1
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,000
Cleaned, corrected, timing optimized
and some still missing parts added by Tronar
2
00:00:10,082 --> 00:00:13,051
For decades,
millions of people have come here
3
00:00:13,052 --> 00:00:14,986
in search of the American Dream,
4
00:00:14,987 --> 00:00:18,957
but for many, that dream
is quickly disappearing.
5
00:00:18,958 --> 00:00:22,361
Are you unemployed
or stuck in a dead-end job?
6
00:00:22,362 --> 00:00:26,465
Thousands of people around
the state are losing their jobs every day.
7
00:00:26,466 --> 00:00:29,134
Are you homeless, or
living in a bad neighborhood?
8
00:00:29,135 --> 00:00:34,039
Unemployment shot up to
its highest level in nearly 26 years.
9
00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,476
If the "American
Dream" broke its promise to you,
10
00:00:37,477 --> 00:00:39,777
don't worry, we have an answer.
11
00:00:43,982 --> 00:00:46,450
Let me help you help yourself.
12
00:00:47,753 --> 00:00:50,622
I'm gonna give you three and a half grams.
You know what to do with this?
13
00:00:50,623 --> 00:00:53,457
'Cause if you know what to do
with it, you gonna be all right.
14
00:00:57,462 --> 00:01:00,465
Welcome to the game.
This is your guide book.
15
00:01:00,466 --> 00:01:03,033
Our experts are going to give
you everything you need.
16
00:01:04,334 --> 00:01:06,349
You can make a thousand
dollars in an hour.
17
00:01:06,350 --> 00:01:08,773
It's very easy to make a lot of
money with cocaine.
18
00:01:08,774 --> 00:01:11,009
You could have a six
figure starting salary...
19
00:01:11,010 --> 00:01:14,613
It's hard for me to believe that something
that small could be worth so much money.
20
00:01:14,614 --> 00:01:17,081
You can make a
million dollars in a week.
21
00:01:17,683 --> 00:01:20,418
In this program,
masters of the trade
22
00:01:20,419 --> 00:01:22,619
are going to reveal to you their secrets
23
00:01:22,620 --> 00:01:27,157
on how to get paid in this exciting
$400 billion global industry.
24
00:01:27,926 --> 00:01:32,030
For the next 90 minutes, we're going
to focus on marijuana and cocaine,
25
00:01:32,031 --> 00:01:36,901
but the same lessons work for any illegal
substance Americans are willing to buy,
26
00:01:37,302 --> 00:01:39,402
whether you want to
make a few extra bucks,
27
00:01:39,403 --> 00:01:41,839
or climb to the very top of the
food chain and make billions.
28
00:01:42,141 --> 00:01:44,408
This training guide
will show you how to do it.
29
00:01:44,710 --> 00:01:47,511
You want to know how to
make money selling drugs?
30
00:02:01,927 --> 00:02:04,196
Name's Bobby Carlton,
31
00:02:04,197 --> 00:02:07,799
I've lived pretty much
in every ghetto town,
32
00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,536
and my mom had it rough raising us.
She had me very young.
33
00:02:11,537 --> 00:02:15,073
A year after I was, uh,
born, my brother was born.
34
00:02:15,074 --> 00:02:17,676
Years later,
I'd have two sisters.
35
00:02:17,677 --> 00:02:20,212
Stepfather, two sisters,
he'd eventually leave,
36
00:02:20,213 --> 00:02:22,147
and then she'd be
stuck with four kids.
37
00:02:22,148 --> 00:02:24,082
She'd basically just
try to raise a family
38
00:02:24,083 --> 00:02:27,786
and try to earn enough
to put food on the table.
39
00:02:27,787 --> 00:02:30,889
I look at people, they got to get
up, they got to be in an office,
40
00:02:30,890 --> 00:02:33,959
they got to go to a factory, they got
to bang their heads against a wall,
41
00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:35,894
they're trying
to earn, earn, earn,
42
00:02:35,895 --> 00:02:38,830
but really, what they're doing is
just barely making their payments.
43
00:02:38,831 --> 00:02:43,001
They're working just to get by.
44
00:02:43,002 --> 00:02:45,871
I wanted to make
money to go live.
45
00:02:45,872 --> 00:02:48,974
I was always looking up
to the bigger kids,
46
00:02:48,975 --> 00:02:51,843
who, people I perceived cool
and trying to emulate them.
47
00:02:51,844 --> 00:02:54,746
The guys hanging on the
street corner, not working,
48
00:02:54,747 --> 00:02:57,916
they have girls, they have
cars, they have money,
49
00:02:57,917 --> 00:03:02,554
they seemingly don't ever have to
be anywhere at any certain time.
50
00:03:02,555 --> 00:03:04,054
And I want in. I'm in.
51
00:03:06,591 --> 00:03:08,760
What Bobby Carlton
was about to discover
52
00:03:08,761 --> 00:03:10,481
is that marijuana makes money.
53
00:03:11,530 --> 00:03:14,299
More money than tobacco,
cotton, even corn.
54
00:03:14,300 --> 00:03:20,005
It's the most profitable
farmed product in the country.
55
00:03:20,006 --> 00:03:22,874
I smoked a joint, and then
you just get into it.
56
00:03:22,875 --> 00:03:24,275
And then other
people want to do it.
57
00:03:24,276 --> 00:03:26,376
I just broke it down, and I was like,
58
00:03:26,377 --> 00:03:29,147
Seven joints were in a bag,
it's a dollar for a joint,
59
00:03:29,849 --> 00:03:31,816
you pay $5 for that bag.
60
00:03:31,817 --> 00:03:34,152
Okay. I'll buy a bag,
break it down,
61
00:03:34,153 --> 00:03:36,221
sell five joints,
smoke two myself.
62
00:03:36,222 --> 00:03:38,657
It's kind of innocent, right?
63
00:03:38,658 --> 00:03:40,124
Ninth grade...
64
00:03:40,125 --> 00:03:44,225
up to that point I was the
kind of student that didn't participate
65
00:03:44,226 --> 00:03:46,664
but then they were like, "How
many grams are in an ounce?"
66
00:03:46,665 --> 00:03:47,965
and I was like, "28".
67
00:03:47,966 --> 00:03:50,302
They were like, "How many pounds
are in a kilo?" I was like, "2.2."
68
00:03:50,303 --> 00:03:52,837
"And do you want me to tell
you how much that costs?"
69
00:03:52,838 --> 00:03:55,438
Hence, everybody at school knew
what I was up to that day.
70
00:04:00,345 --> 00:04:04,048
If Bobby Carlton
can do it, so can you.
71
00:04:04,049 --> 00:04:05,949
But how can you grow your business?
72
00:04:05,950 --> 00:04:10,255
How do you expand from a small circle
of friends and attract more clients?
73
00:04:10,256 --> 00:04:14,593
Making money selling drugs is easy.
74
00:04:14,594 --> 00:04:17,963
Meet Pepe, a retired
Southern California drug dealer,
75
00:04:17,964 --> 00:04:21,666
who's going to tell you how
simple it is to get customers.
76
00:04:21,667 --> 00:04:27,372
Like I say, is not hard.
Everybody can do it.
77
00:04:27,373 --> 00:04:30,342
Well, you just walk out to
the street and the park
78
00:04:30,343 --> 00:04:35,146
and everybody is gonna say, "Hey! Spark
it up," and you'll start rolling.
79
00:04:35,147 --> 00:04:38,649
If you smoke outside, you make a
friend, because weed makes friends.
80
00:04:39,818 --> 00:04:41,285
Weed makes friends.
81
00:04:43,388 --> 00:04:45,690
Now that you've
got some customers,
82
00:04:45,691 --> 00:04:47,092
you're gonna need some product.
83
00:04:47,093 --> 00:04:48,259
Where do you get it?
84
00:04:48,260 --> 00:04:52,697
Most people
know where to get it,
85
00:04:52,698 --> 00:04:56,735
and if you don't know where to
get marijuana in bulk to sell,
86
00:04:56,736 --> 00:04:59,670
all you have to do is ask one or two
people, and someone's gonna know.
87
00:04:59,671 --> 00:05:00,971
I mean, it's all over the place.
88
00:05:00,972 --> 00:05:03,675
People will front you as
many drugs as you can sell.
89
00:05:03,676 --> 00:05:06,711
As long as you can continue to pay people
back, they will front them to you.
90
00:05:06,712 --> 00:05:09,752
And if you want to skip the middle men?
Grow your own weed.
91
00:05:11,950 --> 00:05:16,855
Pepe spent quite a few winters making a lot
of money without ever having to leave home.
92
00:05:16,856 --> 00:05:20,992
To grow some weed, uh, in your
house, you only need electricity,
93
00:05:20,993 --> 00:05:23,395
big lamps, and water.
94
00:05:23,396 --> 00:05:26,163
You get in the internet,
you have the seeds, you know.
95
00:05:27,232 --> 00:05:29,967
This is just kind of
like a starter kit for people.
96
00:05:31,136 --> 00:05:34,806
You can get it at any hydroponics
store and get your whole set-up.
97
00:05:34,807 --> 00:05:38,376
They'll sell you the tubes, the
nutrients, the little planters.
98
00:05:38,377 --> 00:05:41,713
In about 45 days, these will
grow to about six feet tall,
99
00:05:41,714 --> 00:05:43,814
be lush, green, and lovely.
100
00:05:43,815 --> 00:05:45,515
You cut it, you hang it.
101
00:05:45,516 --> 00:05:50,689
Let it dry for a couple of days,
and then pick all the buds off.
102
00:05:50,690 --> 00:05:53,024
So how much money
can you expect to make?
103
00:05:53,025 --> 00:05:55,160
Yeah, you can make
a lot of money.
104
00:05:55,161 --> 00:05:57,896
I mean, like, is gonna grow
a pound for each plant,
105
00:05:57,897 --> 00:06:00,732
and a pound in the streets
106
00:06:00,733 --> 00:06:04,169
goes $2,500, $3,000,
if it is a good weed.
107
00:06:04,170 --> 00:06:06,838
Per 10, how much you gonna have?
108
00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:08,372
$30,000.
109
00:06:09,374 --> 00:06:13,011
In three months, people,
they doing a whole house.
110
00:06:13,012 --> 00:06:15,879
If you put 50, 150 thousand.
111
00:06:20,052 --> 00:06:22,887
For many dealers, the
risk of jail time is worth it.
112
00:06:22,888 --> 00:06:25,190
You make $100,000 selling drugs.
113
00:06:25,191 --> 00:06:28,760
Hide the money, and go to jail, and
when you come out, you have money.
114
00:06:28,761 --> 00:06:32,063
If somebody gave me $100,000
to go to jail for five years,
115
00:06:32,064 --> 00:06:34,265
I would take it, you know.
116
00:06:34,266 --> 00:06:35,934
What the fuck. I mean, you...
117
00:06:35,935 --> 00:06:37,435
Sometimes, you work 10 years
118
00:06:37,436 --> 00:06:40,804
and you don't even see $20,000
in your bank account.
119
00:06:41,806 --> 00:06:45,076
But the nearly one million
Americans arrested each year for marijuana
120
00:06:45,077 --> 00:06:48,780
are caught on possession charges,
and never even sold a joint.
121
00:06:48,781 --> 00:06:52,016
Given the risks, you'll want to
save your money as fast as you can
122
00:06:52,017 --> 00:06:54,018
and start trading
more expensive drugs.
123
00:06:54,019 --> 00:06:56,386
I got into cocaine,
and I loved it.
124
00:06:58,289 --> 00:07:02,026
When it comes to cocaine,
America is the land of opportunity.
125
00:07:02,027 --> 00:07:05,463
It's the number one consumer
of coke in the world.
126
00:07:05,464 --> 00:07:07,499
The largest study of bank notes
127
00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:09,968
has found that nearly
nine out of 10 bills
128
00:07:09,969 --> 00:07:13,204
circulating in the U.S.
are tainted with cocaine.
129
00:07:13,205 --> 00:07:14,539
It's a law of nature.
130
00:07:14,540 --> 00:07:16,841
Where there's demand,
there's supply.
131
00:07:16,842 --> 00:07:18,543
And that's where you come in.
132
00:07:18,544 --> 00:07:20,545
The life of a coke dealer
isn't easy.
133
00:07:20,546 --> 00:07:23,548
When you start out,
you're alone, unprotected,
134
00:07:23,549 --> 00:07:27,285
at the bottom of a ruthless,
international crime syndicate.
135
00:07:27,286 --> 00:07:31,523
Most of the world's cocaine is manufactured
by drug lords in South America.
136
00:07:31,524 --> 00:07:35,126
They smuggle over 500 tons into the U.S.
every year.
137
00:07:35,127 --> 00:07:38,496
Along the way, it passes through
a long line of distributors,
138
00:07:38,497 --> 00:07:40,465
until a couple
of grams get to you,
139
00:07:40,466 --> 00:07:43,801
a pawn in a massive,
70 billion dollar game.
140
00:07:48,006 --> 00:07:52,309
Pawns, man, in the game,
they get capped quick.
141
00:07:53,278 --> 00:07:54,879
They be out the game early.
142
00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,080
Unless they some
smart ass pawns.
143
00:08:00,318 --> 00:08:04,589
Curtis Jackson, otherwise
known as 50 Cent, had to learn quick.
144
00:08:04,590 --> 00:08:08,193
My mom hustled to provide
for me, financially.
145
00:08:08,194 --> 00:08:13,064
And her friends were all the people that
were out selling drugs as a lifestyle.
146
00:08:13,065 --> 00:08:15,333
Curtis was
raised without a father,
147
00:08:15,334 --> 00:08:18,203
and his mother was murdered
when he was eight years old.
148
00:08:18,204 --> 00:08:20,205
My mom was all I had,
149
00:08:20,206 --> 00:08:25,944
so when I lost her, I lost everything
that was pretty much good in my life.
150
00:08:25,945 --> 00:08:28,379
Her old friends
bought me things,
151
00:08:28,380 --> 00:08:30,514
then they got tired
of just buying me things.
152
00:08:31,983 --> 00:08:34,117
They gave me an eight
ball of cocaine.
153
00:08:35,119 --> 00:08:37,589
And they told me,
if anybody bothers you,
154
00:08:37,590 --> 00:08:40,058
you know, you tell them
you got it from us,
155
00:08:40,059 --> 00:08:43,628
and you'll be all right
in the neighborhood.
156
00:08:43,629 --> 00:08:46,930
I was about 12 years old
when that happened to me.
157
00:08:50,134 --> 00:08:52,470
That's the incredible
thing about cocaine.
158
00:08:52,471 --> 00:08:56,207
You can use it to make ends meet
when there are no other options.
159
00:08:56,208 --> 00:08:59,244
You can be anybody, even a kid.
160
00:08:59,245 --> 00:09:03,348
I would say about 14 or 15. That's when I
pretty much started into the drug trade.
161
00:09:03,349 --> 00:09:07,986
Let's say you're down and out,
like John was, living in South Central L.A.,
162
00:09:07,987 --> 00:09:09,621
crashing at your family's place,
163
00:09:09,622 --> 00:09:12,023
with no money,
not even for food.
164
00:09:12,024 --> 00:09:14,225
We were living in the
back of my uncle's house.
165
00:09:14,226 --> 00:09:16,426
He had this lemon tree, and one
day he came out and he was like,
166
00:09:16,427 --> 00:09:19,027
It seems like the lemons ain't growing any shit.
167
00:09:19,028 --> 00:09:20,999
We didn't have no food. You know, me and
my mom was eating lemons for dinner.
168
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,033
So, after that,
I had to get paid.
169
00:09:24,569 --> 00:09:27,538
The money that you could make
on the corner was real good.
170
00:09:27,539 --> 00:09:31,643
I started off with small amounts,
then I got to the big amounts.
171
00:09:31,644 --> 00:09:35,647
Crack, the most popular form
of cocaine sold in the open market.
172
00:09:35,648 --> 00:09:38,983
It's cheaper than powder, so low
income users can afford it.
173
00:09:38,984 --> 00:09:40,585
When you work
for an organization,
174
00:09:40,586 --> 00:09:43,421
they'll supply you with
$10 crack cocaine rocks.
175
00:09:43,422 --> 00:09:45,523
Because most of your
customers are addicts,
176
00:09:45,524 --> 00:09:48,626
they'll be impatient to make a
buy right out on the street.
177
00:09:48,627 --> 00:09:52,096
And the good thing about crack
fiends is they'll keep coming back.
178
00:09:52,097 --> 00:09:55,265
Some guys will make anywhere
from $1,000 to $10,000 a day.
179
00:10:01,372 --> 00:10:03,674
Are you the man
with them jumbo 6s?
180
00:10:03,675 --> 00:10:05,175
How many you fucking want?
181
00:10:05,176 --> 00:10:07,210
I'll take about three
or four hundred.
182
00:10:07,211 --> 00:10:08,412
Damn.
183
00:10:14,037 --> 00:10:16,052
It's all in the game yo.
184
00:10:16,053 --> 00:10:19,557
It's harder than functioning
in mainstream or corporate America
185
00:10:19,558 --> 00:10:22,060
because the dynamics
of it is different.
186
00:10:22,061 --> 00:10:26,564
In order to take a position in that
world, you can just, "pow." Just shoot.
187
00:10:26,565 --> 00:10:28,665
The chances of getting
robbed are pretty great, you know?
188
00:10:28,667 --> 00:10:31,436
You do as much as you
can to minimize that,
189
00:10:31,437 --> 00:10:33,604
but somebody at some point
is gonna want what you have,
190
00:10:33,605 --> 00:10:35,405
and they're not gonna have
the money to pay for it.
191
00:10:35,407 --> 00:10:37,307
They are gonna try
and take it from you.
192
00:10:37,308 --> 00:10:38,808
Eric Sterling is an attorney.
193
00:10:38,809 --> 00:10:42,312
With 30 years' experience investigating
the criminal drug world.
194
00:10:42,313 --> 00:10:43,613
He can explain more.
195
00:10:43,614 --> 00:10:48,219
If I steal a television set out
of, uh, you know, Best Buy,
196
00:10:48,220 --> 00:10:52,557
it lists for $1,000, I'll sell
it for $200 on the street.
197
00:10:52,558 --> 00:10:57,328
If I go rob the dope dealer,
I get all his cash,
198
00:10:57,329 --> 00:10:58,596
and I get drugs.
199
00:10:58,597 --> 00:11:00,665
And the advantage
of stolen drugs is
200
00:11:00,666 --> 00:11:03,568
when I steal a guy's coke
that's worth $1,000,
201
00:11:03,569 --> 00:11:05,737
I get to sell it for $1,000!
202
00:11:05,738 --> 00:11:07,772
There's no discount
for hot dope.
203
00:11:07,773 --> 00:11:09,240
Ever happened to you?
204
00:11:09,241 --> 00:11:11,075
Mmm.
205
00:11:11,076 --> 00:11:13,077
Not me. No, I never had
no problems like that.
206
00:11:13,078 --> 00:11:15,779
'Cause at the end of the day, you fuck
me, you gonna know what's happening.
207
00:11:15,780 --> 00:11:17,680
That right there, separates men from the boys.
208
00:11:17,681 --> 00:11:20,351
Are you gonna give them your drugs or
are you gonna tell them to fuck off?
209
00:11:20,352 --> 00:11:22,587
And I'm the person
that's gonna say fuck off.
210
00:11:22,588 --> 00:11:25,757
If you don't have a pistol, I don't
know why you even selling dope.
211
00:11:25,758 --> 00:11:28,626
You won't last. 'Cause
somebody gonna try you.
212
00:11:28,627 --> 00:11:31,729
Anyone who is dealing
drugs in this community,
213
00:11:31,730 --> 00:11:35,500
if they do not have a gun on
them, believe me, it's close by.
214
00:11:35,501 --> 00:11:39,604
It's under a stoop, right around a
corner, tucked behind a phone booth,
215
00:11:39,605 --> 00:11:40,772
but it's close by.
216
00:11:40,773 --> 00:11:44,609
They look up in your face,
they look up in your eye,
217
00:11:44,610 --> 00:11:46,644
they see the gun and they
know who's gonna use it,
218
00:11:46,645 --> 00:11:47,744
who ain't gonna use it.
219
00:11:49,747 --> 00:11:52,616
A, assess. "Don't shoot
them, kill them."
