TelstraClear and Frank Lucas: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox Criminal
{{Infobox_Company |
| subject_name = Frank Lucas
| company_name = TelstraClear
| image_name = FrankLucas.jpg
| company_logo = [[Image:TelstraClear.svg|center|200px]]
| image_size = 176px
| company_type = Subsidiary of {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Telstra]]
| image_caption =
| foundation = TelstraSaturn, '''As TelstraClear - 2003'''
| date_of_birth = {{birth date and age|1930|9|9}}
| industry = [[Telecommunication]]s
| place_of_birth = [[La Grange, North Carolina|La Grange]], [[North Carolina]]
| location = {{flagicon|NZ}} [[Wellington, New Zealand]]
| num_employees = 4,000
| date_of_death =
| place_of_death =
| products = [[Telephony|Voice]]<br />[[Internet service provider|Internet]]<br />[[cable television|Digital TV]]</br />
| alias =
| homepage = [http://telstraclear.co.nz telstraclear.co.nz]
| charge = Drug Dealing
| conviction = 1976; sentenced to 70 years<ref name="nytimes_August_25_1984">{{cite web |date=August 25, 1984|url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E7D71338F936A1575BC0A962948260|title = U.S. Jury Convicts Heroin Informant|format = HTML |publisher = [[The New York Times]]| accessdate = 2008-04-09 | last= |quote=}}</ref> but released in 1981 upon serving 5 years.<ref name="nytimes_September_11_1984">{{cite web |date=September 11, 1984|url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E3D81038F932A2575AC0A962948260|title = Drug Dealer Gets New Prison Term|format = HTML |publisher = [[The New York Times]]| accessdate = 2008-04-09 | last= |quote=}}</ref> Convicted again in 1984<ref name="nytimes_September_11_1984"/> getting out in 1991 after he served a term of seven years.<ref name="voice-online">{{cite web |date=2007-12-09|url = http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=12509|title = THE REAL AMERICAN GANGSTER|format = HTML |publisher = voice-online| accessdate = 2008-03-08 | last= Janelle Oswald|quote=She spent five years in prison for aiding her husband's narcotic smuggling trade. Having to get used to the public life again after living like a 'ghost' since her release, the making of her partner's life on the big screen has brought back many memories, some good and some bad.}}</ref>
| penalty =
| status =
| occupation =
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
}}
}}
'''Frank Lucas''' (born September 9, 1930<ref name="biography">{{cite web |year=2007 |url = http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=253710|title =
'''TelstraClear''' is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of [[Telstra]] Corporation (Australia), with around 400,000 customers.
Frank Lucas Biography|format = HTML |publisher = biography| accessdate = 2008-02-24 | last= |quote=}}</ref>) is a former [[heroin]] dealer and [[organized crime]] boss in [[Harlem]] from 1969-1975. He was particularly known for [[disintermediation|cutting out middlemen]] in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|the Golden Triangle]]. Frank Lucas is popularly known for smuggling heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen,<ref name="nym2000">[http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/features/3649/ "The Return of Superfly"] ''[[New York Magazine]]'', August 14, 2000.</ref> a claim his Southeast Asian associate [[Leslie "Ike" Atkinson]] denies. <ref name="cnn_2008">{{cite web |date=2008-01-22 -- Updated 1856 GMT|url = http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/film.american.gangster.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview|title = Is 'American Gangster' really all that 'true'?|format = HTML |publisher = [[CNN]]| accessdate = 2008-02-24 | last= |quote=}}</ref>


==Early life==
The company provides residential line rental services, internet services, IT services, security services, cable TV/cable modem and mobile telephone services to 70,000 subscribers on its network in Wellington, Christchurch and Kapiti.
Lucas was born in [[La Grange, North Carolina]] and raised in [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]].<ref name="metromagazine">[http://www.metronc.com/between_issues/ "Frank Lucas, Between Issues"] ''Metro Magazine'', November 8, 2007</ref>


