MR Untouchable. This item is unavailable.MR Untouchable

Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes was the drug kingpin of Harlem, the black godfather who flooded New York with heroin and broke the stranglehold of the Mafia. He rose from penniless junkie to multi-millionaire businessman, using a seven-man board of directors, The Council, to deliver tons of dope to the city's streets. He drove the fastest cars, sported the sharpest suits and kept a string of glamorous women, while his ability to elude the cops earned him the nickname "Mr Untouchable".

But in 1977, at the height of his powers, an undercover operation toppled his ruthless empire and Barnes was jailed for life. Eventually he turned state's evidence, helped convict scores of leading gangsters and won his release in 1998. Now in the Witness Protection Programme, his identity and location are secret. This is his extraordinary story.

'Remorseless, misogynistic and unapolagetic, but very, very fascinating.'