Norman "Lechero" St. John

Infobox Prison Break character|
name = Norman St. John


imagesize = 250px
first appearance = Orientación
first appearance num = S3E01
last appearance = The Art of the Deal
last appearance num = S3E13
season = 3Episode Count = 13
portrayer = Robert Wisdom
alias = Lechero
occupation = Drug Dealer
family = Three sons, two daughters, Augusto (cousin)
relationships = Wife

Lechero is a fictional character from the American television series "Prison Break". He is played by Robert Wisdom. The character was introduced to the series as a regular in the premiere episode of the third season of the series. He is a former drug lord and was the ruler of Sona.

Background

Lechero was born Norman St. John, his mother was a servant of a wealthy landowner. When Norman was 13, his mother was raped by her employer. Because of the employer's considerable wealth, he managed to avoid prosecution for the crime. Angered by this, Norman disguised himself as a "lechero", or milkman, and personally killed the landowner. As an adult, he would grow to control a powerful crime syndicate operating in Panama. As explained by General Zavala in the episode "Boxed In", Lechero would kill anyone who got in the way, even policemen and judges. Eventually his rule crumbled and he was sentenced to life without parole. He would quickly sway the inmates to his side and engineered a riot that drove the guards out of the prison. Since then Lechero has ruled Sona, and has instituted a tight regime over the inmates. Lechero has a wife on the outside, and has three sons and two daughters with her (as revealed in the episode Vámonos).

Appearances

eason 3

Lechero is the kingpin of Sona prison and is at the top of the prison hierarchy, he is first seen in Orientacion, where he is seen to have a TV, a cell phone and has smuggled a woman into Sona dressed as a nun. In this episode, he initiates Michael Scofield and Alexander Mahone into Sona before setting Michael up in a fight with another prisoner. During the orientacion, Lechero immediately makes it clear that he's one of the few people in Sona who is fully aware of Michael's ventures as a fugitive from the United States-with the others being Mahone and Bellick, T-Bag, and eventually, James Whistler, wanted and hunted down for breaking out of a maximum-security prison, and repeatedly eluding government authorities all the way to Panama right before his incarceration at Sona; which may have prompt Lechero to assume that Michael was someone of great notoriety, and must be why he set Michael in the first place, to see if the rumors and all that he's heard from the media regarding Scofield were true. He also allies with T-Bag in this episode.

In Fire/Water, an uprising against Lechero begins to show as his Henchman Sammy knocks over a barrel containing the water supply of Sona. Michael resolves this under the conditions that the bounty on Whistler's head be removed, ensuring his safety.

In Call Waiting, McGrady tells Michael that Lechero is the only person in Sona who has a cell phone. Michael then manipulates T-Bag into stealing the phone so he can contact Sara Tancredi with it. At the end of the episode, T-Bag lies to Lechero to protect himself and Michael, he tells him that his cronies are arranging an uprising against him, T-Bag's manipulation succeeds and Lechero requests that T-Bag spy on the other cronies for him.

In Good Fences, Lechero gets in trouble when the electrical system in the prison stops functioning. Remembering that Michael is an engineer, he quickly enlists Michael's help to fix the system, in exchange for a new cell in the prison block. He is later approached by Bellick, who warns him that Michael cannot be trusted and that he will trick Lechero as he tricked Bellick. At first Lechero is skeptical but then he decides to see for himself, and when Michael successfully outwits him and repairs the prison's electrical system, his trust in Michael is solidified. He later punishes Bellick for the bad information by scalding him with hot coffee. In Photo Finish Lechero slits Cheo for taking tribute from Augusto (It was actually Sammy). In Vamonos after Michael's failed escape, Lechero informs him that he will break out of prison, but with one catch--he must take Lechero with him. In the following episode Bang & Burn, Lechero reveals an underground tunnel which they can use to escape. in the episode Hell or High Water Lechero is shot by the guards during the Sona Escape. In the following episode The Art of the Deal T-Bag and Bellick come to Lechero's aid. T-Bag tells Lechero that the guards will let them go for 50,000 dollars. Lechero calls his girlfriend who brings T-Bag the money. After getting the money T-Bag takes his place as the leader of Sona by suffocating Lechero with a pillow while Bellick stands by and watches in terror. After T-bag removes the pillow from Lecheros face, the camara zooms in on his hand, in which it moves up very slightly, possibly hinting that Lechero could still be alive. It is assumed he eventually dies when Sona is burnt down as a result of the prisoners' riot, as mentioned by Lincoln to have happened three weeks after Michael escaped. If this is so, Lechero is the third main character (rather than fifth) to be killed off in the series after Veronica Donovan and John Abruzzi (since Paul Kellerman's death is an uncertainty and Sara Tancredi is in fact still alive).

Characteristics

Lechero is portrayed as ruthless and violent. When an inmate almost succeeds in overthrowing him, Lechero drowns the man in a bucket of water. He later coldly slits the throat of one of his own henchmen. He is also prone to sudden outbursts of anger caused by his suspicious and somewhat paranoid personality, as is evident when he lashes out at Nieves, his underling in charge of selling drugs, and accuses the man of stealing from him. He trusts no one, including his closest men. He does, however, love his wife and children very much and feels fiercely protective of them.