Lucas claims that the incident that sparked his motivation into the life of crime was witnessing his 12-year-old cousin's murder at the hands of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] for apparently looking at a [[white]] woman in Greensboro.<ref name="nym2000"/> He drifted through a life of petty crime until one particular occasion when he engaged in a fight with a former employer and, on the advice of his mother, fled to [[New York]].<ref name="nym2000"/> In [[Harlem]] he indulged in petty crime and pool hustling before he was taken under the wing of gangster [[Bumpy Johnson|Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson]].<ref name="nym2000"/> The details of his connection to Johnson have been called into question: Lucas claimed to have been Johnson's driver for 15 years, but Johnson spent only five years out of prison before his death in 1968; and according to Johnson's widow much of the narrative Lucas cites actually belongs to another young hustler named Drew "Roscoe Jones" Norris.<ref>{{cite book | last = Mayme Hatcher Johnson| authorlink = Mayme Hatcher Johnson| title = Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson|edition= when |pages= 248 | publisher = Oshun Publishing Company, Inc.; First edition (February 29, 2008)| isbn= 0967602831}}'''Pg 159, 221.'''</ref> was a very important man and didn't care of all the people that die during his bussiness.
In 2004 TelstraClear began offering residential line HomePlan services including broadband outside those areas where it has its own network, reselling a wholesale product from [[Telecom New Zealand]].


==History==
==Criminal career==
Telstra New Zealand was set up in 1996 by [[Telstra]] as part of Telstra's international expansion. Competing with the incumbent Telecom New Zealand, [[Saturn Communications]] and [[Clear Communications]], Telstra New Zealand initially focused on providing services to top tier international organisations who were already Telstra clients in Australia.


After Johnson's death,Frank Lucas traveled around and came to the realization that to be successful he would have to break the monopoly that the [[Italian mafia]] held in New York. Traveling to [[Southeast Asia]], he eventually made his way to Jack's American Star Bar, an [[R&R (Military)|R&R]] hangout for black soldiers.<ref name="nym2000"/> It was here that he met former U.S. Army sergeant [[Ike Atkinson|Leslie "Ike" Atkinson]], from [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]], who happened to be married to one of Lucas' cousins, which made him as good as family. Lucas is quoted as saying, "Ike knew everyone over there, every black guy in the Army from the cooks on up".<ref name="nym2000"/>
Telstra slowly expanded its operations in the business market bundling Telecom New Zealand services distributed as a reseller with its own network services. It installed switches in Auckland and Wellington to manage incoming and outgoing international traffic and maintained an interconnect agreement with Telecom New Zealand and is likely to have had others with companies such as [[Clear Communications]].


Lucas denies putting the drugs among the corpses of American soldiers. He claims instead to have flown in a North Carolina carpenter to [[Bangkok]] and:
In 2000 Saturn Communications was sold by its parent company, [[Austar]] United Communications to a new joint venture with Telstra that became known as [[TelstraSaturn]].


{{Cquote2|We had him make up 28 copies of the government coffins . . . except we fixed them up with false bottoms, big enough to load up with six, maybe eight [[kilo]]s... It had to be snug. You couldn't have shit sliding around. Ike was very smart, because he made sure we used heavy guys' coffins. He didn't put them in no skinny guy's..."|Frank Lucas<ref name="nym2000"/>}}
[[TelstraClear]] was then created by the merger of [[Telstra]]'s TelstraSaturn and [[Clear Communications]] in 2001. [[Austar]] United Communications held an initial investment of 42% in TelstraClear before selling it back to [[Telstra]].


Atkinson, nicknamed "Sergeant Smack" by the [[DEA]],<ref name="newcriminologist">{{cite web |date=11/5/2007|url = http://newcriminologist.com/article.asp?nid=2000|title = American Gangster Myth: What's the Real Story Behind Hollywood's Portrayal of Harlem Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas? |format = HTML |publisher = New Criminologist Journalist, Houston Texas| accessdate = 2008-02-24 | last=Clarence Walker |quote=Lucas' role as an informant was valuable enough to earn him a nice haven in the Federal Witness Protection Program. His Puerto Rican wife Julie, daughter Francine and a son were also placed in the witness protection program in 1977 after Lucas helped the law to convict other drug dealers.}}</ref> has said he shipped drugs in furniture, not caskets.<ref name="cnn_2008"/> Whatever method he used, Lucas smuggled the drugs into the country with this direct link from Asia. Lucas said that he made [[United States dollars|US$]]1 million per day selling drugs on [[116th Street (Manhattan)|116th Street]].<ref name="nym2000"/> Federal judge [[Sterling Johnson]], who was special [[narcotics]] prosecutor in [[New York]] at the time, called Lucas' operation "one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever, an innovator who got his own connections outside the U.S. and then sold the narcotics himself in the street." He had connections with the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] and Irish mobs, holding an enormous monopoly on the heroin market in [[Manhattan]]. In an interview, Lucas said, "I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be [[Donald Trump]] rich, and so help me [[God]], I made it."<ref name="nym2000" />
In 2004 TelstraClear made its first acquisition in the IT market with the purchase of Sytec mainly for its IP telephony and security skills, in particular the specialist managed security subsidiary DMZGlobal. In 2007 Sytec was formally integrated into the TelstraClear's Enterprise and goverment division and the brand retired, but the DMZGlobal brand has been retained and invested in.


