This episode follows the case of Juan Raul Garza, the first drug kingpin. Garza and his gang made millions of dollars running drugs across "Marijuana Boulevard," the Gateway bridge linking Mexico and the U.S. in Brownsville, Texas. He became the first felon targeted for death by the federal government in more than 30 years.
Bowman, as international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, ordered kidnappings, firebombings, assaults and murders. He joined another exclusive club in 1997, the "FBI Ten Most Wanted" list. Bowman was brought to justice with the help of an informant on the inside of the Outlaw brotherhood.
Griselda Blanco, "The Godmother," is suspected of scores of murders while transporting cocaine from Colombia to New York, Miami, and Southern California. On the run from the law for over ten years, Blanco was captured in 1985 in Irvine, California. Her trial ended in scandal and she was eventually deported back to Colombia.
This episode profiles the rise and fall of Albert "Alpo" Martinez, dubbed the Mayor of Harlem. Alpo and two childhood friends, Azie Faison and Rich Porter, would become kings of the inner city in the mid-1980 s. But like the high itself, the cocaine brotherhood did not last. Azie narrowly escaped with his life. Rich Porter would not be so lucky. Alpo would admit to killing his old friend and 13 other murders. He s now serving hard time for his crimes.
This episode features the rise and fall of Johnny Eng, one of the most notorious drug traffickers in the history of Manhattan's Chinatown. A one-time informant for the DEA, "Machine Gun Johnny" thought he could snitch on all his rivals to monopolize the heroin trade on the eastern seaboard. The special task force set up by the DEA would chase Eng all the way to Hong Kong. Eventually extradited to the U.S., Eng would hire John Gotti's lawyer to defend him against a prosecutor known as "The Dragon Lady."
This episode explores the case of Luis Felipe, also known as "King Blood." From a prison cell, Felipe founded the New York chapter of the Latin Kings street gang. Felipe's own writings would incriminate him as the orchestrator of murders and crimes against his own members. He is now serving a life sentence in solitary confinement.
This episode explores the case of The Queenpin--Jemeker Thompson. Thompson rose to the top of the cocaine trade during the peak of the 1980's crack epidemic in Los Angeles. Thompson's former boyfriend would cooperate with authorities and snitch her out. On the run for two years, she was finally captured in 1993 at her son's 6th grade graduation. Thompson was released from prison in 2005 and is now an evangelical minister.
This episode follows Anthony Shea, one of the most prolific bank and armored truck robbers, and his "no name" gang out of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Responsible for killing two armored truck guards in Hudson, New Hampshire, Shea and his gang garnered the attention of the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force in 1995. Finally captured a year later, they refused to talk, adhering to Charlestown's long running "Code of Silence." Informants would break that code and testify in court to put Shea away for life.
This episode explores the cases of three Lethal Beauties: Rosalie Garcia, Sandra Beltran, and Beatriz Henao. Garcia, AKA "Shorty," was the head of a deadly heroin ring in the Bronx throughout the 1990's. Henao, a Colombian national, led an ecstasy drug ring out of the Netherlands before moving into the cocaine trade. Sandra Avila Beltran was a Mexican drug cartel leader who took over a crucial role in the smuggling of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and into the U.S. Extradited in 2012, The Queen of the Pacific now faces drug trafficking charges in Miami.
This episode features the case of Clarence Heatley and his "Preacher" Crew. The "crew" extorted, kidnapped, and even killed to gain notoriety on the streets of the Bronx and Harlem. Heatley's top lieutenant was a former housing cop named John Cuff. His team included "janitors" whose job was to clean up the mess after Preacher's victims were tortured and murdered. It was rumored that they once kidnapped singer Bobby Brown and held him for ransom over a drug debt. By the early 1990s, the NYPD and FBI formed a task force to take down the Preacher Crew. Both Heatley and Cuff admitted their crimes in plea deals to avoid the death penalty.
