Addicted To The Game
From drug kingpin to witness protection, Alpo Martinez’s death followed the pattern of his crazy life.
In the 1980s, three young Harlem hustlers Azie Faison, Rich Porter, and Alberto “Alpo” Martinez would become legends in the New York City drug trade. While Faison and Porter’s involvement wouldn’t last long, Martinez continued to rise in the underworld by killing his enemies and even his friends.
Their lives were portrayed in the film Paid in Full and rappers still reference them in their lyrics. The three of them were completely different people that viewed the business they were in from three different perspectives. In the end, nobody could have predicted the level of violence Martinez would resort to and that lifestyle eventually caught up to him.
Young Hustlers
Azie Faison was like many young men who grew up poor and without direction. He dropped out of high school and worked various jobs. While working at a dry cleaner, a cocaine supplier he’d met before at a pool hall presented him with an opportunity.
The man started breaking off some of his product and giving it to Faison. Soon, he’d become a large cocaine wholesaler to Harlem dealers. Faison said that in the mid-80s he was earning $40,000-$50,000 a week from his work…