Lucas only trusted relatives and close friends from North Carolina to handle his various heroin operations.<ref name="nym2000" /> His heroin, sold under the street name "Blue Magic", was 100 percent pure when shipped from [[Thailand]].<ref name="biography"/> Lucas has been quoted as saying that his worth was "something like $52 million", most of it in [[Cayman Islands]] banks. Added to this is "maybe 1,000 keys ([[kilogram]]s - 2.2046 [[pound]]s) of dope on hand" with a potential profit of no less than $300,000 per kilo.
==Services==


This huge [[profit margin]] allowed him to buy property all over the country, including office buildings in [[Detroit]] and apartments in [[Los Angeles]] and [[Miami]]. He also bought a ranch of several thousand acres in [[North Carolina]] on which he ranged 300 [[Black Angus]] cows including a breeding bull worth $125,000.<ref name="nym2000"/>
===POTS Telephone Services===
Residential telephone service is available in two ways:


Lucas rubbed shoulders with the elite in entertainment, politics, and crime, meeting [[Howard Hughes]] at one of Harlem's best clubs in his day.<ref name="nym2000"/> Though he owned several [[mink]] and [[chinchilla]] coats and other accessories, Lucas preferred to dress conservatively as to not attract attention to himself.<ref name="mtv">{{cite web |date=2007-11-06PM EST|url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1573648/20071106/story.jhtml|title = Real 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas Talks About Hanging With Diddy's Dad, Possible Sequel|format = HTML |publisher = [[MTV]]| accessdate=2008-02-24| last=Jayson Rodriguez |quote=}}</ref> He fathered seven children, including a daughter, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, and a son, Frank Lucas, Jr.<ref name="Breakfast">"[http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/432807.aspx BREAKFAST WITH THE REAL 'AMERICAN GANGSTER']," ''[[MSNBC]]''</ref> When he was arrested in the mid-1970s, all of Lucas' assets were seized.<ref name="mtv"/>
1.Through the traClear network, in iti, Wellington and Christchurch.


{{Cquote2|The properties in Chicago, Detroit, Miami, North Carolina, [[Puerto Rico]] - they took everything. My lawyer told me they couldn't take the money in the offshore accounts and I had all my money stored in the Cayman Islands. But that's BS - they can take it. Take my word for it. If you got something, hide it - 'cause they can go to any bank and take it.|Frank Lucas<ref name="mtv"/>}}
2.Through a resale agreement with Telecom New Zealand for the rest of the country.


==Arrests and releases==
Business telephone services are offered across the country, either on TelstraCear' own network in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Napier, Palmerston North, Whanganui, Kapiti, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. HomePlan residential services are offered in the rest of the country via a resale agreement with Telecom.
In January 1975, Frank Lucas' house in [[Teaneck, New Jersey]] was raided by a joint [[DEA]]/[[New York Police Department]] task force.<ref name="crimemagazine">{{cite web |year=2007 |url = http://www.crimemagazine.com/07/teaneck_raid,1014-7.htm|title = The Raid in Teaneck|format = HTML |publisher = pub| accessdate = 2008-02-24 | last=Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez |quote=}}</ref> In his house authorities found $584,683.<ref name="crimemagazine"/> He was later convicted of both federal and New Jersey state drug violations. The following year he was sentenced to 70 years in prison.<ref name="nytimes_August_25_1984"/> Once convicted, Lucas provided [[evidence]] that led to more than 100 further drug-related convictions. For his safety in 1977, Lucas and his family were placed in the [[witness protection program]].<ref name="newcriminologist"/> In 1981, after five years in prison, his 40-year federal term and 30-year state term were reduced to time served plus lifetime [[parole]].<ref name="nytimes_August_25_1984"/> In 1984 he was caught and convicted of trying to exchange one ounce of heroin and $13,000 for one kilogram of [[cocaine]].<ref name="nytimes_September_11_1984"/> He was defended by his former prosecutor, [[Richie Roberts]], and received a sentence of seven years. He was released from prison in 1991.<ref name="voice-online"/>


===IT and Security Services===
With the acquisition of Sytec and the formation of Enterprise and Government division, TelstraClear now also provides managed network solutions, ICT services (such as desktop and device management and co-location), enterprise comms and contact center solutions. In addition under the DMZGlobal brand TelstraClear does Internet security, managed security, and security consulting services.


