That name was once as notorious as any in New York City and beyond. Because of his new guise, his death, in an unidentified place, was never reported under the name Leroy Nicholas Barnes. Barnes’ daughters had also been given new identities under the program. Marshals Service declines to provide information on individuals in the witness protection program. She also said she and her sister may write a memoir about growing up as the daughters of a notorious criminal. Our dad was very private and we wanted to respect that.” “It still remains a sensitive topic given all that occurred. “My sister and I have kept his passing private and have not released it publicly,” his daughter wrote in an email. Last June, one of his daughters and a former prosecutor, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that Barnes had died of cancer in 2012. The new Nicky Barnes promptly submerged himself so thoroughly in mainstream America that barely anyone beyond his immediate family knew his new name, his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.īut now it can be said that Nicky Barnes is definitely not around anymore, in any form. Moreover, he was in fact no longer Nicky Barnes, not even by name.Ĭonvicted in 1977 and imprisoned for more than two decades, he ultimately testified against his former associates, ensuring their convictions, and was released into the federal witness protection program under a new identity.

Hers to Protect by Nicky F. Grant