RIP

Frank Lucas, one of America's most infamous drug kingpins, died Thursday night ... TMZ has confirmed.

Frank, famously played by Denzel Washington in the 2007 movie "American Gangster," died in New Jersey, according to his brother. We're told Frank was being transported to a hospital for an unknown health issue and died on the way.

Lucas rose to power dealing heroin in Harlem in the 1960s and '70s, and he boasted of cutting out middlemen by buying his product directly from Southeast Asia ... then smuggling the drugs back to America using the coffins of dead U.S. servicemen.

Frank was born and raised in North Carolina before moving to New York City ... where he eventually got into the drug trade, cutting into the Italian mafia's business and carving a name for himself.

Lucas bragged his heroin was among the purest on the street, and he infamously dubbed his product, "Blue Magic." While he was at the top of the NYC drug trade, Frank rubbed elbows with elites from Hollywood, politics and the business world.

Frank was finally busted in the mid-1970s and all of his enormous assets and wealth were seized. Lucas owned property across the country in Chicago, Miami, Detroit, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina -- and even Puerto Rico.

When the DEA raided Frank's Jersey home in 1975, agents found more than $584,000 in cash.

Frank was convicted of federal and state drug violations ... and sentenced to 70 years in prison. Lucas ratted out others in the drug biz, and he and his family entered a witness protection program.

After 5 years in custody, Frank had his sentence reduced to time served plus lifetime parole ... but he was later busted for drug dealing again, and spent another 7 years behind bars before being released in 1991.

YNW Melly thinks it's unfair he's stuck in a jail cell awaiting trial for double murder, because he voluntarily turned himself in ... and he insists he's not going to run from the law.

According to new legal docs ... the rapper wants to be able to post bond and walk free until his trial -- despite the fact he's facing 2 counts of first-degree murder in South Florida. Melly says if he was going to go on the lam, he would have done so when he first got word he was facing capital murder charges.

Instead, the rapper says he chose to surrender ... so there's no reason for the court to think he's a flight risk. On top of that, YNW points out he was born and raised in the area and his entire family lives there -- which he says is even more proof he isn't going anywhere.

As for his actual case -- in which the rapper's accused of killing his friends and staging a fake drive-by shooting -- Melly seems to like his chances in court. In the docs, he says there's no murder weapon, no witnesses tying him to the shooting, no DNA evidence implicating him and no motive.

We broke the story ... the State of Florida disagrees with Melly, and is seeking the death penalty.

Claus von Bulow, the man who was convicted but walked free -- after his conviction was overturned -- and ultimately acquitted of trying to murder his wife ... has died.

The trial was one of the most sensational of the 20th century. Von Bulow was charged with deliberately injecting insulin into wife Sunny in 1980, sending her into an irreversible coma.

Prosecutors claimed Claus wanted to do Sunny in so he could inherit her fortune and continue his relationship with his mistress, a soap opera actress.

Von Bulow was convicted the first time around and sentenced to 30 years in prison, and then was famously represented on appeal by Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz. He successfully argued items were illegally seized and the notes from key witness interviews had not been turned over to the defense.

The story riveted the nation, and became the subject of "Reversal of Fortune," which chronicles the murder and Dershowitz's appeal. Jeremy Irons, who played Claus, won an Oscar for Best Actor.

Claus was retried and found not guilty in 1985. He moved to Europe where he died.

Reggie Jackson says Bill Buckner was not only a great guy, but a great baseball player -- and it sucks he had to spend years dealing with the blowback from that infamous World Series error.

Reggie and Bill played during the same era in the '70s and '80s and you can tell by the clip, Reggie really liked the guy.

Of course, Bill passed away Monday after a battle with dementia. He was 69.

But, Reggie says he feels terrible that Bill had to deal with such a ridiculous amount of harassment after letting that ground ball go through his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

The error haunted the former Red Sox star for the rest of his career -- and the rest of his life -- and things got so bad, he eventually moved out of Massachusetts to get away from the constant torment.

