodge Ram just around 3:20 am. At that time, an assailant would open fire, hitting Alpo 5 times about the body including his chest, chin, and arm.
In an attempt to escape, Alpo stamped on the gas, causing his vehicle to take off. He was able to drive about 4 blocks before losing consciousness and crashing into a parked car.
Around 3:30 am the cops were already alerted of the shooting in the area and arrived on the scene to find Alpo in his vehicle. Paramedics and law personnel were at that time unaware of who he was as his ID was registered to his witness protection alias Abraham Rodriguez.
Alpo was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival
Alpo Martinez’s life came to a tragic end. Family members and friends of Rich Porter would celebrate given the news.
Speculations swirled around about a possible motive for the murder. The most likely was revenge for breaking the code of the underworld by becoming an informant. Other speculations theorize it was a drug trade gone bad as police discovered a trail of heroin packets tossed from Alpo’s vehicle.
Amidst all the rumors and theories, investigators would be on the trail of a suspect. In February 2022, reports broke that 27-year-old Shakeem Parker was arrested for the murder of Alpo Martinez.
According to reports, a law enforcement official told news outlets that Alpo had clashed with Parker over the summer when Alpo, riding his motorcycle, brushed past Parker in a way that showed disrespect. That was enough to push the 27-year-old to the point of revenge.
Parker is being charged with the murder of Alpo along with criminal possession of a weapon.
As of April 11, 2024, reports state that the trial has been postponed until at least May 13.
Alpo Martinez had it all, but the problem with having it all, is that you begin to feel invincible. Alpo was strung up on power and turned into a monster that was all about business, attention, and money. In the end, it stole decades away from his life behind bars and ultimately ended with his premature death. His name is forever etched in the history books of drug kingpins.
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.
