Guy Thomas Fisher is a convicted racketeer who was once part of The Council

The Council (drug syndicate)

The Council was a drug and crime syndicate in New York City created by Harlem gangster Nicky Barnes in the 1970s. The seven man organization was modeled after the Italian mob families. The Council settled disputes, handled distribution problems and other drug related issues...

, a notorious African-American crime organization that controlled the heroin trade in Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

 from 1972-1983. He became the first black man to own and operate the Apollo Theater

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...

 in Harlem when he purchased it in 1977. Fisher is currently serving a life sentence at the United States Penitentiary(USP) Allenwood, which is located within the Federal Correctional Complex(FCC) Allenwood, Pennsylvania.

Arrest and conviction

In 1984, Fisher was convicted of multiple counts of RICO

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...

 violations, including continuing criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, and murder, and was sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole. Fisher's conviction was facilitated by the testimony of his former mentor, associate, and rival, Leroy "Nicky" Barnes. In 1978, Barnes was tried and convicted on multiple racketeering counts and sentenced to life without eligibility for parole. The prosecutor in the case was Rudolph Giuliani, who would later become mayor of New York City. Eleven months after his incarceration, Barnes telephoned Federal prosecutors indicating that he would agree to become a government informant in their case against Fisher and others. Barnes claims that he decided to testify because Fisher was having an affair with his mistress. In exchange for his information, Barnes was released into the federal Witness Protection Program. Unlike other convicted racketeers Leroy "Nicky" Barnes

Leroy Barnes

Leroy Nicholas "Nicky" Barnes is a government informant, former drug lord and crime boss, who led the notorious African-American criminal organization known as The Council, which controlled the heroin trade in Harlem, New York during the 1970s. In 2007 he released a book, “Mr...

 and Frank Lucas

Frank Lucas

Frank D. Lucas is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1994. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district, the largest in the state and one of the largest in the country, stretches from the Panhandle to the fringes of the Tulsa suburbs—almost half of the state's land mass.-Early...

, Fisher did not become an informant.

Personal life

While imprisoned, Fisher received a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Sociology. Guy is uncle to Villanova guard Corey Fisher

Corey Fisher

Anthony Guy Corey Fisher is an American professional basketball player. A point guard, he attended Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Fisher decided on Villanova due to its combination of athletics and academics. Fisher played high school basketball for St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New...

, winner of the "6th Man of the Year" award in the Big East in 2009.

Fisher's life was the subject of a 45 minute documentary entitled The Guy Fisher Story and of an episode of BET's American Gangster.

External links

• "American Gangster: Guy Fisher, 'Gentleman Gangster'" by Alan Kurtz (Blogcritics
  Blogcritics
  Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
  
  )