DEA Agents Claim 'American Gangster' Movie Defamed Them
Three officers who once worked at the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York claim in a lawsuit that they were defamed by American Gangster, the film about a Harlem drug dealer starring Denzel Washington.
The suit takes issue with the movie postscript, which stated that three-quarters of the agents who served with the New York DEA over a 12-year period were convicted because of the cooperation of the drug dealer, Frank Lucas. In fact, the suit says, no DEA agents were prosecuted, the New York Times reports.
The agents also dispute the movie’s portrayal of their search of Lucas’ house. Agents did not beat Lucas’ wife, steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from him, or shoot his dog, according to the lawsuit, filed in New York federal court.
NBC Universal studios spokesman Michael Moses said the film did not defame the agents.
