conviction_status death_place death_date conviction birth_place birth_date article_title name occupation
deceased kingston , jamaica 21 march 2010 drug trafficking and smuggling , racketeering tivoli gardens , kingston , jamaica 11 may 1956 vivian blake
 vivian blake former leader of the shower posse
vivian blake

vivian blake -lrb- 11 may 1956 -- 21 march 2010 -rrb- was a jamaican drug kingpin who founded and operated the american operations of the jamaican shower posse .
blake was born to a poor family in west kingston , but was granted a scholarship to a private high school , st. george 's college .
he moved to new york in 1973 , where he started distributing marijuana and cocaine , eventually expanding his network nationwide .
according to new york daily news columnist patrice o'shaughnessy , in a column printed on 30 march 2010 , blake is credited with the dubious distinction of being `` one of the creators of crack . ''
during the 1980s , also according to o'shaughnessy , blake was responsible for flooding bronx neighborhoods such as soundview , crotona park and bronx river with tons of cocaine and crack cocaine .
blake and other gang members were charged in a multiple killing in miami , but he escaped apprehension by traveling to jamaica .
after later charges were added , he was extradited to the united states in 1999 .
in 2000 , he pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering and conspiracy , and admitted to his role in the gang .
he was sentenced to 28 years , but was released on parole after eight .
after being released from prison , blake returned to jamaica .
blake died on 21 march 2010 at the age of 53 after being admitted to university hospital of the west indies for a heart attack .
at the time of his death , he was suffering from kidney disease and undergoing dialysis .
