Original subtitles

[ROTOR BLADES SPINNING]

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY MAGNOLIA HOME ENTERTAINMENT

[SEAGULLS CRYING, CHILDREN SHOUTING]

[SCREAMING]

Female reporter: THEY CALL THEM THE COCAINE COWBOYS,

YESTERDAY THEY STRUCK BUSY DADELAND SHOPPING MALL

EXECUTING TWO LATIN MALES IN THE CROWN LIQUOR STORE.

THERE WAS AN EXCHANGE OF FIRE BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS.

Reporter: SMASHED GLASS AND LIQUOR BOTTLES FLYING.

Male reporter: THE SHOOTING CONTINUED OUTSIDE.

2nd reporter: TWO MEN, CUT DOWN IN A HAIL OF GUNFIRE.

Reporter: VICTIMS OF MIAMI'S DRUG WAR.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, HE HAD A MACHINE GUN.

Man: THEY'VE GOT TO FIND SOME WAY TO STOP THIS.

Woman: WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO ABOUT IT?

WHAT CAN THEY DO ABOUT IT?

Reporter: AND SOUTH FLORIDIANS WONDERED WHERE

THE COCAINE COWBOYS WILL STRIKE NEXT.

[SIREN]

Man: MY NAME IS JON ROBERTS.

I WAS BORN IN NEW YORK AND I GOT INVOLVED

WITH A GROUP OF ITALIANS FROM NEW YORK

AND THEY WERE ACTUALLY PART OF A MAFIA FAMILY.

AND WE OPENED ABOUT 4 OR 5 NIGHTCLUBS THAT BECAME VERY BIG,

AND WE WERE DOING REALLY WELL.

ONE DAY, THEY JUST CAME IN, THE POLICE,

WE HAD NO IDEA WHY THEY WERE THERE

AND THEN THEY TOLD US THAT OUR PARTNER, THEY HAD FOUND HIM

OUT ON THE LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY

AND HE HAD BEEN KILLED AND HE HAD LIKE

11 BULLET HOLES IN HIM.

SO WHO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED.

THE BEST THING THAT I COULD THINK AT THAT TIME WAS

JUST LET ME GET AWAY FROM ALL THIS HEAT.

SO I MOVED DOWN HERE

AND STARTED INTO THE COCAINE BUSINESS.

THE CITY IN THE MIAMI AREA WAS VERY, VERY QUIET,

AND IT WAS JUST A VERY PLEASANT PLACE TO LIVE.

Man: PRIOR TO 1956,

THE NIGHT SHIFT FOR THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

HAD ONE POLICE CAR

TO PATROL AN AREA THE SIZE OF RHODE ISLAND.

Jon: MIAMI BACK THEN WAS THE SOUTH,

IT WAS LIKE ALABAMA,

THERE WAS NO MONEY HERE. THERE WERE NO BIG BUILDINGS,

DOWNTOWN WAS PRETTY BARREN,

MIAMI BEACH, IT WAS A LOT OF OLD PEOPLE

JUST SITTING AROUND IN ROCKING CHAIRS

ON SOUTH BEACH WAITING TO DIE

AND IT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD OUT HERE, BACK THEN.

Man on TV: THIS IS WHY MIAMI IS FOR YOU.

IN THE '60S AND '70S, MIAMI FLOURISHED

PRIMARILY AS A VACATION SPOT.

AL SUNSHINE. AL SUNSHINE.

AL SUNSHINE. CHANNEL 4 NEWS.

Man: SUN AND FUN ON THE BEACH, THE PALM TREES.

Man on TV: MIAMI IS A MAJOR TRANSPORTATION CENTER

AND IS EASILY REACHED BY ALL FORMS OF TRAVEL.

Burstyn: IN THE LATE 1970S, THOUSANDS OF ILLEGAL AND LEGAL

SOUTH AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS STARTED ENTERING MIAMI.

TV: THE LATIN-AMERICAN INFLUENCE HAS

GIVEN MIAMI A UNIQUE FLAVOR.

MIAMI HAD BY THEN BEEN ESTABLISHED

AS AN ENVIRONMENT

WHERE A SPANISH SPEAKER ONLY COULD THRIVE.

MIAMI HAS ALWAYS BEEN

SORT OF A PIRATY

KIND OF FIERCELY INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENT

WHERE LAW AND ORDER WAS NEVER CHAMPIONED.

LIKE A VIRGIN CITY.

I'M AN OLD SOUTH FLORIDA BOY.

ONE OF THE FEW THAT'S THAT OLD WHO WAS BORN HERE.

I WAS IN THE IMPORT BUSINESS.

DO YOUR ARCHAEOLOGY AND DIG DOWN,

YOU'LL FIND THE GUN-RUNNERS

AND THEN YOU'LL FIND THE RUM-RUNNERS

AND YOU'LL FIND THE MARIJUANA

AND YOU'LL FIND THE CUBAN IMMIGRANTS

AND THEN YOU'LL FIND THE COCAINE.

THIS CITY HAS ALWAYS HAD SOMETHING COMING IN.

Man: SOUTH FLORIDA IS THE NEAREST

U.S. MAINLAND DESTINATION

FOR SOUTH AMERICAN DRUG SMUGGLERS.

IT WAS WIDE OPEN BACK THEN. IT WAS WIDE OPEN.

Man: THERE IS MILE AFTER MILE OF UNGUARDED SHORELINE

WHERE A BOAT CAN DROP DRUGS UNDETECTED.

Jon: IN THE '70S WHEN I FIRST CAME DOWN HERE,

EVERYBODY IN FLORIDA WAS SMUGGLING POT IN.

Man: THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY BELIEVES

95% OF ALL MARIJUANA SMUGGLED INTO THE UNITED STATES

COMES THROUGH SOUTH FLORIDA.

Mickey: A FRIEND OF MINE PASSED AWAY IN HIS WAREHOUSE,

HE HAD 2,000 POUNDS OF MARIJUANA.

AND WHAT I DID WAS I WENT IN AND TOOK IT.

I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW ANYBODY IN THE BUSINESS

SO I GAVE HALF OF IT TO SOMEBODY

AND I GAVE THE OTHER HALF TO SOMEBODY

AND I SPLIT IT WITH THEM.

IF YOU WERE MAKING $10,000 A YEAR,

YOU WERE DOING PRETTY GOOD.

IF YOU WERE MAKING $20,000

YOU WERE DOING PHENOMENAL.

I THINK I HAD LIKE $165,000.

SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 8 YEARS' SALARY ALONE.

AND I SAID, THIS IS PRETTY NICE,

THERE'S GOTTA BE SOMETHING MORE TO THIS. IT WAS TOO EASY.

I MEAN YOU COULD DRIVE IN WITH A BOAT,

STACKED UP, PULL UP TO THE DOCK

AND UNLOAD IT AND NOBODY SAID A THING.

THERE WAS NO DEFENSE OF THE BORDER TO SPEAK OF.

Reporter: AND AT THE PRESENT RATE ACCORDING TO

SOME ECONOMISTS,

THE STATE'S MAJOR INDUSTRY COULD SOON BE DRUG SMUGGLING.

Mickey: YOU COULD BE OUT IN A BOAT

AND FIND BALES OF MARIJUANA FLOATING.

I MEAN THE PROVERBIAL SQUARE GROUPER.

THE COLOMBIANS REALIZED

THEY HAD THEY HAD A GOLDMINE HERE AND WHEN THEY WERE SENDING

LIKE ALL THIS POT, THEY WOULD SEND

A FEW KILOS OF COKE.

