Frank Lucas must think crime does pay. The notorious Harlem crime lord who inspired the upcoming film, "American Gangster," busted the bank with sharp rises in Search. Proving '70s era New York City is prime territory for Hollywood spectactles, queries for "frank lucas gangster" (+177%), "frank lucas pictures" (+73%), and "frank lucas harlem" (+50%) went for the big buzz this past week. Inquiring minds want to know about the man behind the crimes.

As talented and glamorous as they may be, film costars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are taking a back seat to Frank Lucas' fast-lane life of running drugs and murder. In comparison to the buzz on Lucas, queries for Washington only jumped 23% in the same seven-day time period; Crowe saw a mere 6% bump.

For the scoop on Lucas, try the article that inspired "American Gangster." A cool breeze through the pages of New York magazine reveals a man who once earned a million dollars a day from his heroin trade. Given his illicit pedigree, we doubt getting a bunch of searches holds a whole lot of glory. But we have to wonder if beating Denzel in buzz doesn't give Lucas a little thrill.