Richard Porter (July 26, 1965 – January 3, 1990), also known as Rich Porter, was an Afro-American drug dealer who rose to notoriety in New York City’s Harlem area during the crack epidemic of the mid-1980s. The police identified Porter as a “mid-level crack dealer” who “sold around $50,000 worth of crack every week.” Rich and his partners Azie Faison and Alpo Martinez were the inspiration for the 2002 film Paid in Full.
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Rich Porter Early Life
Porter was the oldest of three children born to Velma Porter in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.
Porter began selling drugs at the age of 12 and rose through the ranks of the Harlem drug underworld. He rose to prominence as a result of his flashy and high-profile lifestyle.
He was said to have never worn the same outfit twice and to have owned over a dozen luxury vehicles that he kept in a Manhattan garage during the height of his drug dealing career.
Rich Porter And The Boom Of Crack In New York
Porter had started peddling crack as a teenager in Harlem.
Porter progressed fast through the ranks. Alpo Martinez and Azie Faison, both borough acquaintances, quickly became fellow dealers, and Porter led a gang of street-level sellers. Because of his wealth, observers began referring to him as “Richie Rich” or “Money Rich.” He had more than a dozen expensive cars by the time he was in his twenties and was believed to never wear the same dress again.
Rich Porter had taken up the life of a crack dealer because he was trapped by economic inequity and a lack of opportunity. But he spent most of his leisure time caring for his mother, siblings, and three children, Reshonia, Rhea, and Donnell.
Everything changed on December 5, 1989, at 4 p.m., when 12-year-old William hadn’t arrived home from school. Velma Porter walked to Public School 92 at 222 West 134th Street in the hopes of locating him, only to be told he hadn’t shown up at all that day. She discovered why an hour later.
“They have me, Mommy,” he sobbed over the phone. “I’m not sure what they want.”
The receiver was turned off, only to be replaced by another call several hours later, threatening the 44-year-old mother if she called the police. During a third call at 1 a.m., the anonymous caller requested $500,000 in cash. Unfortunately, the desperate mother of three was obliged to tell the man on a fourth phone call that she didn’t have that type of money.
On December 6, at 3 p.m., a caller requested to speak with Rich Porter. The ransom had been reduced to $350,000, but with instructions to go to the nearest McDonald’s and search under the lavatory sink.
Porter enlisted the help of a family member, who discovered William’s severed, two-inch index finger and a frightening cassette tape.
Rich Porter Death
“Rich lied to me about something there was no reason to lie about,” said Alpo Martinez. “I gave him the opportunity to tell me the truth not once, but twice. He didn’t die [after my accomplice shot him in the chest] so I shot him in the head. It wasn’t personal. It was business.”
On January 3, 1990, he was murdered.
His body was discovered the next day near Orchard Beach in the Bronx. He’d been shot in the head and chest several times.
Police discovered $2,239 in his pocket. Alpo Martinez, a friend and former drug dealer, was prosecuted and convicted of his murder.
On December 5, 1989, his 12-year-old brother Donnell Porter was abducted on his way to school in Harlem and had his finger severed in attempt to extract $500,000 in ransom money from Rich, which was eventually reduced to $350,000.
He was finally murdered, and his body was discovered on January 28, 1990, a mile from Rich’s body and less than a month after Rich’s murder.
His brother Donnell was kidnapped and murdered by their maternal uncle and his Preachers Crew gang.
