Frank Lucas, the Harlem drug kingpin whose life inspired the 2007 film starring Denzel Washington, was charged with theft by deception
Jim Cooper/AP Frank Lucas, the man that Denzel Washington portrayed in the movie "American Gangster," is shown in New York in this file photo from Nov. 2, 2007. Frank Lucas, the Harlem drug kingpin whose life inspired the 2007 film starring Denzel Washington, was charged with theft by deception last month after he tried to bilk the U.S. Treasury out of $17,345 meant for his teenage son, authorities said. The Social Security check was issued to Lucas in early October, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, but he told government officials the payment was lost when he changed addresses and asked them to send another. The 81-year-old Lucas — who moved to Newark in the 1980s after he served prison time for running a massive drug empire that smuggled nearly pure heroin into New York and New Jersey — allegedly cashed both checks, Carter said. Lucas faces up to five years in prison if convicted, Carter said. He is schedule...