220
00:11:53,785 --> 00:11:56,320
Because if you shoot them, you gonna
make them angry enough to come back
221
00:11:56,321 --> 00:11:57,488
and really hurt you.
222
00:11:57,489 --> 00:11:59,656
So, if you're gonna shoot,
shoot to kill.
223
00:11:59,657 --> 00:12:01,557
I remember when I first got to L.A.
224
00:12:01,558 --> 00:12:04,429
It was like motherfuckers were shooting
each other every day on the news.
225
00:12:04,430 --> 00:12:07,799
It was like, New York, very much
like a stabbing society, you know.
226
00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,568
Something goes wrong, somebody
sticks a knife in your chest.
227
00:12:10,569 --> 00:12:13,271
It was a drug deal gone bad,
I got the worst of it.
228
00:12:13,272 --> 00:12:16,140
Stabbed here, stabbed
here, stabbed here.
229
00:12:16,141 --> 00:12:20,411
Once in the back of the head, once in
the chest, entered the left ventricle,
230
00:12:20,412 --> 00:12:23,213
and this is from
the open heart surgery.
231
00:12:25,349 --> 00:12:30,588
I don't want to say it's a miracle, but
the doctor brought me back to life.
232
00:12:30,589 --> 00:12:33,558
If you really want to
lower your risk of getting hurt,
233
00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:37,295
stabbed or shot, packing a
gun can only get you so far.
234
00:12:37,296 --> 00:12:39,363
Hiring backup is a great idea.
235
00:12:39,364 --> 00:12:40,698
Who do I hire?
236
00:12:40,699 --> 00:12:43,668
Do I hire nobody...
Nobody's heard of?
237
00:12:43,669 --> 00:12:46,170
Or do I hire a guy who's
got the biggest reputation
238
00:12:46,171 --> 00:12:48,439
for being the craziest
motherfucker?
239
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:53,578
The illegal drug market hires people
with reputations for violence.
240
00:12:53,579 --> 00:12:56,247
But don't think just because
you have a gun and a few guys,
241
00:12:56,248 --> 00:12:59,183
you can just go out and
start acquiring territory.
242
00:12:59,184 --> 00:13:04,255
Officer Neill Franklin served 33 years on the
Maryland State and Baltimore police forces.
243
00:13:04,256 --> 00:13:07,725
Having overseen 17 drug task
forces, he can tell you,
244
00:13:07,726 --> 00:13:09,627
if you want to be
a corner hustler,
245
00:13:09,628 --> 00:13:11,596
you're gonna need
permission first.
246
00:13:11,597 --> 00:13:15,233
As you try to
acquire your market place,
247
00:13:15,234 --> 00:13:18,302
there's probably gonna
be someone already there.
248
00:13:18,303 --> 00:13:22,306
They're not going to share or give
up their territory that easily.
249
00:13:22,307 --> 00:13:25,576
They're not going to share
it or give it up. Period.
250
00:13:25,577 --> 00:13:29,078
They would definitely approach you,
you will definitely get hurt
251
00:13:29,079 --> 00:13:33,484
trying to sell it in an area
without someone's consent.
252
00:13:33,485 --> 00:13:36,754
So I registered with the neighborhood
thugs, and that's how I got on.
253
00:13:36,755 --> 00:13:38,856
Basically, you got to
protect your neighborhood,
254
00:13:38,857 --> 00:13:42,859
and do the things that the organization require
you to do when you're a member of it.
255
00:13:42,860 --> 00:13:45,160
I remember having
a homicide one day,
256
00:13:45,170 --> 00:13:46,490
and they sat this
inmate before me.
257
00:13:46,497 --> 00:13:48,097
I said, "this guy looks familiar".
258
00:13:48,098 --> 00:13:51,736
Two seconds into the conversation, I
realize I used to play with this kid
259
00:13:51,737 --> 00:13:52,904
and knew his brothers.
260
00:13:52,905 --> 00:13:56,807
I said, "what are you doing here? How'd you get in
here?" He said, "Well, I'm in here for homicide."
261
00:13:56,808 --> 00:14:00,678
I said, "what are you talking about?" He says,
"Well, I was in the game. I was in the game."
262
00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,648
"And in an alley
behind Callow Street,"
263
00:14:03,649 --> 00:14:06,417
"I had to do what I had to do, and
I ended up taking someone's life"
264
00:14:06,418 --> 00:14:10,855
"defending myself because I
had to defend my territory"
265
00:14:10,856 --> 00:14:13,224
"and my business."
266
00:14:13,225 --> 00:14:16,460
So now you know what it takes to
make it on the street in the open market.
267
00:14:16,461 --> 00:14:19,797
But prices for drugs nowadays are way
cheaper than when Big John was selling,
268
00:14:19,798 --> 00:14:21,666
and the risks are just as high.
269
00:14:21,667 --> 00:14:23,668
If you don't wind up
getting killed by rivals,
270
00:14:23,669 --> 00:14:25,268
or hooked on your own product,
271
00:14:25,269 --> 00:14:27,069
Cops are going to pick you up eventually.
272
00:14:27,170 --> 00:14:30,707
In today's drug market, you're risking
your life for less than minimum wage.
273
00:14:30,708 --> 00:14:31,708
It's not worth it.
274
00:14:31,709 --> 00:14:34,944
If you want to go for the real money,
you got to get off the corner.
275
00:14:45,756 --> 00:14:48,659
Detroit. City of opportunity.
276
00:14:48,660 --> 00:14:52,296
Once upon a time, the symbol
of America's might and power.
277
00:14:52,297 --> 00:14:54,599
The heart of our
manufacturing industry.
278
00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,900
The home of the American Dream.
279
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,405
This is the Detroit of today.
280
00:15:03,406 --> 00:15:05,943
One of the highest unemployment
rates in the nation.
281
00:15:05,944 --> 00:15:10,281
Twenty-five percent of the population
has left in the last 10 years.
282
00:15:10,282 --> 00:15:15,419
For those without a job or who
can't move, they need to hustle.
283
00:15:15,420 --> 00:15:19,389
Mr. X wants to get out of the downward
spiral that's hit Detroit today.
284
00:15:20,358 --> 00:15:22,259
And he's going to tell you
what that means.
285
00:15:22,260 --> 00:15:24,560
It means I need to keep selling drugs
286
00:15:24,561 --> 00:15:27,331
or coke, or whatever the fuck
they're selling that's illegal.
287
00:15:27,332 --> 00:15:29,333
Because that's the only way out.
288
00:15:29,334 --> 00:15:32,636
I have a lot of bills.
I got rent to pay.
289
00:15:32,637 --> 00:15:33,937
Still gotta eat.
290
00:15:33,938 --> 00:15:36,507
But don't nobody really care
about your problems, man.
291
00:15:36,508 --> 00:15:39,809
You got to have the money, so,
welcome to the cocaine game.
292
00:15:41,679 --> 00:15:43,948
I rarely show
my face on the scene.
293
00:15:43,949 --> 00:15:46,017
Oh, man, I play
the phone game, man.
294
00:15:46,018 --> 00:15:48,585
Switch up my phones.
Keeps me off the corner.
295
00:15:58,029 --> 00:16:00,630
Uh, what is it that you want?
296
00:16:05,369 --> 00:16:07,305
Yeah I can get you a T for 70.
297
00:16:07,306 --> 00:16:09,640
Okay, cool. I'll see
you in 30 minutes. Bye.
298
00:16:09,641 --> 00:16:10,775
Bye.
299
00:16:10,776 --> 00:16:12,910
And bam.
300
00:16:12,911 --> 00:16:14,411
That's how you win.
301
00:16:16,314 --> 00:16:18,449
Shit, I'll be damned
if somebody tell me,
302
00:16:18,450 --> 00:16:22,753
"You got us working eight hours
for fucking $60, $70, man."
303
00:16:22,754 --> 00:16:24,922
That's crazy.
That's too much work.
304
00:16:24,923 --> 00:16:26,724
I just made that shit
in a phone call.
305
00:16:26,725 --> 00:16:28,926
The American Dream is
just to have enough money
306
00:16:28,927 --> 00:16:31,962
to be able to do whatever you want
to do, whenever you want to do it,
307
00:16:31,963 --> 00:16:34,565
based on your own hard work.
308
00:16:34,566 --> 00:16:36,801
Shit, just what I have on the
counter would probably get me
309
00:16:36,802 --> 00:16:39,536
anywhere from 10 years
to about 15 years.
310
00:16:39,537 --> 00:16:41,537
But if you ask me, it's worth it.
311
00:16:41,538 --> 00:16:44,808
I'd rather be out here getting
it than not getting it at all,
312
00:16:44,809 --> 00:16:46,309
I still wouldn't be out here.
313
00:16:46,310 --> 00:16:49,814
I've been really trying to free
myself, use the coke to free myself.
314
00:16:49,815 --> 00:16:53,584
As a private cocaine dealer,
you'll be mostly selling Ts and eight balls,
315
00:16:53,585 --> 00:16:57,955
sixteenth or eighth of an ounce little
baggies for up to 150 bucks a pop.
316
00:16:57,956 --> 00:17:00,424
Ramping up to 20
customers a day is easy.
317
00:17:00,425 --> 00:17:03,694
You'll be paying $500 for
your day's worth of cocaine,
318
00:17:03,695 --> 00:17:06,097
and you'll cut it in
half with baby laxative,
319
00:17:06,098 --> 00:17:10,433
which brings your profit to a total of a
grand a day, and you just got started.
320
00:17:11,202 --> 00:17:13,561
Don't bring fiends from outside
into your home.
321
00:17:13,562 --> 00:17:18,338
You invite fiends into your house. They will be
waking you up while you're asleep, banging on the door.
322
00:17:18,339 --> 00:17:21,078
They might bring the police with them,
with the wire taps and everything.
323
00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:26,717
That's how they do it. Man, they try to get as close
to you as possible, and you keep them at a distance.
324
00:17:26,718 --> 00:17:28,953
But you got to keep
that friendship with them.
325
00:17:28,954 --> 00:17:31,889
You can't be like, aggressive
with your customers.
326
00:17:31,890 --> 00:17:36,694
Cause you'll lose. You got to treat them fair,
you got to treat them like regular people.
327
00:17:36,695 --> 00:17:40,730
Man, a stash spot
is stashed away, hidden.
328
00:17:40,731 --> 00:17:42,831
If you say your house is not hidden.
329
00:17:42,832 --> 00:17:44,702
Get that shit out the house,
keep it out the house.
330
00:17:44,703 --> 00:17:46,870
Don't let nobody come
to the house to buy it.
331
00:17:46,871 --> 00:17:48,771
I wouldn't put my money in a bank.
332
00:17:48,772 --> 00:17:51,841
I wouldn't put my money anywhere
that someone else can control it.
333
00:17:51,842 --> 00:17:53,842
Shit, you gotta hide that too.
334
00:17:53,843 --> 00:17:57,147
It'd be best to hide that
wherever you put your dope at.
335
00:17:57,148 --> 00:17:59,884
You get about 500,000
or something like that.
336
00:17:59,885 --> 00:18:03,621
Start me a couple businesses, man,
get right up out of this shit.
337
00:18:03,622 --> 00:18:06,891
If you decide that you ever
want to pick up this game,
338
00:18:06,892 --> 00:18:10,494
shit, pick it up for the right
reason, the money only.
339
00:18:10,495 --> 00:18:13,697
Save from the time that you get it
to the time that you quit, man.
340
00:18:13,698 --> 00:18:15,766
And you won't be in it so long.
341
00:18:15,767 --> 00:18:17,901
If you choose
to be a cocaine dealer,
342
00:18:17,902 --> 00:18:19,902
You need to know the rest.
343
00:18:19,903 --> 00:18:24,007
If you're black, you're about four times as
likely to be arrested than a white dealer,
344
00:18:24,008 --> 00:18:25,708
Which is counter-intuitive.
345
00:18:25,709 --> 00:18:29,547
Because white Americans buy and
sell more cocaine than anyone else.
346
00:18:29,548 --> 00:18:32,882
It's the circumstances to where they're
actually setting up to sell the drugs,
347
00:18:32,883 --> 00:18:33,883
the locations.
348
00:18:33,884 --> 00:18:36,520
See, the black drug dealers
will be in the neighborhoods
349
00:18:36,521 --> 00:18:40,191
where the law enforcement will search
people without very much reasoning.
350
00:18:40,192 --> 00:18:42,658
I mean, my first case,
it was like a fluke.
351
00:18:42,659 --> 00:18:43,859
A guy was running.
352
00:18:43,860 --> 00:18:47,498
He, uh, ran where we're at. I
happened to be just standing outside,
353
00:18:47,499 --> 00:18:49,467
and the police say,
"Get up against the fence."
354
00:18:49,468 --> 00:18:52,536
And I'm like, "Man, come on, why I
got to get up against the fence?"
355
00:18:52,537 --> 00:18:53,604
"Shut up."
356
00:18:53,605 --> 00:18:55,706
Next thing you know,
357
00:18:55,707 --> 00:18:57,875
they pulled this big brick out my pocket.
358
00:18:57,876 --> 00:18:59,944
So, that was the beginning
of the end, right there.
359
00:18:59,945 --> 00:19:02,112
You're not only
more likely to be arrested,
360
00:19:02,113 --> 00:19:04,582
but prosecuted,
with heavy prison time.
361
00:19:04,583 --> 00:19:09,119
The reason that 94.5%
of people incarcerated
362
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,555
under the Rockefeller Drug
Laws are black and brown
363
00:19:11,556 --> 00:19:13,257
is that's the way
the DA's operate.
364
00:19:13,258 --> 00:19:15,993
Business mogul
Russell Simmons spent years
365
00:19:15,994 --> 00:19:19,630
lobbying against the harsh Rockefeller
Drug Laws of New York City,
366
00:19:19,631 --> 00:19:23,267
which treated the non-violent crime
of drug dealing the same as murder.
367
00:19:23,268 --> 00:19:25,503
I mean, imagine you're a model.
368
00:19:25,504 --> 00:19:27,738
You know, a fashion model. You
know, like some blonde girl.
369
00:19:27,739 --> 00:19:29,874
It doesn't matter where you're
from, you're not going to jail.
370
00:19:29,875 --> 00:19:31,242
And if you're some guy
from the hood,
371
00:19:31,243 --> 00:19:33,244
maybe you'll go
to jail for 20 years.
372
00:19:33,245 --> 00:19:35,913
Hell, they tried
to give me 45 years.
373
00:19:35,914 --> 00:19:40,050
So, I did a lot of time. I did, like
five years, spring something like that.
374
00:19:40,051 --> 00:19:44,622
And a white drug dealer will be in middle
America, somewhere in the suburbs.
375
00:19:44,623 --> 00:19:50,261
That isn't in a space where he can just be
searched for no reason at all or go to jail.
376
00:19:50,262 --> 00:19:53,697
Curtis Jackson, Russell
Simmons, and many others
377
00:19:53,698 --> 00:19:55,633
have successfully
persuaded New York
378
00:19:55,634 --> 00:19:58,869
to reduce some of their
harsh sentencing practices.
379
00:19:58,870 --> 00:20:01,572
But 90% of those
convicted on drug charges
380
00:20:01,573 --> 00:20:04,875
are still African-American
and Latino.
381
00:20:04,876 --> 00:20:06,777
Like they say for any business,
382
00:20:06,778 --> 00:20:10,647
the golden rule, location,
location, location.
383
00:20:12,283 --> 00:20:14,618
I didn't care about people knew where I lived.
384
00:20:14,619 --> 00:20:17,087
People would just come to my
house, and I would go outside
385
00:20:17,088 --> 00:20:19,990
and just give them the gram, and we
would do the transaction that way.
386
00:20:19,991 --> 00:20:24,761
In 2003, I was the main coke dealer
for all the private schools in L.A.
387
00:20:24,762 --> 00:20:26,462
Meet Mike Walzman.
388
00:20:26,463 --> 00:20:29,567
If you're gonna be a private coke
dealer, this is the way to go.
389
00:20:29,568 --> 00:20:31,135
In a nice, suburban
neighborhood,
390
00:20:31,136 --> 00:20:34,137
selling to the largest
cocaine market directly.
391
00:20:34,138 --> 00:20:35,938
Mike was a big party-er.
392
00:20:35,939 --> 00:20:38,842
And already knew where to buy
cocaine for him and his friends.
393
00:20:38,843 --> 00:20:42,146
So, he was in a perfect position
to go into business for himself.
394
00:20:42,147 --> 00:20:44,348
What's going on
through my head is,
395
00:20:44,349 --> 00:20:47,117
just start selling drugs
to support my habit
396
00:20:47,118 --> 00:20:50,054
and to support the
lifestyle that I wanted.
397
00:20:50,055 --> 00:20:53,190
People want drugs,
so I can sell drugs.
398
00:20:53,191 --> 00:20:55,092
'Cause I know where
to get it already.
399
00:20:55,093 --> 00:20:57,328
My first rock
was about this big,
400
00:20:57,329 --> 00:20:59,930
and I remember
showing my friends this.
401
00:20:59,931 --> 00:21:05,035
They were like, "No fucking way you have
this big of a rock with you right now",
402
00:21:05,036 --> 00:21:06,669
"like, this is insane."
403
00:21:08,947 --> 00:21:10,772
And it wasn't like, "stop doing this."
404
00:21:10,773 --> 00:21:15,042
It was like, "This is
awesome, this is exciting."
405
00:21:15,746 --> 00:21:19,950
The stories that grew out of me being
a coke dealer just went from this
406
00:21:19,951 --> 00:21:23,954
to like, you know, this, and I was
suddenly, you know, the guy...
407
00:21:23,955 --> 00:21:25,923
You know, that everyone's
talking about,
408
00:21:25,924 --> 00:21:29,093
I threw a party at
the L'Ermitage hotel,
409
00:21:29,094 --> 00:21:31,295
and I got, like,
the Penthouse suite.
410
00:21:31,296 --> 00:21:33,964
I've always wanted
to be loved and accepted.
411
00:21:33,965 --> 00:21:37,301
And that's what selling coke gave me.
It gave me that power,
412
00:21:37,302 --> 00:21:39,770
it gave me the feeling
of acceptance.
413
00:21:39,771 --> 00:21:42,640
It was definitely addictive
to be a drug dealer.
414
00:21:42,641 --> 00:21:45,876
Not only the money
that you got from it,
415
00:21:45,877 --> 00:21:48,112
but the way people
talked about you,
416
00:21:48,113 --> 00:21:52,249
the way people looked at you,
the power that I felt from it.
417
00:21:52,250 --> 00:21:56,987
I just liked having money. It gave
me security, it made me feel good.
418
00:21:56,988 --> 00:21:59,723
People don't know what's a
gram, and what's not a gram,
419
00:21:59,724 --> 00:22:01,392
they've never seen
coke before in their life.
420
00:22:01,393 --> 00:22:04,328
The market rate for a gram
was about $50 for coke,
421
00:22:04,329 --> 00:22:06,397
but if you're a rich girl
who didn't know anything,
422
00:22:06,398 --> 00:22:11,402
I would probably sell you
.5 for about $60 to $75.
423
00:22:11,403 --> 00:22:14,738
A guy like Mike makes
half as much as our Detroit dealer,
424
00:22:14,739 --> 00:22:18,042
working half as hard, but with
virtually none of the risk.
425
00:22:18,043 --> 00:22:21,278
The word got out that I have
coke, and I'm selling coke.
426
00:22:21,279 --> 00:22:24,381
The dean in the school,
they pulled me in,
427
00:22:24,382 --> 00:22:28,018
and they said, "Hey look, you know, we're
hearing that you're selling drugs",
428
00:22:28,019 --> 00:22:30,354
"and we want to do
a drug test on you."
429
00:22:30,355 --> 00:22:32,723
So, at that point, you
know, I thought to myself,
430
00:22:32,724 --> 00:22:36,927
"Well, I better really slow down
on this and not do it any more."
431
00:22:36,928 --> 00:22:38,328
Mike failed his drug test,
432
00:22:38,329 --> 00:22:41,364
and was kicked out of school,
but never did any hard time.
433
00:22:42,366 --> 00:22:44,902
When dealing small amounts,
the nicer the neighborhood,
434
00:22:44,903 --> 00:22:46,969
the less chance
of getting busted.
435
00:22:46,970 --> 00:22:48,670
But selling only grams and ounces,
436
00:22:48,671 --> 00:22:52,242
it'll still take years to get that
mansion in the hills you want.
