by Ran
Clarence Heatley was born in 1953 in New York City and grew up in Harlem, located in the northern section
of Manhattan. Heatley, who dropped out of school in the fourth grade,
was sent to juvenile detention by the time he was nine-years-old.
Eventually, Heatley grew to 6'7". At some point Heatley acquired the nickname, "Preacher". His violent reputation also earned him the nickname, "The Black Hand of Death."
In 1983, Heatley established his criminal organization, which would come to be known as "The Preacher Crew". Organization members included: John "Big Cuz" Cuff, Derrick Hailstock, Paul "Nutsy" Weller, Raymond "Jerry Woo" Jackson, John "Apple" Porter, Curtis "Snowman" Medley, Darrel "Bright Eyes" Barner, Darryl Haskins, Leroy "Echo" Echols, Steve Fairley, Shaka "Heavy" Heatley, David "Popcorn" Collins, Sherman "Kendu" Baker, Yvonne "Mom" Miller, Adrienne "Adee" Bundy, Bernard Mitchell, Denise Dawson, Ganeene Goode, Anthony Boatwright, Alvin "Butch Cassidy" Goings, Greg "Sleep" Sorries, Clifford Randall, Farris Phillips, Ralph "Black" Wallace, Duane Beatty, Darnell Walker, Kenny Wilson and Freddy Hill.
Heatley met his chief lieutenant, John "Big Cuz" Cuff, in 1983 when the latter was still employed as an officer in the now-defunct New York City Housing Authority Police Department. Cuff served as a driver and enforcer for Heatley even before he left the police department.
The organization's base of operations was Manhattan's 144th and 8th Avenue.
Heatley owned an apartment building on the Grand Concourse, a main thoroughfare located in the Bronx, in which people were allegedly tortured (and sometimes killed) in the basement. Heatley lieutenant Anthony Boatwright resided in the building.
Sometime in 1986, Heatley, aware that he was the subject of investigation by law enforcement, voluntarily went to Harlem's 32nd police precint to address his concerns regarding police inquiries with the chief detective.
Much of Heatley's income was derived by extorting local drug dealers, charging upwards of $10,000. In many cases, the payment was made with the understanding that the Preacher Crew would murder the dealers' rival.
The organization's enforcers were known as "janitors" and some of them were given tattoos depicting a bucket and a mop dripping with blood.
Allegedly, Heatley was the architect of the 1989 kidnapping of Donnell Porter, 12-year-old nephew of Preacher Crew member Johnnie "Apple" Porter. A $500,000 ransom demand was delivered to Donnell's older brother, Harlem drug kingpin Rich Porter (see here).
Donnell was abducted while on his way to his school, P.S. 92, on December 5. The kidnappers demanded $500,000 ransom for 12-year-old Donnell's safe return by telephone. When Porter insisted that he didn't have the half million dollars the kidnappers lowered the ransom to $350,000. On Dec. 6, the abductors directed the family to a nearby McDonald's restaurant located at West 125th Street and Broadway, where they found a coffee cup containing Donnell's index finger, two of his rings and an audio cassette in the men's bathroom. According to police, the cassette tape contained a recording of Donnell pleading to his older brother Rich to pay the ransom, stating, "They cutted my finger off...Please help me...Get the money. I love you, Mommy." Porter's sister Pat contacted the FBI against his wishes and was directed to the NYPD, who placed taps on the family's phone lines. On Dec. 10, a local boy delivered a note to the family's West 132nd Street apartment in Harlem given to him by an unknown woman stating that Donnell was badly in need of medical attention.
Rich Porter was murdered a little less than a month later on Janurary 3, 1990 in his native Harlem. He suffered several gunshots to the head and chest and was found in the bushes in Orchard Beach Park with $2,239 in cash in his pockets. On January 28, Donnell Porter's body was found in City Island less than a mile from where Rich's body was discovered. The corpse was found inside 14 black plastic garbage bags.
