Frank Lucas quickly became one of the most powerful and innovative organized crime bosses in the United States. Although he learned a lot from working beside Bumpy Johnson, he also changed the way organized crime operated, specifically the part that dealt with drug trafficking. Lucas knew that in order to take over for Johnson he had to break the monopoly the Italian mafia had established in New York. In order to do so, he flew straight to the Golden Triangle in South East Asia, where he had a connection who was serving in the U.S. Army, Master Sergeant Leslie Atkinson. According to Howard Abadinsky, "Atkinson was involved in numerous illegal schemes in Vietnam War era Bangkok, Thailand, where he teamed up with a fellow homeboy and paratrooper,