437
00:22:52,243 --> 00:22:55,179
To be a big time player,
you need to get committed.
438
00:22:55,180 --> 00:22:57,313
It's time to start
building a business.
439
00:23:06,023 --> 00:23:08,859
Instead of selling ounces,
I started selling keys.
440
00:23:08,860 --> 00:23:12,029
A key is a kilo of cocaine.
441
00:23:12,030 --> 00:23:15,099
A single kilo can run
you about $20,000.
442
00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:17,334
I had what I believe was skills.
443
00:23:17,335 --> 00:23:21,171
This is Skipp. He did
really well as a corner hustler.
444
00:23:21,172 --> 00:23:25,342
I had the skills to sit on the
wall and make about $8,000 a day.
445
00:23:25,343 --> 00:23:28,512
Once you've stacked up enough
money, you can buy larger quantities
446
00:23:28,513 --> 00:23:32,349
and supply dealers yourself, which is
what Skipp's gonna teach you to do.
447
00:23:32,350 --> 00:23:36,420
I was 10 or 11 years old,
my family life was dysfunctional.
448
00:23:36,421 --> 00:23:39,223
My mother worked two jobs,
my father wasn't in the home,
449
00:23:39,224 --> 00:23:41,091
so before drugs came
into the community,
450
00:23:41,092 --> 00:23:45,496
lot of people who would hustle would
rob banks or rob jewellery stores.
451
00:23:45,497 --> 00:23:47,797
The aggression, the
violence wasn't for me.
452
00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,200
Skipp was struggling to make ends meet,
when he joined the blood gang
453
00:23:51,201 --> 00:23:54,501
in order to protect himself from the
Crips bullying his neighborhood.
454
00:23:54,506 --> 00:23:58,242
I was a blood gang member, but it was
the relationships I had with the Crips
455
00:23:58,243 --> 00:24:01,011
that actually
introduced me to drugs.
456
00:24:01,012 --> 00:24:04,012
I saw them having money, and I was
asking them what are they doing,
457
00:24:04,015 --> 00:24:07,315
and the more I hung out with them, I
got more into the culture of drugs.
458
00:24:07,385 --> 00:24:09,453
We used to go to, uh,
different areas
459
00:24:09,454 --> 00:24:12,022
that weren't populated
by the L.A. culture
460
00:24:12,023 --> 00:24:14,391
so they wanted it, but they
didn't have the connection,
461
00:24:14,392 --> 00:24:16,994
so we would come out
and be that connection.
462
00:24:16,995 --> 00:24:20,430
You'd have to have, uh, a
family contact or a friend.
463
00:24:20,431 --> 00:24:22,266
I myself went to Las Vegas.
464
00:24:22,267 --> 00:24:25,068
There are more than a hundred
street gangs in Los Angeles.
465
00:24:25,069 --> 00:24:27,371
Police now say they have
become heavily involved
466
00:24:27,372 --> 00:24:30,874
in the drug trade, exporting their
crimes throughout the west.
467
00:24:30,875 --> 00:24:33,877
Going out of town when people
knew you were from L.A.,
468
00:24:33,878 --> 00:24:36,180
that number one,
made you a star celebrity.
469
00:24:36,181 --> 00:24:39,583
And then, if you were the
guy who had the drugs,
470
00:24:39,584 --> 00:24:42,119
it made you an even
bigger celebrity.
471
00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:46,223
Made all the girls love
and want to come to you.
472
00:24:46,224 --> 00:24:49,064
The difficult part became
how to get it out of town.
473
00:24:51,161 --> 00:24:54,164
I myself would always
buy a bucket.
474
00:24:54,165 --> 00:24:58,869
Put whatever I want inside of it
and go get a girl who likes me.
475
00:24:58,870 --> 00:25:01,305
Don't tell her what's in the
car, and let her drive it.
476
00:25:01,306 --> 00:25:03,140
Did the girls
ever get pulled over?
477
00:25:03,141 --> 00:25:06,376
Nah, I've been fortunate that
that has never occurred.
478
00:25:06,377 --> 00:25:10,013
Um, however, they did get pregnant,
and I now have children.
479
00:25:10,014 --> 00:25:12,149
The relationships that
I wanted for a weekend
480
00:25:12,150 --> 00:25:14,618
have lasted longer
than I expected.
481
00:25:14,619 --> 00:25:17,187
A lot of smugglers
get someone else to drive.
482
00:25:17,188 --> 00:25:19,323
But how do you keep
track of you driver?
483
00:25:19,324 --> 00:25:22,325
The DEA make a living
chasing drugs across country.
484
00:25:24,628 --> 00:25:28,598
So they can tell you how the smartest
suppliers keep track of their cargo.
485
00:25:28,599 --> 00:25:30,799
This particular vehicle, the owner of the vehicle,
486
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,472
the source of supply had rigged
this car with a GPS locator
487
00:25:35,473 --> 00:25:38,941
and a phone, so he could
actually dial into the phone
488
00:25:38,942 --> 00:25:40,942
without the driver of the vehicle knowing
489
00:25:40,943 --> 00:25:43,480
and he could monitor if the transaction
was going correctly or not.
490
00:25:43,481 --> 00:25:45,616
He would know if the vehicle
was out of position.
491
00:25:45,617 --> 00:25:48,085
Now, you don't want
to put your drugs in the trunk.
492
00:25:48,086 --> 00:25:50,554
You're going to want some new
options on your vehicle.
493
00:25:50,555 --> 00:25:54,323
Designing "traps" is standard
practice for any local chop shop.
494
00:25:57,127 --> 00:25:58,629
It's kind of like
a combination safe.
495
00:25:58,630 --> 00:26:01,130
It has to be a series of things
activated in the vehicle
496
00:26:01,131 --> 00:26:02,831
before the trap could work.
497
00:26:02,832 --> 00:26:06,036
Like, they may have to have the air
conditioning on, the blinker on,
498
00:26:06,037 --> 00:26:09,339
and a couple of other things within
the vehicle for it to activate.
499
00:26:09,340 --> 00:26:11,108
You got money to spend,
you'll get a real good trap.
500
00:26:11,109 --> 00:26:13,410
We've seen some sloppy
ones, this is good work.
501
00:26:13,411 --> 00:26:16,078
When they're closed, you would never
know by looking at it with your eye
502
00:26:16,079 --> 00:26:17,779
that there was a trap inside here
503
00:26:17,780 --> 00:26:20,117
so whoever constructed this
one was a professional.
504
00:26:20,118 --> 00:26:22,653
It goes the whole length
of the back seat area.
505
00:26:22,654 --> 00:26:25,589
So you could fit probably
in excess of 10 kilograms
506
00:26:25,590 --> 00:26:29,026
of, uh, narcotics, large amounts
of currency or weapons.
507
00:26:29,027 --> 00:26:32,029
Now you're ready.
But before you hit the road,
508
00:26:32,030 --> 00:26:35,164
Pepe has some tips from back in the
day when he was running cocaine.
509
00:26:49,113 --> 00:26:51,715
25? 25. No more.
510
00:26:51,716 --> 00:26:53,716
75? 75. You know?
511
00:26:59,057 --> 00:27:02,326
And you get there. You be there.
512
00:27:02,327 --> 00:27:04,661
So how much does
a smuggler expect to make?
513
00:27:04,662 --> 00:27:09,566
If they take 10 kilos, they give
me $4,000 just to smuggle it,
514
00:27:09,567 --> 00:27:14,236
or if it was more?
5,000. It all depends.
515
00:27:15,472 --> 00:27:18,308
So you've driven a
few kilos across country,
516
00:27:18,309 --> 00:27:21,711
you might be making
mid six figures a year.
517
00:27:21,712 --> 00:27:23,812
There's no turning back now.
518
00:27:23,813 --> 00:27:27,084
Once you're in the game, you realize
just how many people want drugs.
519
00:27:27,085 --> 00:27:31,288
There's everybody from the Wall Street
types to the people on the streets,
520
00:27:31,289 --> 00:27:34,725
to kids going
to concerts, the stoners.
521
00:27:34,726 --> 00:27:36,560
Everybody wanted cocaine.
522
00:27:36,561 --> 00:27:39,062
What domestic
smugglers make in a month,
523
00:27:39,063 --> 00:27:41,530
Bobby Carlton would
eventually make in a day.
524
00:27:47,471 --> 00:27:50,773
In the 70s, all the cocaine was
coming in through South Florida,
525
00:27:50,774 --> 00:27:52,874
So that's where Bobby went.
526
00:27:52,875 --> 00:27:54,574
Ended up down in Fort Lauderdale
527
00:27:54,575 --> 00:27:57,214
and uh, back then they used to
call it the South Florida shuffle.
528
00:27:57,215 --> 00:28:01,184
Everybody and anybody was selling
drugs, running drugs, moving drugs.
529
00:28:01,185 --> 00:28:05,322
They were coming in, and
they were going everywhere.
530
00:28:05,323 --> 00:28:09,126
The posses buy
cocaine for about $5,000 a kilo.
531
00:28:09,127 --> 00:28:11,695
The drugs are then brought here to
Miami, where they're divided up
532
00:28:11,696 --> 00:28:14,498
and shipped all over
the United States.
533
00:28:14,499 --> 00:28:19,236
The initial $5,000 investment
is worth $125,000.
534
00:28:19,237 --> 00:28:22,472
A girl that we had known, me
and some friends, we had gone over
535
00:28:22,473 --> 00:28:28,278
to her house for a party, and I went with
her into her garage, and I was shocked.
536
00:28:28,279 --> 00:28:32,449
There was boxes and boxes of
cash just all over the garage,
537
00:28:32,450 --> 00:28:34,451
and it was just
packed with money.
538
00:28:34,452 --> 00:28:37,721
I just looked at her and I said, "Look
I don't care what you're into",
539
00:28:37,722 --> 00:28:40,223
"or how you do it, I want in."
540
00:28:40,224 --> 00:28:42,325
And she introduced
me to somebody,
541
00:28:42,326 --> 00:28:44,593
and, uh, that somebody
put me on a boat.
542
00:28:51,268 --> 00:28:54,137
The way it works is their
drop-off point is Bimini.
543
00:28:54,138 --> 00:28:57,107
Bimini's literally like 70 miles
off the coast of Florida.
544
00:28:57,108 --> 00:29:00,709
You can go to Bimini, load up,
and then jump off into Miami.
545
00:29:00,710 --> 00:29:03,279
"Go fast boats" are called
go fast boats for a reason.
546
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:04,780
Those things fly.
547
00:29:04,781 --> 00:29:06,650
These, like, Colombian
cats hedge their bets.
548
00:29:06,651 --> 00:29:10,453
What they do is they send about
15 to 20 of them at a time.
549
00:29:10,454 --> 00:29:11,954
This way if the coast guard is coming,
550
00:29:11,955 --> 00:29:16,293
the odds of getting arrested are
very slim, the money's very good.
551
00:29:16,294 --> 00:29:19,362
You get into Fort Lauderdale
or you get into Miami,
552
00:29:19,363 --> 00:29:24,167
and uh, you drop a boat off, and you
get a bunch of cash and that was it.
553
00:29:24,168 --> 00:29:27,804
When you're 18 years old and you
come from a very poor family,
554
00:29:27,805 --> 00:29:31,325
like stuff's just not happening
for you, that's a lot of money.
555
00:29:38,415 --> 00:29:42,119
Fifty grand a day
would satisfy most people.
556
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,453
But not Brian O'Dea.
557
00:29:44,454 --> 00:29:46,554
At the height of his career,
558
00:29:46,555 --> 00:29:49,726
Brian was one of the most notorious
drug smugglers in the world.
559
00:29:49,727 --> 00:29:55,332
He and his 120 employees would
take in over $100 million a year.
560
00:29:55,333 --> 00:29:57,868
Brian's going to show you
how a college dropout
561
00:29:57,869 --> 00:30:02,205
can become the CEO of a major
import-export business.
562
00:30:02,206 --> 00:30:04,708
I sent two pounds of hash
to myself from England.
563
00:30:04,709 --> 00:30:08,145
I got 19 months for that,
and went to prison.
564
00:30:08,146 --> 00:30:12,616
When I got out of prison, I had
no money and nothing going on.
565
00:30:12,617 --> 00:30:14,651
So, I thought,
maybe I can kick start
566
00:30:14,652 --> 00:30:17,888
my getting back into the
world with a little coke.
567
00:30:17,889 --> 00:30:21,858
I had $500 in my pocket,
and an address.
568
00:30:21,859 --> 00:30:24,761
Couldn't speak a word of Spanish,
but figured I could figure it out,
569
00:30:24,762 --> 00:30:26,882
so I took off to Colombia,
570
00:30:27,764 --> 00:30:31,368
and I said,
"Do you know, uh, Benny?"
571
00:30:31,369 --> 00:30:33,770
Showing him my card
with Benny's name on it.
572
00:30:33,771 --> 00:30:37,174
I won't say his last name right now.
I might get myself shot.
573
00:30:37,175 --> 00:30:39,509
So the guy, he said,
"What do you want?"
574
00:30:39,510 --> 00:30:40,777
I went like that,
575
00:30:40,778 --> 00:30:43,346
and I said "Well, I
got $500 with me."
576
00:30:43,347 --> 00:30:46,249
And, you know, everybody started
crying laughing, right.
577
00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:48,385
I told him I just
got out of prison,
578
00:30:48,386 --> 00:30:51,788
I got my hands on... That's
all I could get my hands on,
579
00:30:51,789 --> 00:30:53,857
and I'm just trying
to get a life started.
580
00:30:53,858 --> 00:30:56,526
So he said,
"Senor, muchos huevos."
581
00:30:56,527 --> 00:30:58,461
He thought I had a lot of balls.
582
00:30:58,462 --> 00:31:00,730
He said, "I'm gonna get
you 50 grams of coke."
583
00:31:00,731 --> 00:31:03,700
"You can cut it in half 'cause
I'll give it to you pure."
584
00:31:03,701 --> 00:31:06,570
"You should be able to get about
10 grand out of that back there"
585
00:31:06,571 --> 00:31:07,671
"if you sell it in grams."
586
00:31:07,672 --> 00:31:09,539
I don't know where
I came up with this,
587
00:31:09,540 --> 00:31:12,209
but I got a pin, and I
heated it with a lighter,
588
00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:15,478
and you can put a hot pin
under this cellophane here,
589
00:31:15,479 --> 00:31:17,647
and that will pop open.
590
00:31:17,648 --> 00:31:20,650
So, then you can slide the
cigarettes right out of the pack
591
00:31:20,651 --> 00:31:22,485
without breaking the seal.
592
00:31:22,486 --> 00:31:26,723
The 50 grams of coke
fit into this pack
593
00:31:26,724 --> 00:31:29,593
like it was made
to fit into that pack.
594
00:31:29,594 --> 00:31:32,596
I thought,
"Ah, this is brilliant!"
595
00:31:32,597 --> 00:31:34,931
I put the cigarettes with
the coke in it in my pocket
596
00:31:34,932 --> 00:31:36,566
with the pack I was smoking.
597
00:31:36,567 --> 00:31:39,569
Leaving Colombia, you have
to go through immigration.
598
00:31:39,570 --> 00:31:42,572
There's no just going
and getting on the plane.
599
00:31:42,573 --> 00:31:47,410
So, I'm going through immigration, there
are two guys there, and they go...
600
00:31:47,411 --> 00:31:51,248
"On behalf of the Unites States
Government, we're checking all people"
601
00:31:51,249 --> 00:31:54,618
"who fit a profile, who seem
to be involved with drugs..."
602
00:31:54,619 --> 00:31:58,955
I said, "Are you kidding me? I'm a reporter!
I'm a journalist!"
603
00:31:58,956 --> 00:32:04,761
But they said, "We still have to
take your clothes off, please",
604
00:32:04,762 --> 00:32:06,463
"and get your suitcases
off the plane."
605
00:32:06,464 --> 00:32:09,599
I'm going, "No!
I'm not taking my..."
606
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,335
"Sir, there's nothing we can do about it.
You have to."
607
00:32:12,336 --> 00:32:14,337
I take my pants off,
still have my jacket on.
608
00:32:14,338 --> 00:32:17,774
I pass them my pants, cursing
and swearing, and my socks,
609
00:32:17,775 --> 00:32:20,710
and I reach my hand
into my jacket pocket.
610
00:32:20,711 --> 00:32:23,947
I put the cigarettes I was holding
the coke in on the bottom
611
00:32:23,948 --> 00:32:26,650
and the cigarettes I was smoking
on the top, and I flipped it open,
612
00:32:26,651 --> 00:32:29,619
the one I was smoking, pulled
out a cigarette and lit it.
613
00:32:29,620 --> 00:32:31,755
Offered them a cigarette,
which they each took.
614
00:32:31,756 --> 00:32:34,758
I mean, these guys are making 30
bucks a month, we can't forget.
615
00:32:34,759 --> 00:32:37,460
I'm lighting their cigarettes,
and I take my jacket off
616
00:32:37,461 --> 00:32:39,296
and hand it to them,
and my shirt,
617
00:32:39,297 --> 00:32:43,833
holding the cigarettes and the
coke in my hand the entire time.
618
00:32:43,834 --> 00:32:49,639
The moment they handed me back a piece of
clothing that had a pocket in it, shwamp!
619
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,909
I immediately stuffed
the coke back in the pocket.
620
00:32:52,910 --> 00:32:57,480
And that's how I got
in the coke business.
621
00:32:57,481 --> 00:33:01,050
After that, Brian
O'Dea was in business.
622
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:08,792
He got a small amount of coke, and he dissolved
it in water, and then poured in material.
623
00:33:08,793 --> 00:33:12,962
What we used were ponchos, or ruanas
as they're called in Colombia.
624
00:33:12,963 --> 00:33:16,499
So, here we now had this piece of material
that had a couple of grams of coke in it,
625
00:33:16,500 --> 00:33:19,736
and then I just folded up those ponchos
buddy, put them in my suitcase,
626
00:33:19,737 --> 00:33:22,972
and headed on a direct flight
to L.A. from Bogota.
627
00:33:22,973 --> 00:33:28,411
You just soak it in the water, and
then evaporate the water off. Simple.
628
00:33:28,412 --> 00:33:31,548
Of course, methanol is what you should
be doing it with, and not water,
629
00:33:31,549 --> 00:33:34,050
'cause methanol evaporates
off at room temperature.
630
00:33:34,051 --> 00:33:36,653
Water, you got to wait forever
for the shit to evaporate,
631
00:33:36,654 --> 00:33:38,935
which is, you know...
It's a learning process.
632
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,830
If these individuals
were putting their expertise
633
00:33:46,831 --> 00:33:48,498
towards a legitimate goal,
634
00:33:48,499 --> 00:33:51,768
could probably be very
wealthy as entrepreneurs.
635
00:33:51,769 --> 00:33:55,572
We have seized drugs
in prosthetic legs,
636
00:33:55,573 --> 00:33:59,641
heroin in kidney beans,
in the back of paintings.
637
00:34:04,414 --> 00:34:09,986
Individuals swallow condoms filled with heroin.
Heroin pellets, we call them.
638
00:34:09,987 --> 00:34:12,856
Once that condom breaks open
or that balloon breaks open,
639
00:34:12,857 --> 00:34:16,959
there's not much anyone's going to
be able to do to save your life.
640
00:34:19,129 --> 00:34:22,098
A million dollars in a
few months is a lot of money.
641
00:34:22,099 --> 00:34:24,768
But how would you like to
make that in a few days?
642
00:34:24,769 --> 00:34:27,637
Everyone dreams of climbing to
the top of the game one day.
643
00:34:27,638 --> 00:34:32,408
Some people can play baseball,
basketball, or sing, or dance.
644
00:34:35,845 --> 00:34:39,549
With some of the icons being
millionaires from selling drugs,
645
00:34:39,550 --> 00:34:41,818
of course, I wanted... I
didn't want to be like Mike.
646
00:34:41,819 --> 00:34:43,820
I didn't want to be like Michael
Jordan or Magic Johnson,
647
00:34:43,821 --> 00:34:44,988
I wanted to be like...
648
00:34:44,989 --> 00:34:47,150
I wanted to be
like Freeway Rick!
649
00:34:47,490 --> 00:34:49,893
My name is Freeway Rick Ross.