Jon: IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS VERY SMALL...

Mickey: BECAUSE IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE.

Jon: AND THEY WOULD BRING THEM IN A SUITCASE...

Mickey: SO YOU DIDN'T SEE MUCH OF IT.

AND IT WOULD GET EXTREMELY HIGH PRICES FOR IT.

THE MID-'70s WITH D.E.A., THE PRIORITY WAS EXTREMELY LOW.

OUR OFFICE WAS PRETTY MUCH SHUT DOWN WHEN IT CAME TO COCAINE.

THERE IS NOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM NATIONWIDE

GIVEN THE VERY LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO USE COCAINE.

IT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR A CERTAIN SMALLER MINORITY.

I MET A CUBAN MAN OUT IN HIALEAH

AND HIS NAME WAS ALBERT SANPEDRO.

MOST CUBANS GOT WHATEVER THEY GOT

FROM COLOMBIANS, OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE THE COLOMBIANS,

YOU KNOW, CONTROLLED EVERYTHING.

Reporter: IN DRUG TRAFFICKING,

CUBAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS HERE

ARE OFTEN ALLIED WITH COLOMBIAN GROUPS.

COLOMBIANS IMPORTING THE DRUGS, CUBANS DISTRIBUTING THEM.

AND ALBERT WOULD FRONT ME A QUARTER OF A POUND

AND HE WOULD GIVE ME LIKE THREE OR FOUR DAYS

AND THEN I WOULD GO AND BRING HIM THE MONEY BACK.

AND THEN HE'D GIVE ME ANOTHER QUARTER OF A POUND,

AND I THINK I USED TO PAY HIM SOMEWHERE AROUND...

ABOUT 800 AN OUNCE OR SOMETHING, BACK IN THE '70s FOR IT.

AND IT WASN'T OF ANY QUALITY,

BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

AND THEY WOULD SEE THESE BIG ROCKS AND THEY'D THINK,

"WOW, THIS IS GREAT SHIT." AND MY CLIENTS

WEREN'T THESE PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD THINK THEY WOULD BE,

LIKE THESE STREET PEOPLE.

Mickey: IF ANYBODY HAD COCAINE,

THEY HAD TO BE AN AIRLINE PILOT.

REAL ESTATE PEOPLE DOWN HERE.

Mickey: DOCTORS, ATTORNEYS.

Jon: I HAD LAWYERS, I HAD DOCTORS.

SOMEBODY THAT COULD AFFORD WHAT IT COSTS.

THEY WERE CALLED WEEKEND WARRIORS.

DURING THE WEEK THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING

BUT ON THE WEEKEND THEY'D JUST GO FROM FRIDAY NIGHT

TILL SUNDAY AND DO THIS THING. AND EACH GUY WOULD

INTRODUCE ME TO ANOTHER FRIEND. SO EVENTUALLY

IT WENT FROM 4 OUNCES

TO 8 OUNCES TO 12 TO 16

WHERE WITHIN LIKE A MONTH I WAS SELLING

PROBABLY 2, 3 KILOS A WEEK JUST TO THESE DOCTORS AND FRIENDS.

WHEN I CAME FROM NEW YORK, I CAME DOWN HERE

WITH $650 IN MY POCKET

AND I WAS MAKING 20,000, 30,000 A WEEK BACK THEN

JUST OFF THIS LITTLE TRADE.

I HAD A FRIEND WHO I KNEW FROM NEW YORK,

HE DEVELOPED A BIG, BIG TRADE OUT IN CALIFORNIA

IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.

HE WAS SELLING TO THE OAKLAND RAIDERS,

HE WAS SELLING TO THE GRATEFUL DEAD.

I HAD MET A STEWARDESS, AND THIS STEWARDESS WORKED FOR

NATIONAL AIRLINES AT THE TIME.

SO WE WOULD SEND COKE WITH THE STEWARDESS.

AND SHE WOULD GO FROM HERE TO SAN FRANCISCO

AND WE WERE SENDING HIM ANYWHERE

FROM 5 TO 10 KILOS A WEEK. AND I WAS GETTING BACK

BIG MONEY AT THE TIME, I MEAN, YOU'RE STARTING TO GET INTO

THE 200,000 TO 300,000, AND BACK THEN I STARTED MEETING GUYS--

MERCURY MORRIS, WHO WAS A GREAT RUNNING BACK FOR THE DOLPHINS

WHO ALSO WENT TO JAIL, SO IT'S NO SECRET.

Reporter: MERC IS JUST ONE FALLEN ANGEL

OF THE MIAMI FOOTBALL MACHINE.

FORMER DOLPHINS DON REESE

AND RANDY CROWDER WERE ALSO ARRESTED BY MIAMI POLICE

IN ANOTHER COCAINE TRANSACTION.

Jon: I REMEMBER THE WEEK OF THE SUPER BOWL

WHEN DALLAS PLAYED PITTSBURGH HERE.

TWO NIGHTS BEFORE I GOT THE WHOLE FRONT LINE

OF THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS IN MY HOUSE AND THEY ALL SAT DOWN,

"COME ON, COME ON, BREAK THE SHIT OUT, BREAK THE SHIT OUT."

WE DON'T GET A CHANCE TO GET INVOLVED IN ALL THE FESTIVITIES

AND ALL THE FUN AND THE PARTIES 'CAUSE WE HAVE CURFEWS.

THEY PARTIED, AND THEY REALLY PARTIED HARD.

* HERE WE GO, STEELERS, HERE WE GO *

I MEAN, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THESE GUYS WERE DOPED WITH.

I'M SAYING, "YOU GUYS ARE GONNA PLAY FOOTBALL SUNDAY?"

"YEAH, AND WE'RE GONNA WIN."

THEY WENT OUT AND WON, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN,

IT DIDN'T AFFECT THEM.

WELL, OUR OFFENSIVE LINE DID A GREAT JOB.

THE POPULARITY, IT BEGAN TO SHOOT UP,

EVERYBODY THAT BEFORE WAS DOING THESE POT THINGS

WAS NOW INTO DOING COCAINE.

WE STAYED IN THE POT BUSINESS UNTIL

IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE, THERE WAS SO MUCH POT HERE

THAT YOU COULDN'T SELL IT.

Jon: AND YOU JUST COULDN'T GET ENOUGH COCAINE.

I SAID THE BEST WAY TO DO IT LOOKS TO ME

LIKE IF WE GOT INTO THE TRANSPORTATION OF IT.

YOU'RE NOT BUYING IT, YOU'RE NOT SELLING IT,

YOU'RE NOT USING IT, YOU'RE JUST AN IMPORTER.

THE COLOMBIANS THREW A NUMBER AT US

THAT WAS MORE THAN AGREEABLE.

$3,000 APIECE,

OR A KILO IN YOUR TERMS.

AND THEY WANTED TO MOVE AT LEAST 400,

AND WE WENT DOWN THERE AND THE FIRST TRIP,

WE GOT PAID $1.2 MILLION.

THAT WAS ENOUGH TO EXCITE US.

SAY, MAYBE WE'LL STAY IN THIS TRADE FOR A WHILE.

THE PEOPLE THAT I WAS DEALING WITH

HAD A LIMITED SUPPLY

AND AS THE PEOPLE I WAS SELLING TO

EXPANDED THEIR BUSINESS, I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH.