===Internet Services===
TelstraClear owns two ISPs, [[Paradise.net]] and Clearnet, with Clearnet becoming the umbrella brand. Both offer nationwide dialup and DSL service, and cable modem internet access within TelstraClear's own (built) network. Capable of speeds up to 25 bit/s, it is New Zealand' fastest hoe broadband. Outside this network broadband connections are resold over Telecom's DSL lines. A number of their dial-up IP numbers are blacklisted as abusers by sites such as [[DSBL]].


==Family==
===Mobile Services===
Lucas married Julie, a homecoming queen from [[Puerto Rico]]. The two often bought expensive gifts for each other including a $125,000 coat and a matching hat for $40,000.<ref name="voice-online"/> Julie was also jailed for her role in her husband's criminal enterprise, spending five years behind bars.<ref name="voice-online"/> After she was released from prison they lived separately for some years, and she eventually moved back to Puerto Rico. They reconciled in 2006, and have been married for over 40 years.<ref name="voice-online"/>


Lucas has a total of seven children,<ref name="mtv"/> although only one daughter, Francine, with Julie.<ref name="voice-online"/> She entered the witness protection program with Lucas in 1977 and has since begun a website, [http://www.yellowbrickroads.org Yellowbrickroads], with resources for the children of incarcerated parents.<ref name="newcriminologist"/>
TelstraClear currently does not operate their own mobile network, but it used to use Vodafone's network. In 2007 this agreement was not renewed, and 30,000 TelstraClear mobile customers were scheduled to be returned to Vodafone. However, TelstraClear signed a wholesale mobile deal to access the Telecom New Zealand CDMA network and TelstraClear is beginning to offer its new services to small medium enterprises and small business. In 2008, they started to offer handsets to the public using the same prefix as their business mobile phones using Telecom's network. At the launch date TelstraClear had the cheapest mobile plan in New Zealand, although in order to get the deal (+ free handset worth $499), customers had to have their homeline and broadband to TelstraClear.


Lucas' son [[Frank Lucas Jr]] is a [[hip hop music|hip hop]] artist who, with his father, has launched the Frank Lucas brand.<ref name="hiphopdx">{{cite web |date=2007-11-06|url = http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/lifestyle-features/id.917/title.frank-lucas-jr-son-of-an-american-gangster/p.2|title = Frank Lucas, Jr.: Son Of An American Gangster|format = HTML |publisher = hiphopdx.com| accessdate = 2008-02-24 | llast= Kevin Clark|quote=}}</ref>
===Subscription Television (TelstraClear InHomeTV) ===
TelstraClear operates the [[Hybrid Fiber Coaxial | Hybrid Fibre Cable]] pay television network developed by [[Saturn Communications]] in [[Wellington]], [[Kapiti]] and [[Christchurch]], prior to the sale to Telstra. The network infrastructure includes twisted pair cabling used for residential and business local telephone service.


==Fictional portrayals==
Programming is managed by [[SKY Network Television]] following an agreement that saw TelstraClear move out of the role of sourcing developing a competitive pay television offering. The agreement allowed TelstraClear to distribute and bill for services provided by [[SKY Network Television]] on its own Direct to Home satellite service and TelstraSaturn's cable network.
Lucas' criminal career was the real basis of [[Ridley Scott]]'s 2007 film ''[[American Gangster_(film)|American Gangster]]'', which starred [[Denzel Washington]] as Lucas.


He was the basis for the main antagonist in [[Tom Clancy]]'s [[Without Remorse]]
InHomeTV is available on TelstraClear's Cable network in Wellington, Christchurch and Kapiti. The service is available only if bundled with TelstraClear's telephony service.


==See also==
In 2005, the network was upgraded to a fully digital transmission network. They expect to offer an [[HDTV]] option in early 2009 which will consist of a single [[set-top-box]] incorporating a [[personal hard drive video recorder]].
====Channel Lineup====


*[[Leroy Barnes|Nicky Barnes]]
This lists all current digital and analogue channels. Channel numbers were changed in March 2007 to coincide with Sky channel number changes.
*[[Richie Roberts]]
*[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]] -


