Criminal History
Julianna’s husband, Frank Lucas, was arrested in 1975 at his New Jersey home. The authorities seized more than $500,000 owned by Lucas. He was then convicted and sentenced 40 years of imprisonment. In the same case, Julianna was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment.
On May 20, 2010, Julianna was arrested after she tried to sell 2 kg of cocaine at a hotel in Puerto Rico. She was presented in court. At the court, she did not say anything but requested the judge to speak in Spanish. Julianna was accused of conspiring to violate the narcotics law. During the investigation process, a previously recorded conversation was produced. The tape featured Julianna allegedly telling an under-cover informer about the cocaine that she had in her possession. She also mentioned another suspect who had an additional 8 kg of cocaine for their prospective buyers.
On May 19, 2010, Julianna allegedly met an informer in a hotel room in the 'Isla Verde' area to sell the drugs she had with her. She was caught red-handed by the agents of the 'Drug Enforcement Administration' (DEA) and was subsequently arrested. Julianna had been under the surveillance of the federal agents in New York since February 2009.
In February 2012, Manhattan federal court justice Laura Taylor sentenced Julianna to 5 years of imprisonment.
Controversy
Julianna and Lucas often exchanged expensive gifts. One of Lucas’s most prized possessions was a floor-length chinchilla coat with a matching hat.
Lucas once attended a Muhammad Ali boxing match in Atlanta in 1970, wearing a suit, but noticed that a lot of moderately successful drug dealers were dressed in expensive fur. He then ordered an expensive chinchilla coat and a matching hat to flaunt his wealth and power, but this led to a lot of trouble later. The movie ‘American Gangster,’ however, hinted that the coat and the hat were gifted to Lucas by his wife. It is said that the coat cost $100,000 and the hat was worth $25,000.
Personal Life
Julianna was the “homecoming queen” from Puerto Rico. However, ‘American Gangster’ portrayed Julianna (‘Eva’ in the movie) as a former 'Miss Puerto Rico.' A research carried out later revealed that she had never appeared on the 'Miss Puerto Rico' winners list. Lucas had met Julianna while he was on a trip to Puerto Rico.
Julianna once revealed in an interview that she had always been attracted to danger. She boldly admitted to value money and materialistic things in her life.
After completing her 5-year-long sentence in 1975, Julianna began living separately from Lucas. A few years later, she and Lucas moved back together in Puerto Rico. They have seven children, including a daughter, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, and a son, Frank Lucas, Jr. Francine joined the witness protection program with Lucas in 1977. The incident brought instability in her life, which continued for several years. She was just 3 years old when the raid took place. After the raid, Julianna was sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment for hindering the raid. She was accused of throwing suitcases filled with money out of the bathroom window during the raid. She had also stuffed currency into Francine's pants in an attempt to help Lucas.
After Julianna was released from prison, she took Francine to Puerto Rico, where she lived with her parents. When Francine turned 9, Lucas was also released and the three of them returned to New Jersey. However, Lucas once again started dealing in drugs. Francine once went on a trip to Las Vegas with Julianna. She then had no idea that Julianna was there to help Lucas in drug-dealing. The 'Federal Bureau of Investigation' (FBI) caught Julianna in the process and arrested her. She served 4.5 years in prison.
The incident had a huge impact on Francine’s mind, which led her to launch 'Yellow Brick Road,' a website that provides resources to the children of imprisoned parents. Julianna and Lucas are still together and live in New Jersey. When Lucas was last arrested, she pleaded with the authorities to have her husband released, so that she could be with Lucas for the rest of his life.