Reggie tells us ... he wishes people would celebrate the rest of Buckner's career -- because he ultimately finished with close to 3,000 hits (the official number is 2,715).

"Just a great human being, super guy," Jackson tells us ... "Sorry really what happened with him in his career. It's a shame that he's marked for that."

The wife of Oscar-nominated actor Demian Bichir was sleeping only 2 hours a night and detoxing off anxiety meds before she took her own life ... according to her autopsy report.

Model Stefanie Sherk was discovered by her husband April 12 at the bottom of their pool in Sherman Oaks, CA with weights strapped to her back and ankles, and despite efforts to resuscitate her ... she never regained consciousness and died at the hospital 8 days later.

According to L.A. County Coroner ... Sherk was 2 days into detoxing from Xanax at the time of her death but was also suffering crippling insomnia due to her sleep aid, Lunesta, which had lost its efficacy.

The Coroner says she also had a history of depression and experienced "recent suicidal ideations."

Sherk's depression got worse at the end of 2018 following the deaths of her grandmother and her dog. She reportedly called a friend just 9 days before her suicide and described how she wanted to kill herself ... but the friend talked her out of it and notified the family.

The Coroner's report ultimately revealed Sherk's cause of death was "the result of the effect of lack of oxygen, mainly on the brain, produced by a purposeful drowning episode."

Days after Sherk's death, Bichir wrote ... "It is with inconceivable pain that I announce that on April 20, 2019, our dearest Stefanie Sherk, my beloved and loving wife, passed away peacefully. It has been the saddest and toughest time of our lives and we don’t know how much time it will take for us to overcome this pain. Stefanie’s beautiful, angelical and talented presence will be immensely missed.”

Ashton Kutcher took the stand Wednesday in a murder case, and his testimony could be crucial in the case of a man prosecutors call a "serial sexual-thrill killer."

Kutcher was in an L.A. courthouse testifying in the trial of Michael Gargiulo -- aka the "Hollywood Ripper" -- who's accused of attacking 4 women with a knife and killing 3 of them over the span of 15 years.

Among them is Ashley Ellerin, a friend of Kutcher's who was supposed to be his date to a Grammys after-party in February 2001 but never showed. Kutcher reportedly went to her house to check on her but she didn't answer, so he left.

Ashton testified that he had met Ashley through a friend and he had gone to her house a few weeks before the Grammys to a housewarming party for her. He characterized his relationship with her as "an acquaintance," although he did say he had some interest in her.

Kutcher said the night of the Grammys was the first time he had thought he might pursue her in a dating relationship. He told the jury at around 7:30 PM he called her to say he was going to a friend's house to watch the show and then come to her home.

He said at 8:24 PM they talked and she said she had just gotten out of the shower and was going to blow dry her hair and they would meet up later and maybe go out to dinner. He called her at around 10 PM and believed he left a message saying it was getting late so they would not have dinner but just drinks.

Ashton says he went home, walked his dog and went to her place at around 10:45 PM. He knocked on her door but no one answered. He looked through a side window and saw what he thought was red wine spilled on the floor. So, he left.

The next morning Ashley was found dead in her home outside her bathroom, with more than 47 stab wounds, and authorities say Gargiulo was the murderer.

Ashton appeared in court wearing a blue suit and appeared relaxed on the stand.

The alleged serial killer is also accused of killing his 18-year-old neighbor, Tricia Pacaccio, back in 1993 when he lived in Illinois. Gargiulo moved to L.A. in 1998, but authorities say the killing didn't stop.

He's accused in Ellerin's death in 2001 and the 2005 murder of his neighbor, Maria Bruno, who was stabbed 17 times.

Gargiulo allegedly attacked another neighbor, Michelle Murphy, in her Santa Monica home in 2008, but she managed to fight off the attack and call 911. Blood matching Gargiulo's DNA was found at the scene.

TMZ Sports has obtained police footage of the moments after Jim Boeheim struck and killed a man on a NY highway in February ... and cops clearly felt awful for the Syracuse coach.