==References==
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; border-collapse:collapse;" width=100%
{{reflist|2}}
|- style="background:silver"
!width=5%|EPG No.
!width=30%|Channel Name
!width=25%|Subscription Package
!width=10%|[[Widescreen]]
!width=30%|Notes

|-
| 1
| [[TV ONE|TV One]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free to air]]

|-
| 2
| [[TV2 (New Zealand)|TV2]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free to air]]

|-
| 3
| [[TV3 (New Zealand)|TV3]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free to air]]

|-
| 4
| [[Prime Television New Zealand|Prime]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free to air]]

|-
| 5
| [[The Box (New Zealand TV channel)|the BOX]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 6
| [[UKTV (Australia and New Zealand)|UKTV]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 7
| [[Vibe (TV channel)|Vibe]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 8
| [[The Living Channel]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 9
| [[Food Television]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|


|-
| 11
| [[E!]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 15
| [[Visitor TV]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Christchurch only) (Digital only)

|-
| 16
| [[Canterbury Television|CTV]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 17
| [[Discovery Travel & Living]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 18
| [[Trinity Broadcasting Network|TBN]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 19
| [[Māori Television]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free-to-air]]

|-
| 20
| [[SKY Movies]]
| SKY Movies Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 21
| [[SKY Movies 2]]
| SKY Movies Plus
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 22
| [[SKY Movies Greats|SKY Movies Greats]]
| SKY Movies Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 23
| [[MGM Networks#The_MGM_Channel|MGM]]
| SKY Movies Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 24
| [[Turner Classic Movies (Asia)|TCM]]
| SKY Movies Plus
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 25
| [[Rialto Channel]]
| Rialto Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 28
| [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Sneak Peak]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 30
| [[SKY Sport 1 (New Zealand)|SKY Sport 1]]
| SKY Sport Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 31
| [[SKY Sport 2 (New Zealand)|SKY Sport 2]]
| SKY Sport Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 32
| [[SKY Sport 3 (New Zealand)|SKY Sport 3]]
| SKY Sport Plus
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 33
| [[SKY Sport Highlights]]
| SKY Sport Plus
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 34
| [[ESPN Australia|ESPN]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 35
| [[Trackside Racing Channel|Trackside]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| [[Free-to-air]]

|-
| 36
| [[The Rugby Channel]]
| SKY Sport Plus and The Rugby Channel
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 40
| [[Disney Channel Australia|Disney Channel]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 41
| [[Nickelodeon New Zealand|Nickelodeon]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 42
| [[Cartoon Network (Australia)|Cartoon Network]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 44
| [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Pay per view guide]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Analogue only, digital customers can use the interactive PPV guide)

|-
| 45
| [[Playhouse Disney (Australia and New Zealand)|Playhouse Disney Channel]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 45-59
| [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Movies]]
| Pay-per-view
| {{No}}
| (Analogue only, digital customers use channels 201-227)

|-
| 50
| [[Triangle TV]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| [[Free-to-air]] (Digital only)

|-
| 59
| [[Te Reo (TV)|Te Reo]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free-to-air]] (Digital only)

|-
| 60
| [[MTV New Zealand]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 62
| [[Juice TV]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 63
| [[63 (TV Channel)|63 - Our Music TV]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 64
| [[C4 (TV channel)|C4]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free-to-air]]

|-
| 65
| [[ALT TV]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 70
| [[Discovery Channel Australia|Discovery Channel]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 71
| [[Crime & Investigation Network (Australia)|Crime & Investigation Network]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 72
| [[National Geographic Channel]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
|

|-
| 73
| [[History (TV channel)|The History Channel]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 74
| [[Documentary Channel (New Zealand)|Documentary Channel]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 75
| [[Animal Planet]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 79
| [[The Arts Channel]]
| The Arts Channel
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 90
| [[Sky News New Zealand]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 91
| [[CNN International|CNN]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 92
| [[Fox News Channel]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 93
| [[BBC World News]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 94
| [[Parliament TV (New Zealand)|Parliament TV]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| [[Free-to-air]] (Digital only)

|-
| 95
| [[Deutsche Welle]]
| Start Up
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital Only)

|-
| 96
| [[Bloomberg Television]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 97
| [[Saturn Scan]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 98
| [[Saturn Weather]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
|

|-
| 99
| [[Saturn Choose]]
| Start Up
| {{No}}
| (Analogue only, digital customers can use the interactive EPG guide)

|-
| 111
| [[Shine TV]]
| Saturn Extra
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 201-227
| [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Movies]]
| Pay-per-view
| {{Yes}}
| (Digital only, analogue customers use channels 45-59)

|-
| 300
| [[World TV Limited|KTV1]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 301
| [[World TV Limited|KTV2]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 302
| [[World TV Limited|JTV]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 303
| [[World TV Limited|CTV1]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 304
| [[World TV Limited|CTV2]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 305
| [[World TV Limited|CTV3]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 306
| [[World TV Limited|CTV4]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 307
| [[World TV Limited|CTV5]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 308
| [[World TV Limited|CTV6]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 309
| [[World TV Limited|CTV7]]
| World TV
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|-
| 315
| [[STAR Plus|STAR Plus Hindi]]
| Star Plus Hindi
| {{No}}
| (Digital only)

|}

====Radio Stations====

Radio stations are available only on digital.