But his biggest source of revenue came from trafficking crack and cocaine, most of which was done between 1990 and 1996.
Heatley's organization, sometimes known as "The Family", truly was a family-affair that included his son, daughter and girlfriend.
According to former Preacher Crew member David Collins, Heatley and his associates abducted R&B superstar Bobby Brown at gunpoint in April of 1993. Associates of Heatley introduced themselves, at his behest, to the recording star at a Manhattan nightclub before convincing him to follow them to an apartment in the Bronx. After being beaten, Brown was taken to another apartment and held captive -- naked, gagged and hogtied except for when he was permitted to place a call to then-wife Whitney Houston in order to relay the the kidnappers' demand of $400,000 in cash in exchange for the singer's release.
Brown supposedly had an outstanding debt of $25,000 with a New Jersey-based dealer who'd supplied him with cocaine. Heatley is said to have assumed the crooner's debt after giving the dealer the amount owed.
The day after Brown's phone call, Houston complied with the kidnappers' order to show up alone with the money at an abandoned building. She wore a wig and dark glasses, so as not to be recognized by the general public, and turned the cash over to Heatley himself. Heatley kept half and the rest was divided amongst his associates.
On March 21, 1994, John Cuff murdered Heatley's chief enforcer, Anthony Boatwright. After Cuff shot Boatwright in the head in the basement of Heatley's apartment building, Heatley supervised as his associates used a circular saw to dismember the corpse. The severed arms and head were then burned disposed of in an abandoned building in Manhattan.
The Preacher Crew was enventually targeted by the FBI's C-11 Squad, a task force specifically formed to investigate heroin and cocaine trafficking organizations operating in New York City (10). The squad was comprised of 12 FBI agents, three DEA agents, 12 NYPD officers and three IRS agents.
After one of the organization's members was arrested by C-11 Squad members and agreed to cooperate with investigators, Heatley and three associates, including Cuff, attempted to abduct the informant as he left a New York City courthouse. Following a brief chase, the van in which Heatley and the others rode was stopped by police, who seized 3 lead pipes, 4 gorilla masks, duct tape and rope from the occupants. Heatley was not convicted in connection to the incident.
On July 15, 1996, Heatley was indicted on three counts of murder and conspiracy to murder in the aid of racketeering. On August 12, he was found in the Bronx and placed under arrest by the NYPD and transported to Harlem's 32nd precint. John Cuff, who'd been arrested by the FBI that same day, was detained in the same cell with Heatley. Less than two hours later they were both placed under federal custody.
In November of 1996, a 47-count federal indictment charging Heatley and 17 associates with narcotics trafficking, 11 murders and 11 murder conspiracies was unsealed. By November 14, 14 of the suspects had been arrested.
On December 17, 1997, a federal indictment was filed charging Heatley and 11 others with 86 counts of racketeering. Additionally, Heatley and Cuff were charged with murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, participating in a narcotics distribution conspiracy, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Heatley was also charged with participating in murders while acting as the principal administrator, organizer and leader of a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics, robbery and extortion. Cuff's charges also included participating in murders while working in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics and extortion.
Heatley became the first defendant to be charged under the federal "drug kingpin law" in New York and thereby eligible for capital punishment. The government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Cuff and Heatley on January 8 and August 11, 1998, respectively.
On February 5, 1999, Heatley pleaded guilty to federal racketeering, participation in 13 murders in aid of racketeering, one attempted murder, participation in a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics, robbery and extortion, using and carrying firearms in relation to crimes of violence, assault with a deadly weapon. He also admitted to ordering associates to commit arson. His plea deal called for U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to seek life in prison as opposed to a death sentence. He was represented by both Joel S. Cohen and David A. Ruhnke. The deal allowed Heatley to avoid being the focus of the first federal death penalty trial in Manhattan since the 1950s.
On March 22, Cuff pleaded guilty to participation in 11 murders in aid of a racketeering enterprise, conspiracy to murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise, participation in a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics and using and carrying firearms in relation to crimes of violence.