The 74-year-old was returning home from dinner on Feb. 20 at around 11 PM when he says he "observed a vehicle sitting in the roadway" on Route 690 in the City of Syracuse.

When Boeheim swerved to avoid the car ... he hit a pedestrian named Jorge Jimenez in the road -- killing him.

When police arrived on the scene ... they were shocked to find it was the legendary basketball coach behind the wheel -- with one cop saying, "It's f*cking Jim Boeheim!"

As the police learn more about the accident and what went down ... you can tell they feel sorry for the coach, 'cause one officer says, "That's fucking awful; he's shook up isn't he?"

You can see from pictures obtained by TMZ Sports the scene WAS horrific ... with an imprint of Jimenez's body clearly left on the hood of Boeheim's SUV.

Cops eventually took Boeheim back to the station to officially record his side of the story ... and afterward, officers commented once again on how badly they felt for the coach.

"Dude, that sucks, though," one cop says ... "Like, you're not doing anything wrong and you just go kill somebody?"

Cops eventually determined Boeheim was going 11 MPH over the 55 MPH speed limit ... but they classified it as a "tragic accident" and declined to file charges.

5:15 PM PT -- We just got Chazz Palminteri in NYC, and he told us he's glad he got the chance to work with Carmine ... calling him a really great man.

Chazz also feels Carmine should be reinstated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

9:53 AM PT -- Carmine's manager tells us, "From Broadway, to film and television, Carmine spent over six decades entertaining audiences, and nothing made him happier. His talent, wit, warmth, and charm will be missed. Carmine passed peacefully, surrounded by friends and family."

"Perhaps Carmine's biggest regret was his involvement in a scandal that left him expelled from The Motion Picture Academy. While exonerated by police and the FBI, Carmine was always deeply saddened by what had transpired."

9:10 AM PT -- A rep for Carmine tells us he had actually been at Cedars-Sinai since April 25 when he took a nasty fall. He had been getting treatment for back injuries, but after nearly a month in the hospital he came down with pneumonia.

We're told he was diagnosed last Thursday, and although doctors felt he was stable enough for release on Friday ... his health started going south on Saturday.

Although some of Carmine's friends have posted he was in a coma, the rep said he was responsive up until the day before his death.

Carmine Caridi has died from complications suffered during hospitalization for a bad fall ... TMZ has learned.

The 'Godfather' actor -- who played Carmine Rosato in the first sequel -- was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai hospital in L.A., and his health started slipping over the weekend. We're told he died on Wednesday. Carmine's friend, actor and director Chazz Palminteri, confirmed the passing to TMZ.

It's unclear what caused Carmine's health crisis.

Carmine is a veteran TV actor, who's starred in big shows like "Starsky and Hutch," "Taxi," "Fame" and "Simon & Simon." He also, notably, played Det. Vince Gotelli in "NYPD Blue."

Interestingly, he returned in "The Godfather Part III," but in a different role -- he played Albert Volpe that time around.

In total, Carmine has more than 100 acting credits over six decades in showbiz.

He's also known as one of the few people who've been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for sharing movie screeners in '04 -- which became the butt of Jimmy Kimmel's joke during the 2018 Oscars ... when he compared Carmine to Harvey Weinstein.

Carmine took exception with Kimmel's crack, telling us he shouldn't have been put in the same category as Weinstein ... even if it was all in good fun.

Carmine was 85.

RIP

Racing fans from all over the world packed St. Stephen's Cathedral in Austria on Wednesday to bid farewell to F1 legend Niki Lauda ... including Lewis Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The mourners braved heavy rains to get inside the church, where Lauda's coffin was flanked by flower wreaths. His trademark red crash helmet was placed on top.

The 70-year-old passed away last week -- nine months after undergoing surgery for a lung transplant.

Lewis Hamilton has taken Lauda's death particularly hard ... the two were very close. In fact, Lauda was involved when Lewis signed with McClaren ahead of the 2013 racing season.

