Julianna Farrait is the wife of late Frank Lucas. Born in 1941, the 83-year-old Julianna Farrait assisted her late husband in his drug business, but she is now retired and lives in their home in New Jersey.
Farrait was a nobody when she first crossed paths with Lucas on board a plane. Despite the fact that she could only speak a little English, the duo was able to connect and start a relationship that led to marriage in 1967. Their union produced three children and they had an additional four kids from their previous relationships.
Summary of Julianna Farrait’s Biography
- Full Name: Julianna Farrait-Rodriguez
- Nickname: Julie
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 1941
- Julianna Farrait’s Age: 83
- Nationality: Puerto-Rican
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Widowed
- Julianna Farrait’s Husband (Wife): Frank Lucas (late)
- Julianna Farrait’s Children: Seven
- Siblings: Five
- Julianna Farrait’s Height in Inches: 5 feet 5 inches
- Julianna Farrait’s Height in Centimetres: 165 cm
- Julianna Farrait’s Net Worth: $1.5 million
- Famous For: Being the widow of Frank Lucas
How Old Is Julianna Farrait?
Julianna Farrait was born sometime in 1941, though her exact date and month of birth are not known to the public. Calculations from her birth year indicate that she is already an octogenarian at age 83. Julie, as she is fondly called by family and close friends, was born in Puerto Rico and it goes without saying that she is Puerto Rican by nationality, though nothing has been said about her ethnic background.
Julie has never mentioned her parents in the public space, thus, there is absolutely nothing known about them. However, it is common knowledge that she grew up with three brothers and two sisters; this part of her life was revealed at her husband’s funeral when her siblings came all out to support her.
The only insight into Julie’s early life and family background was given by her late husband, Frank. According to the notorious drug dealer, he met Julie as a country girl with very simple tastes. She wasn’t fabulous in any sense and wore only basic, boring apparel that lacked excellent quality. Frank even narrated the pains he took to fix her up in a bid to get her to look like someone he would marry.
Reportedly, Julianna Farrait went to school in her place of birth, Puerto Rico. During her days in high school, she was crowned reportedly the Homecoming Queen of her academic institution, though this information has not been verified.
How Did Julianna Farrait and Frank Lucas Meet
Julianna Farrait met the man who would become her husband in an aircraft and this happened around 1966. Frank Lucas was a notorious drug lord who operated one of the strongest cartels in the United States. He lived up to 88 years and died on the 30th of May 2019, but prior to his demise, he had an accident that condemned him to a wheelchair.
‘American Gangster’ Frank Lucas dies in N.J. at age of 88 https://t.co/VITPRI7yvT pic.twitter.com/ylq1Q5xX7S
— njdotcom (@njdotcom) May 31, 2019
At the time they met, Lucas was traveling to New York via first class and so was Julie. According to the late notorious drug lord, he noticed Julie the moment she boarded the plane and was walking along the aisle to get to her seat. Lucas said he noticed Julie smile at him and further examination revealed that she was actually cute and he was intrigued about the constant smile she kept flashing in his direction.
Thus, Frank took Julie’s actions as an open invitation and the instant the seat belt sign was off, he started a conversation with her, which revealed that she liked him. Frank also noted that Julie was quite distinct from the type of women he was used to. She was naïve, green, and innocent he said.
Describing Lucas at their first meeting, Julianna Farrait said her spouse was a calm, confident, and self-assured man which she found rather attractive, though she was initially shocked.
We must not neglect to mention the fact that the duo could barely communicate in English, as Julie wasn’t fluent in the language. Even in the face of the communication challenge, Lucas managed to get Julie’s address in New York before they disembarked from the aircraft.
Brash drug kingpin Frank Lucas rose to the top of the New York drug world in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, he was earning $1 million per day from selling “Blue Magic” heroin. But his empire collapsed with a raid at his Teaneck, New Jersey home in 1975. pic.twitter.com/Ah9XY43XGe
— The Mob Museum (@TheMobMuseum) September 11, 2021
Even after he made the conscious effort to collect Farrait’s home address, Lucas didn’t call her and for months. However, fate and providence obviously had laid out plans for the couple, as they soon crossed paths at a nightclub, which marked the beginning of their relationship.