650
00:34:49,894 --> 00:34:52,795
My claim to fame
is being a drug kingpin.
651
00:34:57,500 --> 00:34:59,903
At that time, I never did
drugs, I had never smoked weed.
652
00:34:59,904 --> 00:35:03,640
I was going to a junior college playing
tennis when my car was broken down.
653
00:35:03,641 --> 00:35:05,508
I was in financial
ruins at the time.
654
00:35:05,509 --> 00:35:06,676
I needed some money.
655
00:35:06,677 --> 00:35:08,912
Narcotics is
a thing of the future.
656
00:35:08,913 --> 00:35:10,680
If we don't get
a piece of that action,
657
00:35:10,681 --> 00:35:14,117
we risk everything we have. I mean,
not now, but 10 years from now.
658
00:35:14,118 --> 00:35:16,453
When they put those movies
out, that made us curious.
659
00:35:16,454 --> 00:35:18,188
I mean it was almost like
being a movie star.
660
00:35:18,189 --> 00:35:20,490
You know, how people
wished to be movie stars.
661
00:35:20,491 --> 00:35:22,224
That was the way I felt
about cocaine.
662
00:35:24,225 --> 00:35:26,527
You know, "how can I get some cocaine?"
663
00:35:26,528 --> 00:35:31,431
We went to the movie, it might
have been 15 or 20 of us.
664
00:35:31,868 --> 00:35:33,503
And we were all curious.
665
00:35:33,504 --> 00:35:36,105
Most of the older people were
saying, you know, that, uh...
666
00:35:36,106 --> 00:35:38,808
"You can't make any money in
South Central off of cocaine."
667
00:35:38,809 --> 00:35:42,545
What I found out is that the PCP
dealers made so much money for PCP,
668
00:35:42,546 --> 00:35:44,947
they had the money, and they
became my first customers.
669
00:35:46,549 --> 00:35:48,952
We just kept escalating
and escalating
670
00:35:48,953 --> 00:35:52,622
until my mom found out
and put me out the house.
671
00:35:52,623 --> 00:35:56,526
I was ghetto-rich at that time so I had
plenty of places that I could move.
672
00:35:56,527 --> 00:35:59,863
The trick to becoming a
kingpin in any industry is innovation.
673
00:35:59,864 --> 00:36:02,832
Freeway Rick introduced
crack to the West Coast.
674
00:36:02,833 --> 00:36:06,035
When people snort cocaine, they snort
so much their nose start bleeding.
675
00:36:06,036 --> 00:36:08,705
So, they needed another way
to get it into their systems.
676
00:36:08,706 --> 00:36:10,139
People would come by
early in the morning,
677
00:36:10,140 --> 00:36:13,209
you know, like, doctors and
nurses and truck drivers.
678
00:36:13,210 --> 00:36:15,778
They want to get some,
and they want to smoke it.
679
00:36:15,779 --> 00:36:19,782
They started saying stuff like, "Man,
I wish it was ready to go already."
680
00:36:19,783 --> 00:36:23,085
So we got hip, and we started
cooking it up for them,
681
00:36:23,086 --> 00:36:24,886
we started calling them Ready Rocks
682
00:36:24,887 --> 00:36:27,257
so we would have the powder
here and the Ready Rock here.
683
00:36:27,258 --> 00:36:30,726
Eventually, everybody started
wanting it, uh, Ready Rocked.
684
00:36:31,861 --> 00:36:34,964
For one minute, it was
like, in South Central,
685
00:36:34,965 --> 00:36:38,801
then it moved to Inglewood,
then it moved to West L.A.
686
00:36:38,802 --> 00:36:41,905
Then it moved to Compton,
then it moved to Watts,
687
00:36:41,906 --> 00:36:43,873
it's like a virus.
688
00:36:43,874 --> 00:36:46,976
Pretty much every day I could do a
million dollars' worth of drugs.
689
00:36:46,977 --> 00:36:50,145
There was days that I would go to
two and three million dollars.
690
00:36:53,616 --> 00:36:55,184
I gave a lot of money away.
691
00:36:55,185 --> 00:36:57,887
I mean, that's part of,
you know, being successful,
692
00:36:57,888 --> 00:37:00,156
so that you can help your
family and friends, you know.
693
00:37:00,157 --> 00:37:02,025
Somebody would come up to
your house when it was due,
694
00:37:02,026 --> 00:37:05,628
car notes, light bills,
you know, friends in jail.
695
00:37:05,629 --> 00:37:08,064
So much stuff... You know, just
give to kids on the street.
696
00:37:08,065 --> 00:37:11,234
I mean, it's a good feeling when you
can help somebody else, you know.
697
00:37:11,235 --> 00:37:13,670
One of the best feelings
that you can have, so...
698
00:37:13,671 --> 00:37:18,808
I probably used to take about $40,000 a
day around with me just to give out.
699
00:37:18,809 --> 00:37:21,844
You know, 'cause people be coming up
to me all day, anyway, to see me.
700
00:37:21,845 --> 00:37:24,581
So, you know, you got to give
it to them if you see them.
701
00:37:24,582 --> 00:37:27,016
When you're a
kingpin, word travels fast.
702
00:37:27,017 --> 00:37:29,752
Like Pablo Escobar was
to many Colombians.
703
00:37:29,753 --> 00:37:31,788
For communities with
struggling economies,
704
00:37:31,789 --> 00:37:36,025
you are a primary job creator,
community leader, godfather,
705
00:37:36,026 --> 00:37:38,994
bank and charitable
organization.
706
00:37:38,995 --> 00:37:41,095
That's what I want, for somebody to do for me.
707
00:37:41,096 --> 00:37:45,932
You know, if I was in trouble, I would
want somebody to give me a helping hand.
708
00:37:48,671 --> 00:37:51,341
When you're this high
profile, there's enormous pressure
709
00:37:51,342 --> 00:37:53,843
on law enforcement
to make a bust.
710
00:37:53,844 --> 00:37:55,745
And if your operation is tight,
711
00:37:55,746 --> 00:37:57,847
collecting evidence
can be nearly impossible.
712
00:37:57,848 --> 00:38:01,850
That's when Meltin puts a
bag of marijuana into Ferral's pocket.
713
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,363
California Judge Jim Gray
can explain their thinking.
714
00:38:13,364 --> 00:38:16,966
"I know this fellow may have
been involved with drugs before,"
715
00:38:16,967 --> 00:38:19,002
"so I'll plant some on him now."
716
00:38:19,003 --> 00:38:21,637
"So, he's good for it from
before, maybe not this time,."
717
00:38:21,638 --> 00:38:23,638
"But I'll just take care of that."
718
00:38:23,639 --> 00:38:26,208
And then, they actually go to
court and they involve themselves
719
00:38:26,410 --> 00:38:28,811
in what they call
"testal lying."
720
00:38:28,812 --> 00:38:30,847
And that's how
they busted Freeway Rick.
721
00:38:30,848 --> 00:38:34,217
The cops on my case
had planted drugs on me.
722
00:38:34,218 --> 00:38:35,917
I pled guilty to 10 years.
723
00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:46,329
So, knowing the cops are
going to arrest you at some point
724
00:38:46,330 --> 00:38:49,799
no matter how good you are,
what can you do?
725
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,403
The first thing you need to
understand is how drug cases work.
726
00:38:53,404 --> 00:38:57,006
Drug cases are prosecuted
unlike any other criminal case.
727
00:38:57,007 --> 00:38:59,108
Here's a cop and
a lawyer to explain how.
728
00:38:59,109 --> 00:39:03,980
It's impossible for
the police to have a normal procedure
729
00:39:03,981 --> 00:39:06,416
in a crime where
nobody wants to report it.
730
00:39:06,417 --> 00:39:11,788
Nobody calls 911 when they use a
drug, buy a drug, or sell a drug.
731
00:39:11,789 --> 00:39:15,291
In traditional law enforcement,
a crime gets committed,
732
00:39:15,292 --> 00:39:18,728
police try to find
who committed the crime.
733
00:39:18,729 --> 00:39:21,030
This is the way
drug enforcement works,
734
00:39:21,031 --> 00:39:28,404
you look for a suspect, and then you try
to trick them into committing the crime...
735
00:39:28,405 --> 00:39:30,440
For you!
736
00:39:30,441 --> 00:39:32,041
It's backwards.
737
00:39:32,042 --> 00:39:33,776
So the government
goes around sort of saying,
738
00:39:33,777 --> 00:39:35,712
"Let's find suspect,
who should be a..."
739
00:39:35,713 --> 00:39:37,946
"Well, let's try
to set some fucker up."
740
00:39:39,782 --> 00:39:42,018
Here we are, observing the DEA,
741
00:39:42,019 --> 00:39:44,387
who've arranged to buy
drugs from a suspect.
742
00:39:44,388 --> 00:39:46,789
He's the guy on the right
with the baseball cap.
743
00:39:46,790 --> 00:39:52,728
He's completely surrounded by law
enforcement, and has no idea.
744
00:40:01,037 --> 00:40:04,140
Just chill, just chill. Got any weapons on you?
Anything on you?
745
00:40:04,141 --> 00:40:06,843
Nothing? No guns,
no knives, no drugs?
746
00:40:06,844 --> 00:40:08,945
All right. But just to protect,
do you have anything on you,
747
00:40:08,946 --> 00:40:16,486
The reality is that the cops don't
really care too much about this one guy.
748
00:40:16,487 --> 00:40:20,089
Their objective is to just use
him to cuff more dealers.
749
00:40:20,090 --> 00:40:21,958
We'll lock up this middle man,
750
00:40:21,959 --> 00:40:25,061
hopefully, this middle man will
cooperate and get us the distributor,
751
00:40:25,062 --> 00:40:26,963
and we'll just go up the ladder
752
00:40:26,964 --> 00:40:28,164
and keep going up
the food chain.
753
00:40:28,165 --> 00:40:30,032
It's very intimidating
and overwhelming.
754
00:40:30,033 --> 00:40:32,535
I'm gonna say to you, you
know, you got a lot to lose,
755
00:40:32,536 --> 00:40:33,970
you're looking at a lot of time.
756
00:40:33,971 --> 00:40:35,238
I mean, even if...
Even if you're not,
757
00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:37,039
you're gonna try to sell
him that he's going.
758
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:38,841
You know, you're going
to jail for a long time.
759
00:40:38,842 --> 00:40:40,810
If they don't know,
they may give it up.
760
00:40:40,811 --> 00:40:43,212
You either go to
jail, you get a record.
761
00:40:43,213 --> 00:40:46,816
From there, you have trouble getting
a job, can't support your family.
762
00:40:46,817 --> 00:40:49,986
Or in the other hand, you
become an informant for us,
763
00:40:49,987 --> 00:40:52,488
and we'll let you
off the charge.
764
00:40:52,489 --> 00:40:56,058
This exact scenario is
what gets most dealers into trouble.
765
00:40:56,059 --> 00:40:59,128
One of your employees or
customers gets picked up by cops
766
00:40:59,129 --> 00:41:00,496
and turned into a snitch.
767
00:41:00,497 --> 00:41:02,999
Yes, this was
a situation in Vegas
768
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,568
where there was a guy,
he started using drugs
769
00:41:05,569 --> 00:41:09,004
and Las Vegas Police
somehow got a hold of him.
770
00:41:09,005 --> 00:41:10,805
And he told his whole story.
771
00:41:10,806 --> 00:41:12,542
Eighteen-year-old Clifford Townson
772
00:41:12,543 --> 00:41:14,944
denies he belongs to any gang,
773
00:41:14,945 --> 00:41:18,414
but admits he traveled from Los
Angeles here to Las Vegas.
774
00:41:18,415 --> 00:41:20,550
He has been arrested
for selling cocaine,
775
00:41:20,551 --> 00:41:22,885
and police suspect
he is a gang leader.
776
00:41:22,886 --> 00:41:25,354
They actually put it in
the newspaper, and on TV.
777
00:41:25,355 --> 00:41:27,557
We were celebrities,
we were the L.A. guys
778
00:41:27,558 --> 00:41:29,425
who had all the drugs, so...
779
00:41:29,426 --> 00:41:31,327
Well, we were
looking at 55 years.
780
00:41:31,328 --> 00:41:32,929
Skipp was offered a deal.
781
00:41:32,930 --> 00:41:34,397
If he would plead guilty,
782
00:41:34,398 --> 00:41:37,066
and save the prosecutors
the trouble of going to trial.
783
00:41:37,067 --> 00:41:42,171
The offer came that it would be
five years as opposed to 55 years.
784
00:41:42,172 --> 00:41:44,207
Um, I signed up for it.
785
00:41:44,208 --> 00:41:46,042
And what
happened to the snitch?
786
00:41:46,043 --> 00:41:47,977
He didn't get any time at all.
787
00:41:47,978 --> 00:41:51,180
Matter of fact, he was let go, they
might have even paid him, I'm sure.
788
00:41:51,181 --> 00:41:54,217
Federal drug money
is allocated to states
789
00:41:54,218 --> 00:41:58,120
based on drug arrest numbers.
790
00:41:58,121 --> 00:42:01,424
Alexandra Natapoff
is an award winning scholar
791
00:42:01,425 --> 00:42:04,594
and nationally recognized
expert on snitching.
792
00:42:04,595 --> 00:42:07,129
Snitches are very good
at producing arrests.
793
00:42:07,130 --> 00:42:10,066
They may not be very good at
solving important crimes,
794
00:42:10,067 --> 00:42:13,536
or getting drugs off the street,
or making communities safer,
795
00:42:13,537 --> 00:42:16,339
but they are very good
at producing arrest numbers.
796
00:42:16,340 --> 00:42:20,142
I was standing on the
side of 18, 12 officers.
797
00:42:20,143 --> 00:42:24,080
Everybody pack a big gun.
You hear me?
798
00:42:24,081 --> 00:42:27,282
And they, they are police.
They can shoot you.
799
00:42:27,283 --> 00:42:30,683
I'm a nobody. If they kill me,
who gon' believe who gon' care?
800
00:42:30,684 --> 00:42:33,356
Meet Derek Migras,
a Texas crack addict
801
00:42:33,357 --> 00:42:37,660
who police demanded give them 20 drug
dealers in a local housing project.
802
00:42:37,661 --> 00:42:40,463
Mr. Pascal told you
if you got incarcerated,
803
00:42:40,464 --> 00:42:42,231
bad things can happen
in prison, right?
804
00:42:42,232 --> 00:42:45,368
No, he told me that he
would make a phone call,
805
00:42:45,369 --> 00:42:49,972
and have the biggest dick
son-of-a-bitch, excuse my words, y'all,
806
00:42:49,973 --> 00:42:52,008
females, but these
is his exact words.
807
00:42:52,009 --> 00:42:55,978
"I have the biggest dick son-of-a-bitch
in there fuck you every day."
808
00:42:55,979 --> 00:42:58,114
So what you gonna do
if you was in my shoes?
809
00:42:58,115 --> 00:43:00,815
Cooperate and say what they want you to...
Then what you gonna do?
810
00:43:00,816 --> 00:43:03,152
So Derek gave the
police a list of names.
811
00:43:03,153 --> 00:43:05,388
And 28 people were arrested.
812
00:43:05,389 --> 00:43:09,992
Most snitches in the arena of street and
drug crime will never have a lawyer.
813
00:43:09,993 --> 00:43:12,261
They'll never talk to anyone
about their rights,
814
00:43:12,262 --> 00:43:14,630
about the nature of the case that
the government has against them.
815
00:43:14,631 --> 00:43:17,099
They'll negotiate with the police
officer right there on the street
816
00:43:17,100 --> 00:43:18,935
or maybe in the back
of the police car.
817
00:43:18,936 --> 00:43:20,403
All right, let me
tell you like this here.
818
00:43:20,404 --> 00:43:24,006
I never bought drugs from Regina Kelly.
Straight up.
819
00:43:24,007 --> 00:43:26,676
It turns out that all
the names were fabricated.
820
00:43:26,677 --> 00:43:30,012
But cases like this
happen all the time.
821
00:43:30,013 --> 00:43:31,614
There's another reason
Derek Migras
822
00:43:31,615 --> 00:43:34,083
gave a list of innocent
people to the cops.
823
00:43:34,084 --> 00:43:35,985
Because snitching
on a real drug dealer
824
00:43:35,986 --> 00:43:38,187
can have very
serious consequences.
825
00:43:38,188 --> 00:43:41,390
Rachel Hoffman was a young
woman in Tallahassee, Florida.
826
00:43:41,391 --> 00:43:42,725
She was a college graduate,
827
00:43:42,726 --> 00:43:44,427
she had a bright future
ahead of her.
828
00:43:44,428 --> 00:43:46,028
But she was caught by the police
829
00:43:46,029 --> 00:43:47,530
with a small amount of marijuana
830
00:43:47,531 --> 00:43:49,298
and some non-prescription pills,
831
00:43:49,299 --> 00:43:50,599
and the police threatened her.
832
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:52,401
They told her that she
could work it off.
833
00:43:52,402 --> 00:43:54,670
She could do
an undercover drug buy.
834
00:43:54,671 --> 00:43:58,174
She was supposed to buy
15,000 ecstasy tablets,
835
00:43:58,175 --> 00:44:01,077
50 grams of cocaine,
and two handguns.
836
00:44:01,078 --> 00:44:04,347
She said, "Mom I don't
want you telling anybody",
837
00:44:04,348 --> 00:44:07,149
"'cause I'm getting
all my charges dropped."
838
00:44:07,150 --> 00:44:09,452
Rachel called
her father just hours
839
00:44:09,453 --> 00:44:11,721
before the sting operation
was to begin.
840
00:44:11,722 --> 00:44:15,123
She said, "Dad, I'm really
thinking about you today."
841
00:44:16,258 --> 00:44:18,728
And that was my last
conversation with her.
842
00:44:18,729 --> 00:44:22,999
The people that she was set up
to meet knew that something was fishy,
843
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:24,500
and so they shot her.
844
00:44:24,501 --> 00:44:26,102
And at the end of the day,
845
00:44:26,103 --> 00:44:28,037
when the police were confronted
846
00:44:28,038 --> 00:44:30,439
with whether they had made
the right decision
847
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:34,143
to send in a 22-year-old college
girl to make this kind of drug deal,
848
00:44:34,144 --> 00:44:35,478
do you know what they said?
849
00:44:35,479 --> 00:44:37,747
They said, "Well, she
didn't follow protocol."
850
00:44:37,748 --> 00:44:40,449
Now, see that's where everybody feels
we're looking to blame someone...
851
00:44:40,450 --> 00:44:42,752
But I asked you what happened, you
said, "She deviated from the plan."
852
00:44:42,753 --> 00:44:44,754
Well, and that's where, uh...
853
00:44:44,755 --> 00:44:48,457
Whenever the plan started going,
um, south, if you want to say,
854
00:44:48,458 --> 00:44:51,360
uh, where we lost
contact with Rachel
855
00:44:51,361 --> 00:44:55,097
because she did not show up at the
location she was supposed to have gone to.
856
00:44:55,098 --> 00:44:59,268
You don't think she was pushed
into it, coerced by your officers?
857
00:44:59,269 --> 00:45:01,137
Threatened with prison?
858
00:45:01,138 --> 00:45:03,104
For charges
that were never filed?
859
00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:07,743
Again, we don't threaten people to
become confidential informants.
860
00:45:07,744 --> 00:45:10,612
That's not part of how we operate.
No, sir.
861
00:45:11,781 --> 00:45:14,116
The moral of the
story for most dealers is.
862
00:45:14,117 --> 00:45:17,386
But if you do,
name innocent people,
863
00:45:17,387 --> 00:45:19,687
or demand a witness
protection program.
864
00:45:21,158 --> 00:45:24,592
Is having a few counter
surveillance guys on your payroll.
865
00:45:26,717 --> 00:45:28,495
If you're a smart kingpin,
866
00:45:28,496 --> 00:45:30,800
you run an investigation
on the cops following you,
867
00:45:30,801 --> 00:45:35,537
so when cops break the law, you've got
it on tape, and can negotiate a deal.
868
00:45:35,538 --> 00:45:36,838
That's what Freeway Rick did.
869
00:45:36,839 --> 00:45:39,241
I went in and told them
they planted drugs on me,
870
00:45:39,242 --> 00:45:41,510
that I didn't have drugs
that particular night.
