Frank Lucas Was a Drug Kingpin Whose Life Was Immortalized by Denzel Washington — What Happened Next?

Not everyone can say that Denzel Washington once played them in a movie, but Frank Lucas had those bragging rights. The former drug lord ran his business in Harlem during the 1960s and '70s and built up his wealth by cutting out the middleman. Elements of his life displayed in the 2007 film American Gangster, with Lucas on hand to give Washington notes and suggestions, per NBC News.

Federal drug enforcement agents would go on to sue for defamation, claiming they were "grossly misrepresented" in the film, but that was quickly tossed out. Lucas was a complicated man who, later in life, said he regretted what he did. "I did some terrible things," he said. "I'm awfully sorry that I did them. I really am." Naturally, his decisions landed him in prison more than once, but he died a free man in 2019 at the age of 88. What did Frank Lucas do after prison? Here's what we know.

In January 1975, law enforcement raided Lucas's house in Teaneck, N.J., per Crime Magazine. It was an operation they had been planning for two years that was somehow not affected by the two key witnesses who died after testifying against Lucas before the grand jury, reported The New York Times. Despite that major hiccup, he received a 70-year sentence, which he never served. Lucas cut a deal with the government that led to over 100 drug-related arrests. In turn, he and his family were put into witness protection.

In 1981, his sentence was reduced to time served, and Lucas was given a lifetime parole. Three years later he was sentenced to seven years in prison for a new drug conviction. He had been caught "trying to exchange one ounce of heroin and $13,000 for one kilogram of cocaine," per The New York Times. He was released in 1991 at the age of 61. But Lucas had one more law-breaking event left in him.

In 2012, Lucas was busted for trying to cash a $17,000 disability check twice but was sentenced to five years probation due to his poor health and advanced age. Overall, Lucas didn't spend that much time in prison considering how robustly he broke the law. After the disability check incident, he spent the rest of his years in a wheelchair after a horrific car accident. Lucas also volunteered, alongside his daughter, with an organization that helped children with imprisoned parents.

Lucas's 2010 book, Original Gangster: The Real Life Story of One of America's Most Notorious Drug Lords, was wildly successful. The former drug lord promised to use a portion of the proceeds to help others by promoting education. "Please learn from my mistakes," he wrote. "Stay in school, finish high school, and earn the highest degree in education that you can. This is the way to go in life."