McGregor Gully, East Kingston, Jamaica. A place where poverty and politics collided, where violence was currency, and where dreams were either crushed or transformed into empires built on blood and cocaine. In the late 1970s, one man rose from these unforgiving streets to become what many would later call the Jamaican El Chapo.
A man so powerful, so ruthless, and so calculated that his crew would generate over $100 million in five years and send over 400 guns back to Jamaica to arm an entire political movement. Today we trace the rise and fall of Eric Vasel, known to the world as Chiny Man or Brooklyn Barry, the richest drug dawn of the 1980s, whose empire stretched from the cramped tenementss of Brooklyn to the sprawling streets of Dallas, Texas.
His journey from selling little bags of weed on a Kingston corner to commanding an army of killers and distributors is a story of ambition, violence, loyalty, and ultimately betrayal. To understand the monster he became and the empire he built, we must walk through the blood soaked streets where it all began. Eric Vassel wasn’t born into wealth or privilege.
He came from McGregor Gully, one of the most violent infested communities in East Kingston, a place where survival meant choosing sides and where political allegiances could mean the difference between life and death. Born around 1959, Vasel grew up watching the endless cycle of gang warfare between his community and rivals like Dunkirk and Jacis Road.
But young Eric had ambition that went beyond the territorial battles of Kingston. He started at the bottom, doing odd jobs to survive, then moved into the drug trade the only way anyone could small. He sold little bags of weed on the corner, watching, learning, understanding the game. As his reputation grew, so did his operation.
He upgraded from bags to ounces, then from ounces to pounds. By the late 1970s, he had moved into something far more profitable and far more dangerous. Heroine. This wasn’t just about making money anymore. This was about building an empire. And Eric Vel, the young hustler from McGregor Gully, knew exactly where that empire needed to be built. America.
In the late 1970s, Eric Vassel arrived in New York City. The story goes that when he stepped off that plane and saw the big buildings and city lights for the first time, something clicked in his mind. This was the place he was meant to be. This was where he would turn the city upside down. He settled in Brooklyn, specifically Crown Heights, an area that would become the nerve center of his operation.
But Vel didn’t just come to America to be another street dealer. He came with a vision, with connections back home, and with a ruthlessness that would soon become legendary. He founded what would become known as the Gullyman Posi around 1979, starting as a marijuana distribution operation that would explode into something far bigger as the 1980s crack epidemic took hold of America.
Vassel was strategic. He didn’t just sell drugs, he built infrastructure. He established a video storefront called Alenratz, also known as Krat and Als at 203 connected the Avenue in Brooklyn. On the surface, it looked like a legitimate business. In reality, it was the headquarters of a growing criminal empire.
Nearby, the Crown Heights Domino and Soccer Association served as another front for his operations. These weren’t just covers. They were community gathering places where Vasel built loyalty and respect among the people who would become his soldiers and his protectors. By the early 1980s, Eric Vasel had transformed from a smalltime dealer into a major player in the New York drug trade.
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He was dealing heroin wholesale across Brooklyn, moving weight that most street dealers could only dream of. His operation was sophisticated. He bought apartment buildings throughout Crown Heights, on Long Island, in Hemstead, and in New Jersey. These weren’t just investments. They were strategic assets. Buildings where drugs could be stored, cut, packaged, and sold.
Buildings where money could be laundered through dummy corporations. he established specifically for that purpose. One building in particular became infamous, the 247 house. This Brooklyn apartment building operated exactly as its name suggested, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. Drugs were sold from this location.
It became a symbol of Vassel’s reach and his crew’s dedication to the grind. The money was flowing in faster than they could count it. Government estimates would later reveal that the Gullyman Posi generated more than $100 million in profits over just a 5-year period. But with that kind of money came paranoia, and with paranoia came violence.
Eric Vasel understood that an empire built on drugs needed protection. And protection meant guns and men willing to use them. He began bringing trusted soldiers from Jamaica, sometimes flying in 30 men at a time. These weren’t just random recruits. These were men from McGregor Gully who had grown up in the same violence, who understood the code, who could be trusted.