871
00:45:41,511 --> 00:45:44,379
That I was a drug dealer, but
that night, I didn't have drugs.
872
00:45:44,380 --> 00:45:45,680
That I didn't shoot at the cops.
873
00:45:45,681 --> 00:45:49,218
What these cops were doing were going
around and doing this to a lot of people.
874
00:45:49,219 --> 00:45:52,221
They wind up getting indicted,
and when they got indicted,
875
00:45:52,222 --> 00:45:55,825
I agreed to cooperate against the
cops for what they had did to me.
876
00:45:55,826 --> 00:46:00,562
And that's how the King of
Crack spent only five years in prison.
877
00:46:12,708 --> 00:46:17,313
It's a great idea to get an ex-DEA
officer on your team as well.
878
00:46:17,314 --> 00:46:20,616
When you're moving tons of illegal
cargo, like Brian O'Dea was,
879
00:46:20,617 --> 00:46:22,251
you can never be too careful.
880
00:46:22,252 --> 00:46:25,688
We all agreed that we would
move this thing forward,
881
00:46:25,689 --> 00:46:27,623
that everybody would
go on a salary,
882
00:46:27,624 --> 00:46:30,459
and the deal was no coke.
If you did coke you were out.
883
00:46:30,460 --> 00:46:33,129
The problem
was, Brian loved cocaine.
884
00:46:33,130 --> 00:46:35,798
He loved all drugs,
ever since he was a kid.
885
00:46:35,799 --> 00:46:39,869
I can tell you about the first
day at school, first period, first class.
886
00:46:39,870 --> 00:46:41,603
Around the corner came this guy,
887
00:46:41,604 --> 00:46:42,804
Turns out he was the principal.
888
00:46:42,805 --> 00:46:45,741
He took me to his office,
and half an hour later,
889
00:46:45,742 --> 00:46:49,879
I suffered the first sexual
abuse by an adult in my life.
890
00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:53,883
As a Catholic, we were taught sex
was punishable by eternity in hell.
891
00:46:53,884 --> 00:47:00,256
So I came out of that office negotiating
with God not to strike me dead today.
892
00:47:00,257 --> 00:47:01,757
It was horrible, buddy.
893
00:47:01,758 --> 00:47:04,627
My mind became a place
to get out of.
894
00:47:04,628 --> 00:47:06,829
And so I, you know,
when I discovered that
895
00:47:06,830 --> 00:47:09,565
there were substances that
could take me out of there,
896
00:47:09,566 --> 00:47:11,299
I was going for them.
897
00:47:11,300 --> 00:47:12,800
And, any and all of them.
898
00:47:12,801 --> 00:47:17,373
The moment I take cocaine, it's a
nightmare from that point until I stop.
899
00:47:17,374 --> 00:47:21,377
Coke has such an ownership
thing, it wants all of you.
900
00:47:21,378 --> 00:47:24,246
Brian knew this was
the biggest deal of his career.
901
00:47:24,247 --> 00:47:26,749
And as long as he stayed
clean, he'd be all right.
902
00:47:26,750 --> 00:47:28,851
The first part of
the load was 25 tons.
903
00:47:28,852 --> 00:47:30,886
And we met it up
in the Bering Sea,
904
00:47:30,887 --> 00:47:33,789
and then took it off up
into a fjord in Alaska,
905
00:47:33,790 --> 00:47:37,193
repackaged it all
in wetlock fish boxes,
906
00:47:37,194 --> 00:47:38,727
put it all on the trucks,
907
00:47:38,728 --> 00:47:41,697
I mean, it was
as smooth as silk.
908
00:47:41,698 --> 00:47:45,266
Once it was all offloaded,
we started partying.
909
00:47:50,406 --> 00:47:54,276
There was only one little
problem, and it wasn't Brian O'Dea.
910
00:47:54,277 --> 00:47:58,514
Brian's partner couldn't help but party
with a little cocaine one night.
911
00:47:58,515 --> 00:48:01,282
Then another night,
and then another one.
912
00:48:01,283 --> 00:48:03,183
He couldn't stop doing it.
913
00:48:03,184 --> 00:48:05,854
He'd show up at the house in the middle of
the night at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning
914
00:48:05,855 --> 00:48:09,558
in a limousine, prostitutes,
cocaine, booze.
915
00:48:09,559 --> 00:48:13,295
Well, when he found out that the load
came in, he came looking for his money.
916
00:48:13,296 --> 00:48:16,799
And we were very concerned about him getting
out there with a whole pack of money
917
00:48:16,800 --> 00:48:18,734
and creating a giant heat-score
918
00:48:18,735 --> 00:48:20,836
with these bags
of coke and hookers,
919
00:48:20,837 --> 00:48:22,705
so there was a concern
about giving him anything,
920
00:48:22,706 --> 00:48:26,475
giving him something, giving him
a million bucks, what do we do?
921
00:48:26,476 --> 00:48:29,411
So the boys decided to give
him 50 grand, and I thought,
922
00:48:29,412 --> 00:48:32,681
"He is not going to be
happy with 50 grand."
923
00:48:32,682 --> 00:48:35,784
He took that 50 grand,
he left that meeting,
924
00:48:35,785 --> 00:48:39,455
and he went right to the DEA's office
with the money and put it on the table.
925
00:48:39,456 --> 00:48:43,726
And said, "I can tell you where there's
millions more just like that."
926
00:48:43,727 --> 00:48:45,728
A few days
later, Brian and his team
927
00:48:45,729 --> 00:48:48,597
were expecting 50 tons
of marijuana to come in.
928
00:48:48,598 --> 00:48:52,501
So Brian took the precaution
of hiring an ex-DEA agent
929
00:48:52,502 --> 00:48:56,872
to run surveillance on any law
enforcement activity in the area.
930
00:48:56,873 --> 00:48:59,540
The load came in, a huge load.
931
00:49:01,010 --> 00:49:04,346
We got a guy out from San Diego
who has a spectrum analyzer.
932
00:49:04,347 --> 00:49:07,716
He's able to isolate the
transmission frequencies of the DEA,
933
00:49:07,717 --> 00:49:09,784
and on the way up,
my scanner lights up,
934
00:49:09,785 --> 00:49:11,785
and they're talking about following me.
935
00:49:11,786 --> 00:49:14,856
And the moment it crossed the
border between Canada and the U.S.,
936
00:49:14,857 --> 00:49:16,357
Boom, they hit.
937
00:49:16,358 --> 00:49:21,497
DEA, the FBI, alcohol tobacco
firearms, coast guard.
938
00:49:21,498 --> 00:49:23,598
Expecting to find reefer.
939
00:49:25,634 --> 00:49:27,770
There wasn't a joint in sight,
940
00:49:27,771 --> 00:49:31,073
but there was fresh donuts
made and coffee on the brew,
941
00:49:31,074 --> 00:49:33,876
and they took that as insult.
942
00:49:33,877 --> 00:49:37,578
You know, you can't help doing
stuff like that sometimes.
943
00:49:38,647 --> 00:49:42,984
Seventy-five tons generated,
approximately 200 million U.S. dollars.
944
00:49:49,058 --> 00:49:54,430
So where do you find an ex-DEA
agent or narc who's willing to work for you?
945
00:49:54,431 --> 00:49:56,351
We've got someone
we can recommend.
946
00:50:05,808 --> 00:50:11,413
In high school, I wore overalls
with no shirt, my jeans tucked into my boots,
947
00:50:11,414 --> 00:50:14,750
and I could yell "yee-haw"
louder than the rest of them.
948
00:50:14,751 --> 00:50:20,089
Well, any of the kids that we heard of
smoking marijuana, we would beat them up.
949
00:50:20,090 --> 00:50:23,425
The entire time, we'd be drinking
and fighting each other.
950
00:50:23,426 --> 00:50:28,097
I decided to be cop because I
wanted to be able to fight legally.
951
00:50:28,098 --> 00:50:30,699
I loved everything
about law enforcement.
952
00:50:30,700 --> 00:50:37,039
I learned how to manipulate
citizens into running, or fighting.
953
00:50:37,040 --> 00:50:40,642
I was very popular among all
the other police officers
954
00:50:40,643 --> 00:50:43,078
because of the excitement
I could get them in.
955
00:50:43,079 --> 00:50:45,447
We were trained
when a motorist was speeding,
956
00:50:45,448 --> 00:50:49,518
to get real close and then
activate the red and blue lights.
957
00:50:49,519 --> 00:50:53,088
Well, I learned to lag way back
958
00:50:53,089 --> 00:50:57,393
then turn my lights on to give
that motorist the opinion that.
959
00:50:57,394 --> 00:51:00,129
"I might have a chance
to outrun this guy."
960
00:51:00,130 --> 00:51:04,632
you're addicted to the adrenaline
and you don't realize it.
961
00:51:05,868 --> 00:51:09,538
I was the best drug agent
in the area.
962
00:51:09,539 --> 00:51:14,143
There's not a day that we don't put
somebody in jail for narcotics,
963
00:51:14,144 --> 00:51:16,745
for finding mainly marijuana.
964
00:51:16,746 --> 00:51:19,982
I only had 5 miles of highway
in my jurisdiction
965
00:51:19,983 --> 00:51:22,885
and I made over
100 drug arrests in one year.
966
00:51:22,886 --> 00:51:25,020
He's got a gun! Shoot!
967
00:51:25,021 --> 00:51:29,925
The DEA, they were jealous, because they were
supposed to be making all the big arrests.
968
00:51:29,926 --> 00:51:33,462
The first month, I performed
seven drug raids.
969
00:51:33,463 --> 00:51:37,065
The DEA were only doing one a year.
The entire DEA.
970
00:51:37,066 --> 00:51:39,201
And they had jurisdiction
of every county,
971
00:51:39,202 --> 00:51:41,537
I only had jurisdiction
in one city.
972
00:51:41,538 --> 00:51:45,107
I'll never forget the last
marijuana arrest I made.
973
00:51:45,108 --> 00:51:49,178
And something hit me, I thought, "I
make three or four of these a day."
974
00:51:49,179 --> 00:51:52,915
Almost everybody I stop
has marijuana.
975
00:51:52,916 --> 00:51:57,853
There's marijuana roach in your
ash tray, and I smell marijuana.
976
00:51:57,854 --> 00:51:59,855
Ladies, any of y'all got
any marijuana on you?
977
00:51:59,856 --> 00:52:02,057
I thought there's got to be
something to it.
978
00:52:02,058 --> 00:52:04,993
Well, for years,
I had pounds in my house
979
00:52:04,994 --> 00:52:07,863
as training aids
to train my drug dog.
980
00:52:07,864 --> 00:52:11,934
So, I went home, and I smoked
that pot, and I loved it.
981
00:52:11,935 --> 00:52:14,670
I'm like,
"This is what it's about."
982
00:52:14,671 --> 00:52:17,739
It's one of the funniest
things I'd ever done.
983
00:52:17,740 --> 00:52:21,076
I married my pot dealer,
this girl named Candy.
984
00:52:21,077 --> 00:52:23,212
Candy and I were talking,
and I said,
985
00:52:23,213 --> 00:52:28,150
"Should I make a film on how
insane the drug war is"
986
00:52:28,151 --> 00:52:31,787
"or should I just teach people
how not to get busted for pot?"
987
00:52:31,788 --> 00:52:34,089
All these secrets I had.
988
00:52:34,090 --> 00:52:37,158
And she said, "You gotta teach
'em how not to get busted."
989
00:52:37,159 --> 00:52:38,559
So we went by every magazine.
990
00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,929
High Times, Cannabis Culture,
everything out there.
991
00:52:40,930 --> 00:52:44,699
We went on the Internet, and
nothing was out there like it.
992
00:52:46,835 --> 00:52:51,173
Coming off the success of the
Never Get Busted video series,
993
00:52:51,174 --> 00:52:54,743
we begin getting
thousands of emails
994
00:52:54,744 --> 00:52:58,647
of people being arrested and
mistreated by law enforcement.
995
00:52:58,648 --> 00:53:01,550
And if I got an email and it
fit exactly what I used to do,
996
00:53:01,551 --> 00:53:03,218
I knew
they were telling the truth.
997
00:53:03,219 --> 00:53:05,888
And we were getting
thousands of these.
998
00:53:05,889 --> 00:53:08,257
So Candy and I were talking
and she said,
999
00:53:08,258 --> 00:53:12,594
"You know, Barry, you were so good
at busting all those citizens,"
1000
00:53:12,595 --> 00:53:16,832
"you should start busting
some of these crooked cops,"
1001
00:53:16,833 --> 00:53:18,866
and I'm like, "Yeah!"
1002
00:53:18,867 --> 00:53:20,667
No matter who you are.
1003
00:53:20,668 --> 00:53:24,006
Barry Cooper's a guy you can
call if cops plant drugs on you.
1004
00:53:24,007 --> 00:53:26,308
Even if you've never
dealt drugs in your life.
1005
00:53:26,309 --> 00:53:28,610
My granddad
told me a long time ago,
1006
00:53:28,611 --> 00:53:30,546
tough times
don't build character.
1007
00:53:30,547 --> 00:53:32,280
Tough times show character.
1008
00:53:32,281 --> 00:53:34,281
The deputy chief of police at that time.
1009
00:53:34,282 --> 00:53:37,286
He called us and he said, "Tell
you what I think happened."
1010
00:53:37,287 --> 00:53:39,755
"They made
a mistake in identity."
1011
00:53:39,756 --> 00:53:43,158
Confidential informants ended up
planting drugs on the wrong person.
1012
00:53:43,159 --> 00:53:45,027
It struck me later on
that evening,
1013
00:53:45,028 --> 00:53:47,596
it just kinda, you know,
my eyes popped open, like,
1014
00:53:47,597 --> 00:53:50,665
"Wait a minute. How do you plant
drugs on the right person?"
1015
00:53:50,666 --> 00:53:52,066
According to Raymond Madden,
1016
00:53:52,067 --> 00:53:53,769
an informant was instructed by police
1017
00:53:53,770 --> 00:53:55,837
to plant a bag of meth
in his daughter's car.
1018
00:53:55,838 --> 00:53:58,073
But unfortunately,
the information was wrong,
1019
00:53:58,074 --> 00:54:01,843
Yolanda Madden was a working, single
mother of two at the time of her arrest.
1020
00:54:01,844 --> 00:54:05,314
So Raymond flew to East
Texas and met with me.
1021
00:54:05,315 --> 00:54:11,286
And I told him how we could catch those
officers that planted the drugs on Yolanda.
1022
00:54:11,287 --> 00:54:14,121
Because some of them
were my ex-partners.
1023
00:54:16,058 --> 00:54:19,628
Barry planted two Christmas
trees under some grow lamps.
1024
00:54:19,629 --> 00:54:22,331
Then, Odessa cops
received an anonymous tip
1025
00:54:22,332 --> 00:54:24,967
that a major drug operation
was under way.
1026
00:54:24,968 --> 00:54:26,167
As Barry knew they would,
1027
00:54:26,168 --> 00:54:27,868
the police broke a number of laws
1028
00:54:27,869 --> 00:54:30,806
leading up to an illegal invasion
and search of his house.
1029
00:54:30,807 --> 00:54:33,976
Barry proved that Odessa cops
routinely break the law,
1030
00:54:33,977 --> 00:54:36,812
as standard operating procedure
in fighting the drug war.
1031
00:54:36,813 --> 00:54:38,747
Get these cameras ready.
1032
00:54:38,748 --> 00:54:41,083
Hey, I'm Barry Cooper
with KopBusters!
1033
00:54:41,084 --> 00:54:42,884
Why are you in my house?
1034
00:54:42,885 --> 00:54:47,756
I'm busy making sure these Odessa
cops quit planting drugs on people.
1035
00:54:47,757 --> 00:54:49,625
We're not
giving nobody no hassle.
1036
00:54:49,626 --> 00:54:51,760
You did too. Y'all
planted drugs on Yolanda
1037
00:54:51,761 --> 00:54:53,829
and she's in prison
because of it.
1038
00:54:53,830 --> 00:54:56,698
That's giving people a hassle.
1039
00:54:56,699 --> 00:54:59,701
You guys are wrong on this one
and you know it. You got burnt.
1040
00:54:59,702 --> 00:55:02,904
He got a media event, and
that thing went national.
1041
00:55:02,905 --> 00:55:07,676
In 2008, ex-drug officer Barry
Cooper set up Odessa police
1042
00:55:07,677 --> 00:55:09,845
to bring attention
to Madden's case.
1043
00:55:09,846 --> 00:55:11,813
It was a success.
1044
00:55:11,814 --> 00:55:16,385
And to prove we were right, the judge let her go.
She got out of prison.
1045
00:55:16,386 --> 00:55:18,920
Painful memories that melt away
1046
00:55:18,921 --> 00:55:22,090
as Yolanda Madden
emerges a free woman.
1047
00:55:22,091 --> 00:55:25,360
I went to prison a single
mom of two kids, 16 and 11.
1048
00:55:25,361 --> 00:55:27,396
My son is 20 and married.
1049
00:55:27,397 --> 00:55:30,732
And of course my daughter is,
she's getting ready to be 16.
1050
00:55:30,733 --> 00:55:32,901
And I'm talking to this
young woman, you know,
1051
00:55:32,902 --> 00:55:34,836
that was just a child
when I left.
1052
00:55:34,837 --> 00:55:38,205
So, I mean, I miss the
years, you know. But...
1053
00:55:40,942 --> 00:55:44,212
I've got lots of ways
to sting cops.
1054
00:55:44,213 --> 00:55:46,080
It just takes money.
1055
00:55:47,216 --> 00:55:52,187
If you've come this far, you've learned
to beat cases and outsmart the law,
1056
00:55:52,188 --> 00:55:55,724
while stacking up hundreds of
millions of dollars in cash.
1057
00:55:55,725 --> 00:55:58,760
This concludes chapter six,
How to Be a Kingpin.
1058
00:55:58,761 --> 00:56:02,129
You're almost ready for the top
level, Running a Drug Cartel.
1059
00:56:02,130 --> 00:56:04,130
But before we go overseas,
1060
00:56:04,131 --> 00:56:07,202
there's one more way to make
money in the game here at home,
1061
00:56:07,203 --> 00:56:09,271
even more than kingpins.
1062
00:56:09,272 --> 00:56:11,338
This is the secret level.
1063
00:56:15,277 --> 00:56:18,947
For all you government
officials out there,
1064
00:56:18,948 --> 00:56:21,016
we're going to teach you
how to expand your power,
1065
00:56:21,017 --> 00:56:22,851
and take out
political opponents.
1066
00:56:22,852 --> 00:56:25,253
All you need is a drug war.
1067
00:56:25,254 --> 00:56:30,759
Drugs used to be legal.
Heroin, cocaine, everything.
1068
00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:35,230
Until about 100 years ago, when America
appointed its first drug czar,
1069
00:56:35,231 --> 00:56:37,332
a man named Harry Anslinger.
1070
00:56:37,333 --> 00:56:39,301
In his report
to the U.S. Senate,
1071
00:56:39,302 --> 00:56:42,838
Anslinger detailed the reasons
drugs must be outlawed.
1072
00:56:42,839 --> 00:56:43,939
This is what he said.
1073
00:56:43,940 --> 00:56:48,043
"There are 100,000 marijuana
smokers in the U.S.,"
1074
00:56:48,044 --> 00:56:52,314
"and most are Negroes, Hispanics,
Filipinos, and entertainers."
1075
00:56:52,315 --> 00:56:56,218
"Their satanic music, jazz and
swing, result from marijuana use."
1076
00:56:56,219 --> 00:57:01,422
"It causes white women to seek sexual relations
with Negroes, entertainers and others."
1077
00:57:04,025 --> 00:57:07,295
Anslinger's popularity
soared with voters,
1078
00:57:07,296 --> 00:57:09,831
and lawmakers
began outlawing drugs.
1079
00:57:09,832 --> 00:57:14,401
Then the evangelical movement inspired
Congress to ban alcohol as well.
1080
00:57:14,402 --> 00:57:16,602
Gangsterism was a natural sequel,
1081
00:57:16,603 --> 00:57:19,341
And battles for exclusive
territories erupted with a violence
1082
00:57:19,342 --> 00:57:21,810
unparalleled in the history
of law enforcement.
1083
00:57:21,811 --> 00:57:24,346
Guys like Al Capone
were suddenly making big bucks.