YOU KNOW, ONE GUY WOULD SAY, I WANT 15 KILOS

OR 20 KILOS OR 25 KILOS,

I COULD ONLY GIVE HIM 15 OR 10, THEN IT WAS MONEY

COMING OUT OF MY POCKET.

I COULD SELL 100 KILOS A WEEK, EASILY.

I GOT LUCKY. I THINK IN ABOUT 1979,

I MET THIS GIRL.

Woman: I FLEW TO MIAMI

AND I WAS WORKING ON A SHOOT WITH A GIRL

AND SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD SOMEBODY FOR ME TO MEET.

A FRIEND OF MINE FIXED ME UP WITH HER, HE WAS A LAWYER.

HE WAS DATING THIS REALLY BEAUTIFUL GIRL

WHO WAS A MODEL FOR FORD.

AFTER I HAD KNOWN JON 3 MONTHS, IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY,

AND I WENT INTO THE GARAGE AND HE HAD A BRAND-NEW PORSCHE,

TARGA CARRERA PORSCHE.

AND IT HAD A HUGE BOW SITTING ON TOP, A HUGE RED BOW FROM HIM.

BUT IT WAS KIND OF A WHIRLWIND THING WITH JON AND I,

I MEAN, WE FELL VERY MUCH IN LOVE. WE WERE--

THE STORY I GOT WAS THAT

HE HAD DISCOTHEQUES IN MANHATTAN.

Jon: AS I STARTED DATING HER

OBVIOUSLY SHE SAW I WASN'T WORKING.

WHENEVER I WANTED TO GO TO NEW YORK I WAS IN NEW YORK,

AND SHE GOT CURIOUS. I'M THE TYPE OF PERSON,

I'M PRETTY UPFRONT AND SO I TOLD HER,

"HEY, THIS IS WHAT I DO.

"IF YOU DON'T WANNA SEE ME ANYMORE, FINE."

SHE SAID "NO, I HAVE A FRIEND

"AND HE IS A PILOT AND HE WORKS FOR THESE COLOMBIANS."

SO THE GUY INTRODUCES HIMSELF, HIS NAME IS MICKEY MUNDAY

AND HE'S LIKE A REDNECK FROM FLORIDA

THAT'S BEEN HERE HIS WHOLE LIFE.

I WANNA SAY I DIDN'T LIKE HIM.

THE FIRST TIME I MEET JON, HE'S DRIVING

THIS BLACK MERCEDES TWO-DOOR

THAT'S GOT "DRUG DEALER" WRITTEN ALL OVER IT.

MICKEY MUNDAY HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL TRANSPORTATION

FOR THESE PEOPLE FOR MANY YEARS.

FLAMBOYANT, HE JUST LOOKED LIKE SOMEBODY

THAT I DON'T WANNA HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH.

I MEAN HE IS... REMEMBER THE SHOW MACGYVER?

THAT'S...THAT'S THIS GUY.

HE COULD DO STUFF THAT JUST WAS INCREDIBLE.

HE WAS A SHARP GUY BUT I JUST DIDN'T LIKE HIS VEHICLES.

TO ME IT LOOKED LIKE ALL THE OTHER GUYS

WHO WERE IN THE DRUG BUSINESS.

Jon: I TOLD HIM I OUTGREW THE CUBANS

AND IT BECAME A NECESSITY TO FIND A COLOMBIAN

THAT COULD SUPPLY THE LARGE AMOUNTS

THAT WERE NEEDED AT THE TIME.

AND HE SAID, "WELL, I'M GONNA HOOK YOU UP,

"I CAN TAKE YOU TO THESE COLOMBIANS THAT I KNOW

"AND THIS GUY CAN GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT."

AND I'D HEARD STORIES LIKE THAT MANY TIMES,

SO I JUST SAID "SURE, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, LET ME KNOW."

AND WE DROVE TO SUNNY ISLES, FLORIDA,

AND WE GO INTO THIS HOUSE,

THERE WAS ABOUT 5 OR 6 COLOMBIANS THERE

ALL LIKE LOADED TO BEAR--

WHEN I SAY LOADED, THEY WERE STRAPPED.

THEY HAD PISTOLS, MACHINE GUNS,

AND THEY WERE ALL STANDING AROUND

AND AT THAT POINT I REALIZED, YOU KNOW, THIS GUY IS SERIOUS.

THIS IS FOR REAL, BECAUSE PEOPLE

JUST DON'T STAND AROUND LIKE THAT.

AND I MEET THIS LITTLE GUY,

HE CAN'T BE MORE THAN 5'4" OR 5'5"

AND HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF, AND HE SAYS, "MY NAME IS RAFA."

AND HE'S TELLING ME, "YOU KNOW, I CAN GIVE YOU

"WHATEVER YOU WANT, MAN. AND IF YOU GOT SOME MONEY,

"UH, I'LL FRONT YOU TWICE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY

"THAT YOU'VE COME WITH."

AND I SAID, "WELL, YOU KNOW, SHOW ME SOMETHING."

HE TAKES ME INTO THIS BACK ROOM, HE PUSHES A BUTTON

AND A WHOLE WALL OPENS UP LIKE THIS

AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH COCAINE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE

JUST SITTING BEHIND THIS WALL.

I SAID, "OKAY, I GUESS YOU CAN HELP ME, MAN."

I SAID, "GIVE ME A DAY AND I'LL PUT TOGETHER THE MONEY

"AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE BACK."

THE NEXT DAY I CAME, HE HAD AN AMERICAN GUY THERE

AND HE INTRODUCED THE AMERICAN,

AND HE SAID, "THIS IS MY COMPADRE.

"YOU KNOW, I'M NOT IN TOWN A LOT

"BUT WHATEVER IT IS YOU NEED, THIS IS THE MAN,

"HE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU AND...

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT HE'S...100%."

AND THE MAN HE INTRODUCED ME TO HAPPENED TO BE THIS MAN

MAX MERMELSTEIN.

Toni: JON INTRODUCED ME TO MAX.

MAX WAS THE...AT THE TIME, I THOUGHT A GOOD PERSON,

AND I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, A TRUSTED PERSON.

Toni: MAX SEEMED LIKE A VERY NICE GUY BACK THEN.

HE SEEMED THAT WAY, ANYWAY.

Jon: IN THE BEGINNING MAX WAS GIVING ME

LIKE 75, 100 KILOS A WEEK.

EVENTUALLY WHEN MAX SAW I WAS SERIOUS

AND THIS WAS HAPPENING EVERY WEEK,

WHEN YOU'RE BRINGING SOMEBODY A MILLION DOLLARS EVERY WEEK,

ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU KNOW, YOU GROW...

A BOND BECOMES BETWEEN PEOPLE.

AND MAX SAID, "I WANT YOU TO DO MY END OF THE BUSINESS,

"GOING TO COLOMBIA, ARRANGING THE TRIPS,

"AND IF YOU SPLIT IT WITH ME YOU'RE GONNA MAKE MUCH MORE,

"AND YOU CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPLY YOU WHOEVER YOU WANT."

AND MAX SENT ME TO COLOMBIA.

Reporter: THIS IS THE ENVIGADO SECTION OF MEDELLÍN.

IT IS HERE THAT THE COCAINE BOSSES MEET.

Jon: AND I WOULD HOOK UP WITH RAFA

AND RAFA WOULD INTRODUCE ME TO THE PEOPLE HE WAS WORKING WITH.

WE MET, YOU MIGHT SAY

THE ELITE OF THE DRUG BUSINESS FROM COLOMBIA.

Jon: AND IT WOULD BE THE OCHOAS, AND...

