Howard Mason

Howard "Pappy" Mason (born September 8, 1959) is an American drug dealer and organized crime figure.

Mason ran a drug dealing gang, called the Bebos [Buder, Leonard. "Dealer Guilty Of Ordering Officer Killed", New York Times, 1989-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-12-16. ] , in the Jamaica, Queens neighborhood of New York City with his partner Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols. The gang sold drugs and netted as much as $200,000 per week in profit.

Murder of Edward Byrne

From behind bars on gun charges, Mason ordered the murder of police officer Eddie Byrne which led to increased law enforcement attention and his eventual arrest and conviction on various charges. A month after the killing of officer Byrne, Mason was sentenced to seven years in prison on gun charges. The federal government continued to investigate Mason for the Byrne killing. On December 11, 1989 Mason was convicted on federal charges including the murder of officer Byrne . After four years of legal wrangling, including questions of Mason's mental competency he was given a life sentence in 1994. In 1990 his mother was given a ten year prison term for drug trafficking. She was released in 1998.

Mason is serving his life sentence at the notorious ADX Florence supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

References

*cite news| last =Buder| first =Leonard| coauthors =| title =Dealer Guilty Of Ordering Officer Killed | work =| pages =| language =| publisher =New York Times| date =1989-12-12| url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DF173BF931A25751C1A96F948260| accessdate =2007-12-16
*cite news| last =Fried| first =Joseph P.| coauthors =| title =Drug Dealer Is Sentenced to Life For Ordering Killing of Officer| work =| pages =| language =| publisher =New York Times| date =1994-01-09| url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DF1431F93AA35752C0A962958260| accessdate =2007-12-16