Howard "Pappy" Mason (born September 8, 1959) is an American drug trafficker and organized crime figure. Mason and his partner, Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, ran a drug smuggling gang called the Bebos, in the Jamaica, Queens neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The gang sold drugs and netted as much as $200,000 per month in profit.

Murder of Edward Byrne

From behind bars on gun charges, Mason ordered the 1988 murder of a police officer, Edward Byrne, which led to increased law enforcement attention and Mason's eventual arrest and conviction on various charges. A month after the killing, Mason was sentenced to seven years in prison on gun charges. The federal government continued to investigate Mason for the Byrne killing. On December 11, 1989, Mason was convicted on federal charges including the murder of Officer Byrne. After four years of legal wrangling, including questions of Mason's mental competency, he was given a life sentence in 1994. Mason began serving his life sentence at

ADX Florence The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pri ...

supermax facility, in

Florence, Colorado The City of Florence is a Statutory City located in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,822 at the 2020 United States Census. Florence is a part of the Cañon City, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area and the Front ...

and was subsequently transferred around 2015 to

USP Allenwood The United States Penitentiary, Allenwood (USP Allenwood) is a Incarceration in the United States#Security levels, high security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania. It is part of the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Allenwood) ...

. In 1990, Mason's mother, Claudia Mason, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking after she continued to run his crack business while he was in prison. She was released on 27 March, 1998. Her BOP Register Number was 24652-053.

Popular culture

;Music Rapper

Cormega Cory McKay (born December 3, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an American rapper who attained notice when he was shouted out by Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed 1994 album ''Illmatic''. The album was re ...

references Mason in the song ''Therapy'', "I rep NYC with no kingly aspiration, my feet stand on pavement once felt by Pappy Mason".

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

mentions Mason in several albums, including: *His debut album ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Re ...

'' (1994). In the single " The World Is Yours", Nas rhymes: "The mind activation, react like I'm facing time like 'Pappy' Mason with pens I'm embracing." Track #4 (0:38-0:43). *In his album '' God's Son'' (2002). In the single "Get Down", Nas rhymes: "New York streets where killers'll walk like Pistol Pete And 'Pappy' Mason, gave the young boys admiration." *In his album ''

Street's Disciple ''Street's Disciple'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released as a double album by Columbia Records. Originally scheduled for a September 14, 2004 release, the album was ultimately released on November 30, 2004. Named after on ...

'' (2004), in the single, " Just A Moment". 50 Cent brings up Mason in multiple songs: * Mason, as well as

Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff (born September 19, 1960) is an American convicted former drug lord and gangster from New York City. Background McGriff rose to prominence in early 1981 when he formed his own crack cocaine distributing and manufacturing ...

, are referenced directly in 50 Cent's "

Ghetto Qu'ran (Forgive Me) "Ghetto Qur'an" is a song by 50 Cent from his unreleased Columbia Records debut album ''Power of the Dollar''. The song was leaked in early 2000. The song mentions drug dealers from the 1980s in his neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens. "Ghett ...

", which leaked in 2000 from his unreleased Columbia Records debut album ''

Power of the Dollar ''Power of the Dollar'' is the unreleased debut studio album by American rapper 50 Cent. Originally set to be released as his major-label debut in 2000 by Columbia Records, the album's release was cancelled after Columbia discovered that 50 Cen ...

'', in the lyric: "I used to idolize (fat) cat Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, Hurt me in my heart to hear that nigga snitched on Pap (Howard "Pappy" Mason), how he go out like that?" * "I Don't Need Em", off the album ''

The Massacre ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (2005). Mason is referenced in Jay-Z &

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

's ''Best of Both Worlds Album'', on track 1: " The combination of Pappy Mason and Larry Davis, Martin and Malcolm this is bigger than the Album." He is mentioned in a single "Bomba" (translated in English as "Bomb") by the Serbian rapper Struka, who rhymes: "If hip-hop was horror movie I would be Jason, legend in hood like in Queens Pappy Mason" (translated to English from the original: "...Da je hip hop horor film ja bih bio Džejson, Legenda u kraju k'o u Kvinsu Pepi Mejson"). He is mentioned by

Booba Élie Yaffa (; born 9 December 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a critically a ...

, a French rapper living in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, in the song "Call of bitume" featuring Rim-K, another French rapper. "RG (French private espionage agency) are stalking me anywhere I am from Miami to

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...

, no more surprised, I'm determinated like Pappy Mason". On October 19, 2012, XV released his anticipated mixtape ''Squarians Vol. 1''. On the song "A Situation", Mason is also mentioned: "I'm in the lane with a dime that I'm penetrating, and her cat is real fat, yeah, Pappy Mason." He is referenced by

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

in his 2013 BET Cypher verse. ;Television In the ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...

'' episode "Manifest", Shades mentions that Mason and former Mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

were acquaintances of "Momma" Mabel Stokes'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Howard 1959 births Living people Gang members People from Queens, New York African-American gangsters American gangsters American drug traffickers American crime bosses American people convicted of murdering police officers Place of birth missing (living people) American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by the United States federal government Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government Inmates of ADX Florence Criminals from Queens, New York Gangsters from New York City 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people