Former DEA Agents Sue Over “American Gangster”

DEA agents have filed a class action defamation suit against NBC Universal alleging defamation in the Denzel Washington film American Gangster.  The film (which I have not seen), while primarily a work of fiction, is admittedly based on actual events in the drug wars in New York.  The movie’s ending is primarily what the agents object to:

As the final credits roll on the flick starring Denzel Washington asHarlem drug thug Frank Lucas, a screen appears that statesthree-quarters of the drug enforcement agents assigned to New York wereconvicted as a result of Lucas’ cooperation with “outcast cop” RichieRoberts, portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie.

There were no such convictions, Drug Enforcement Administrationofficials told ABC News. But the agency had no immediate reaction whentold of the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction against further distribution and monetary damages.

–BC