Moya and his chief enforcer, Andre Paige, led a deadly narcotics and extortion racket in New York City until the law caught up with them. With a failing heart, Moya escaped conviction and was sent home to die. Authorities would soon discover that he had received a new heart on the taxpayer's dime. With a new lease on life, Moya would disappear without a trace and stir up a manhunt beyond the jurisdiction of the United States.
This episode examines Lisette Lee, the supposed Samsung heiress who lived a mysterious life of privilege and luxury until her arrest for narcotics trafficking in 2010. The product of an illicit multi-national love affair, Lee was adopted at a young age and moved from South Korea to Beverly Hills. It was there that she molded and shaped various personalities to manipulate those around her. She went to great lengths to get what she wanted; allegedly kidnapping men, setting up surveillance, and wiretapping "team LL:", her crew of minions. The team was formed after Lee became romantically entangled with David Garrett, a street level drug dealer who partnered with her to move mass amounts of marijuana. Lisette chartered a private jet, Garrett got the drugs, and the squad flew 7,000 lbs of pot from LA to Columbus over 14 different trips.
Following a deadly brawl between the Hells Angels and Mongols Motorcycle Clubs in 2002, Cavazos came to national prominence. During his reign as the Mongols' president, he expanded the club's membership by recruiting local street thugs with affiliations to the Mexican Mafia. Federal agents say Doc's aim was to take on the Hells Angels and run a massive criminal enterprise engaged in drug running, murder and intimidation. But Doc's power grab came with consequences. During his time in charge, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives infiltrated the club and piled on the evidence for a federal racketeering indictment. Many Mongols say Cavazos' hunger for fame would be his ultimate downfall and drive him to turn on his brothers.
In her early 20s, Thelma met her husband, Jackie Wright, a major player in the Philadelphia drug game. When her husband was murdered, Thelma was faced with a choice: start life over on the straight and narrow or take over the family business. With a taste of success and the lure of easy money, she started transporting cocaine and heroin between Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But life in the game was not what she bargained for.
This episode features Carlos Lehder, Medellin Cartel member and self-proclaimed Nazi. Lehder revolutionized the cocaine business by taking over an island in the Bahamas and using it as a way station between Colombia and the U.S. On Norman's Cay, the Colombian Rambo meets his match in a professor and diving enthusiast named Richard Novak who will stop at nothing to protect his paradise. Lehder is eventually run off the island and resorts to terrorizing authorities in his homeland to stay out of jail. After years on the run, he's extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to life plus 135 years. When he agrees to testify against Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega, he disappears into witness protection.
Christopher Coke was the notorious leader of the international gang, the Shower Posse. His operation transported drugs to major US cities, sold them for massive profits, and purchased weapons on the black market to export back to his native country, Jamaica. "Dudus", as he was known on the streets, used his criminal wealth and prosperity to win the hearts of his community and influence their political affiliations. Such power propelled him from a Kingpin to a political pawn, and when the US attempted to have the beloved gangster extradited, a civil war broke out to protect him.
Mills found his calling as the leader of the white supremacist prison gang the Aryan Brotherhood. Over the course of almost two decades, federal prosecutors say Mills is responsible for at least 14 murders even though he has been in prison most of his life. In 1997, Mills and his right hand-man, Tyler Bingham, ordered their members to carry out a race war against rival prison gang, the D.C. Blacks. Immediately after the war, A.B. high-ranking member, Al Benton, provided the big break in the case when he left the A.B. behind and cooperated with the federal government. Armed with plenty of informants, prosecutors had the tools they needed to charge Mills and 39 others in one of the largest capital punishment cases in U.S. history.
This episode explores the gangland matriarch Maria "Chata" Leon and the criminal underworld created by her murderous brood of gangbanger children. Leaders of the Drew Street Clique of the Avenues Gang, this family ruled a small pocket of Los Angeles for decades. By way of slinging crack cocaine and methamphetamine Maria Leon accrued a great amount of wealth but her status in the hood dwarfed any financial gain she could earn. With an air of invincibility, Maria Leon commanded a reign of terror in L.A. only to be brought to justice by vast federal RICO indictments and multiple military style police invasions into her neighborhood. Maria now awaits her third deportation in federal prison in California.
