Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Black Hand of Death’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Very Scary People,’ the focus is on the life and crimes of Clarence Preacher Heatley, a drug kingpin in the early 1990s who used to rule New York City through Preacher Crew Gang, along with his recruits. One of the members of the gang was none other than a housing police officer named John Cuff. Being at the center of the crack epidemic, Clarence and the Preacher Crew gang were connected to multiple murders over the years, before they were finally brought to justice. The episode also features exclusive and in-depth interviews with several individuals, including officials, directly or indirectly involved in the case.
Clarence Heatley Recruited John Cuff in His Gang
Born in the 1950s, Clarence Heatley was raised in the Harlem section of New York City and founded Preacher Crew in 1983. Due to his ability to persuade people and manipulate them, he was referred to as the Preacher. As the gang grew stronger and more influential, Clarence was able to recruit John Cuff, a housing police officer stationed in the Bronx around the same time. His primary responsibility was to help run the gang with the Preacher. During their years of terror from 1983, the members of the gang got involved in drug dealing and employed systematic violence in order to survive the enemies.
Before the gang suffered the consequences of their crimes, they were based in the Bronx, where the Preacher resided with one of the accused gang members, Yvonne Miller. Besides the Preacher, Clarence was reportedly also nicknamed the “Black Hand of Death” as many of the dealers in the Harlem area feared him and used to pay him thousands of dollars to avoid getting into any trouble with them in relation to their respective drug businesses. While running the drug business, he had a strict set of rules for the gang members, who were forced to adhere to each one — not using drugs of any kind, fighting with other gang members, and stealing money or drugs from the gang.
After he was arrested for robbery and failed a drug test, John was suspended from his duties as the housing police officer. Furthermore, he was charged with murder in Baltimore in 1989 but was later acquitted after a key witness changed their testimony. At the time, he had been working as Clarence’s bodyguard. In late 1996, Clarence was accused of committing nine murders and was arrested alongside his bodyguard, John, for racketeering and narcotics charges in connection with the murder of two gang members in December 1993. John was also officially indicted by a 1996 Federal racketeering who accused him of assisting in the criminal activities of the Preacher Crew gang.
Clarence Heatley and John Cuff Took Guilty Pleas to Avoid Death Penalty
In February 1999, Clarence Heatley pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy and racketeering in relation to more than a dozen drug-related murders, as he did not want to take matters to trial. Moreover, another reason for his guilty plea was the fact that his death sentence was almost certain for his crimes, and he wanted to be involved in his family’s life, including his children. Thus, Clarence was sentenced to life in prison. As per reports, he had been serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama.
A few months later, John Cuff also avoided the death penalty and agreed to spend the rest of his life imprisoned by pleading guilty to being involved in the murder of 10 people, including the members of his own gang as well as that of rival gangs. The defendant admitted that the murders took place mainly in the gang’s headquarters in the Bronx. During the trial, John confirmed that he supervised the killing of two men in December 1993. In another case, he corrected the prosecutor that he had twisted the victim’s neck and choked him instead of shooting them twice in the head.
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