Heatley's life plus 225 year-sentence was handed down on May 14 by Judge Michael B. Mukasey.
In 1983, Heatley established his criminal organization, which would come to be known as "The Preacher Crew". Organization members included: John "Big Cuz" Cuff, Derrick Hailstock, Paul "Nutsy" Weller, Raymond "Jerry Woo" Jackson, John "Apple" Porter, Curtis "Snowman" Medley, Darrel "Bright Eyes" Barner, Darryl Haskins, Leroy "Echo" Echols, Steve Fairley, Shaka "Heavy" Heatley, David "Popcorn" Collins, Sherman "Kendu" Baker, Yvonne "Mom" Miller, Adrienne "Adee" Bundy, Bernard Mitchell, Denise Dawson, Ganeene Goode, Anthony Boatwright, Alvin "Butch Cassidy" Goings, Greg "Sleep" Sorries, Clifford Randall, Farris Phillips, Ralph "Black" Wallace, Duane Beatty, Darnell Walker, Kenny Wilson and Freddy Hill.
Heatley met his chief lieutenant, John "Big Cuz" Cuff, in 1983 when the latter was still employed as an officer in the now-defunct New York City Housing Authority Police Department. Cuff served as a driver and enforcer for Heatley even before he left the police department.
The organization's base of operations was Manhattan's 144th and 8th Avenue.
Heatley owned an apartment building on the Grand Concourse, a main thoroughfare located in the Bronx, in which people were allegedly tortured (and sometimes killed) in the basement. Heatley lieutenant Anthony Boatwright resided in the building.
Sometime in 1986, Heatley, aware that he was the subject of investigation by law enforcement, voluntarily went to Harlem's 32nd police precint to address his concerns regarding police inquiries with the chief detective.
Much of Heatley's income was derived by extorting local drug dealers, charging upwards of $10,000. In many cases, the payment was made with the understanding that the Preacher Crew would murder the dealers' rival.
The organization's enforcers were known as "janitors" and some of them were given tattoos depicting a bucket and a mop dripping with blood.
Allegedly, Heatley was the architect of the 1989 kidnapping of Donnell Porter, 12-year-old nephew of Preacher Crew member Johnnie "Apple" Porter. A $500,000 ransom demand was delivered to Donnell's older brother, Harlem drug kingpin Rich Porter (see here).
Donnell was abducted while on his way to his school, P.S. 92, on December 5. The kidnappers demanded $500,000 ransom for 12-year-old Donnell's safe return by telephone. When Porter insisted that he didn't have the half million dollars the kidnappers lowered the ransom to $350,000. On Dec. 6, the abductors directed the family to a nearby McDonald's restaurant located at West 125th Street and Broadway, where they found a coffee cup containing Donnell's index finger, two of his rings and an audio cassette in the men's bathroom. According to police, the cassette tape contained a recording of Donnell pleading to his older brother Rich to pay the ransom, stating, "They cutted my finger off...Please help me...Get the money. I love you, Mommy." Porter's sister Pat contacted the FBI against his wishes and was directed to the NYPD, who placed taps on the family's phone lines. On Dec. 10, a local boy delivered a note to the family's West 132nd Street apartment in Harlem given to him by an unknown woman stating that Donnell was badly in need of medical attention.
Rich Porter was murdered a little less than a month later on Janurary 3, 1990 in his native Harlem. He suffered several gunshots to the head and chest and was found in the bushes in Orchard Beach Park with $2,239 in cash in his pockets. On January 28, Donnell Porter's body was found in City Island less than a mile from where Rich's body was discovered. The corpse was found inside 14 black plastic garbage bags.
But his biggest source of revenue came from trafficking crack and cocaine, most of which was done between 1990 and 1996.
Heatley's organization, sometimes known as "The Family", truly was a family-affair that included his son, daughter and girlfriend.