Among them were two brothers who would become his most feared enforcers ever which was short for Everett and Fitzy short for Fitzroy came from a large family in McGregor Gully about eight brothers in total from the Reed family. These weren’t just bodyguards. These were executioners. Everett carried two Yuzi E under his jacket fully loaded plus a hand grenade for good measure.
Fitzy was even more terrifying in his methods. He was ruthless with machetes, what Jamaicans call a cutless. He had a signature move that became the stuff of nightmares in the streets. He would shave his own face in front of his victims, taking his time, letting them watch. Then he would use that same blade to shave them, to dismember them, to make an example that would echo through the community.
This wasn’t just murder. This was psychological warfare designed to instill absolute terror in anyone who might consider crossing the Gllymen. But the most trusted man in Vassel’s inner circle wasn’t a killer. He was a civilian, a regular guy from back home who became Vassel’s right-hand man. His name was Muggler, though some called him Muggler or Father Maggler.
This man’s loyalty was absolute. In a world where everyone had an angle, where betrayal was common, Muggler remained faithful. He had tried multiple times to enter the United States, being turned back at the airport repeatedly due to deportation issues, but eventually he made it through.
Once in New York, Vel elevated him to a position of power, making him his accountant and second in command. This caused resentment among some of the other crew members who felt Muggler hadn’t put in work or gotten his hands dirty like they had. But Vel trusted him completely. And in their world, that trust was more valuable than any amount of violence.
Muggler handled the money, kept the books, and became the business mind behind the operation, while Vassel remained the strategic leader, and Everett and Fitzy handled enforcement. As the mid1 1980s arrived, so did crack cocaine and Eric Vassel was perfectly positioned to capitalize on it. The crack epidemic exploded across American cities and the Gullyman Posi was at the forefront of this wave.
Vascel’s crew was cooking and selling massive quantities. They were moving a whole key, which means a kilogram, every single day out of their operations. The money became almost unimaginable. Vassel lived lavishly. He had houses all over Jamaica, funded by his drug profits. He bought properties throughout New York. He was called the lord of the bricks, a reference to the kilogram blocks of cocaine he control.
He even had connections to the Italian mafia, moving in circles that few black drug dealers of that era could access. But Vasel never forgot where he came from. Back in McGregor Gully, he was a hero. He spoiled his community, buying up Easter bun and cheese across Jamaica to distribute to his people. He sent money, goods, and protection back home.
There are stories of him providing big bikes to escort kids to school safely. He fed poor people, funded schools, bought clothes and shoes. The people of McGregor Gully loved the Gullyman crew, and the crew loved their community right back. This loyalty would prove crucial in the years to come.
Vascel’s operation wasn’t content to stay in New York. In the mid to late 1980s, he expanded to Dallas, Texas, setting up a franchise model that was brilliantly ruthless in its efficiency. The system worked like this. Vassel would supply keys to street dealers in both New York and Dallas. These dealers would pay him a tax, a percentage of their earnings, for the privilege of selling his product.
To facilitate the Texas operation, the crew rented up to 100 cars at a time. They would lure drivers, often women, with drugs and money to transport cocaine from Brooklyn to Dallas. Once in Dallas, the crew would sell the drugs, use the proceeds to buy guns, then drive back to New York with weapons that would be used to protect and expand the operation.
Some of those guns never made it to New York. Instead, they were shipped back to Jamaica, hidden inside television sets. Over the course of the operation, Vasil sent more than 400 guns back to his homeland. These weapons weren’t just for protection. They were called vote getters.
Vassel had ties to the ruling people’s national party, the PNP, and these guns were used to support the party’s political activities, to intimidate rivals, and to maintain control during election seasons. Whenever major events occurred in Jamaica, Vassel allegedly sent gunshipments. This made him not just a drug lord but a political force.