* Channel 400 [[SKY Digital Music]] NZ Chart
* Channel 401 [[SKY Digital Music]] Pop
* Channel 402 [[SKY Digital Music]] Smooth
* Channel 403 [[SKY Digital Music]] Grooves
* Channel 404 [[SKY Digital Music]] Jazz
* Channel 405 [[SKY Digital Music]] House
* Channel 406 [[SKY Digital Music]] 50s & 60s
* Channel 407 [[SKY Digital Music]] Party
* Channel 408 [[SKY Digital Music]] Rock
* Channel 409 [[SKY Digital Music]] Country
* Channel 410 [[SKY Digital Music]] Classical
* Channel 411 [[SKY Digital Music]] Kids
* Channel 412 [[SKY Digital Music]] Blues
* Channel 413 [[SKY Digital Music]] Theme
* Channel 500 [[Kiwi FM]]
* Channel 501 [[Radio New Zealand National]]
* Channel 502 [[Radio New Zealand Concert]]
* Channel 503 [[Niu FM]]
* Channel 504 [[George FM]]
* Channel 506 [[Tahu FM]]
* Channel 510 [[Core (radio station)|Core Internet Radio]]
* Channel 511 [[The Cheese]]
* Channel 512 [[The Rock]]

====Interactive Services====

Interactive services are available only on digital.

* Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) - Television listing information.
* Pay Per View (PPV) Guide - Sky Box Office listing information.

====Defunct Channels====

* [[TechTV]] was available up until May 2004, when current owner [[Comcast]] halted international broadcasts. (Source: TelstraClear website)

* Chilli (an adult channel) was also available until 2004 when CEO Alan Freeth discontinued the product on moral grounds.
(Source TelstraClear staff memo)

====Free-to-view Channels====

The following analogue cable channels are unofficially available without needing decryption on [[TelstraClear]]'s network:
* [[TV ONE]]
* [[TV2 (New Zealand)|TV2]]
* [[TV3 (New Zealand)|TV3]]
* [[Prime Television New Zealand|Prime]]
* [[Māori Television]]
* [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Previews]]
* [[SKY Box Office (New Zealand)|SKY Box Office Pay per view guide]]
* [[C4 (TV channel)|C4]]
* [[Trinity Broadcasting Network|TBN]]
* [[Saturn Scan]]
* [[Saturn Weather]]
* [[Saturn Choose]]
* [[The Radio Network]]


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.telstraclear.co.nz/ TelstraClear's homepage]
*[http://www.franklucas.us/bio.html Frank Lucas Foundation]
*{{cite book | last = Mayme Hatcher Johnson| authorlink = Mayme Hatcher Johnson| title = Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson|edition= when |pages= 248 | publisher = Oshun Publishing Company, Inc.; First edition (February 29, 2008)| isbn= 0967602831}}
*[http://clearnet.co.nz// Clearnet's homepage]
*[http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/432807.aspx Dateline NBC] Producer describes sitting down for breakfast with Frank Lucas
*[http://www.dmzglobal.com/ DMZGlobal's homepage]
*[http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/20071105_The_real_rap_on_Bumpy.html "The real rap on Bumpy"], ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'', November 5, 2007
*Susannah Cahalan, [http://www.nypost.com/seven/11042007/news/nationalnews/ganging_up_on_movies_lies_8968.htm "Ganging up on movie's lies"], ''[[New York Post]], November 4, 2007
*[http://crimemagazine.com/07/teaneck_raid,1014-7.htm The Raid in Teaneck] - prologue to ''Superfly: The True Untold Story of Frank Lucas, American Gangster'' by Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez
*[http://www.americangangster.net/ ''American Gangster'' movie site]
*[http://www.myspace.com/franklucasmusic Frank Lucas Jr. on Myspace]
* [http://boards.blackvoices.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ti-entertainmnt&tid=214621 Frank Lucas' Daughter Speaks]
*[http://nymag.com/nymag/features/3649/ ''New York Magazine'' article]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Frank}}
{{Subscription television channels in New Zealand}}
[[Category:1930 births]]
{{CATV}}
[[Category:African American mobsters]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:American drug lords]]
[[Category:People from Greensboro, North Carolina]]


