Overview

• Allen made the disclosure on the Oct. 1 episode of Howie Mandel’s podcast, reflecting on his incarceration nearly 45 years ago.
• He said he seriously planned methods of suicide, explaining that dark humor became a coping mechanism as he grappled with potential punishment under then-tough drug laws.
• Allen was arrested in 1978 in Kalamazoo with about 1.4 pounds of cocaine, pleaded guilty to felony trafficking and conspiracy, served roughly two years at FCI Sandstone, and was paroled in June 1981.
• He described the case as a setup, said he was pigeonholed and treated unfairly, and claimed a lawyer urged a conspiracy plea he says he did not commit.
• He recalled being targeted by inmates, said two men who helped him were shot to death the day they were released, and noted that he later rebuilt his career and maintained long-term sobriety.