Roy Black—the courtroom tactician who once guided Griselda Blanco, Miami’s fearsome “Cocaine Godmother,” through federal drug‑conspiracy charges—died on Monday, July 22, at his Coral Gables, FL, home following an illness. He was 80.
According to The Miami Herald, the New York City native, who had long been based in South Florida, remained active at his firm, Black Srebnick, until shortly before his passing.
Black’s association with Griselda Blanco became legal lore in the early 1980s. After two days of trial—and with prosecutors preparing to unveil hours of taped evidence—Black stunned the courtroom by announcing an unanticipated guilty plea to the indictment. The move produced a sentence far lighter than the life term many expected and showcased his instinct for seizing narrow advantages when the government’s case wavered.
The Blanco defense cemented Black’s reputation for navigating high‑stakes narcotics prosecutions amid Miami’s cocaine war era. It also set the tone for a 50‑year résumé that spanned headline‑making victories and carefully negotiated pleas.
Beyond Griselda Blanco, Black’s client list read like a pop‑culture time capsule: William Kennedy Smith (acquitted of rape in 1991), Rush Limbaugh, Justin Bieber, Jeffrey Epstein, and Formula 1 champ Hélio Castroneves all turned to him when the stakes were highest. His televised cross-examinations became must-see TV, and he later served as a commentator on shows such as Today and Larry King Live.
Black arrived in Miami as a University of Miami undergrad, stayed for law school, and never left. Nicknamed “The Professor” for his meticulous preparation, he parlayed a stint in the Miami‑Dade Public Defender’s Office into a powerhouse private practice that prized exhaustive research and razor‑sharp cross‑exams.
Away from court, Black’s life intersected with reality TV: in 1994, he married philanthropist and entrepreneur Lea Black, an original cast member of The Real Housewives of Miami. The couple’s philanthropic gala became a fixture of the city’s social calendar, while their Star Island home often appeared in Bravo scenery. They share one son, RJ; daughter Nora also survives Black from a prior marriage.