Mickey: PABLO ESCOBAR. Jon: PEOPLE THAT YOU

READ ABOUT IN BOOKS. CARLOS LEHDER.

YOU KNOW, HERE I WAS, A KID FROM NEW YORK

NEVER THINKING THAT THIS WOULD REALLY HAPPEN.

THEY MAKE IT SOUND LIKE THEY HAD, YOU KNOW,

AN OFFICE THE SIZE OF THIS WITH COMPUTERS

AND THEY GOT 40 SECRETARIES, AND IT'S JUST A BUNCH OF

BUMS DOWN THERE, THEY WERE A BUNCH OF STREET THUGS...

THAT GOT LUCKY.

LET'S BREAK IT DOWN A DIFFERENT WAY

THAT PEOPLE IN AMERICA COULD UNDERSTAND.

PEOPLE IN AMERICA ARE USED TO ITALIANS AND THE MAFIA.

THE COLOMBIANS HAVE THEIR OWN THING,

IT'S A MAFIA, ONLY IT'S A COLOMBIAN MAFIA.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE FAMILY AT THAT TIME THAT I KNEW.

AND THAT FAMILY WAS FROM MEDELLÍN.

Man: THE OCHOA FAMILY

WAS A HIGHLY RESPECTED FAMILY OF RANCHERS

WITH A GREAT DEAL OF INFLUENCE

IN THEIR HOME CITY OF MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA.

SO THEY HAVE, OF COURSE,

THE CAPTAIN AND THE HEAD, THE CAPO.

WHICH WAS... AS MANY PEOPLE WANNA BELIEVE

THAT PABLO ESCOBAR WAS THE KING OF COCAINE AND EVERYTHING,

THEY CAN BELIEVE THAT,

BUT THE MAN THAT WAS REALLY THE KING WAS OCHOA.

AND NOT FABITO, THE POOR MAN, IT WAS THE OLD MAN.

THE OLD MAN WAS THE SILENT MAN WHO NEVER DID A DAY IN JAIL

WHO REALLY CONTROLLED ESCOBAR.

TV: FABIO OCHOA, THE PATRIARCH OF THE OCHOA FAMILY

OF THE MEDELLÍN CARTEL.

THEY ARE CREDITED WITH HAVING CREATED

A LLOYD'S OF LONDON FOR THE COCAINE TRADE IN COLOMBIA.

Jon: RAFA WAS LIKE A LIEUTENANT

AND RAFA REALLY CONTROLLED ALMOST EVERY KILO OF COKE

THAT CAME INTO THIS COUNTRY.

THROUGH THE PEOPLE FROM MEDELLÍN,

RAFA KNEW IT WAS COMING AND RAFA KNEW

WHO WAS GETTING IT AND HOW MUCH THEY WERE GETTING FOR EACH ONE.

AND HE MADE THESE PEOPLE... I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW MILLIONS ISN'T ENOUGH,

MILLIONS ISN'T WHAT HE MADE THESE PEOPLE.

THERE WAS NOBODY HIGHER THAN HIM

FOR THE MEDELLÍN CARTEL IN THIS COUNTRY.

AND HE HAD MANY SOLDIERS, JUST LIKE

THE MAFIA PEOPLE HAVE SOLDIERS THAT WOULD WORK FOR HIM.

SOME OF THEM WOULD SELL THE DRUGS,

SOME OF THEM WERE ENFORCERS.

HE HAD ACCOUNTANTS, LAWYERS.

Woman: SO IN YOUR VIEW, THESE FELLAS

ARE NOT THE COCAINE COWBOYS?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

YOU KNOW, HE HAD EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY

AND THEY WERE A WELL-FORMED GROUP.

Mickey: GUESS WHAT-- THEY'RE NOT ALL DIFFERENT PEOPLE

SENDING THE STUFF AND IT'S ONE ORGANIZATION,

THE MEDELLÍN CARTEL.

Reporter: THE FEDS CHARGE THE CARTEL CONTROLS 80%

OF THE COCAINE COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES.

Man: FEDERAL AUTHORITIES SAY, "THESE THREE MEN

"NOW RUN AN ORGANIZATION MORE VIOLENT

"AND AT LEAST AS POWERFUL AS THE AMERICAN MAFIA."

Jon: FROM MY EXPERIENCE IN NEW YORK WITH MAFIA PEOPLE,

AND FROM MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE COLOMBIANS,

THEY MADE FAR MORE MONEY, THE COLOMBIANS,

IN A FAR SHORTER TIME

THAN THE MAFIA EVER DREAMED OF MAKING EVER.

THE COLOMBIANS HAD FARMS,

FINCAS, THEY CALLED THEM, JUST FILLED

WITH COCAINE DOWN THERE 'CAUSE THEY JUST KEPT PRODUCING.

THEY HAD GUYS CHEWING LEAVES ALL NIGHT.

WORKING IN FACTORIES AND CHEWING THE LEAVES, CHEWING THE LEAVES.

AND THESE GUYS, YOU KNOW, THEY WORKED NONSTOP.

AND DOWN THERE, THERE IS NO INDUSTRY.

THESE GUYS WERE MAKING THEIR LIVING GROWING THIS.

THESE POOR FARMERS, AND POOR WORKERS,

THEY WERE GETTING PAID A LOT OF MONEY TO DO THIS STUFF.

AND IT WAS A WHOLE PROCESS, IT WAS LIKE A FACTORY WORKING.

AND WE WORKED WITH SHORTWAVE RADIOS AT THE TIME,

THERE WAS NO TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

LIKE PEOPLE YOU SEE ON THE PHONES, IN THE MOVIES, YOU KNOW,

"HEY, WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE IN COLOMBIA?

"I NEED 600 KILOS." IT...IT WASN'T LIKE THAT.

WE HAD ANTENNAS THAT WOULD COME UP OUT OF THE GROUND

GO 80 FEET INTO THE AIR FOR COMMUNICATION.

WE WOULD HAVE A CERTAIN TIME THEY'D TURN THEIR SHORTWAVE ON

AND WE'D TURN ON OURS AND WE WOULD TALK THAT WAY.

Reporter: ALSO AT THIS HOUR IN MIAMI

ON A SHORTWAVE RADIO BAND

THAT MOST RADIOS CANNOT PICK UP

THE CODED INSTRUCTIONS ARE COMING IN FROM A TRANSMITTER

IN MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA,

FROM MEMBERS OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST

COCAINE SMUGGLING ORGANIZATION.

[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH ON RADIO] Reporter: THE CATTLE IS READY,

THE CATTLE IS READY.

[MAN SPEAKING SPANISH ON RADIO] Reporter: AT 8 O'CLOCK.

8 FOR THE FIRST ONE.

Jon: AND THAT'S HOW WE WOULD SET UP THE TRIPS

AND WE WERE CONTRACTED ACTUALLY BY THE COLOMBIANS.

I WOULD MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THEM

AND THEY WOULD TELL ME, "OKAY, THERE'S 1000 KILOS.

"COME PICK IT UP."

Mickey: OVER THE MOUNTAINS, DOWN AND SLIDE THROUGH A VALLEY

SO NOBODY WOULD SEE YOU.

AND YOU NEVER HAD A PROBLEM LANDING

YOU NEVER HAD A PROBLEM TAKING OFF.

IT WAS ALL PAID DOWN THERE, THE GOVERNMENT WORKED WITH THEM,

AND WE WOULD SEND THE PLANE DOWN THERE.