This episode focuses on the gangster of suburbia who led a double life, Alejandro Corredor. He seemed like an average family man living in the small town of Fairway, Kansas. But in his other life, he was Kansas City's cocaine pipeline, moving massive shipments from Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. With the money from drugs, he invested in a local gangsta rap group called Block Life. Eventually, several members of Block Life helped him sell drugs to some of the most notorious gangs in Kansas City. As the money from drugs and the success of Block Life grew, Alejandro strove to keep a balance between his two worlds. But his dealings with the Sinaloa Cartel led him down a dangerous path that would threaten to destroy everything.
Tied as a boy to Mr. Untouchable, heroin kingpin Nicky Barnes, Pistol Pete came up in the game, growing up in the Soundview projects of the Bronx. In the mist of the 1980s crack epidemic, Pistol Pete earned his nickname after starting his own gang--Sex, Money, Murder. He and his underlings incorporated the organization in an effort to launder the drug money and expanded their operations outside New York. Pistol Pete would ultimately confess to pulling the trigger on many of his rivals, but justice wouldn't stop his killer reputation. Once behind bars he continued to orchestrate murders. At the age of 25, in order to avoid the death penalty, he accepted a plea bargain of life behind bars in solitary confinement.
This episode follows the story of Salvador Magluta and Augusto Falcon, a pair of powerboat racers in Miami who allegedly moved more illegal narcotics than just about anyone in the history of the U.S. War on Drugs. Known as Willy and Sal, they were tried for importing more than 2.1 billion tons of cocaine over more than a decade of trafficking. They were acquitted, but then faced charges of jury tampering. The law finally caught up with Willy and Sal. Falcon plead guilty to obstructing justice and received a 20 year sentence while Sal faced a jury and is now serving 195 years in prison.
In a decade long criminal run, the Cutt Boyz used violence to control the drug trade within the B.W. Cooper Housing Complex in New Orleans. Washington became the main supplier of Heroin, while Benjamin grew his murderous reputation as a main enforcer and was eventually responsible for three murders. Following a unique investigation approach, federal authorities indicted 11 Cutt Boyz under the RICO statutes for narcotics distribution and murder. But federal authorities weren't prepared for Hurricane Katrina's catastrophic destruction in 2005, which damaged evidence and displaced witnesses. Ultimately, they were able to piece together the case and successfully convicted all 11 Cutt Boyz. Washington received a 20-year sentence, while Benjamin will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
This episode features Dana Bostic and his Chicago gang, The New Breeds. Bostic, known as "Bird," came of age on Chicago's tough west side. He grew up slinging drugs on the corner and ended up a heroin kingpin in his hometown. With a connection to a Mexican cartel, Bostic's New Breeds would package and distribute heroin and defend their turf with violence. When the body count started to rise, Bird and the New Breeds were taken down. They are all serving significant sentences in prison.
This episode of features the case of 'Q', the Motor City connect. In the shadows of a broken city, Quasand Lewis made millions by way of a complex drug trafficking organization. At the height of 'Q's success in Detroit the Lewis Organization raked in $178 million in drug profits. Following the drugs and the money, the federal government launched "Operation Falling Star" in order to take down 'Q' and build the largest drug related prosecution in the history of the state of Michigan.
Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano is the most notorious turncoat in Mafia history. Once a loyal Underboss for John Gotti in the Gambino Crime Family, Gravano would do anything for his boss. But it would be John Gotti himself that would get the Bull to change his mind.
David Thai was the leader of the Born to Kill gang, a group of ruthless young men who terrorized Chinatown. The gang extorted shop owners too fearful to turn to police, and even started a war with the long-standing gangs in the area. There was only one way to stop the havoc David Thai started, through an informant in his own gang.