[[de:Frank Lucas (Gangster)]]
[[Category:Telecommunications companies of New Zealand]]
[[es:Frank Lucas]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1996]]
[[fr:Frank Lucas]]
[[Category:Communications in New Zealand]]
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[[Category:Companies of New Zealand]]
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[[Category:New Zealand subscription television services]]
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[[Category:New Zealand television networks]]
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Revision as of 20:23, 13 October 2008

Frank Lucas
Conviction(s)1976; sentenced to 70 years[1] but released in 1981 upon serving 5 years.[2] Convicted again in 1984[2] getting out in 1991 after he served a term of seven years.[3]
Criminal chargeDrug Dealing

Frank Lucas (born September 9, 1930[4]) is a former heroin dealer and organized crime boss in Harlem from 1969-1975. He was particularly known for cutting out middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from his source in the Golden Triangle. Frank Lucas is popularly known for smuggling heroin using the coffins of dead American servicemen,[5] a claim his Southeast Asian associate Leslie "Ike" Atkinson denies. [6]

Early life

Lucas was born in La Grange, North Carolina and raised in Greensboro.[7]

Lucas claims that the incident that sparked his motivation into the life of crime was witnessing his 12-year-old cousin's murder at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan for apparently looking at a white woman in Greensboro.[5] He drifted through a life of petty crime until one particular occasion when he engaged in a fight with a former employer and, on the advice of his mother, fled to New York.[5] In Harlem he indulged in petty crime and pool hustling before he was taken under the wing of gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson.[5] The details of his connection to Johnson have been called into question: Lucas claimed to have been Johnson's driver for 15 years, but Johnson spent only five years out of prison before his death in 1968; and according to Johnson's widow much of the narrative Lucas cites actually belongs to another young hustler named Drew "Roscoe Jones" Norris.[8] was a very important man and didn't care of all the people that die during his bussiness.

Criminal career

After Johnson's death,Frank Lucas traveled around and came to the realization that to be successful he would have to break the monopoly that the Italian mafia held in New York. Traveling to Southeast Asia, he eventually made his way to Jack's American Star Bar, an R&R hangout for black soldiers.[5] It was here that he met former U.S. Army sergeant Leslie "Ike" Atkinson, from Goldsboro, North Carolina, who happened to be married to one of Lucas' cousins, which made him as good as family. Lucas is quoted as saying, "Ike knew everyone over there, every black guy in the Army from the cooks on up".[5]

Lucas denies putting the drugs among the corpses of American soldiers. He claims instead to have flown in a North Carolina carpenter to Bangkok and:

We had him make up 28 copies of the government coffins . . . except we fixed them up with false bottoms, big enough to load up with six, maybe eight kilos... It had to be snug. You couldn't have shit sliding around. Ike was very smart, because he made sure we used heavy guys' coffins. He didn't put them in no skinny guy's..."

— Frank Lucas[5]

Atkinson, nicknamed "Sergeant Smack" by the DEA,[9] has said he shipped drugs in furniture, not caskets.[6] Whatever method he used, Lucas smuggled the drugs into the country with this direct link from Asia. Lucas said that he made US$1 million per day selling drugs on 116th Street.[5] Federal judge Sterling Johnson, who was special narcotics prosecutor in New York at the time, called Lucas' operation "one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever, an innovator who got his own connections outside the U.S. and then sold the narcotics himself in the street." He had connections with the Sicilian and Irish mobs, holding an enormous monopoly on the heroin market in Manhattan. In an interview, Lucas said, "I wanted to be rich. I wanted to be Donald Trump rich, and so help me God, I made it."[5]

Lucas only trusted relatives and close friends from North Carolina to handle his various heroin operations.[5] His heroin, sold under the street name "Blue Magic", was 100 percent pure when shipped from Thailand.[4] Lucas has been quoted as saying that his worth was "something like $52 million", most of it in Cayman Islands banks. Added to this is "maybe 1,000 keys (kilograms - 2.2046 pounds) of dope on hand" with a potential profit of no less than $300,000 per kilo.

