by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Roberts remained with the prosecutor's office until 1975. After working as a prosecutor for over 10 years, Roberts became a criminal defense attorney in 1981. After leaving the prosecutor's office, Roberts was briefly affiliated with the firm of Harkavy, Goldman & Caprio, but soon established his own firm. The first person he defended was Frank Lucas. During private practice, Roberts has defended many homicide cases and was involved in New Jersey's first Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case. He has also been a guest speaker to conferences held by several police and private groups. He was a co-managing partner of Roberts-Saluti, LLC, a criminal and civil litigation firm with offices in Newark, New Jersey. Roberts has been suspended from the practice of law since 2015, and was ordered on September 11, 2017, to be suspended for an additional three years. Investigating Frank Lucas and "Blue Magic" As the head of a Federal Bureau of Narcotics task force, Roberts is best known for his role in the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of Frank Lucas (1930-2019), an African-American drug kingpin who operated a heroin smuggling and distribution ring from Harlem in New York City in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This legacy is bolstered by the film American Gangster in 2007; however, crime historian Ron Chepesiuk states that Roberts "was a minor figure in the Lucas investigation; the idea that Roberts was the key official in bringing Lucas down is Hollywood's imagination." Even Roberts has stated that his character in the film is more of a composite of several investigators' work and not an accurate portrayal of him. Lucas was a petty criminal until he became associated with Harlem crime lord Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (1905-1968). After Johnson's death, Lucas sought advancement by bypassing the Italian Mafia's control of the New York City heroin trade and obtained his heroin direct from Asia's Golden Triangle, often travelling to Bangkok, Thailand and utilizing military personnel to transport narcotics. Lucas frequently boasted that he smuggled heroin back to the United States using the coffins of American servicemen killed in the Vietnam War. However, this claim has been denied by his associate in Southeast Asia, Leslie "Ike" Atkinson (who was nicknamed "Sergeant Smack" by the Drug Enforcement Administration investigators). Atkinson claimed that the drugs were transported in furniture as well as the coffins. However, not within the bodies,