THE COLOMBIANS REALLY DIDN'T HAVE...

AND I'LL SAY IT, THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR SHIT TOGETHER.

99% OF THE STRIPS WE WENT TO

WERE DIRT, GRASS, THE PEOPLE THAT WORKED THERE.

THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE WOULD TAKE OUR OWN EQUIPMENT.

AND YOU WOULD SEE, WHEN YOU GET THERE,

THE WRECKED AIRPLANES-- NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

THE PLANE WOULD LAND, THEY WOULD SPEND THE NIGHT.

AND YOU WOULD LAND THERE AND THEY WOULD SAY,

"OH, YOU WANNA STAY OR YOU WANT A WOMAN?

"IF YOU WANT MY LITTLE SISTER, YOU'RE GONNA GET HER, RIGHT?

"YOU WANT SOMETHING TO DRINK?"

I GO, "YEAH, I REALLY WANT TO DRINK AND GET BACK IN THIS PLANE

"AND FLY FOR ANOTHER 12 HOURS DRUNK. RIGHT.

"THE WOMAN DIDN'T SOUND BAD."

Jon: THE NEXT THING WOULD BE LOADING.

Mickey: THERE'S TWO WAYS TO COME BACK FROM DOWN THERE.

IF YOU'RE FLYING, YOU COULD COME AROUND

THE EAST SIDE OF CUBA, WHICH IS THE SHORTER,

OR YOU CAN COME AROUND THE WEST SIDE.

IF YOU HAD A LOT OF FUEL, THE WEST SIDE WAS ACTUALLY BETTER

BECAUSE ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING

CAME FROM THE BAHAMAS.

SO IF THEY WERE PATROLLING,

THAT WOULD BE WHERE THEY WOULD BE,

YOU'RE GONNA GO WHERE MOST OF THE ACTION IS.

SO WE WOULD COME FROM THE WEST, NOBODY WOULD THINK OF YOU THERE.

Reporter: APPARENTLY HEAVY SURVEILLANCE

AND STRICTER ENFORCEMENT ON FLORIDA'S EAST COAST

IS DRIVING SMUGGLERS TO THE DESOLATE WEST COAST

TO MAKE THEIR CONNECTIONS.

WE WOULD POP THE COAST MAYBE OVER BY MARCO ISLAND,

FLY ALMOST ALL THE WAY TO GEORGIA,

THEN TURN AROUND AND FLY BACK.

NOW WE LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY COMING SOUTH.

NOBODY COMING FROM THE NORTH SOUTH

IS DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL.

Jon: YOU COULD MOVE 62,000 DEAD BODIES

IN A PLANE IN THE UNITED STATES

BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PLANES THERE ARE

IN THE AIR AT ONE TIME

BUT THERE'S NO CHECKING.

YOU CAN LAND IN A SMALL AIRPORT

AND THEY DON'T HAVE POLICE AT EVERY AIRPORT,

"HEY, WHAT'S IN YOUR PLANE?"

Mickey: WE WOULD MAKE IT LOOK LIKE WE WERE GOING INTO

ONE OF THE LOCAL AIRPORTS,

AND WHAT WE WOULD DO IS MAKE A FLYBY AND HEAD WEST.

WE'D BOUGHT SOME PROPERTY IN LAKELAND.

WE BUILT TWO RUNWAYS THERE,

PUT UP A COUPLE OF BARNS THAT WERE REALLY HANGARS.

THEY LOOKED LIKE BARNS.

AND WHEN YOU'D OPEN UP THE HAYLOFT DOOR,

YOU WOULD SEE THAT IT WAS SHAPED TO THE TAIL OF AN AIRPLANE.

I WOULD USE A 5, 6, 8-YEAR-OLD FAMILY CAR...

AND WE WOULD LOAD 300 PIECES

AND WE WOULD PUT AIR SHOCKS ON THE CAR

SO THAT THE CAR WOULDN'T FALL TO THE GROUND

AND WE'D USE A TOW TRUCK TO TOW THE VEHICLE BACK.

WE HAD A TOWING COMPANY THAT WE'D FORMED

AND WE BOUGHT A GAS STATION AND A GARAGE DOWN HERE IN MIAMI.

Mickey: AND THE GUY WITH THE TOW TRUCK WOULD HAVE A WORK ORDER.

Jon: WE HAD A DRIVER WHO OBVIOUSLY KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON

BUT WAS TOLD, "YOU GET PULLED OVER

"AND THEY OPEN THE TRUNK OF THE CAR, YOU DON'T KNOW."

IF YOU'RE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IT'S KIND OF HARD NOT TO KNOW

WHAT'S IN THE TRUNK, BUT THE GUY IN THE TOW TRUCK WOULD NOT KNOW.

YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU'RE CONTRACTED TO TOW THE CAR.

Mickey: HE HOOKED UP AND AWAY HE WENT.

Jon: LET THEM TAKE THE CAR AND LET THEM TAKE HEAT DOWN THERE

BUT THEY CAN'T HOLD YOU, YOU'VE GOT THE BILL AND EVERYTHING.

WE WOULD GET A CARAVAN, WITH TWO OR THREE CARS GOING.

WE WOULD USE ONE CAR IN FRONT

AS A SPOTTER, AND ONE CAR BEHIND.

THEY WOULD BRING THEM INTO MIAMI AND WE DID THAT FOR...

6, 7 YEARS, NEVER HAD ONE LITTLE PROBLEM AT ALL.

THAT WAS ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF LAKELAND,

I MEAN, THERE WAS ALWAYS PEOPLE BEING STOPPED

GOING FROM MIAMI NORTH

BUT YOU NEVER HEARD OF ANYBODY EVER BEING STOPPED COMING SOUTH.

MICKEY AND THEM STARTED TO DO AIR DROPS.

Mickey: I BUILT ME A SMALL BOAT FACTORY TO PLAY WITH.

WE DECIDED TO DO COLOMBIA UP TO THE BAHAMAS,

AIR-DROP IT TO BOATS.

Jon: AND THEY HAD BEACONS THAT THEY WOULD DROP,

AND THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE LOAD WAS

BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE A FREQUENCY

THAT WOULD SEND BACK TO WHERE IT WAS.

THE MIDDLE CONSOLE WOULD OPEN UP,

THEY PUT HOLES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOAT,

AND YOU WOULD FILL THEM UP.

Mickey: AND THEN BRING IT IN WITH BOATS.

THE BIG PROBLEM AT FIRST WAS THE PACKAGING OF THE PRODUCT

WHICH WAS A FIASCO BECAUSE THE COLOMBIANS,

BEING SUCH WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN ORGANIZATION,

SCREWED IT UP FOR TWO TRIPS.

IT WOULD GET SEEPAGE, THERE WOULD BE SALT WATER

THAT WOULD GET INTO IT, AND IT REALLY KILLS COKE.

SALT WATER IS REALLY AN ENEMY OF COKE.

MICKEY WAS DETERMINED THAT HE COULD STOP THE LEAKAGE

AND TOLD THEM HOW TO WRAP IT.

Mickey: I SENT TAPE RECORDINGS, I SENT PICTURES OF IT,

STEP BY STEP AS TO HOW TO DO THIS.

YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE NOT GONNA TELL A COLOMBIAN

HOW TO DO ANYTHING.

SO MICKEY COULD TALK FROM TODAY TILL TOMORROW AND THE COLOMBIANS

AREN'T GONNA DO WHAT HE TELLS THEM TO DO ANYWAY.