During that time, Frank Lucas’s drug cartel was just starting to blossom, as that was when he made contact with Southeast Asia where he leveraged to import drugs into Harlem. He majorly dealt on what he described as Blue Magic heroin and the business went on to become so lucrative that Frank once boasted that he was raking in $1 million per day.
She Became Frank Lucas’ Wife in 1967
Julianna Farrait and Frank Lucas dated for one year before deciding to legitimize their relationship in 1967. The couple eventually said “I do” in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at a justice of the peace. Their wedding was said to be an intimate affair with just family and close friends of the couple in attendance.
Following their nuptials, Julie, who hails from an ordinary background, was excited to go house hunting with her new husband. While she was busy contemplating the kind of apartment they could afford to rent, Julie was totally ignorant of the fact that her spouse was capable of buying an entire house.
Once they found a house and settled in, Frank brought along his son, Yogi, who started living with them. With the youngster, Julie played the role of a step-mother to perfection. She wasted no time in bonding with the boy, whom she proceeded to teach Spanish for easy communication. Julianna Farrait even took him to see her own family.
Though their union was besieged by a lot of issues, including constant imprisonment on both Julie and Frank’s side, the couple’s union managed to endure for 40 long years. It only came to an end when the drug lord died in May 2019.
Julie and Frank gained Fame Because of their Penchant for Exchanging very Expensive Gifts
When it became glaring to Julie that she was married to a man of affluence, she wasted no time in getting accustomed to a life of luxury. Soon, she and her husband developed the habit of exchanging luxury gifts from plush automobiles to customized suits. In fact, the couple’s closeness got to a stage that their close friends dubbed them, “the black Bonnie & Clyde.”
Several of the pictures Julianna Farrait snapped at that time depicted a woman of extravagant life. She once gifted her husband a floor-length chinchilla coat complete with a matching hat. The fur coat $100,000 while the hat was bought for $25,000. This bit of information was revealed through the movie American Gangster.
Reportedly, Lucas wore the coat to a boxing match featuring Muhammad Ali, and needless to say, he positioned himself in the front row where the entire spectators would notice his extremely expensive apparel. In fact, the then Vice President of the United States was at the match but was only able to secure a seat in the corridor, while Lucas occupied one of the best seats.
Eventually, the late drug law was also noticed by the authorities, and needless to say, it bred a lot of trouble for him.
Who Are Julianna Farrait’s Children?
Alongside her late husband, Frank Lucas, Julianna Farrait brought up seven children namely, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, Frank Lucas Jr., Ray Lucas, Betty Lucas, Candace Lucas, Ruby Lucas, and Tony Walters.
Out of the seven, only three are her biological kids, including daughter, Francine Lucas-Sinclair, and two sons, Ray Lucas and Frank Lucas Jr. It’s important to note that none of Lucas’ children followed him into the illicit business, as they reportedly live on the right side of the law.
Most notable among the former drug lord’s kids is Francine, who was three years old when the infamous raid happened at their home in New Jersey. It was Francine that Julianna Farrait used to hide some of their ill-gotten wealth by stuffing money into her pants.
In 1977, she reportedly joined what was referred to as “the witness protection program alongside her dad in Albuquerque, New Mexico; this lasted for one year. Francine’s parents left her on several occasions to serve time in jail and during that period, she had to live a life of abject poverty until she was rescued by her maternal grandparents.
All these happenings brought a lot of instability in her life while growing up and this was what informed her establishment of Yellow Bricks Roads. The organization serves as a shelter for kids whose parents are serving time in prison. Through the foundation, Francine provided the children with little resources to enable them to pull through.
Francine’s oldest son turned out to be an actor in Hollywood.
What Happened To Frank Lucas’ Wife?
Frank Lucas wife, Julianna Farrait, was imprisoned many times. When she got acquainted with the kind of shady business her husband was into, the Puerto Rican native threw her weight behind him, and at a point, she started participating in their day-to-day operations. Needless to say, the shady dealings led to so many arrests and incarcerations.