Someone who could influence the direction of his country from thousands of miles away. But with expansion came conflict and conflict in the drug trade meant bodies. The Gullyman Posi carried out at least 10 murders on Eric Vassel’s orders according to FBI estimates though the real number was likely much higher.
Some sources suggest the crew was involved in over 50 killings. These weren’t random acts of violence. They were calculated moves to eliminate rivals, punish disloyalty, and maintain absolute control over their territory. The crew operated a location they called the White House, where rivals were taken to be tortured and murdered.
Many killings happened in hallways of the apartment buildings they controlled. quick executions to enforce discipline within the organization. Vassel’s rules were absolute in his territory. Possessing even a single weed seed without his permission could lead to execution. This zero tolerance policy ensured that no one operated in his area without paying tribute.
In 1984, Vassel ordered one of his most audacious hits. his own landlord was murdered in a gangland style killing. The reason was simple but telling about Vasel’s mindset. The landlord had called the police on minor issues, drawing unwanted attention to properties Vasel was using for his operation. That kind of heat couldn’t be tolerated. The landlord had to go.
Another building owner met the same fate when Vassel decided he wanted that building for his drug operations. If someone stood in the way of the empire, they were removed permanently. On April 7th, 1989, the violence reached Dallas in a significant way. A rival dealer named Harry Spence was operating in territory the Gullymen considered theirs.
This territorial dispute over crack cocaine operations couldn’t stand. Vassels sent his associate Paul A. more along with another gang member to handle the problem. Harry Spence was murdered that day. A message sent to anyone else in Dallas who might consider challenging the Gullyman’s dominance. This killing would later be detailed in federal court documents, specifically in the United States versus Vassel case before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The murder demonstrated that Vassel’s reach extended far beyond Brooklyn, that his crew could and would eliminate threats anywhere their operation existed. Another target was a man named Cedric Miller. Vassel ordered his killing because Miller was affiliated with the Jamaica Labor Party, the JLP, which was the rival political party to Vassel’s PNP connections.
In Vassel’s mind, political enemies were business enemies, and business enemies had to be eliminated. The assassination attempt was carried out, though unlike many of Vassel’s other targets, Miller survived the attack. This rare failure didn’t diminish the message, crossing Eric Vasel, whether in business or politics, came with potentially fatal consequences.
Back in Jamaica, the rivalry between McGregor Gully and neighboring areas like Dunkirk continued to escalate. One particular incident stands out as an example of the cycle of violence that defined those streets. A man named Tony Pickkins from Dunkirk along with associate including someone known as Stickman launched an attack on Vassil’s people.
During this assault, the gunman fired indiscriminately into the community. A little girl was killed in the crossfire. A man named Meyers was shot in the foot, crippling him for life. The community was devastated, but the response from Vel and the Gullymen was swift and brutal. What followed was described as a big retaliation, a real horror show.
The crew, now with even more guns and money flowing in from their American operation, struck back with overwhelming force. During one shootout, Vasel himself was nearly cornered by rivals, but managed an incredible escape. He ran through yards, scaling five zinc fences to get away from his pursuers. This kind of closed Carl only added to his legend in the streets.
The man who couldn’t be caught, who couldn’t be killed, who always stayed one step ahead. As Vasel’s power grew, so did the attention from law enforcement. The FBI and DEA had been building a case against the Gullyman Posi for years. By 1990, they had enough. The investigation was led by the FBI with spokesman James Fox at the forefront, working closely with US Attorney for Brooklyn, Andrew J.
Maloney. The government had assembled a massive racketeering case under Rico statutes, charging Vasel and his organization with drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, and obtaining fraudulent passports and green cards. The indictment named 18 people in total. On a Thursday night, continuing into early Friday morning, federal agents launched coordinated raids across multiple states.
They hit locations in Brooklyn, Long Island, Albany, and Dallas. When the dust settled, 17 people had been arrested. Four were taken into custody in Dallas. Two were arrested in Albany. The rest were rounded up in the New York area. But Eric Vasel, the head of the entire operation, wasn’t among them.