Mickey: WELL, MY GUYS GO DOWN, PICK UP THE STUFF,

THEY COME BACK ON THE TRIP...

AND IT'S NOT PACKAGED. IT WAS JUST LIKE IT ALWAYS IS.

AND THEY'D THROW IT OUT THE DOOR,

MORE THAN HALF OF IT BUSTED UP,

AND THEY LOST MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T PACKAGE IT RIGHT.

SO BY THEIR STUPIDITY, IT WOULD GET WATER DAMAGE.

Mickey: AND THEY WERE ALL BENT OUT OF SHAPE AT ME.

BUT THEY COULDN'T BLAME ME, THAT'S THEIR PROBLEM.

"HEY, IT'S YOUR PROBLEM."

IT WASN'T TILL THE THIRD TRIP THAT IT WORKED

AND THEN IT WORKED AND WORKED AND WORKED.

SOMETIMES I WOULD RUN WHAT WE CALLED THE FRONT DOOR.

THE FRONT DOOR WOULD BE THE ENTRANCE AT HAULOVER.

WE WOULD CALL IT THE FRONT DOOR.

YOU CAN'T SAY "WELL, YOU'RE COMING IN AT HAULOVER."

SO YOU'D COME IN IN THE FRONT DOOR.

IT'S A CODE OF SORTS.

AT HAULOVER INLET, I'D RENTED AN APARTMENT

ON THE 12TH FLOOR ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER

CALLED THE HARBOUR HOUSE

WHICH HAS A SPECTACULAR VIEW OF THE INLET.

AND I PUT A YOUNG LADY THERE, I PAID HER TO LIVE THERE,

PAID FOR THE APARTMENT.

AND WHENEVER WE DID A TRIP

SHE HAS AN UNBELIEVABLE SET OF BINOCULARS

AND OF COURSE SHE HAS A RADIO.

AND WE FOUND EVERY RADIO FREQUENCY WE COULD HAVE

AGAINST WHAT WE'LL CALL THE COMPETITION.

THE U.S. CUSTOMS, THE LOCAL MARINE PATROL.

WE WOULD KNOW IF THEY WERE THERE LISTENING.

SO CAME HOME ONE TIME, I'M IN A BOAT.

SOMETIMES I WAS WITH THE GUYS WORKING IN THE FRONT DOOR

OR IN THE APARTMENT.

THIS PARTICULAR TIME I'M IN A BOAT,

I'M TALKING TO MY FRIENDS IN THE APARTMENT.

LO AND BEHOLD, HERE COMES THIS U.S. CUSTOMS

AND U.S. COASTGUARD AND THE GUY'S GOT AN M16 RIFLE.

WE DIDN'T THINK THEY WERE AFTER US BUT THEY WERE CHECKING BOATS.

AND I'M IN A BOAT THAT'S LOADED!

BUT WHEN HE PULLS UP ALONGSIDE OF ME,

THE MOTOR ON HIS BOAT'S GOING

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG BANG, BANG, BANG!

I SAID, "JEEZ, THAT SOUNDS TERRIBLE."

AND HE SAYS, "AH, IT'S BEEN DOING THAT SINCE YESTERDAY."

OH, OH, GOD!

AND HE TURNS AROUND AND HE DON'T GET 100 FEET FROM ME

AND THERE'S KIND OF A...BOOM!

I THOUGHT HE SHOT THE RIFLE OR SOMETHING

AND IT WAS... IT CAUGHT THE WAVE JUST PERFECT,

THE PISTON COMES OUT THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE MOTOR

AND SKIPS ON THE WAVE. LOOKED LIKE SOME KID THROWING A ROCK.

AND A BIG FLAME, PSHOOM! OUT THE SIDE,

JUST LIGHTS EVERYTHING UP, AND I GO, "GOD DAMN!"

AND THEY'RE ON THE RADIO AND THEY CAN'T GET ANYONE.

AND THIS WAS WITH SUPERIOR EQUIPMENT,

AND I'M WORRIED ABOUT THESE GUYS. I SAID,

"DO YOU GUYS NEED A TOW?"

AND I THREW THEM A LINE AND THEY GOT ON MY BOAT

AND I TOWED THE U.S. COASTGUARD

AND THE U.S. CUSTOMS, BUT WE WERE IN A BOAT

THAT HAD 350, 400 KILOS IN IT.

THE YOUNG LADY WHO WAS UP IN THE APARTMENT

SAID ONLY I WOULD--

ANYBODY ELSE WOULD HAVE PANICKED AND PROBABLY JUMPED OVERBOARD.

FROM THERE WE WERE GOING UP

TO THE ENTRANCE TO MAULE LAKE MARINA

WHERE I HAD SEVERAL SLIPS THAT I RENTED.

THEN THE NEXT DAY MY TOW TRUCK WOULD SHOW UP

WITH A WORK ORDER AND A TRAILER.

MY SHOP WAS ONLY LIKE FOUR BLOCKS AWAY.

THE BOAT WOULD GO IN THERE AND WE WOULD GO IN THE BACK,

OPEN UP THE COMPARTMENT AND LOAD THE STUFF INTO THE CARS.

ALL THE MERCHANDIZE WOULD BE HANDED TO ME.

I HAD DIFFERENT STASH HOUSES IN MIAMI,

I USED NORMAL PEOPLE,

WORKING PEOPLE THAT WANTED EXTRA MONEY.

I WOULD TRY TO FIND SOMEONE IN A DECENT NEIGHBORHOOD

THAT REALLY DIDN'T USE THE DRUG,

BECAUSE I MADE A FEW MISTAKES WHERE I WOULD GO

AND I WOULD FIND LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOLES IN THE DIFFERENT KILOS

WHERE PEOPLE WOULD POP A STRAW IN, I GUESS,

AND THERE WERE HOLES LIKE A RAT GOT INTO IT.

AND IT WASN'T IN ONE, IT WOULD BE IN FIVE DIFFERENT ONES

SO THAT MAYBE THERE WAS A GRAM OR TWO MISSING FROM EACH ONE.

I WOULD PULL INTO THE GARAGE WITH THESE CARS,

I WOULD TAKE THE PRODUCT OUT.

EVERY HOUSE HAD TO HAVE A GARAGE OBVIOUSLY,

'CAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY KILOS GOING IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE

YOU COULDN'T JUST START UNLOADING IT IN THE STREET.

I WOULD COUNT IT, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING WAS THERE,

DO IT ALL DURING THE DAY, I NEVER WORKED AT NIGHT.

EACH PRODUCT WAS MARKED WITH A MARKING.

MAYBE 300 WOULD HAVE BICYCLES

AND 200 WOULD HAVE EYE GLASSES.

AND EACH ONE WENT TO A CERTAIN GROUP,

THERE WAS THREE, FOUR... FOUR DIFFERENT GROUPS.

AND I HAD GUYS DRIVING THE CARS

TO SAY A DENNY'S

OR UNCLE TOM'S RIBS

AND WHOEVER DROVE THE CAR THERE WOULD GO INSIDE

AND THERE'D BE A COLOMBIAN INSIDE

AND HE'D JUST HAND HIM THE KEYS.

IT WAS ALWAYS DELIVERED TO COLOMBIANS.

BECAUSE THEY HAD BROUGHT THEIR OWN COLOMBIANS HERE TO SELL IT.