On the 19th of May 2010, Julie met up with a potential customer in an Isla Verde hotel room but unknown to her, the person was a government informer and part of the New York DEA that had been keeping her under surveillance since February 2009.
The plan was for her to sell 2kg of cocaine to the person and when she came back to close the deal on the 20th of May 2010, the agents of the New York Drug Enforcement Administration were already waiting to arrest her.
When she was eventually arraigned in court, she couldn’t speak in English and requested that the judge allow her to speak Spanish. Consequently, she was slammed with conspiracy to violate set narcotics law. The ensuing investigation revealed tapes where Julianna Farrait’s voice was heard telling the undercover agent of the DEA about the kilos of cocaine in her possession. In the same tape, she mentioned another drug peddler who was willing to sell an additional 8 kg to the informer. She eventually served a 5-year jail term for the crime.
When Julie was 65 and her husband 81, she faced another prison sentence. This time around, she was arraigned at the Manhattan federal court where she pleaded with the presiding judge that her ailing husband needed someone to cater to him and that she should be allowed to be his caregiver. Unfortunately, her request was declined and she was admonished to always strive to make better life choices for herself and also for her family.
Another notable time that Julie faced arrest was during the raid in their New Jersey home where she was trying to hide their ill-gotten money by throwing out suitcases through the bathroom window and stuffing her daughter’s pants with wads of notes.
What does Farrait do for a Living?
How Julie was earning her keep before she met her late husband is not known, but she was reportedly into beauty pageantry at the high school level. It is not known whether she contested in beauty contexts after her graduation.
Even in the movie American Gangster which was inspired by the life she lived with Frank, Julie was depicted as the Homecoming Queen of her school. However, many people who have researched the winners list for Miss Puerto Rico have attested to the fact that Julie’s name never appeared on it.
After she met and married Frank, the Puerto Rican native started working hand in hand with her spouse in pedaling hard substances in the United States. In fact, she once described herself as someone who loves danger and has always been attracted to dangerous things. In an interview session, Julie admitted that she places a high value on money and material things.
Julie’s love for material things was witnessed when her home in New Jersey was raided by the American authorities and she was caught at the bathroom window throwing down suitcases filled with money and valuables. Her daughter, Francine was present at the raid and Julianna Farrait had no qualms about using the innocent child to hide some of their ill-gotten wealth. The cops later discovered wads of notes in Francine’s pants.
Julianna Farrait Inspired a movie
As earlier mentioned, it was the kind of life that Julianna and her husband, Frank Lucas lived that inspired the popular movie entitled American Gangster. The Ridley Scott-directed movie starred screen icons like Denzel Washington, who played the role of the drug lord Frank. Julie’s character was essayed by Lymari Nadal – a celebrated actress of Puerto Rican origin.
The movie was produced in 2006 and turned out to be a huge success among fans and the viewing public.
Where is Julianna Farrait Now?
Julie still lives in the US. When her husband, Frank Lucas, died in 2019, rumors that Julianna Farrait died long before him made the rounds, but that turned out to be a huge lie when she surfaced at her spouse’s funeral alongside her son.
In the funeral pictures and videos, Julie was seen bidding her last farewell to the notorious drug lord. She was surrounded by her entire family, including her two sons, four daughters, three of her brothers, her two sisters, and many of her grandchildren.
Though she had been lying low since her husband’s demise, Julie, who is now an octogenarian, still lives in New Jersey in their Teaneck-based home. She rarely makes public appearances, thus, what she is currently doing with her life is not known.
FAQ
Who is Julianna Farrait?
Julianna Farrait is the widow of the late drug lord Frank Lucas. The duo wedded in 1967 and their marriage endured for 40 years. It only came to an end after Lucas’ death in 2019.
Did Frank Lucas ever get his wife back?
After he was released from prison, Lucas lived apart from his wife for a long while. However, the duo later reconciled and went to live in their home in New Jersey.
Where is Julianna Farrait-Rodriguez Now?
Since her husband’s death, Julianna Farrait has been living a private life. Reportedly, she still resides in their New Jersey home surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Was Frank Lucas’ wife a beauty queen?
Frank Lucas’ wife was reportedly a Homecoming Queen during her days in high school. However, she never went professional with beauty pageantry.
