Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ connection to a famous gangster is part of his family lore

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — As the federal criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs continues, many parts of his past are being revisited.

That includes his father’s friendship with the late gangster, Frank Lucas.

Melvin Combs was a drug dealer who was fatally shot in 1972 , when his son Sean Combs was three years old.

“That’s not something I glorify, but he was in Harlem and he was doing his thing, selling narcotics,” Combs told journalist Toure in an interview 13 years ago . “And we all know what that gets you. That’s only going to have you end up in jail or dead. It is the reason why I didn’t follow in those footsteps.”

In that interview, Combs was clear that his father did not work for either Lucas or another famed Harlem gangster, Nicky Barnes, but rather was “as big as