He had somehow gotten wind of the raids and managed to escape. Federal agents seized more than $150,000 in cash during the raids. They confiscated 15 guns, including submachine guns. They took control of six buildings that Vasel owned, properties worth far more than the cash they found. But without Vasel himself, the case felt incomplete.
Authorities believed he was still in the New York area, hiding, planning his next move. They were wrong. Eric Vel had fled to Jamaica, returning to the place where it all began. For the next 2 years, he lived as a fugitive in his homeland, but he didn’t live in hiding like most wanted men. He was protected around the clock by armed guards, making any attempt to capture him extremely dangerous.
His lifestyle remained lavish, even as a fugitive. At one point, the television show America’s Most Wanted allegedly filmed him secretly and was amazed by the life he continued to lead despite being one of the FBI’s most wanted. But being constantly guarded, constantly watching over his shoulder began to wear on him. The man who had once arrived in New York with dreams of turning the city upside down was now exhausted, tired of running, tired of the paranoia.
In 1994, Jamaican authorities finally moved on him. Likely tipped off by someone looking to collect the substantial reward offered for his capture. Eric Vassel was arrested in Jamaica after 2 years on the run, but his legal battle was far from over. Vassel fought his extradition to the United States for three long years using every legal maneuver available to him.
He had resources, he had lawyers, and he had no desire to face American justice where he knew the sentences would be severe. But in 1997, he lost his fight. Eric Vasel was extradited to the United States to face the federal charges that had been waiting for him since 1990. The case against him was overwhelming.
The government had witnesses. They had financial records. They had bodies facing potential life sentences on multiple counts, including murder, raketeering, drug trafficking, and money laundering. Vasel made a decision that would define the rest of his life. He accepted a plea deal. Rather than go to trial and risk spending the rest of his life in prison, he pleaded guilty to the charges.
The sentence was 30 to 36 years in federal prison. A massive amount of time, but less than life. What’s notable about Vassel’s time in prison is what he didn’t do. He didn’t cooperate. He didn’t snitch. He didn’t give up his organization or his associates to reduce his sentence. In the criminal world, this adherence to the court earned him respect even from behind bars.
While Vasel was locked away, the fate of those closest to him played out in various ways. his most loyal friend, Muggler, the civilian who had been elevated to second in command. The man who handled the money and stayed faithful when everyone else turned their backs, made his own choice about cooperation. According to reports, rather than become an informant, Muggler hanged himself in prison.
His loyalty to Vasel and to the code extended even to his own death. This act cemented his legacy in the streets as someone who stayed true to the end. The fate of others in the organization was less honorable. Many of Vasel’s employees, people he had treated badly over the years, chose a different path. They became FBI witnesses. They cooperated with the government.
They testified against the organization in exchange for reduced sentences. This pattern of betrayal wasn’t surprising to anyone who understood the streets. Vassel had been ruthless in his leadership. And while that ruthlessness built an empire, it also created a long list of people who felt they owed him nothing when facing their own prison time.
Everett and Fitzroy, the killer brothers who had been Vasel’s most feared enforcers, met different ends. Fitzy, the man who had terrorized victims with his machete rituals, was eventually shot dead outside Club Dynasty on Utica Avenue. He was sitting in a new Lexus when gunmen approached and ended his life. Whether this was retaliation from old enemies or part of new conflicts, the streets never fully revealed, but it was a violent end for a man who had lived by violence.
The woman who had helped Vel escape Jamaica initially, the master fraudster known as Mrs. Anglen or the visa lady who altered passports by steaming out pictures and replacing them was also gunned down. The circumstances of her death suggest it may have been connected to the crew’s reckless actions or her failure in some duty, though the exact details remain murky.
What’s clear is that very few people who were deeply involved in the Gullyman Paci escaped unscathed. Death, prison, or deportation awaited most of them. The legacy of Eric Chinese man vassel is complicated and sits at the
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