1084
00:57:24,347 --> 00:57:27,816
The black market exploded with such
violence that public opinion turned
1085
00:57:27,817 --> 00:57:30,051
and Roosevelt
ended alcohol prohibition,
1086
00:57:30,052 --> 00:57:32,087
crushing
the burgeoning industry.
1087
00:57:32,088 --> 00:57:34,523
But Harry Anslinger didn't
stop pushing drug prohibition.
1088
00:57:34,524 --> 00:57:38,560
In the 1960s, he took his case all
the way to the United Nations,
1089
00:57:38,561 --> 00:57:43,465
and lobbied the whole world to adopt the U.S.
policy of outlawing drugs.
1090
00:57:43,466 --> 00:57:47,034
Richard Nixon would pick up
where Harry Anslinger left off.
1091
00:57:48,036 --> 00:57:53,340
America's public enemy number one
in the United States is drug abuse.
1092
00:57:54,476 --> 00:57:57,546
While publicly claiming
to address addiction and violence,
1093
00:57:57,547 --> 00:58:00,215
Nixon used drug policy
as a weapon
1094
00:58:00,216 --> 00:58:03,217
to move against those he thought
of as his political enemies.
1095
00:58:23,171 --> 00:58:24,973
To fight and defeat this enemy,
1096
00:58:24,974 --> 00:58:29,411
it is necessary to wage
a new, all-out offensive.
1097
00:58:29,412 --> 00:58:33,215
President Nixon created the
Drug Enforcement Administration,
1098
00:58:33,216 --> 00:58:38,920
with an annual budget of $65 million,
and started the war on drugs.
1099
00:58:38,921 --> 00:58:42,591
If you are a governor, mayor, police
chief, or any public official,
1100
00:58:42,592 --> 00:58:46,428
an enormous amount of money was suddenly
available from the federal government.
1101
00:58:46,429 --> 00:58:49,130
All you had to do
was enlist in the drug war.
1102
00:58:49,131 --> 00:58:51,900
All of us in law
enforcement, we're soldiers.
1103
00:58:51,901 --> 00:58:55,003
We developed the cases, we got the
informants, we did the search warrants,
1104
00:58:55,004 --> 00:58:58,973
we did the wire taps, but we
didn't take the money out of it.
1105
00:58:58,974 --> 00:59:00,774
So what happened?
1106
00:59:00,775 --> 00:59:04,079
All the wonderful little entrepreneurs
said, "Now it's my time."
1107
00:59:04,080 --> 00:59:06,581
Twelve years later,
the federal drug war budget
1108
00:59:06,582 --> 00:59:09,550
had grown to over
$1.5 billion a year.
1109
00:59:11,019 --> 00:59:13,888
And the Reagan administration
stepped up the rhetoric.
1110
00:59:19,394 --> 00:59:22,964
For the sake of our children,
I implore each of you,
1111
00:59:22,965 --> 00:59:27,302
to be unyielding and inflexible
in your opposition to drugs.
1112
00:59:27,303 --> 00:59:28,637
Say yes to your life.
1113
00:59:28,638 --> 00:59:31,373
And when it comes to drugs,
just say no.
1114
00:59:31,374 --> 00:59:32,908
"Just say no"
is sort of a fraud,
1115
00:59:32,909 --> 00:59:35,243
it's one America
talking to the other
1116
00:59:35,244 --> 00:59:38,146
not even knowing how the
other half has to live.
1117
00:59:38,147 --> 00:59:41,616
David Simon is the creator of the
critically acclaimed series The Wire.
1118
00:59:41,617 --> 00:59:44,920
When you're at war,
you need a fucking enemy.
1119
00:59:44,921 --> 00:59:49,391
And pretty soon damn near everybody on
every corner is your fuckin' enemy.
1120
00:59:49,392 --> 00:59:51,259
David based the
characters in his show
1121
00:59:51,260 --> 00:59:53,228
on the real world events
he observed
1122
00:59:53,229 --> 00:59:55,664
during his many years as
a Baltimore police reporter.
1123
00:59:55,665 --> 00:59:58,099
Yeah, we were saying
"Just say no"
1124
00:59:58,100 --> 01:00:00,268
to involving yourself
in the drug trade.
1125
01:00:00,269 --> 01:00:04,039
It was like telling people in a factory
town, "Don't go to work for steel."
1126
01:00:04,040 --> 01:00:06,641
Or telling people in Detroit,
"Don't go to work for GM."
1127
01:00:06,642 --> 01:00:09,010
"Just say no" in West Baltimore
is telling somebody,
1128
01:00:09,011 --> 01:00:12,681
"Don't go work for the only factory
that is hiring in your neighborhood."
1129
01:00:12,682 --> 01:00:15,550
And the country is telling you
implicitly, "We don't need you."
1130
01:00:15,551 --> 01:00:17,953
You're a human being
without purpose.
1131
01:00:17,954 --> 01:00:21,556
And that's 10, to 15, to 20% of
our population at this point.
1132
01:00:21,557 --> 01:00:23,959
You got to realize we ain't got
no jobs around here or nothin'.
1133
01:00:23,960 --> 01:00:27,595
You know, so, every time we try
to make a little somethin'
1134
01:00:27,596 --> 01:00:30,598
to get on our feet, to try
and help to feed our family,
1135
01:00:30,599 --> 01:00:34,302
they come kicking the doors in and
knocking, knocking us back down again.
1136
01:00:34,303 --> 01:00:37,739
Even as you fall into the corner
culture and ruin your life,
1137
01:00:37,740 --> 01:00:40,642
um, you're granted meaning.
1138
01:00:40,643 --> 01:00:42,744
You're granted a purpose.
1139
01:00:42,745 --> 01:00:45,446
You're gonna go out and you're
going to sell this G-pack today.
1140
01:00:45,447 --> 01:00:46,747
And you're gonna make money,
1141
01:00:46,748 --> 01:00:48,416
and you're going to bring that
money home to your people.
1142
01:00:48,417 --> 01:00:51,152
So "just say no" was a problem.
1143
01:00:51,153 --> 01:00:55,457
Um, in that, we had not given
the slightest bit of thought
1144
01:00:55,458 --> 01:00:59,360
as to what people in these worlds
were supposed to say yes to,
1145
01:00:59,361 --> 01:01:00,961
and we still haven't.
1146
01:01:00,962 --> 01:01:05,767
By 1986, the U.S. was
allocating $2.9 billion per year.
1147
01:01:05,768 --> 01:01:11,072
That's when the Democrats seized
an incredible opportunity
1148
01:01:11,073 --> 01:01:13,608
over the media frenzy
surrounding Len Bias.
1149
01:01:13,609 --> 01:01:15,643
Len Bias with 29...
1150
01:01:15,644 --> 01:01:17,779
Oh, my!
1151
01:01:17,780 --> 01:01:20,749
Len Bias was
a college star athlete.
1152
01:01:20,750 --> 01:01:23,317
He was signed to go
to the Boston Celtics.
1153
01:01:23,318 --> 01:01:25,818
Twenty TV cameras.
1154
01:01:25,819 --> 01:01:28,356
He signs, like, a contract with
Adidas for millions of dollars.
1155
01:01:28,357 --> 01:01:31,526
He's got it made. He flew back
that night from the signing,
1156
01:01:31,527 --> 01:01:35,764
celebrating in his dorm room at the University
of Maryland, he's snorting cocaine...
1157
01:01:35,765 --> 01:01:39,467
And his heart failed and they said it
was because of, uh, heavy cocaine use.
1158
01:01:39,468 --> 01:01:41,236
And he has a seizure
and he dies.
1159
01:01:41,237 --> 01:01:43,038
Eric Sterling
was working as a lawyer
1160
01:01:43,039 --> 01:01:45,106
at the House of
Representatives at the time.
1161
01:01:45,107 --> 01:01:49,644
The story is a
horror of how Congress operates.
1162
01:01:49,645 --> 01:01:53,782
The Democratic leadership figured if
they put together an anti-drug bill,
1163
01:01:53,783 --> 01:01:57,752
and they play it right, they can
win big in the November election.
1164
01:01:57,753 --> 01:02:01,256
Responding appropriately to the
public's alarm about drugs,
1165
01:02:01,257 --> 01:02:03,291
which, an alarm
they helped create.
1166
01:02:03,292 --> 01:02:06,061
We're dealing with nothing
less than chemical warfare
1167
01:02:06,062 --> 01:02:08,263
against the youth
of this nation.
1168
01:02:08,264 --> 01:02:11,299
Press conferences,
speeches, "The Plague."
1169
01:02:11,300 --> 01:02:12,767
"Should we put in
the death penalty?"
1170
01:02:12,768 --> 01:02:14,635
"Yeah, let's have
the death penalty!"
1171
01:02:14,636 --> 01:02:16,436
Now it's the republicans.
1172
01:02:16,437 --> 01:02:20,408
People who push drugs must be put
in jail for a minimum of 50 years.
1173
01:02:20,409 --> 01:02:23,411
It had this quality of, like,
Sotheby's auction, you know.
1174
01:02:23,412 --> 01:02:26,414
"I'll see ya! I'll raise ya!
I'm tougher, I'm meaner!"
1175
01:02:26,415 --> 01:02:28,550
In my nine years
working for the Congress,
1176
01:02:28,551 --> 01:02:33,288
this is the only time we wrote
legislation in such haste
1177
01:02:33,289 --> 01:02:35,690
and without
careful consideration.
1178
01:02:35,691 --> 01:02:38,326
Actress Susan Sarandon
worked with many others
1179
01:02:38,327 --> 01:02:40,462
to fight against
the harsh drug sentences
1180
01:02:40,463 --> 01:02:42,230
that were spreading out
across the country.
1181
01:02:42,231 --> 01:02:44,332
I just think people
don't understand really.
1182
01:02:44,333 --> 01:02:47,102
They just hear "tough on drugs"
and they just go, "Yeah!
1183
01:02:47,103 --> 01:02:49,337
"Let's do that."
You know, "We'll be safer."
1184
01:02:49,338 --> 01:02:52,140
They don't understand
what it, what it means.
1185
01:02:52,141 --> 01:02:54,476
Hamida Hassan,
a mother of three children,
1186
01:02:54,477 --> 01:02:58,313
moved to her cousin's house in Nebraska
to escape an abusive boyfriend.
1187
01:02:58,314 --> 01:03:00,815
They were selling
drugs, and I knew that, you know,
1188
01:03:00,816 --> 01:03:05,153
but I didn't concern myself with the
particulars of what they were doing.
1189
01:03:05,154 --> 01:03:06,453
It seemed more safe to me.
1190
01:03:06,454 --> 01:03:07,854
Hamida's cousins were busted.
1191
01:03:07,855 --> 01:03:12,527
Hamida was given the mandatory
minimum of 27 years.
1192
01:03:12,528 --> 01:03:14,795
I'm 25 years old,
I'm six months pregnant,
1193
01:03:14,796 --> 01:03:16,296
I have never been in trouble before,
1194
01:03:16,297 --> 01:03:18,533
and I'm going to be sentenced
to a natural life sentence.
1195
01:03:18,534 --> 01:03:21,202
Right now, the way the laws
stand, you can murder somebody
1196
01:03:21,203 --> 01:03:24,472
and get out quicker than be in a
house where there's a drug bust
1197
01:03:24,473 --> 01:03:27,475
and you don't even know
what's going on.
1198
01:03:27,476 --> 01:03:29,677
You can end up serving 30 years.
1199
01:03:29,678 --> 01:03:32,480
It's crazy.
I mean, it's not right.
1200
01:03:32,481 --> 01:03:35,783
Since 1993, Hamida
Hassan has been in prison.
1201
01:03:35,784 --> 01:03:38,419
And her children have grown up
without their mother.
1202
01:03:38,420 --> 01:03:41,556
I just
always break out in tears,
1203
01:03:41,557 --> 01:03:43,191
because I just miss my mom a lot
1204
01:03:43,192 --> 01:03:46,361
and I just hope that
she come home soon.
1205
01:03:46,362 --> 01:03:49,631
Many of the people in federal
prison, as I'm speaking right now,
1206
01:03:49,632 --> 01:03:53,268
who are there on drug charges,
are there on mandatory minimums.
1207
01:03:53,269 --> 01:03:54,736
Whatever charge they're serving,
1208
01:03:54,737 --> 01:03:56,237
they're serving
a longer sentence
1209
01:03:56,238 --> 01:04:01,242
that in part
reflects my failures
1210
01:04:01,243 --> 01:04:04,178
to be a better lawyer
in blocking that law.
1211
01:04:05,246 --> 01:04:07,182
It pains me very much,
1212
01:04:07,183 --> 01:04:10,685
you know, when I meet the
family members of these people,
1213
01:04:10,686 --> 01:04:12,686
uh, it breaks my heart.
1214
01:04:18,527 --> 01:04:21,863
It was a total
success for the Democrats.
1215
01:04:21,864 --> 01:04:24,499
Many of the congressmen
behind the mandatory minimums
1216
01:04:24,500 --> 01:04:27,268
were re-elected
the following term.
1217
01:04:27,269 --> 01:04:30,404
If you really wanna do good in
politics, be tough on drugs.
1218
01:04:30,405 --> 01:04:31,905
By the late 1980s,
1219
01:04:31,906 --> 01:04:35,944
The CIA discovered that drug money
could help U.S. foreign interests.
1220
01:04:35,945 --> 01:04:40,815
Now we all know that the U.S.
government and the CIA supported
1221
01:04:40,816 --> 01:04:44,519
the contras in Nicaragua,
in the middle '80s.
1222
01:04:44,520 --> 01:04:49,991
Now it is alleged the CIA also helped
the contras raise money for arms
1223
01:04:49,992 --> 01:04:54,429
by introducing crack cocaine
into California.
1224
01:04:54,430 --> 01:04:57,332
There's no question in my mind
there is complicity
1225
01:04:57,333 --> 01:04:59,634
in the flow of drugs
into this country, period.
1226
01:04:59,635 --> 01:05:03,371
A senate investigation
led by John Kerry of Massachusetts
1227
01:05:03,372 --> 01:05:07,341
found that individuals who
provided support for the contras,
1228
01:05:07,342 --> 01:05:09,742
were involved in drug trafficking.
1229
01:05:09,743 --> 01:05:12,714
Freeway Rick's former
South American cocaine supplier
1230
01:05:12,715 --> 01:05:15,350
was a major contributor
to the contras.
1231
01:05:15,351 --> 01:05:18,886
Eventually the DEA hired him
to set up Freeway Rick,
1232
01:05:18,887 --> 01:05:21,322
putting him in jail
for 20 years.
1233
01:05:21,323 --> 01:05:24,525
The DEA paid Rick's supplier
for services,
1234
01:05:24,526 --> 01:05:26,761
and American crack cocaine users
1235
01:05:26,762 --> 01:05:30,764
helped pay for a U.S. government-supported
war in South America.
1236
01:05:32,734 --> 01:05:36,437
And when that first cocaine
was smuggled in on a ship,
1237
01:05:36,438 --> 01:05:39,274
it may as well have been
a deadly bacteria,
1238
01:05:39,275 --> 01:05:43,344
so much as it hurt the body,
the soul of our country.
1239
01:05:43,345 --> 01:05:47,782
But take my word for it,
this scourge will stop.
1240
01:05:47,783 --> 01:05:50,450
President Bush
Senior doubled the war budget.
1241
01:05:51,486 --> 01:05:55,423
And by the end of his administration,
it had doubled yet again.
1242
01:05:55,424 --> 01:05:59,359
During the '90s, government asset
forfeiture was also on the rise.
1243
01:05:59,360 --> 01:06:00,860
What forfeiture laws do,
1244
01:06:00,861 --> 01:06:03,965
Is they permit the government to
seize assets and money of people
1245
01:06:03,966 --> 01:06:08,002
where they believe that those assets
are connected to drug enforcement.
1246
01:06:08,003 --> 01:06:11,406
It's very easy for the government
to get assets this way
1247
01:06:11,407 --> 01:06:13,608
because the standard of proof
is so much lower.
1248
01:06:13,609 --> 01:06:15,977
No one needs to be charged
or convicted of a crime.
1249
01:06:15,978 --> 01:06:18,646
The message to law
enforcement officers was simple.
1250
01:06:18,647 --> 01:06:21,316
In the event that you are
an undercover officer
1251
01:06:21,317 --> 01:06:24,052
and you see someone
carrying two suitcases,
1252
01:06:24,053 --> 01:06:26,754
one is full of money,
the other is full of drugs,
1253
01:06:26,755 --> 01:06:28,056
follow the money.
1254
01:06:28,057 --> 01:06:31,793
Drugs coming up from Mexico
go north and east.
1255
01:06:31,794 --> 01:06:33,895
To seize the large amounts
of money,
1256
01:06:33,896 --> 01:06:38,933
I was instructed to begin working
south and west bound traffic.
1257
01:06:38,934 --> 01:06:45,073
I got extremely talented at seizing
money under the rules of law.
1258
01:06:45,074 --> 01:06:46,908
That's highway robbery.
1259
01:06:46,909 --> 01:06:50,445
I have heard
a police officer say.
1260
01:06:50,446 --> 01:06:52,046
"Chief, we need a new vehicle."
1261
01:06:52,047 --> 01:06:55,350
He'd say "All right, go out, find
a drug dealer and seize one."
1262
01:06:55,351 --> 01:06:58,686
And so they literally
try to find this property.
1263
01:06:58,687 --> 01:07:02,023
If I found 100,000
dollars drug money,
1264
01:07:02,024 --> 01:07:06,361
that paid my salary for a year,
auto expenses, dog expenses,
1265
01:07:06,362 --> 01:07:08,996
whatever it took
to keep me on board,
1266
01:07:08,997 --> 01:07:10,898
everything after that
was profit.
1267
01:07:10,899 --> 01:07:14,402
The same problem comes up with
regard to police corruption.
1268
01:07:14,403 --> 01:07:18,873
You go out in the field and
you will see a stack of cash.
1269
01:07:18,874 --> 01:07:22,577
So you just lift maybe 10, 20,
30, 40 dollars off the top
1270
01:07:22,578 --> 01:07:23,811
and nobody notices,
1271
01:07:23,812 --> 01:07:25,747
and of course
there's no accounting anyway,
1272
01:07:25,748 --> 01:07:27,782
so next time you will lift
maybe a hundred.
1273
01:07:27,783 --> 01:07:29,717
If I found a stash of money,
1274
01:07:29,718 --> 01:07:32,019
I'd take a couple hundred bucks,
1275
01:07:32,020 --> 01:07:34,589
stick it in my pocket
and then turn it in.
1276
01:07:34,590 --> 01:07:36,891
I'm not proud of that.
1277
01:07:36,892 --> 01:07:39,060
Between 2000 and 2003,
1278
01:07:39,061 --> 01:07:42,430
the Department of Justice
earned over one billion dollars
1279
01:07:42,431 --> 01:07:43,731
in forfeiture proceeds.
1280
01:07:43,732 --> 01:07:46,500
By 2008,
that number had tripled.
1281
01:07:47,468 --> 01:07:49,069
By the time Clinton left office,
1282
01:07:49,070 --> 01:07:50,870
Teenage use of drugs was higher.
1283
01:07:50,871 --> 01:07:53,908
High school students' use of
methamphetamines had doubled.
1284
01:07:53,909 --> 01:07:57,111
And heroin and cocaine were
cheaper and purer than they were
1285
01:07:57,112 --> 01:08:00,181
when the first drug laws
were passed in 1914.
1286
01:08:00,182 --> 01:08:04,152
The war on drugs is not winnable,
but it's eminently fundable,
1287
01:08:04,153 --> 01:08:06,888
and the government
is addicted to that funding.
1288
01:08:06,889 --> 01:08:09,023
You know, the worst
thing about this drug war,
1289
01:08:09,024 --> 01:08:12,593
it just ruined this job.
1290
01:08:12,594 --> 01:08:14,162
You know I began
as a police reporter,
1291
01:08:14,163 --> 01:08:16,931
somebody very sympathetic
to good police work,
1292
01:08:16,932 --> 01:08:18,766
and I still am sympathetic
to good police work.
1293
01:08:18,767 --> 01:08:21,903
But I have no regard
for the drug war any more.
1294
01:08:21,904 --> 01:08:24,005
If you're a fan of
the HBO series The Wire,
1295
01:08:24,006 --> 01:08:25,907
you see this emphasized
over and over again,
1296
01:08:25,908 --> 01:08:28,509
that it's all about
statistics and numbers.