According to former Preacher Crew member David Collins, Heatley and his associates abducted R&B superstar Bobby Brown at gunpoint in April of 1993. Associates of Heatley introduced themselves, at his behest, to the recording star at a Manhattan nightclub before convincing him to follow them to an apartment in the Bronx. After being beaten, Brown was taken to another apartment and held captive -- naked, gagged and hogtied except for when he was permitted to place a call to then-wife Whitney Houston in order to relay the the kidnappers' demand of $400,000 in cash in exchange for the singer's release.
Brown supposedly had an outstanding debt of $25,000 with a New Jersey-based dealer who'd supplied him with cocaine. Heatley is said to have assumed the crooner's debt after giving the dealer the amount owed.
The day after Brown's phone call, Houston complied with the kidnappers' order to show up alone with the money at an abandoned building. She wore a wig and dark glasses, so as not to be recognized by the general public, and turned the cash over to Heatley himself. Heatley kept half and the rest was divided amongst his associates.
| Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston |
On March 21, 1994, John Cuff murdered Heatley's chief enforcer, Anthony Boatwright. After Cuff shot Boatwright in the head in the basement of Heatley's apartment building, Heatley supervised as his associates used a circular saw to dismember the corpse. The severed arms and head were then burned disposed of in an abandoned building in Manhattan.
The Preacher Crew was enventually targeted by the FBI's C-11 Squad, a task force specifically formed to investigate heroin and cocaine trafficking organizations operating in New York City (10). The squad was comprised of 12 FBI agents, three DEA agents, 12 NYPD officers and three IRS agents.
After one of the organization's members was arrested by C-11 Squad members and agreed to cooperate with investigators, Heatley and three associates, including Cuff, attempted to abduct the informant as he left a New York City courthouse. Following a brief chase, the van in which Heatley and the others rode was stopped by police, who seized 3 lead pipes, 4 gorilla masks, duct tape and rope from the occupants. Heatley was not convicted in connection to the incident.
On July 15, 1996, Heatley was indicted on three counts of murder and conspiracy to murder in the aid of racketeering. On August 12, he was found in the Bronx and placed under arrest by the NYPD and transported to Harlem's 32nd precint. John Cuff, who'd been arrested by the FBI that same day, was detained in the same cell with Heatley. Less than two hours later they were both placed under federal custody.
In November of 1996, a 47-count federal indictment charging Heatley and 17 associates with narcotics trafficking, 11 murders and 11 murder conspiracies was unsealed. By November 14, 14 of the suspects had been arrested.
On December 17, 1997, a federal indictment was filed charging Heatley and 11 others with 86 counts of racketeering. Additionally, Heatley and Cuff were charged with murder in aid of racketeering, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder, participating in a narcotics distribution conspiracy, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Heatley was also charged with participating in murders while acting as the principal administrator, organizer and leader of a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics, robbery and extortion. Cuff's charges also included participating in murders while working in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics and extortion.
Heatley became the first defendant to be charged under the federal "drug kingpin law" in New York and thereby eligible for capital punishment. The government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Cuff and Heatley on January 8 and August 11, 1998, respectively.
On February 5, 1999, Heatley pleaded guilty to federal racketeering, participation in 13 murders in aid of racketeering, one attempted murder, participation in a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics, robbery and extortion, using and carrying firearms in relation to crimes of violence, assault with a deadly weapon. He also admitted to ordering associates to commit arson. His plea deal called for U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to seek life in prison as opposed to a death sentence. He was represented by both Joel S. Cohen and David A. Ruhnke. The deal allowed Heatley to avoid being the focus of the first federal death penalty trial in Manhattan since the 1950s.
On March 22, Cuff pleaded guilty to participation in 11 murders in aid of a racketeering enterprise, conspiracy to murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise, participation in a continuing criminal enterprise involving narcotics and using and carrying firearms in relation to crimes of violence.
Heatley's life plus 225 year-sentence was handed down on May 14 by Judge Michael B. Mukasey.
Related:
The Infamous...Rich Porter
