Queens drug lord Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols has been released early from federal prison.

Queens drug lord Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols will be released from federal prison three years early after a judge ruled that he “virtually” served his 40-year prison sentence.

However, 64-year-old Nichols is still not a free man – he faces a 10-year prison sentence in Florida.

In 1992, he pleaded guilty to organizing the murder of parole officer Brian Rooney and the murder of two others, including his ex-girlfriend, receiving a 25 to life sentence from the state and a concurrent 40-year federal sentence.

He was also linked, but never charged, with the murder of NYPD officer Eddie Byrne, 22, who was executed while sitting in his squad car in South Jamaica, Queens, in February 1988.

Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Edward Korman made no specific remarks in his Friday ruling about Nichols’ health or whether he considers the kingpin a reformed man.

Instead, his decision centered on how Nichols got no credit in the four years he spent in state prison before Corman sentenced him in 1992.

“If I passed judgment today, I could overcome how [Bureau of Prisons] calculates the date of his release, sentencing him to 36 years instead of 40 years (which is the term that, as I understand it, he will serve), ”Korman wrote. “However, in order to reduce his sentence, which he is now seeking, the First Step Act gives me discretion to achieve the same result.”

This criminal justice reform bill received bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law by then President Donald Trump in 2018.

Nichols, who spent 34 years in state and federal prison, took a break in 2022 when the State Parole Board agreed to his release – despite repeated objections from the Queens District Attorney’s office and the police union. But he still owed the feds time.

In a letter to Corman dated August 15, Nichols complained about his treatment at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, stating that he “developed a migraine after he received word that he was incarcerated for another four years due to miscalculations and non-reporting.” about a violation of probation in which I was never charged, never sentenced, and which I did not know existed.

Nichols’ attorney, Richard Levitt, described him as exonerated in a statement to Corman last month and called him a “motivating force” who wanted to try and repair the damage he caused. In a statement, he cited a December 2021 letter from Nichols to the State Parole Board.

“The last 36 years have given me a lot of time to reflect and be honest with myself that selling drugs was not a shortcut to success,” he wrote.

“There is nothing smart or glorious about being a drug dealer. Now I realize how young and ignorant I was; I take full responsibility for my actions, which left a devastating trail and tore many families apart.”

Levitt called Corman’s decision Friday “a good result”, adding that Nichols was looking forward to his eventual release.

“It was clear that this [Korman’s] When he originally sentenced Lorenzo, the lawyer said he expected him to receive a loan for the time served. “He couldn’t do anything about it at the time, but now he can.”

“As far as we know, this chapter of his life is closed,” he added.

Nichols will remain at MDC until his transfer to Florida. He was convicted in Martin County in 2007 for involvement in auto theft and property rights fraud, records show.

However, Levitt’s statement suggests that Nichols may challenge this belief.

He pleaded guilty in exchange for 10 years behind bars and probation for his son, who was also charged, but unbeknownst to him, his son was also collaborating with the authorities.

The father and his son had the same attorney, “strongly supporting the contention that Nichols was denied the right to a non-conflict attorney,” Levitt wrote.

Federal prosecutors objected to Nichols’s release despite his migraine and other unspecified health problems.

“Nichols was the head of the drug ring and ordered at least four murders, including the murder of his mother. [of] an infant and a parole officer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Amir wrote in September. “Nichols’ appalling behavior overwhelmingly prevents his release.”

Representative US Attorney Breon Peace declined to comment on Monday.

“It was impossible to reduce the sentence of this bloodthirsty drug lord even by a millisecond,” Patrick Lynch, president of the Benevolent Police Association, was indignant on Monday. “Our PO hero brother Eddie Byrne and parole officer Brian Rooney are not coming home anytime soon. This cop killer should never be sent home.”

In the 1980s, Nichols ran the drug trade in Queens and was long believed by police and federal authorities to have given the green light to the murder of NYPD officer Byrne in his squad car, though he was never charged with the murder.

In February, Nichols told the Parole Board that he took “full responsibility” for Rooney’s murder, saying he only wanted to beat up the parole officer so he would miss an important hearing. Rooney’s associate at the time said he was a target for execution because he “disrespected” the drug lord by taking him into custody for violating parole.

“I believe that he should remain in custody for as long as the law allows. But if he served those three years while awaiting trial under the law, it really counts towards his sentence, and I understand that, ”Rooney’s partner Alan Reuter told Daily News on Monday.

“He has done a lot of harm and it is sad that he is not going to spend his life in prison. But what the law allows is what it should get,” he added.

“Brian received a life sentence. … Nothing will bring him back. It still hurts me a lot when I think about it.”