The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, also known as the ABT, was a violent white supremacist gang that boasted thousands of members inside and outside of prison throughout Texas and the U.S. Though formed in prison to protect themselves against other races, most of the gang’s violence outside of prison was inflicted upon its own members who betrayed the gang in any way. The ABT’s mantra is “God forgives, Brothers don’t.” Ultimately, the loyalty the ABT demanded was nowhere to be found, as members helped put the gang right back behind the prison walls where they first formed.
Juan Garcia Abrego was the leader of the Gulf Cartel, one of the most violent and lucrative drug cartels in Mexican history. After aligning with the Cali Cartel of Colombia, Garcia Abrego’s cocaine smuggling empire grew to an estimated $10 billion. Despite his nickname, “The Doll,” Garcia Abrego was brutal in his violence. He was suspected of ordering dozens of killings; victims reportedly included rival drug traffickers and journalists. He spent years on the run from law enforcement, much of it, hiding in plain sight. But his days on the run would be numbered…
Omar Portee, aka OG Mack, watches street gangs operate on the West Coast, then brings the knowledge back home to the Bronx, N.Y.; at Rikers Island, Portee creates the United Blood Nation and watches it spread throughout the East Coast.
The story of Anibal Mustelier, who was one of the most dangerous criminals during the "Cocaine Cowboy" days in Miami.
Known as the founder of the notorious Chicago street gang, the Gangster Disciples, Hoover starts one of the first street gangs that was run as a business; while in state prison, Hoover runs a $100 million-a-year drug business.
By the time Perrion is in her 20s, she becomes a drug queenpin, with ties to Mexican drug cartels; in the present day, Perrion's drug trafficking charges are dropped and she now works as a political adviser and fights for prisoners' rights.
Shauntay Henderson was one of the handful of women to appear on the FBI's Most Wanted List; known on the streets as Two Guns, her penchant for fist fighting and high-speed police chases helped contribute to her status as a violent criminal.
A Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, considered by many as one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world, receives the title of biggest drug lord of all time; the DEA considers him the godfather of the drug world.
After several years of paying his dues in the Beltrán-Leyva cartel, Edgar Villareal climbs to a top position in the enforcement squad called Los Negros, where he employs violent techniques of videotaped torture and decapitation.
Dawud Cool Bey is known as the Philly Intimidator, and he was a key player in the hierarchy in the Kaboni Savage Organization, a drug-trafficking gang led by Kaboni Savage; it is alleged that Bey plotted to kill witnesses; Bey was arrested in 2004.
Young Boys Incorporated was a drug-trafficking gang founded in Detroit in the late '70s, and Milton Butch Jones, Raymond Peoples, and Dwayne Davis rose up the ranks and ran the organization; it was considered innovative because it employed teenagers.
Scarfo rose to power during one of the bloodiest periods in Philadelphia organized crime history; more than two dozen mob members or associates were murdered between 1980 and 1985 as Scarfo took control of the Philadelphia mob.
Sam Giancana was a top mob boss; he started out as a driver for Al Capone, and by the Great Depression, Giancana was building his own reputation; Giancana is connected to conspiracy theories involving both the Kennedy family and Fidel Castro.
Spilotro was a soldier for the Chicago Outfit and was assigned to protect the Las Vegas skim: the illegal diversion of casino profits to the Mob; Spilotro's violent extracurricular activities hastened the demise of the Mob's influence in Las Vegas.
Chester Campbell is one of the most notorious figures in Detroit and within the world of organized crime; he served two brief stretches in prison, but he is believed to be connected to more than a dozen murders.
In the Hollywood of the 1970s and '80s, Eddie Nash was a nightclub impresario who used drug trafficking to build a fortune; with ties to the mafia, Nash owned dozens of restaurants.
The '80s are remembered for big hair and neon lights; another popular staple of the decade was cocaine.
Cabrera's criminal history dates back to his youth in the Santa Cruz, Calif., area.
