

His testimony would decimate the Washington, D.C., metro area’s cocaine infrastructure. Martinez - one of Harlem’s hardest players - agreed to become a federal witness, and pleaded guilty to contracting seven murders. He was arrested less than a year later after attempting to expand his cocaine empire to Washington, D.C. The killing was the beginning of the end of Mr. In 1990, he orchestrated the killing of a close friend and fellow dealer, Rich Porter. “You have to figure, we were all young adults, teenagers, and we had more money than we knew what to do with.”īut even in an illicit business, Mr. “He was an attention seeker and an adrenaline junkie,” Mr. Martinez rose to fame as a kingpin of the crack cocaine era, known for luxury cars and loud street bikes ripping wheelies down entire city blocks. Martinez from New York to Lewiston and then back - to his death in the neighborhood where he made his name - began more than 30 years ago. Rodriguez laughed it off: “I used to ride bikes back in the day,” his friend recalled him saying.
#EMMANUEL QUAQUA JR MAINE PROFESSIONAL#
Then he turned, popped another, and rode it back, slipping through the empty, wooded field like a professional street rider. He revved the engine, popped a wheelie and rode it for a quarter mile. They carted the motorcycle to the woods, and Mr. Rodriguez saw the text he bolted over to try out the new bike. They bonded over a shared love of cars and adventure sports, and when Mr. Pappaconstantine, who worked at a local bank, when he came in to set up his first-ever bank account, and the two men grew close. Rodriguez had just turned 50, and had arrived in Lewiston a year or so before with nothing. It was from his friend Nik Pappaconstantine, who had just picked up a new toy: a sleek, speedy dirt bike - perfect for back road riding in Lewiston, the small city in Maine where they lived. It was 2016, and Abraham Rodriguez received a text message that made him light up.