1297
01:08:28,510 --> 01:08:30,978
Radley Balko is a
journalist who spent years
1298
01:08:30,979 --> 01:08:34,982
studying the effects that federal drug
money has had on law enforcement.
1299
01:08:34,983 --> 01:08:37,050
You need to make as many
drug arrests as possible,
1300
01:08:37,051 --> 01:08:38,851
Seize as many drugs as possible,
1301
01:08:38,852 --> 01:08:40,655
and that's how you get your grant
in the federal government.
1302
01:08:40,656 --> 01:08:42,457
If you're running
a police department,
1303
01:08:42,458 --> 01:08:44,091
you don't get
massive grant money
1304
01:08:44,092 --> 01:08:47,695
for solving murder cases,
or rapes, or theft.
1305
01:08:47,696 --> 01:08:51,466
Your only major financial incentive
is to solve drug crimes,
1306
01:08:51,467 --> 01:08:54,202
and if you don't make the same
drug arrests as last year,
1307
01:08:54,203 --> 01:08:56,671
you won't get
the same budgets this year.
1308
01:08:56,672 --> 01:08:59,674
And yet, all you're doing is
making meaningless street arrests
1309
01:08:59,675 --> 01:09:01,942
that have no consequence.
1310
01:09:01,943 --> 01:09:03,843
You're just harvesting stats.
1311
01:09:03,844 --> 01:09:08,082
This incentivizes police
departments to set up specialized SWAT teams
1312
01:09:08,083 --> 01:09:10,785
so police can conduct
more drug raids.
1313
01:09:10,786 --> 01:09:14,055
And the U.S. government will provide
money for SWAT equipment as well.
1314
01:09:14,056 --> 01:09:18,159
No-knock raids are some of the
most cruel, horrible tragedies
1315
01:09:18,160 --> 01:09:21,696
a human can go through
because it's so terrifying.
1316
01:09:21,697 --> 01:09:25,933
I raided over 100 houses
in my law enforcement career.
1317
01:09:25,934 --> 01:09:29,270
There'd be 15 of us
in all this riot gear,
1318
01:09:29,271 --> 01:09:32,507
and the biggest, fanciest
guns we could get.
1319
01:09:32,508 --> 01:09:34,575
I was always the guy
who kicked the door in,
1320
01:09:34,576 --> 01:09:36,244
'cause I was
the most aggressive one.
1321
01:09:36,245 --> 01:09:42,249
And we threw flash grenades in
the window to confuse everybody.
1322
01:09:44,585 --> 01:09:48,922
The one that really
stands out in my mind was,
1323
01:09:50,024 --> 01:09:53,895
I remember a blonde-headed
girl with blue eyes,
1324
01:09:53,896 --> 01:09:56,063
like my daughter's,
1325
01:09:56,064 --> 01:10:01,636
and it almost seems like it
was one of my daughters now.
1326
01:10:01,637 --> 01:10:05,706
And uh, she had a brother,
and they were so scared.
1327
01:10:05,707 --> 01:10:08,643
Don't move, you understand?
1328
01:10:08,644 --> 01:10:10,978
Did you shoot my dog?
1329
01:10:10,979 --> 01:10:13,146
Did you shoot my fucking dog?
1330
01:10:21,856 --> 01:10:24,725
Why did you do that?
1331
01:10:24,726 --> 01:10:27,961
And we ripped that family
apart for a bag of pot?
1332
01:10:30,197 --> 01:10:32,567
Sometimes people feed
them wrong information,
1333
01:10:32,568 --> 01:10:34,168
sometimes it's just an accident,
1334
01:10:34,169 --> 01:10:38,272
where they read, instead
of "863" they read "868"
1335
01:10:38,273 --> 01:10:39,972
and they go into the wrong room.
1336
01:10:39,973 --> 01:10:42,977
And when they got to the house of
the former marine, Jose Guerena,
1337
01:10:42,978 --> 01:10:46,113
he had already been alerted by his
wife that someone was outside,
1338
01:10:46,114 --> 01:10:47,748
so he grabbed his rifle.
1339
01:10:47,749 --> 01:10:50,151
But before Guerena could remove
the safety from his rifle,
1340
01:10:50,152 --> 01:10:53,754
he was greeted by more than 60
bullets from law enforcement.
1341
01:10:53,755 --> 01:10:56,924
The SWAT team refused to let
anyone attend to Guerena,
1342
01:10:56,925 --> 01:10:58,793
leaving no hope
for him to survive.
1343
01:10:58,794 --> 01:11:01,262
We've raised a generation
of cops in Baltimore
1344
01:11:01,263 --> 01:11:03,664
who can make a drug arrest,
but can't do police work.
1345
01:11:03,665 --> 01:11:05,232
You don't know
how to use an informant
1346
01:11:05,233 --> 01:11:07,001
and not be used by an informant.
1347
01:11:07,002 --> 01:11:09,804
You don't know how to write
an intelligent search warrant,
1348
01:11:09,805 --> 01:11:12,974
you don't know how to retroactively
investigate a crime,
1349
01:11:12,975 --> 01:11:15,309
you don't understand
how to maintain a crime scene.
1350
01:11:15,310 --> 01:11:18,179
All the things that count
as quality police work,
1351
01:11:18,180 --> 01:11:21,816
that's a direct consequence of the
drug war that nobody thought about.
1352
01:11:21,817 --> 01:11:25,886
In the 1980s, there were
about 3,000 SWAT raids a year.
1353
01:11:25,887 --> 01:11:30,156
Today, that number is estimated at
around 50,000 SWAT raids a year.
1354
01:11:31,392 --> 01:11:34,862
Most serving warrants on
non-violent drug offenders.
1355
01:11:34,863 --> 01:11:37,363
These raids gone wrong
are actually pretty common.
1356
01:11:37,366 --> 01:11:40,166
They happen, by my estimate, a few
times a week, across the country.
1357
01:11:40,235 --> 01:11:42,735
92 year old Kathryn Johnston was killed
1358
01:11:42,735 --> 01:11:46,335
when narcotics officers knocked down
the door at her home on Neal Street,
1359
01:11:46,341 --> 01:11:48,041
and then opened fire.
1360
01:11:48,076 --> 01:11:48,975
Earlier this week,
1361
01:11:48,976 --> 01:11:54,782
A 68-year-old grandfather of 12 was killed
in his home in Framingham, Massachusetts.
1362
01:11:54,783 --> 01:11:56,717
While drug
war money has financed
1363
01:11:56,718 --> 01:12:00,855
an unprecedented expansion
of U.S. law enforcement,
1364
01:12:00,856 --> 01:12:05,059
the bulk of drug money has continued
to flow outside U.S. borders
1365
01:12:05,060 --> 01:12:07,761
and into the pockets
of true masters of the game.
1366
01:12:30,051 --> 01:12:35,222
As a cartel drug lord, your biggest problem
is going to be counting your money.
1367
01:12:35,223 --> 01:12:38,292
But you'll have a few guys
hired to do that.
1368
01:12:38,293 --> 01:12:42,329
And a few more guys to count your mansions,
houses, planes, boats, luxury cars,
1369
01:12:42,330 --> 01:12:45,699
and all the material possessions
you could possibly dream of.
1370
01:12:46,901 --> 01:12:48,803
Like all the kings
and emperors before you,
1371
01:12:48,804 --> 01:12:51,739
you too will have
your very own army.
1372
01:12:51,740 --> 01:12:55,809
Driving around in custom made tanks designed
by top military equipment engineers.
1373
01:12:56,934 --> 01:12:58,811
If you're a Mexican cartel lord,
1374
01:12:58,812 --> 01:13:02,283
And too many of your men
find themselves in prison,
1375
01:13:02,284 --> 01:13:06,854
you just send a couple hundred of your best
guys down there and get them out of jail.
1376
01:13:06,855 --> 01:13:09,390
The guards won't stop you.
1377
01:13:09,391 --> 01:13:13,160
Anyone you perceive as being a
threat, you send a message.
1378
01:13:13,161 --> 01:13:14,961
You chop off people's heads.
1379
01:13:16,130 --> 01:13:18,265
You roll those heads
into nightclubs
1380
01:13:18,266 --> 01:13:23,337
or pile them up and hang their bodies from
bridges to keep your competition in line.
1381
01:13:23,338 --> 01:13:27,975
As a cartel drug lord, you kill
anybody who gets in your way,
1382
01:13:27,976 --> 01:13:30,044
literally gunning
down civilians,
1383
01:13:30,045 --> 01:13:32,279
as long as you hit your target.
1384
01:13:32,280 --> 01:13:36,015
You'll be so used to killing,
nothing will faze you any more.
1385
01:13:37,284 --> 01:13:43,524
Since 2006, over 50,000 people have
been murdered in Mexico's war on drugs.
1386
01:13:43,525 --> 01:13:46,327
Most of those cases
remain unsolved.
1387
01:13:46,328 --> 01:13:49,797
Not because you're careful
about covering up your crimes,
1388
01:13:49,798 --> 01:13:51,866
but because you terrify
the police.
1389
01:13:51,867 --> 01:13:56,504
What happens when you as a public
official, or a police chief,
1390
01:13:56,505 --> 01:14:00,274
receive an envelope with
photographs of your family?
1391
01:14:00,275 --> 01:14:03,144
It won't take you long
either to resign,
1392
01:14:03,145 --> 01:14:05,513
or to go along
with their wishes.
1393
01:14:05,514 --> 01:14:09,850
The drug cartels have more money and
more guns than the police do.
1394
01:14:09,851 --> 01:14:11,819
In a lot of ways, that
doesn't make any difference
1395
01:14:11,820 --> 01:14:13,320
because the police
are on their payrolls,
1396
01:14:13,321 --> 01:14:16,601
but where they're not, they can
literally outgun the police.
1397
01:14:18,492 --> 01:14:20,094
To run a global company,
1398
01:14:20,095 --> 01:14:22,296
you need operatives
all over the world.
1399
01:14:22,297 --> 01:14:26,133
An international work force
rivaling any other Fortune 500.
1400
01:14:26,134 --> 01:14:28,569
So where do you find
your employees?
1401
01:14:28,570 --> 01:14:31,372
Like business school does
for our corporate leaders,
1402
01:14:31,373 --> 01:14:33,474
jails are like
the ultimate job fair
1403
01:14:33,475 --> 01:14:37,077
for gangs, dealers, hitmen,
and other criminals for hire.
1404
01:14:37,078 --> 01:14:39,947
We was in there beating
people up, robbing people.
1405
01:14:39,948 --> 01:14:42,550
I almost killed a guy. I beat him
so bad that I almost killed him.
1406
01:14:42,551 --> 01:14:44,819
You know, tensions
are high at all times.
1407
01:14:44,820 --> 01:14:46,287
If it's not between
the Bloods and Crips,
1408
01:14:46,288 --> 01:14:48,422
it might be between
the blacks and Latinos,
1409
01:14:48,423 --> 01:14:51,258
or might be between
the prison guards and inmates.
1410
01:14:51,259 --> 01:14:54,395
80% of the guys in there don't
have a high school diploma.
1411
01:14:54,396 --> 01:14:56,196
They grow up in a single parent home.
1412
01:14:56,197 --> 01:14:58,397
So if you have no one
to show you what manhood is,
1413
01:14:58,400 --> 01:15:00,400
you'll be just like
the sharks just out there.
1414
01:15:00,424 --> 01:15:02,134
only the strongest survive.
1415
01:15:02,135 --> 01:15:07,135
From 1920 to 1970 the rate of incarceration
in the United States was level.
1416
01:15:07,209 --> 01:15:11,312
From the depression, World
War II, the postwar boom,
1417
01:15:11,313 --> 01:15:13,981
through the '50s,
through the '60s,
1418
01:15:13,982 --> 01:15:15,583
the rate of incarceration
was level.
1419
01:15:15,584 --> 01:15:18,619
Public enemy number one
is drug abuse.
1420
01:15:18,620 --> 01:15:22,523
In 1970, the rate of
incarceration starts going up.
1421
01:15:22,524 --> 01:15:26,025
And it has not stopped
going up for a half century.
1422
01:15:28,195 --> 01:15:30,364
Only 5% of
the world is American.
1423
01:15:30,365 --> 01:15:34,201
But today, America has 25%
of the world's prisoners.
1424
01:15:34,202 --> 01:15:37,438
The United States of
America, the land of the free,
1425
01:15:37,439 --> 01:15:40,374
leads the world in the
incarceration of our people.
1426
01:15:40,375 --> 01:15:41,874
We hunt the poor,
1427
01:15:41,875 --> 01:15:45,946
And incarcerate them at levels
unheard of in the rest of the world.
1428
01:15:45,947 --> 01:15:50,351
No other nation comes close.
Not China, not Russia, nobody.
1429
01:15:50,352 --> 01:15:51,952
There are only two explanations,
1430
01:15:51,953 --> 01:15:55,089
one is that
we are uniquely evil,
1431
01:15:55,090 --> 01:15:59,360
and the other is that we have
uniquely counterproductive laws.
1432
01:15:59,361 --> 01:16:02,329
And while the prison
population continues to grow,
1433
01:16:02,330 --> 01:16:05,031
the demand for illegal drugs
is still rising.
1434
01:16:12,273 --> 01:16:15,276
50% of America has consumed
an illegal drug.
1435
01:16:15,277 --> 01:16:17,544
Do they think they can lock
up half of the country?
1436
01:16:17,545 --> 01:16:20,014
There's just no stopping us.
1437
01:16:20,015 --> 01:16:22,182
Everybody I know wants to
do drugs is doing them.
1438
01:16:22,183 --> 01:16:24,451
They don't care if it's legal
or illegal, they're doing them.
1439
01:16:24,452 --> 01:16:25,951
And they are proud of it.
1440
01:16:25,952 --> 01:16:29,390
Some of America's most famous
business leaders, like Steve Jobs,
1441
01:16:29,391 --> 01:16:33,994
has said taking LSD was one of the most
important experiences of his life.
1442
01:16:33,995 --> 01:16:35,894
Quite a few Americans agree with him.
1443
01:16:35,895 --> 01:16:40,000
I don't think it's as much a question
about drugs as it's about freedom.
1444
01:16:40,001 --> 01:16:42,069
Whatever this
freedom word means,
1445
01:16:42,070 --> 01:16:44,351
we really gotta
grab hold of that.
1446
01:16:45,272 --> 01:16:48,175
Either we have the right
to do what we want to do
1447
01:16:48,176 --> 01:16:51,145
as long as we aren't
hurting someone else,
1448
01:16:51,146 --> 01:16:53,981
or we're not living
in a free country.
1449
01:16:53,982 --> 01:16:57,418
I'm just horrified by the way
that we think of people
1450
01:16:57,419 --> 01:17:00,020
because of the choice of substance
that they put in their bodies
1451
01:17:00,021 --> 01:17:01,555
to alter their perception.
1452
01:17:01,556 --> 01:17:04,158
And we judge them
as good or bad,
1453
01:17:04,159 --> 01:17:08,128
while we sip our wine
and have our cocktail parties
1454
01:17:08,129 --> 01:17:09,697
and you know...
1455
01:17:09,698 --> 01:17:13,033
Stick that hypocrisy right up
society's ass for me.
1456
01:17:13,034 --> 01:17:17,237
Some of them can kill you the first time you
try them and other ones are really fun.
1457
01:17:17,238 --> 01:17:19,239
And someone's lying to you
if they say they're not.
1458
01:17:19,240 --> 01:17:23,410
Our own power as individuals over
our own bodies, our thoughts,
1459
01:17:23,411 --> 01:17:26,680
our minds, our ideas,
and our feelings,
1460
01:17:26,681 --> 01:17:29,450
those are not things that
can be taken away from us.
1461
01:17:29,451 --> 01:17:33,320
And anybody who would allow
the state to take them away
1462
01:17:33,321 --> 01:17:36,122
doesn't deserve the title
"American citizen."
1463
01:17:37,458 --> 01:17:39,760
The vast majority
of drug dealers never make it.
1464
01:17:39,761 --> 01:17:42,296
They're either killed,
or wind up in prison.
1465
01:17:42,297 --> 01:17:44,531
But Americans just keep
demanding more drugs.
1466
01:17:44,532 --> 01:17:49,470
Approximately half a million Americans
are incarcerated on drug charges.
1467
01:17:49,471 --> 01:17:52,306
In recent years we've spent more
money building new prisons
1468
01:17:52,307 --> 01:17:54,306
than building new universities.
1469
01:17:54,307 --> 01:17:57,745
And they are beneficiaries, the
people who manage these prisons,
1470
01:17:57,746 --> 01:18:00,314
the prison guards' unions,
1471
01:18:00,315 --> 01:18:03,550
they all have a vested interest in
perpetuating this broken system.
1472
01:18:03,551 --> 01:18:06,787
And famous American freedom
advocates have been speaking for years
1473
01:18:06,788 --> 01:18:09,108
about the conflict of
interest for politicians.
1474
01:18:10,491 --> 01:18:13,794
Are you running for office,
and you need more dough?
1475
01:18:13,795 --> 01:18:16,363
Adopt a "tough on crime" position,
1476
01:18:16,364 --> 01:18:20,064
you'll get a lot of money from the
prison industry. Think about it.
1477
01:18:25,672 --> 01:18:28,475
But even the largest prison
system in the history of the world
1478
01:18:28,476 --> 01:18:31,245
is just another market
for drug dealers.
1479
01:18:34,581 --> 01:18:40,788
Oh, you can find weed, coke, crystal meth, ecstasy.
Even heroin, you can find.
1480
01:18:40,789 --> 01:18:44,557
People work there, bring
it over, or visitors.
1481
01:18:50,264 --> 01:18:51,665
Congratulations.
1482
01:18:51,666 --> 01:18:53,365
As a cartel drug lord,
1483
01:18:53,366 --> 01:18:56,670
You're the number one organized
crime threat in the United States,
1484
01:18:56,671 --> 01:19:00,507
having set up franchises in
over 1,000 American cities.
1485
01:19:00,508 --> 01:19:03,477
You have an operating budget
larger than most countries.
1486
01:19:03,478 --> 01:19:08,849
You and your partners in crime make
over 150 billion dollars a year.
1487
01:19:08,850 --> 01:19:12,119
And business shows
no signs of slowing down.
1488
01:19:12,120 --> 01:19:16,857
Because like any good game, the machine
creates an endless supply of players.
1489
01:19:16,858 --> 01:19:20,294
The government always says drugs are
illegal, because they're bad for you,
1490
01:19:20,295 --> 01:19:22,096
and we're trying
to protect societies,
1491
01:19:22,097 --> 01:19:24,698
but the government doesn't
give a fuck about your safety.
1492
01:19:24,699 --> 01:19:27,835
The government, they don't
want you to use your drugs,
1493
01:19:27,836 --> 01:19:30,404
they want you
to use their drugs.
1494
01:19:30,405 --> 01:19:34,408
So every night on TV, you see
a weird ass drug commercial
1495
01:19:34,409 --> 01:19:37,778
trying to get you hooked
on some legal shit.
1496
01:19:37,779 --> 01:19:42,850
And they just keep naming symptoms till
they get one that you fucking got.
1497
01:19:42,851 --> 01:19:44,718
I think once
I took my first Vicodin
1498
01:19:44,719 --> 01:19:48,555
it was just like this feeling
of, "Aah," you know,
1499
01:19:48,556 --> 01:19:52,759
like everything was not only
mellow but didn't feel any pain,
1500
01:19:52,760 --> 01:19:55,229
it didn't... It just
kind of numbed things.
1501
01:19:55,230 --> 01:19:59,333
I don't know at what point exactly
it started to be a problem,
1502
01:19:59,334 --> 01:20:02,603
I just remember liking it
more and more.
1503
01:20:02,604 --> 01:20:04,905
People tried to tell me
that I had a problem,
1504
01:20:04,906 --> 01:20:06,673
I would say, "Get that
fucking person out of here",
1505
01:20:06,674 --> 01:20:08,442
"I can't believe
they said that shit to me."
1506
01:20:08,443 --> 01:20:09,743
"They know nothing
about my fucking life."
1507
01:20:09,744 --> 01:20:11,478
"Are they out of
their fucking mind?"
1508
01:20:11,479 --> 01:20:12,778
"I'm not out there shooting heroin."