AND THAT WAS IT, THERE WAS NEVER

THIS MIAMI VICE RIDICULOUSNESS IN THE STREET

WHERE CARS WOULD PULL UP WITH GUNS AND EVERYTHING,

"LET ME SEE WHAT YOU GOT IN THE TRUNK,

"I'M GONNA CHECK IT OUT AND DO TESTS AND BRING IT BACK."

IT...IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT.

THESE PEOPLE ARE CONTROLLED BY THE PEOPLE DOWN THERE.

SO IT WASN'T LIKE THEY HAD A CHOICE,

THEY WERE TAKING IT ANYWAY

WHETHER IT WAS GARBAGE OR WHETHER IT WAS GOOD,

THEY WERE TAKING IT.

THE PEOPLE THAT I GAVE IT TO

WERE WHOLESALERS.

THOSE WHOLESALERS WOULD BREAK IT DOWN

INTO 25, 50, 75, WHATEVER THEIR DIFFERENT...

RETAILERS DESIRED.

I REMEMBER KILOS GOING FOR $40,000, $50,000

IN THE STREET BACK THEN.

THEY WOULD PAY US FOR TRANSPORTATION OF THE KILOS.

AND BACK THEN I THINK THAT WE WERE GETTING

$3500 A KILO.

AND WHAT I WOULD DO TO MAKE SURE WE GOT OUR MONEY WAS

WE WOULD ONLY DELIVER HALF

AND THEY WOULD PUT THE MONEY IN THE TRUNK

AND THEN THEY WOULD RETURN THE CAR,

I WOULD THEN GIVE THEM THE REST OF THE PRODUCT.

SO WHAT WE TRIED TO DO WAS KEEP EVERYBODY AWAY FROM EVERYBODY

AND THAT WAY THERE WAS NO WAY TO TRACE IT BACK.

THAT WAS MY BIGGEST FEAR, THAT THESE WHOLESALERS

WHO WERE GIVING IT TO FOUR AND FIVE DIFFERENT RETAILERS,

ONE OF THEIR GUYS WOULD GET BUSTED

AND HE DIDN'T WANNA GO TO JAIL SO HE WOULD FLIP

AND HE MIGHT TELL THEM, YOU KNOW,

"THIS IS MY MAIN GUY OVER HERE,

"FOLLOW HIM AND YOU'RE GONNA FOLLOW HIM BACK TO ME."

I HEAR STORIES FROM RAFA LIKE, "I GOTTA GO KILL THIS GUY

"BECAUSE THIS GUY GOT BUSTED AND HE'S GONNA RAT ON MY GUY."

AND, YOU KNOW, I'D HEAR ALL THESE WEIRD STORIES

SO WHAT I TRIED TO DO WAS MAKE MYSELF

NEVER NEED ANYBODY.

'CAUSE THEY WERE GETTING A CAR,

THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THE CAR CAME FROM

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HERE'S A CAR.

AND YOU NEVER BROUGHT THE CAR BACK

TO WHERE YOU HAD THE COKE 'CAUSE YOU NEVER WANTED

TO HAVE MONEY AND DRUGS IN THE SAME PLACE,

AND THE MONEY WOULD STAY THERE IN ONE OF THE STASH HOUSES.

OUT OF THAT MONEY, I WOULD TAKE MY MONEY

AND PUT THE REST AWAY

'CAUSE I WOULD HAVE TO SEND BACK

OCHOAS AND ESCOBAR THEIR MONEY.

AT THAT TIME WE WERE WORKING WITH NORIEGA IN PANAMA.

[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

Reporter: GENERAL NORIEGA'S COUNTRY

IS A MECCA FOR DRUG MONEY LAUNDERING.

Jon: SO THE MONEY WOULD BE PUT ON ONE OF OUR PLANES

AND WE WOULD FLY THE PLANE FROM HERE TO NORIEGA'S PEOPLE.

[SPEAKING ENGLISH]

Jon: BECAUSE WE WOULD NEVER SEND A PLANE

WITH LESS THAN $10 MILLION.

Reporter: UNLIMITED AMOUNTS OF MONEY MAY BE BROUGHT

INTO AND OUT OF THE COUNTRY WITH NO REPORTING REQUIREMENTS,

AND MONEY LAUNDERING IS NOT A CRIME.

Jon: THE MONEY WOULD BE TAKEN OFF THERE BY THE ARMY

AND THE ARMY WOULD TAKE IT TO A BANK

AND WE WERE PARTNERS IN THE BANK WITH NORIEGA,

AND THEY SET UP ACCOUNTS AND YOU HAD AN ACCOUNT

AND JUST...WHATEVER YOU WANTED

YOU WROTE A CHECK FOR IT.

A LOT OF TIMES I WOULD MAKE A DEAL WHERE

INSTEAD OF PAYING ME THE CASH,

OUT OF THIS 500 KILOS,

GIVE ME 100 FOR MYSELF

AND I COULD SELL IT FOR 25,000.

SO AS THE LOADS WOULD COME I'D BE GOING THROUGH THEM

PULLING OUT THE BEST ONES

BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T ALL THE SAME,

AND I'D BE THROWING THEM OVER HERE

AND THROWING THEM OVER HERE. IT ENDED UP WHERE MAX AND I

WERE MAKING LIKE VERY TRIP, $750,000, $1,000,000,

AND MAX WAS SAYING "WOW, I USED TO JUST MAKE,

"YOU KNOW, 250 FROM JUST THE TRANSPORTATION."

SO NOT ONLY DID HE PLUG HIMSELF IN

WHERE HE COULD SIT HOME ON HIS FAT ASS,

HE PLUGGED HIMSELF INTO

LIKE THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF MONEY EVERY WEEK.

AND THE DRUGS...WERE EVERYWHERE.

EVERYBODY STARTED USING COCAINE.

I MEAN, I REMEMBER IN THE '80S IT WAS LIKE...PHEW!

COCAINE WAS THE IN THING BACK THEN.

IT WAS THE CHICHI THING TO DO.

Jon: YOU KNOW, YOU'D GO SOMEWHERE,

I MEAN, YOU COULDN'T GO ANYWHERE

WITHOUT GOING INTO A BATHROOM AND...

I MEAN, YOU GO IN THE BATHROOM, THERE WAS ALWAYS

SOMEBODY IN THERE DOING A LINE.

YOU HEAR THE DOOR SLAM, ONE OF THOSE TOILET DOORS

AND BEHIND THE DOOR... [SNIFFING]

AND EVERYBODY'S PUTTING SHIT UP THEIR NOSE.

Mickey: YOU WOULD SEE GUYS

COMING OUT OF THE GIRLS' BATHROOM.

THERE WERE CLUBS WHERE THE TABLES

WERE ACTUALLY MIRROR TOPS.

I RECALL WAITERS HELPING PATRONS CHOP UP COCAINE.

Edna: THERE WAS A TIME IN MIAMI WHEN THERE WERE CAR ACCIDENTS,

THESE WOULD JUST BE ROUTINE ACCIDENTS,

SOMETIMES THERE'D BE 3 OR 4 OR 5 OF THEM IN THE VEHICLE,

THEY'D JUMP OUT AND RUN IN ALL DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

AND YOU'D FIND COCAINE AND GUNS IN THE CAR.

Policeman: THEY PULLED THIS ONE OVER AND THEY FOUND

30 DUFFEL BAGS FILLED WITH 2100 PLUS POUNDS

OF 90% to 95% PURE COCAINE.

Man: BUT WHILE BUSTS AND SEIZURES OF MOST DRUGS ARE UP,

THERE IS MORE COCAINE IN SOUTH FLORIDA THEN EVER BEFORE.

