Frank Lucas isn’t off the hook just yet. There former Drug Enforcement Agents (Louis Diaz, Gregory Korniloff and Jack Toal) are suing NBC Universal, owners of Universal Studios, for $55 million over “American Gangster,” the movie based on the life of harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas.
They claim that “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe as Detective Richard Roberts, was falsely promoted as a factual story.
The lawsuit intends to stop distribution of the film and/or change the text at the end of the movie. The movie closed with a statement saying that Lucas’ cooperation “led to the convictions of three-quarters of New York City’s Drug Enforcement Agency.” Also the agents are demanding that monies made from the movie be turned over to a fund for federal DEA agents.
The lawsuit said, “With this utterly false and defamatory statement, the defendant has ruined and impugned the reputations of these honest and courageous public servants in the eyes of millions of people.”
Dominic Amorosa, a lawyer for the plaintiffs told Reuters, “The only reason people went to see the film is because they thought it was a true story when really it is a pack of lies.”
NBC Universal responded with the following, “The end legend specifically refers to members of ‘New York City’s Drug Enforcement Agency’ — not the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, where the plaintiffs formerly worked. We believe the lawsuit is entirely without merit.” NBC Universal went on to say, “American Gangster does not defame these (federal DEA agents), or any, federal agents.”
