In the mythology of the American drug trade, Alpo Martinez stands alone. While Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols ran a structured corporation in Queens, Alpo’s reign in Harlem was defined by flash, chaos, and betrayal. To some, he is the charismatic “King of Harlem” immortalized in rap songs and the movie Paid in Full. To others, he is the ultimate betrayer who turned on his partner Rich Porter, whose murder defined the end of an era, and his enforcer Wayne “Silk” Perry to save himself.
But beyond the movies and the street legends, what is the true story?
In Season 1, Episode 1 of the Infamy Podcast, we analyze the raw, uncut facts. From his early days in the “Fresh Air Fund” to his secret life as Abraham Rodriguez in Maine, this is the definitive account of Alpo Martinez’s rise and fall.
Born on June 8, 1966, in Spanish Harlem, Albert “Alpo” Martinez grew up in a predominantly Puerto Rican household. While the streets would later fear him, his beginnings showed a different side.
As detailed in the podcast, Alpo participated in the Fresh Air Fund program, spending summers with a white family to escape the city heat. He was beloved by the host family, but the allure of Harlem was too strong. By 1979, he returned to the city permanently. Subsequently, he began his criminal career as a “stick-up kid”—robbing other dealers—before becoming a runner.
His rise wasn’t solitary. Alpo credits the Harlem strategist Azie Faison as the sole reason for his initial success, giving him opportunities to handle large amounts of cocaine and earn upwards of $10,000 to $15,000 off every “brick”.
One of the most searched questions in hip-hop history is: why did Alpo kill Rich Porter? The movie Paid in Fulldramatizes this, but the podcast reveals the cold, transactional reality.
It wasn’t a crime of passion; as Alpo stated, “It wasn’t personal. It was business.”
Specifically, the conflict arose over a discrepancy in cocaine prices. Alpo believed Rich was overcharging him. According to the transcript, Alpo had given Rich money for 60 bricks (30 of which were Alpo’s). He discovered that Rich was getting them at a lower price than he claimed, essentially skimming money off the top from his partner.
Therefore, Alpo gave Rich two opportunities to tell the truth. When Rich maintained the lie, Alpo made the decision that ended a friendship and an era in Harlem.
Following Rich Porter’s murder in 1990, Alpo fled to Washington D.C. during its era as the ‘Murder Capital’. It was here that he formed his most notorious alliance with Wayne Perry.
The relationship began with a financial transaction. Wayne Perry was in prison on an attempted murder charge with a bail set at $10,000. Alpo, seeing an opportunity to gain protection in a hostile city, paid the full amount to release him.
“I wound up giving up the whole $10,000 because I seen the bigger picture,” Alpo recalled.
Contrary to popular belief, Wayne Perry wasn’t running the drug business. Instead, he was the muscle. Specifically, he handled the “security aspect”—silencing anyone who disrespected the organization or threatened Alpo. The deal was simple: Alpo fed him, and Wayne protected him.
Eventually, the reign ended when the Feds caught up with Alpo. He was facing charges for 14 murders (7 or 8 in D.C. and the rest in New York). The prosecutors were pushing for the death penalty.
His lawyer delivered the ultimatum: The government wanted Wayne Perry just as much as they wanted him. They offered Alpo a deal.
Describing himself as the “left of two evils,” Alpo chose to cooperate. Consequently, he testified against his enforcer. As a result, Wayne Perry pled guilty to five murders to avoid the death penalty and received five life sentences without parole. Alpo was sentenced to 35 years.
In 2015, Alpo Martinez was released from federal prison. But Alpo Martinez didn’t exist anymore. He was relocated to Lewiston, Maine, under the government-assigned identity: Abraham Rodriguez.
For years, the former King of Harlem lived a quiet life working in warehouses. Furthermore, he even started his own legitimate business, Five Star Construction Cleanup. It seemed he had successfully transitioned to a civilian life, far from the streets of Harlem and D.C.
However, the allure of his past life proved too strong. By 2021, “Abraham Rodriguez” began traveling back to New York, showing his face in Harlem and engaging in drug deals once again.
On October 31, 2021—Halloween night—fate caught up with him. Alpo was sitting in his Ram truck on Frederick Douglass Boulevard when he was shot multiple times.
In a final, almost cinematic gesture described in the podcast, his last act before dying was throwing bags of drugs out of his car window. The man who had survived the violent 80s, betrayed his closest friends, and lived in witness protection, died on the very streets that made him a legend.
Listen to the Full Story on Spotify