This huge profit margin allowed him to buy property all over the country, including office buildings in Detroit and apartments in Los Angeles and Miami. He also bought a ranch of several thousand acres in North Carolina on which he ranged 300 Black Angus cows including a breeding bull worth $125,000.[5]

Lucas rubbed shoulders with the elite in entertainment, politics, and crime, meeting Howard Hughes at one of Harlem's best clubs in his day.[5] Though he owned several mink and chinchilla coats and other accessories, Lucas preferred to dress conservatively as to not attract attention to himself.[10] He fathered seven children, including a daughter, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, and a son, Frank Lucas, Jr.[11] When he was arrested in the mid-1970s, all of Lucas' assets were seized.[10]

The properties in Chicago, Detroit, Miami, North Carolina, Puerto Rico - they took everything. My lawyer told me they couldn't take the money in the offshore accounts and I had all my money stored in the Cayman Islands. But that's BS - they can take it. Take my word for it. If you got something, hide it - 'cause they can go to any bank and take it.

— Frank Lucas[10]

Arrests and releases

In January 1975, Frank Lucas' house in Teaneck, New Jersey was raided by a joint DEA/New York Police Department task force.[12] In his house authorities found $584,683.[12] He was later convicted of both federal and New Jersey state drug violations. The following year he was sentenced to 70 years in prison.[1] Once convicted, Lucas provided evidence that led to more than 100 further drug-related convictions. For his safety in 1977, Lucas and his family were placed in the witness protection program.[9] In 1981, after five years in prison, his 40-year federal term and 30-year state term were reduced to time served plus lifetime parole.[1] In 1984 he was caught and convicted of trying to exchange one ounce of heroin and $13,000 for one kilogram of cocaine.[2] He was defended by his former prosecutor, Richie Roberts, and received a sentence of seven years. He was released from prison in 1991.[3]


Family

Lucas married Julie, a homecoming queen from Puerto Rico. The two often bought expensive gifts for each other including a $125,000 coat and a matching hat for $40,000.[3] Julie was also jailed for her role in her husband's criminal enterprise, spending five years behind bars.[3] After she was released from prison they lived separately for some years, and she eventually moved back to Puerto Rico. They reconciled in 2006, and have been married for over 40 years.[3]

Lucas has a total of seven children,[10] although only one daughter, Francine, with Julie.[3] She entered the witness protection program with Lucas in 1977 and has since begun a website, Yellowbrickroads, with resources for the children of incarcerated parents.[9]

Lucas' son Frank Lucas Jr is a hip hop artist who, with his father, has launched the Frank Lucas brand.[13]

Fictional portrayals

Lucas' criminal career was the real basis of Ridley Scott's 2007 film American Gangster, which starred Denzel Washington as Lucas.

He was the basis for the main antagonist in Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "U.S. Jury Convicts Heroin Informant" (HTML). The New York Times. August 25, 1984. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  2. ^ a b c "Drug Dealer Gets New Prison Term" (HTML). The New York Times. September 11, 1984. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Janelle Oswald (2007-12-09). "THE REAL AMERICAN GANGSTER" (HTML). voice-online. Retrieved 2008-03-08. She spent five years in prison for aiding her husband's narcotic smuggling trade. Having to get used to the public life again after living like a 'ghost' since her release, the making of her partner's life on the big screen has brought back many memories, some good and some bad.
  4. ^ a b "Frank Lucas Biography" (HTML). biography. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The Return of Superfly" New York Magazine, August 14, 2000.
  6. ^ a b "Is 'American Gangster' really all that 'true'?" (HTML). CNN. 2008-01-22 -- Updated 1856 GMT. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Frank Lucas, Between Issues" Metro Magazine, November 8, 2007
  8. ^ Mayme Hatcher Johnson. Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (when ed.). Oshun Publishing Company, Inc.; First edition (February 29, 2008). p. 248. ISBN 0967602831.Pg 159, 221.
  9. ^ a b c Clarence Walker (11/5/2007). "American Gangster Myth: What's the Real Story Behind Hollywood's Portrayal of Harlem Drug Kingpin Frank Lucas?" (HTML). New Criminologist Journalist, Houston Texas. Retrieved 2008-02-24. Lucas' role as an informant was valuable enough to earn him a nice haven in the Federal Witness Protection Program. His Puerto Rican wife Julie, daughter Francine and a son were also placed in the witness protection program in 1977 after Lucas helped the law to convict other drug dealers. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b c d Jayson Rodriguez (2007-11-06PM EST). "Real 'American Gangster' Frank Lucas Talks About Hanging With Diddy's Dad, Possible Sequel" (HTML). MTV. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "BREAKFAST WITH THE REAL 'AMERICAN GANGSTER'," MSNBC
  12. ^ a b Ron Chepesiuk and Anthony Gonzalez (2007). "The Raid in Teaneck" (HTML). pub. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  13. ^ "Frank Lucas, Jr.: Son Of An American Gangster" (HTML). hiphopdx.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |llast= ignored (help)

External links

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