1509
01:20:12,779 --> 01:20:16,183
"I'm not out there fucking, you
know, putting coke up my nose."
1510
01:20:16,184 --> 01:20:17,484
"I'm not smoking crack."
1511
01:20:17,485 --> 01:20:20,154
You're struggling
with the argument of,
1512
01:20:20,155 --> 01:20:22,156
do you have a problem
or do you not have a problem,
1513
01:20:22,157 --> 01:20:23,790
can you control it
or can you not,
1514
01:20:23,791 --> 01:20:26,326
and I literally thought
I could control it.
1515
01:20:26,327 --> 01:20:28,228
And for one out of ten people,
1516
01:20:28,229 --> 01:20:31,365
this is how easy it is to fall
into the hands of addiction.
1517
01:20:31,366 --> 01:20:36,170
I snorted OxyContin and I remember
just falling down on that couch
1518
01:20:36,171 --> 01:20:39,640
and just feeling euphoric,
and feeling that,
1519
01:20:39,641 --> 01:20:43,243
"This is how I should feel, this
is how it should always be."
1520
01:20:43,244 --> 01:20:45,546
I had fun for a lot
of those years.
1521
01:20:45,547 --> 01:20:50,784
But for five or six of them, every time
I did it, it was a freaking nightmare.
1522
01:20:50,785 --> 01:20:52,452
Once you're addicted,
1523
01:20:52,453 --> 01:20:54,188
the drugs become
interchangeable.
1524
01:20:54,189 --> 01:20:56,924
You're taking things
that people are giving you
1525
01:20:56,925 --> 01:20:58,892
that you don't even know
what the fuck they are.
1526
01:20:58,893 --> 01:21:03,931
They look like a pill and they're
shaped like something that you take,
1527
01:21:03,932 --> 01:21:05,632
so you take it.
1528
01:21:05,633 --> 01:21:09,503
You know. Xanax, Valium,
tomato, tomahto.
1529
01:21:09,504 --> 01:21:11,405
You know what I mean,
it's the same thing.
1530
01:21:11,406 --> 01:21:13,574
All in the same family,
fuck it, take it.
1531
01:21:13,575 --> 01:21:16,343
You know, OxyContin is very
expensive, and I couldn't afford it,
1532
01:21:16,344 --> 01:21:19,713
so eventually a friend said,
"Well, you can do heroin."
1533
01:21:19,714 --> 01:21:24,284
"Heroin's a lot cheaper and you can...
It's easier to get, actually."
1534
01:21:24,285 --> 01:21:26,720
And the cost was huge.
1535
01:21:26,721 --> 01:21:29,289
Beyond the price,
beyond the dollar.
1536
01:21:29,290 --> 01:21:30,889
I started losing my mind.
1537
01:21:30,890 --> 01:21:33,727
I was doing too much cocaine,
becoming too paranoid.
1538
01:21:33,728 --> 01:21:36,430
People started smoking it,
I started smoking it.
1539
01:21:36,431 --> 01:21:37,830
I started to go with withdrawals.
1540
01:21:37,831 --> 01:21:43,403
I was sweating, I was shitting,
I was vomiting everywhere,
1541
01:21:43,404 --> 01:21:47,341
and, you know, I said,
"I need to go to a hospital."
1542
01:21:47,342 --> 01:21:50,611
Had I have gotten to the
hospital about two hours later,
1543
01:21:50,612 --> 01:21:51,845
I would have died.
1544
01:21:51,846 --> 01:21:54,514
Having my mom
look over me crying,
1545
01:21:54,515 --> 01:21:57,317
over her little baby boy,
in a hospital,
1546
01:21:57,318 --> 01:22:00,454
at 2:00 in the morning,
I just felt like shit.
1547
01:22:00,455 --> 01:22:03,357
My organs were shutting down,
my liver, kidneys, everything.
1548
01:22:03,358 --> 01:22:04,958
They were going to have
to put me on dialysis.
1549
01:22:04,959 --> 01:22:06,627
They didn't think
I was gonna make it.
1550
01:22:06,628 --> 01:22:08,462
My bottom was going to be death.
1551
01:22:08,463 --> 01:22:10,730
Within a month, I had relapsed,
1552
01:22:11,765 --> 01:22:14,701
and shot right back up to the same
amount of pills I was taking.
1553
01:22:14,702 --> 01:22:17,304
I remember just walking
around my house
1554
01:22:17,305 --> 01:22:20,841
and thinking every single day
like, I'm gonna fucking die.
1555
01:22:20,842 --> 01:22:24,444
I'm looking at my kids and I
need to be here for this.
1556
01:22:24,445 --> 01:22:26,480
It was everything that I loved.
1557
01:22:26,481 --> 01:22:27,881
And everything that loved me
1558
01:22:27,882 --> 01:22:31,618
was a price that I was
willing to pay to do coke.
1559
01:22:31,619 --> 01:22:33,287
That's a horrible price.
1560
01:22:33,288 --> 01:22:34,687
And for many addicts,
1561
01:22:34,688 --> 01:22:36,790
If they can't afford
to support their habit,
1562
01:22:36,791 --> 01:22:37,990
There's an easy solution.
1563
01:22:37,991 --> 01:22:40,727
I think when you come from a
poor family, you wanna do drugs,
1564
01:22:40,728 --> 01:22:44,331
and drugs cost money,
and then you see a way out.
1565
01:22:44,332 --> 01:22:47,034
OxyContin is very expensive.
And people keep calling you,
1566
01:22:47,035 --> 01:22:48,835
you know, people want drugs.
1567
01:22:48,836 --> 01:22:50,504
And it was hard
not to give them it,
1568
01:22:50,505 --> 01:22:53,674
because I knew I could make
50 dollars just like that.
1569
01:22:53,675 --> 01:22:56,943
The day I ate LSD,
the next day I sold LSD.
1570
01:22:56,944 --> 01:22:59,680
The day I did cocaine,
the next day I sold cocaine.
1571
01:22:59,681 --> 01:23:01,615
The day I shot drugs,
I was selling dope.
1572
01:23:01,616 --> 01:23:04,484
I never meant to get
in the dope business.
1573
01:23:04,485 --> 01:23:06,820
That wasn't my plan.
1574
01:23:06,821 --> 01:23:08,989
But it just started that way.
1575
01:23:08,990 --> 01:23:12,693
Eventually I would make my way
to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting
1576
01:23:12,694 --> 01:23:16,096
and a kid was reading "What is an
addict" and it said very simply,
1577
01:23:16,097 --> 01:23:19,966
"An addict is a man or a woman
whose life is controlled by drugs,"
1578
01:23:19,967 --> 01:23:22,936
"in one form or another,
the getting and using,"
1579
01:23:22,937 --> 01:23:25,405
"and finding ways
and means to get more."
1580
01:23:25,406 --> 01:23:27,908
And I heard that, and a
light went on in my head.
1581
01:23:27,909 --> 01:23:31,345
I knew I was an addict
for the first time in my life.
1582
01:23:31,346 --> 01:23:33,647
When people asked me,
"What's wrong with you?"
1583
01:23:33,648 --> 01:23:35,747
I'd be like, "yo dude I'm an addict."
1584
01:23:35,748 --> 01:23:40,687
Coming off of everything, I literally was
up 24 hours a day for 3 weeks straight.
1585
01:23:40,688 --> 01:23:46,693
And I mean, not sleeping, not even
nodding off for a fucking minute.
1586
01:23:46,694 --> 01:23:50,831
Like I was literally just up,
looking at the TV.
1587
01:23:50,832 --> 01:23:52,733
I had to regain motor skills,
1588
01:23:52,734 --> 01:23:54,835
I had to regain talking skills.
1589
01:23:54,836 --> 01:23:59,005
It's been a learning process,
like, it's been... I'm growing.
1590
01:23:59,006 --> 01:24:02,409
I just couldn't believe that
anybody could be naturally happy
1591
01:24:02,410 --> 01:24:06,612
or naturally function or be enjoying life
in general without being on something.
1592
01:24:08,148 --> 01:24:12,953
So I would say to anybody it
does get better, you know.
1593
01:24:12,954 --> 01:24:14,854
It just, it does.
1594
01:24:16,491 --> 01:24:18,529
My name is Marshall, I'm an addict.
1595
01:24:18,530 --> 01:24:22,829
Marshall Mathers, Mike
Walzman, Brian O'Dea, and Bobby Carlton
1596
01:24:22,830 --> 01:24:26,466
would take years in and out of treatment
programs before they finally got sober.
1597
01:24:26,467 --> 01:24:29,970
And this is normal. Addiction
is still a modern mystery.
1598
01:24:29,971 --> 01:24:33,507
Rehabilitation programs are
underfunded, and often unavailable,
1599
01:24:33,508 --> 01:24:35,609
except for the very rich.
1600
01:24:35,610 --> 01:24:39,012
But in promoting a culture of
addiction and substance abuse,
1601
01:24:39,013 --> 01:24:43,650
drug cartels have an even more powerful
ally than the pharmaceutical industry.
1602
01:24:43,651 --> 01:24:45,918
The number one
gateway drug in the world.
1603
01:24:53,760 --> 01:24:55,829
Yeah, it's the worst
drug on the planet.
1604
01:24:55,830 --> 01:24:59,599
95% of the violent offenses ever
committed by anyone locked up in prison
1605
01:24:59,600 --> 01:25:01,699
was done under its influence.
1606
01:25:01,700 --> 01:25:05,172
And as any addict will tell
you, the quickest way to relapse
1607
01:25:05,173 --> 01:25:08,541
is compromising your judgment
and willpower with alcohol.
1608
01:25:12,012 --> 01:25:14,714
With legal drug companies
promoting drug use,
1609
01:25:14,715 --> 01:25:17,984
it would seem almost impossible to
fight the monster of addiction.
1610
01:25:17,985 --> 01:25:21,221
But there's one industry that's
mastered the art of drug dealing,
1611
01:25:21,222 --> 01:25:25,926
and they know the secret approach that could
threaten the entire addiction market.
1612
01:25:25,927 --> 01:25:30,596
I'm Patrick Reynolds. My grandfather founded the R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Company.
1613
01:25:31,631 --> 01:25:35,234
My only memories of my dad were
of a man dying from smoking.
1614
01:25:37,637 --> 01:25:41,942
Tobacco is killing more than a
combined total of all the murders,
1615
01:25:41,943 --> 01:25:43,844
all the drugs, all the suicides,
1616
01:25:43,845 --> 01:25:45,744
and all car accidents combined.
1617
01:25:46,746 --> 01:25:50,550
Throw AIDS in, tobacco is
killing more than the total.
1618
01:25:50,551 --> 01:25:52,519
If tobacco were banned tomorrow,
1619
01:25:52,520 --> 01:25:56,823
and the DEA was going to
come after you for smoking,
1620
01:25:56,824 --> 01:25:59,960
the first thing it would do is it
would make it really cool to kids.
1621
01:25:59,961 --> 01:26:03,230
We'd have a black
market tobacco,
1622
01:26:03,231 --> 01:26:07,067
there would be tobacco probably
manufactured in Mexico,
1623
01:26:07,068 --> 01:26:11,037
or some other country and imported...
They'd find their way.
1624
01:26:11,038 --> 01:26:13,507
We know what works
for fighting tobacco.
1625
01:26:13,508 --> 01:26:15,976
Smoking bans in public places,
1626
01:26:15,977 --> 01:26:19,979
high tobacco taxes, secession
programs, education,
1627
01:26:21,147 --> 01:26:23,107
and banning tobacco advertising.
1628
01:26:26,119 --> 01:26:28,588
What would happen
if we used the same approach.
1629
01:26:28,589 --> 01:26:31,825
Patrick Reynolds described
succeeding with cigarettes
1630
01:26:31,826 --> 01:26:33,793
and applied that to all drugs?
1631
01:26:33,794 --> 01:26:37,864
That approach was tried in Portugal,
which had a huge drug problem,
1632
01:26:37,865 --> 01:26:40,164
And the effort crushed the black market.
1633
01:26:40,165 --> 01:26:45,105
NBC sent reporters to study the drop in
addiction and abuse rates among teens.
1634
01:26:45,106 --> 01:26:48,008
- So have you ever used hashish?
- No, never.
1635
01:26:48,009 --> 01:26:50,109
Why not? It's bad for us.
1636
01:26:52,779 --> 01:26:55,015
Portuguese Prime
Minister Jose Socrates
1637
01:26:55,016 --> 01:26:57,250
was one of the architects
of the new policy,
1638
01:26:57,251 --> 01:26:59,151
has some advice
for the rest of us.
1639
01:27:02,290 --> 01:27:04,291
I think the strategy
can work in any country,
1640
01:27:04,292 --> 01:27:05,891
you just need to rid yourself
1641
01:27:05,892 --> 01:27:08,762
of prejudice and take an
intelligent approach.
1642
01:27:08,763 --> 01:27:11,031
Even America's
current drug czar admits
1643
01:27:11,032 --> 01:27:13,600
that law enforcement
isn't the answer to drugs.
1644
01:27:13,601 --> 01:27:17,103
If you read the research, you
clearly and quickly come to realize
1645
01:27:17,104 --> 01:27:18,703
that addiction is a disease.
1646
01:27:18,704 --> 01:27:21,708
I think for too long we probably
thought that we could either
1647
01:27:21,709 --> 01:27:23,877
arrest our way
out of the problem,
1648
01:27:23,878 --> 01:27:27,847
or solve it through some
criminal justice lens,
1649
01:27:27,848 --> 01:27:31,650
and I think we know from past
history that is not the case.
1650
01:27:32,975 --> 01:27:35,019
Critics call the war on drugs
1651
01:27:35,020 --> 01:27:39,192
the single greatest public policy
failure of the last 50 years.
1652
01:27:39,193 --> 01:27:41,328
The DEA don't want
the drug problem to stop.
1653
01:27:41,329 --> 01:27:43,830
District attorneys don't want
the problem to stop.
1654
01:27:43,831 --> 01:27:47,132
Prisons don't want the drug problem to stop.
They're pushing it on.
1655
01:27:48,457 --> 01:27:49,834
You know, it's ridiculous.
1656
01:27:49,835 --> 01:27:52,105
The only person who's
paying is the taxpayers.
1657
01:27:52,106 --> 01:27:56,776
Freeway Rick Ross and Brian O'Dea
continue to give inspirational speeches
1658
01:27:56,777 --> 01:27:59,346
on the dangers of addiction and
the failures of prohibition.
1659
01:27:59,347 --> 01:28:03,383
I was sentenced to 10 years.
Within an hour and a half,
1660
01:28:03,384 --> 01:28:07,921
I met guys in there who were
doing 75 years for pot.
1661
01:28:07,922 --> 01:28:10,290
One of these guys
has since died in prison.
1662
01:28:10,291 --> 01:28:12,826
And the other guys are
gonna die in prison.
1663
01:28:12,827 --> 01:28:16,267
But I got the government selling me
cigarettes in there for 50 cents a pack.
1664
01:28:18,832 --> 01:28:24,903
Don't make sense, does it?
Didn't to me. Didn't to me.
1665
01:28:27,173 --> 01:28:29,876
Bobby Carlton,
now clean for over a decade,
1666
01:28:29,877 --> 01:28:32,212
runs a sober living house
in Los Angeles,
1667
01:28:32,213 --> 01:28:34,012
And helps other addicts get clean.
1668
01:28:34,013 --> 01:28:37,817
You know, it's just the money is so stupid
that everybody's a part of the problem,
1669
01:28:37,818 --> 01:28:39,917
Nobody's part of the solution.
1670
01:28:39,918 --> 01:28:45,225
Big John now works as a union
electrician and earns over six figures a year.
1671
01:28:45,226 --> 01:28:48,695
He and Skipp Townsend volunteer
as community activists
1672
01:28:48,696 --> 01:28:52,132
and gang intervention specialists
in Southern California.
1673
01:28:52,133 --> 01:28:55,402
I understand that I can't do any
better unless I know better.
1674
01:28:55,403 --> 01:28:58,905
And so for the most part when
individuals ask me for a job,
1675
01:28:58,906 --> 01:29:00,807
I understand that
nine out of ten,
1676
01:29:00,808 --> 01:29:02,407
they're not even ready to get a job.
1677
01:29:02,408 --> 01:29:06,946
It's just what they're sayin'. But they're
gonna revert back to what comes easiest.
1678
01:29:06,947 --> 01:29:09,449
The current takes the path
of least resistance.
1679
01:29:09,450 --> 01:29:14,354
So, what's the easiest, what's
the easiest path? That's drugs.
1680
01:29:14,355 --> 01:29:17,457
After a friend of his
was killed by one of the cartels,
1681
01:29:17,458 --> 01:29:19,859
Pepe left the game.
For the time being.
1682
01:29:34,842 --> 01:29:37,210
Barry Cooper,
after constant arrests
1683
01:29:37,211 --> 01:29:39,179
and raids on his family's home,
1684
01:29:39,180 --> 01:29:41,779
is now seeking political asylum
1685
01:29:41,780 --> 01:29:45,185
outside the United States where
he continues to dedicate his life
1686
01:29:45,186 --> 01:29:46,985
to ending the US drug war.
1687
01:29:46,986 --> 01:29:52,425
I'm not going to use our energy to try to
change the minds of the old Americans
1688
01:29:52,426 --> 01:29:56,495
that made the laws and expect
us to live under those laws.
1689
01:29:58,732 --> 01:30:02,768
I'm going to use our energy to rally
the masses who already get it.
1690
01:30:04,137 --> 01:30:08,374
And Neill Franklin, after
30 years fighting the war on drugs,
1691
01:30:08,375 --> 01:30:10,944
is now the executive
director of LEAP,
1692
01:30:10,945 --> 01:30:13,146
an organization
of law enforcement
1693
01:30:13,147 --> 01:30:16,216
who are demanding an end
to the drug war.
1694
01:30:16,217 --> 01:30:21,087
It wasn't until after his retirement
that Neill Franklin chose to speak out.
1695
01:30:21,088 --> 01:30:25,057
What I have here is referred to as,
in law enforcement, as a shadow box.
1696
01:30:26,493 --> 01:30:31,097
And it basically contains the law
enforcement officer's career.
1697
01:30:31,098 --> 01:30:33,500
And in my
retirement celebration,
1698
01:30:33,501 --> 01:30:37,237
this was presented to me
by Ed Toatley.
1699
01:30:37,238 --> 01:30:41,241
Ed Toatley was probably
the best narcotics agent
1700
01:30:41,242 --> 01:30:44,511
that the Maryland state
police had ever seen.
1701
01:30:44,512 --> 01:30:49,348
Ed Toatley was assassinated in
October 2000 by a drug dealer.
1702
01:30:54,788 --> 01:30:58,291
You get killed in this thing, I'll be
like, my generation died in Vietnam.
1703
01:30:58,292 --> 01:31:02,862
It's perhaps heroic, but it's
absolutely without meaning.
1704
01:31:02,863 --> 01:31:08,368
Because whether you make the five
kilogram bust, 500 kilos, a truck load.
1705
01:31:08,369 --> 01:31:11,204
None of it makes any difference.
1706
01:31:11,205 --> 01:31:15,308
Drug dealers and cops
are replaced just like that.
1707
01:31:15,309 --> 01:31:19,812
People losing parents, people
losing sons, people losing daughters.
1708
01:31:21,014 --> 01:31:24,217
You know,
Ed's kid's lost a father.
1709
01:31:24,218 --> 01:31:27,486
And those who are involved
in the illegal activity,
1710
01:31:28,888 --> 01:31:32,424
because you know what, their
lives are just as important.
1711
01:31:40,366 --> 01:31:42,402
If we decriminalized all drugs,
1712
01:31:42,403 --> 01:31:45,438
we would have billions of
dollars to battle addiction,
1713
01:31:45,439 --> 01:31:47,840
drug abuse and poverty.
1714
01:31:50,410 --> 01:31:52,912
But as long as we
support a drug war,
1715
01:31:52,913 --> 01:31:56,583
we will continue to encourage our
children to pick up the game
1716
01:31:56,584 --> 01:31:58,684
and discover for themselves:
1717
01:31:58,700 --> 01:32:01,700
How to make money selling drugs.
1718
01:32:04,000 --> 01:32:08,000
Cleaned, corrected, timing optimized
and some still missing parts added by Tronar