I was on top of the world, meeting and getting to know famous people, before I was arrested for being a serial bank robber. What man in the criminal world would pass up the chance to party with, and get to know Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Lil Wayne, and other A-list celebrities and TV personalities? I’m not talking about paying $20-100 to get into a club, and catch a glimpse of them from a distance. I’m talking about being in the VIP areas, popping bottles, trading numbers, and talking to them face to face. A good life.
Rubbing elbows with the elite and rich. Most drug dealers/criminals don’t make it in the game long enough to enjoy that type of life, but I did. The majority are either running from the police, getting arrested, coming to jail, or worse: getting killed in the streets. Most criminals are fighting for the top spot, the celebrity lifestyle. Tax-free money, come and go as you please, buy what you want, and not have a care in the world. If a criminal is good at what he does, he will be known as a “hood celebrity”.
All sides of town from north, south, east, and west will be talking about him: in beauty salons, barbershops, night clubs, and in a lot of females’ mouths. Don’t let this hood celebrity be attractive. It’s even worse. For me, I have always been popular. Once I started getting fast money, I made it my business to be at the top parties and events in Ohio and surrounding areas. I made sure my wealth was on my neck, wrists, ears, fingers, in my choice of clothing, and in the cars I drove.
I was used to the stares from women, as I was 6’4”, 240 lbs., single with no children, had smooth brown skin, white teeth waves in my hair, was smart, and rumored I had a mean stroke behind closed doors. Add money to that profile, and it was like attracting bees to honey. I was a man who learned early in life that relationships don’t last forever when you are in the game, so have as much fun as you can while it lasts. I enjoyed the finest and sexiest women that Ohio, and many other states, had to offer.
I also understood the following at an early age: “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
I surrounded myself with top drugs dealers, criminals, and people who made things happen: musicians, actors, lawyers, doctors, and celebrity women. I can’t name names as a real man never tells. But I’m sure you have seen women I have dated in movies, on TV, and in videos. With all that said, it’s also one of the saddest lives to live. People are your friend for all the wrong reasons: for what you have, who you know, and what you can do for them. Women are trying to trap you with a baby by poking holes in condoms – trying to set you up to be robbed by their male friends, and people are plotting to harm you, rob you, or at worst, kill you: all over being jealous, and wanting your material possessions and money!
Once you have experienced that type of life, you’re lucky to live through it. You soon realize God has a better plan for your life and for you. It’s 2023, and it’s getting worse and worse, as I’m seeing more and more younger and older black and brown men still wanting that hood celebrity lifestyle, risking their lives, and freedom, and coming to prison to see me. Selling drugs and breaking the law is the worst thing that someone can do. When you have spent close to 21 years of your life in federal prison like I have, you truly see that your life is priceless. Life is not promised to anybody. Breaking the law not only puts you in prison, it destroys the lives of your family and loved ones, and tears down your community. Chasing the fast life makes you become a fool, and you forget that what goes up must come down!
Advocate / Mentor
Leonard E. Love