Alpo Martinez, former drug kingpin who inspired ‘Paid In Full’, killed in Harlem

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Alpo Martinez, a former drug kingpin who inspired the 2002 film Paid In Full, has been fatally shot in Harlem, New York.

He was 55.

Alpo Martinez Killed

According to the The New York Post, a high-ranking police officer said that Alberto “Alpo” Martinez was killed in the early hours of Sunday, October 31, while sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2017 Dodge Ram on West 147th Street near Frederick Douglass Boulevard. He was reportedly shot five times.

Martinez was transported to Harlem Hospital Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Investigations into the death are ongoing and the identity of the assailant is not yet known.

Martinez was in witness protection for testifying against his associates. His last known address was in Maine, according to reports.

“You were in the witness protection program because you testified against other drug dealers,” the source said.

“You’d make a lot of enemies who have a score to settle,” the source said. “When you return to the same area, word will get out very fast. He’s back in the zone.”

The source, who said Martinez’s vehicle had paper plates from Texas, said it wasn’t clear if Martinez had left witness protection entirely or was just back for a visit.

“It seems pretty intentional when you shoot somebody five times,” the police source said.

Who is Alpo Martinez?

Martinez dealt drugs in the mid-1980s in the same neighborhood where he was killed before he was arrested and convicted for dealing crack in Washington, DC.

Martinez was released from prison in 2015 while serving a 35-year sentence at ADX Florence, a federal prison in Colorado.

Protagonist of Paid In Full Movie

Martinez inspired the character Rico in the movie Pain In Full, who was played by entertainer Cam’ron.

The film followed the criminal life of Harlem gangsters, Rico, Ace (inspired by Azie Faison) and Mitch (based on Rich Porter), and their rise and fall in the criminal underworld.