Original Blog Entry: Cocaine kingpin so obsessed with Scarface he put his face on the poster

truesee — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:57:08 GMT

Busted Harlem cocaine kingpin so obsessed with 'Scarface,' he put his face on the film poster

Melissa Grace

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Friday, June 17th 2011, 3:53 PM

Updated: Friday, June 17th 2011, 6:16 PM

Jefferson Siegel for News

Ceferino Papo Perez, 45, had his face superimposed on a photo of the actor

Al Pacino from the movie, Scarface.

A major East Harlem cocaine kingpin is a wannabe Scarface, cops say.

Ceferino (Papo) Perez was so obsessed with Al Pacino's portrayal of violent drug boss Tony Montana in the hit 1983 movie that he superimposed his face over the actor's in a movie poster - and kept it on his bed stand.

He's very proud of what he's doing, obviously, and he's quite arrogant and narcissistic, NYPD Inspector Lori Pollock said when asked why Perez photo shopped the picture.

Cops seized the photo, pounds and pounds of diamond-incrusted bling and mountains of cash from his Yonkers apartment and elsewhere.

This is his business, this is what he's been doing his entire life, the cop said.

Al Pacino in the same scene from the film Scarface that busted drug kingpin Ceferino (Papo) Perez doctored with his own face.

Authorities say that for 25 years Perez has operated a well-oiled $650,000-a-year cocaine delivery service on Manhattan's East side and a $1.1 million-a-year wholesale business.

Prosecutors invoked the 2009 drug kingpin statute against Perez, 45, who is being held on Rikers Island. The statute, used against major drug traffickers, carries a sentence of 25-to-life.

The 15-month probe took off after several suspects, some in jail, offered up enough evidence to get court-ordered wiretaps.

Cops zeroed in on Perez and two other accused drug lords, Nelson Rejab, 43, and German (Mouse) Torres, 37, who also were busted on the top charge.

This \[investigation\] brought down an entire, notorious drug operation, whose kingpin was so well-insulated that for years he was virtually untouchable, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance told reporters.

Vance said Perez's business accounted for one-third of all the cocaine supply in East Harlem. He said the gang's delivery service operated like a busy dry cleaner or pizza parlor - serving up to 100 customers a day.

Perez's wife, Elsie Detres-Perez, also was arrested.

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