Niki's widow, Birgit, and his son, Mathias Lauda -- who's also a pro racecar driver -- also attended the memorial service.

Other notable names at the service include Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and former drivers Alain Prost, Sir Jackie Stewart and Nico Rosberg.

Niki won the F1 drivers' championship in 1975 and '77 with Ferrari and again in '84 with McLaren ... but he's most famous for crashing and catching fire in 1976 at the German Grand Prix.

Lauda was badly burned in the crash, but he made a miraculous recovery an returned to racing only 6 weeks later.

Lauda's incredible comeback after dodging death instantly made him the stuff of a legend ... and his 1976 rivalry with British driver James Hunt was the plot line of the movie "Rush."

Bill Buckner -- who drew the ire of Red Sox fans for decades due to a major World Series error -- has died after battling dementia ... according to his family.

Buckner passed away early Monday morning surrounded by family and friends following a tough battle with Lewy Body Dementia, per a statement his family released. They went on to write, "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life."

They ended their remarks by saying, "Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

He's perhaps most famous for a game-deciding blunder during the 1986 World Series, when he was playing first base for Boston and failed to field a slow chopper down the line.

With the game tied at the bottom of the 10th and a runner on second, Mets player Mookie Wilson tapped a ball on the ground toward first, which seemed like an easy enough play to make -- only Buckner didn't. It hopped between his legs and rolled into right field.

The Mets scored and won the game, and then went on to win Game 7 ... dashing the hopes of the Red Sox who were hunting for their first World Series win at the time since 1918. The mistake went down in baseball history, and made him hated among Sox fans for years to come.

Buckner was eventually honored at Fenway Park in 2008, after the Sox had won the WS four years prior. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and it was clear the old wounds between himself and the city had healed.

He played with the Dodgers, Cubs and Sox over the course of his 22 season baseball career.

Bill was 69.

YG says there are a lot of so-called Nipsey Hussle "fans" out there who are jumping on the bandwagon and pissing off the late rapper's family.

YG had his album release party at The Novo Thursday night in downtown L.A., and he launched on people who belatedly heap praise on Nipsey, saying, "There's a lot of fake-ass Nipsey Hussle love out there." He says Nipsey's family knows what's up.

The verbal throw-down came as YG talked about his recording, "My Last Words" ... a tribute to the murdered rapper. The recording captures YG's tribute to Nipsey at his memorial, which was held April 11 at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

YG's album, "4 REAL 4 REAL," drops today. The cover art includes, "In loving memory of Nipsey Hussle."

Slipknot cofounder Shawn Crahan's daughter died from what appears to be a drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

Police and the fire department responded to a call for a possible OD at a Hollywood home Saturday night, and found the body of the heavy metal percussionist's daughter, Gabrielle.

We're told CPR was administered, to no avail ... she was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.

Law enforcement sources tell us there was drug paraphernalia and evidence of narcotic use on scene, and Gabrielle has a history of drug use. Authorities are still investigating, and her cause of death is pending toxicology testing, but the outward signs point to drugs.

Shawn -- who goes by the stage name "Clown" or #6 and is the last founding member to remain with the group -- announced that her funeral will be held Sunday in Iowa, which is where they're from.

He also thanks fans for their love and support, saying, "You have all proven that there is empathy, positivity, & strength in this community that we call humanity here on Earth."

Gabrielle's most recent Instagram post -- from just a couple days before her death -- suggested she was 5 months sober.

She was 22.

RIP

Lil' Kim and Lil' Cease still have a crush on each other after all these years of bad blood -- and they finally got together to bury the hatchet for the one and only Notorious B.I.G.

The former Junior M.A.F.I.A. members reunited Tuesday night in NYC, where a huge party was thrown at TAO Downtown in honor of what would've been Biggie's 47th birthday. This appears to be the first time the two have interacted publicly since their falling out in 2005.

In case you're unfamiliar, Cease testified against Kim during her federal perjury trial -- which helped prosecutors' case against her when she was found to have lied to a grand jury about a shooting she'd witnessed. Kim spent a year in prison for it.

She denounced Cease and other JM members after she got out, calling their testimony a betrayal and a breaking of street code. Cease defended himself, insisting he wasn't a snitch since he'd been subpoenaed and had no choice but to tell the truth on the stand.

That all seems to be water under a bridge between LK and LC -- both of whom were incredibly close to Biggie when he was alive and have recorded a number of songs together ... including their '96 hit, "Crush on You."

Kim and Cease were seen hanging out together with a bunch of their famous pals, like Busta Rhymes, Cedric the Entertainer, Jadakiss and other hip-hop heads too.

Nipsey Hussle's first baby mama will object to the appointment of the rapper's brother to administer his estate, and might even ask that SHE be appointed administrator, if the hearing goes down as planned, and millions of dollars are on the line ... sources connected to the case tell TMZ.

Sources connected to Tanisha Foster tell TMZ, she will not accept Sam Asghedom, Nipsey's brother, as the manager of the late rapper's fortune, which Sam estimates at $2 million. Sam filed legal docs, saying Nipsey died without a will, and he wants to be appointed the administrator of his brother's estate. A judge is set to rule on Sam's request June 10.

Under California law, Nipsey's children would share equally in his estate. In addition to 10-year-old Emani, the child Nipsey had with Tanisha, he left behind 2-year-old Kross, who's mother is Lauren London. So, each would get around $1 million, less fees and taxes.

Tanisha is fighting for custody of Emani, and if she's successful, she would have some power in handling the money and would probably be entitled to use some of it to provide for the child. A judge has temporarily blocked Tanisha from having physical custody of Emani ... the child is currently living with Nipsey's sister.

Nipsey Hussle's alleged killer, Eric Holder, has been indicted by a Grand Jury, and new charges have been added ... and this could have to do with a problem with the case.

The L.A. County District Attorney had previously charged Holder with 4 crimes, including premeditated murder. The D.A. decided to have the case revisited, this time by the Grand Jury, which indicted him on the 4 previous crimes -- murder, 2 counts of attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The Grand Jury added 2 new charges ... 2 counts of assault with a firearm for the victims who did not die.

As for why the D.A. chose to go to the Grand Jury when they had already charged Holder, the main function is to skip the preliminary hearing. The D.A.'s office will not say why they chose to jump the prelim -- where a judge must find probable cause of a crime in order to make the defendant stand trial -- but it's sometimes done if there's a problem with the evidence.

Holder allegedly shot and killed Nipsey in front of his store, The Marathon Clothing, on March 31.

12:37 PM PT -- The 2-plus year legal drama will continue as Soules' sentencing has been delayed. It'll be rescheduled for a later date. Defense attorney Robert Montgomery made a last-ditch effort to get the court to throw out the victim impact statements ... and the judge agreed to grant the motion.

Because the victim impact statements were thrown out, the judge also granted a motion to draft a new pre-sentence investigation report ... requested by both the defense and prosecutors.

Former 'Bachelor' Chris Soules will finally learn his fate in his fatal car crash case when he arrives to court for his sentencing at 11:30 AM PT ... and TMZ will be streaming live.

Soules is expected to arrive in Buchanan County, Iowa court any moment now and finally put the 2-year-old case behind him when a judge hands down his sentencing. As we reported ... Soules struck a plea deal back in November 2018 ... pleading guilty to 1 count of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, which is an aggravated misdemeanor.

It was a HUGE plea deal considering he initially pled not guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. As we first reported ... Soules was behind the wheel of a Chevy pickup when it rear-ended a John Deere tractor, sending it into a ditch.

The driver was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died. Chris was the one who called 911 to report the accident but prosecutors said he fled the scene before cops got there. Soules was later arrested at his house, but not before refusing to come out at first.

Soules, who was "The Bachelor" for season 19 in 2015, could get up to 2 years in jail.

Stay tuned ...