WE WENT FROM HAVING CASES OF A KILO OR 2 KILOS OF COCAINE

TO 1,000 KILOS, WHICH IS A TONNE OF COCAINE,

TO 5,000 KILOS, WHICH IS 10 TONS OF COCAINE.

THERE WAS A PERIOD OF TIME WHERE OVER A 5-YEAR PERIOD,

I TRIED THE "LARGEST AMOUNT OF COCAINE IN HISTORY" CASE

10 TIMES.

EVERY CASE WAS BIGGER THAN THE LAST ONE

AND A NEW RECORD.

USUALLY, WHEN PRICES OF GOODS FALL,

THIS COMES AS GOOD NEWS.

AN EXCEPTION ARE THE CURRENT BARGAIN RATES FOR COCAINE.

THERE WERE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF DRUGS

DROPPING OUT OF THE AIR.

THERE WAS ONE DAY THAT A PREACHER WAS GIVING A SERMON

IN A SOUTH STATE CHURCH AND ONE OF THE THINGS

HE WAS SPEAKING OUT AGAINST WAS DRUGS

AND HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN COCAINE

CAME CRASHING THROUGH THE ROOF

BECAUSE THE PLANE THAT WAS DROPPING IT

GOT OFF COURSE

AND IT WAS BEING CHASED BY A CUSTOMS PLANE.

Man: THE PRICE FOR THE ILLEGAL WHITE POWDER

IN SOUTH FLORIDA HAS FALLEN BY 50% IN THE LAST 2 YEARS.

Jon: OH, MY GOD! YOU GOT THESE PEOPLE FROM CALI,

YOU GOT ANOTHER CARTEL FROM BARRANQUILLA,

YOU STARTED TO MULTIPLY ALL THE COCAINE

THAT WAS COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY.

Woman: THE MIAMI-COLOMBIAN CONNECTION

IS 80% OF A $20 BILLION ANNUAL COCAINE BUSINESS.

MIAMI IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL BRANCH OFFICES

OF WHAT CAN BE CALLED COCAINE, INC.

FLORIDA IS AWASH IN COCAINE.

IT WAS EVERYWHERE. IT WAS EVERYWHERE.

IT WAS EVERYWHERE. Jon: CLUBS, RESTAURANTS,

IT WAS JUST EVERYWHERE.

Reporter: THE ELITIST DRUG IS TURNING BLUE COLLAR.

REGULAR MIDDLE CLASS FOLKS THINK OF IT AS BEER OR POPCORN.

ONE OUT OF TEN AMERICAN WORKERS ON THE JOB IS STONED.

PEOPLE WOULD WEAR IT ON THEIR NECK, NOBODY HID IT.

NOBODY TRIED TO HIDE IT.

I MEAN I TRIED IT, OF COURSE I TRIED IT,

BUT I COULD NEVER FIGURE OUT

WHAT PEOPLE... WHY DID THEY LIKE IT.

Man: IT IS SO INTENSE, I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE IT.

IT'S THE BEST, IT REALLY IS.

PEOPLE WENT CRAZY FOR IT.

Reporter: IN DADE COUNTY ALONE, FATAL DRUG OVERDOSES

HAVE INCREASED MORE THAN 88% IN JUST THE LAST 12 MONTHS.

Reporter: 15 YEARS AGO ONE COKE-RELATED DEATH A YEAR

WAS RARE. COCAINE DEATHS IN DADE COUNTY

HAVE NOW JUMPED TO ABOUT TWO A WEEK.

PEOPLE STARTED SMOKING IT.

Reporter: STUDIES INDICATE THAT MOST COCAINE USERS HERE

HAVE SWITCHED TO SMOKING THE DRUG.

DID YOU COME HERE TO SMOKE COCAINE?

YEAH.

AND NOT THE CRACK BUT FREEBASING,

BECAUSE FREEBASING CAME BEFORE CRACK.

IT BECAME A RAGE, PEOPLE WOULD

LOCK THEMSELVES IN HOUSES AND FREEBASE.

AND I STAYED UP FOR ALMOST FOUR AND A HALF DAYS STRAIGHT,

NONSTOP, NO FOOD, NO SLEEP.

I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND BUT I KEPT, "DO IT, DO IT."

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? FOR ME IT WAS JUST A BUSINESS,

AND THE MORE THEY DID, THE MORE MONEY I WAS MAKING.

I CAME DOWN HERE WITH $750 OR $800.

THAT'S WHAT I HAD TO MY NAME.

I WAS, UH, 25 YEARS OLD, 26 YEARS OLD.

I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST STARTED IN THE BUSINESS,

I USED MY GRANDFATHER'S APARTMENT ON SOUTH BEACH.

I USED TO HAVE KILOS IN HIS APARTMENT

AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST TIME HE LOOKED AT THEM

AND HE SAID, "WHAT IS THIS?" AND I TOLD HIM WHAT IT WAS

AND HE SAID, "I CAN'T UNDERSTAND."

I SAID, "CAN YOU UNDERSTAND LIKE, YOU KNOW,

"I'M MAKING LIKE 50 GRAND A WEEK?"

I REMEMBER ONE TIME I WENT TO HIM AND SAID,

"YOU KNOW SOMETHING, I'M NOT GONNA USE YOUR HOUSE ANYMORE.

"I'M GONNA PAY SOMEBODY." AND HE SAID,

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? DON'T DO THAT, DON'T DO THAT."

AND I SAID, "IT'S OKAY, I GOT A MILLION DOLLARS NOW."

AND HE SAID, "YOU DON'T HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS."

I SAID, "I GOT A MILLION DOLLARS NOW, I'M GONNA PAY SOMEBODY

"TO PUT STUFF IN THEIR HOUSE.

"I DON'T NEED TO DO THIS TO YOU ANYMORE."

'CAUSE AT THAT TIME A MILLION DOLLARS TO ME

WAS A LOT OF MONEY.

IT WAS THE FIRST MILLION YOU EVER MAKE

SO IT'S A LOT OF MONEY, BUT AFTER THAT IT WAS LIKE...

Man: IN THE MID TO LATE '70S

MUCH OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY WAS IN A STATE OF SHAMBLES.

2nd Man: THE FINANCIAL PAGES OF THE MIAMI HERALD

WERE TALKING ABOUT A NATIONWIDE RECESSION THAT WAS IN PROGRESS.

Man: UNEMPLOYMENT WAS HUGE, PEOPLE WERE LOSING THEIR HOMES,

THE REAL ESTATE MARKET WENT TO HELL.

THE DRUG TRADE IS RAPIDLY AFFECTING OUR ECONOMY

HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

BUT IN MIAMI YOU COULDN'T BUY A HOUSE.

IN MIAMI THEY COULDN'T GET

ENOUGH GOLD ROLEXES TO SUPPLY THE LOCAL MARKET.

Reporter: FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS OF 1977, RETAIL SALES IN MIAMI

TOPPED $10 BILLION.

Reporter: NO SIGN OF RECESSION HERE.

SOUTH FLORIDA HAS HELD UP BETTER THAN

SOME OF THE OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.

IN MIAMI, WE WERE SELLING BULLETPROOF CARS

FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

YOU COULDN'T GET A FERRARI OR A MERCEDES AT ALL.

Man: SOME OF THE CAR DEALERS WE CHECKED WITH

SAID THEY HAVE LESS THAN A ONE-MONTH SUPPLY OF UNSOLD CARS.

THEY'D SAID THEY ARE STILL TAKING DEPOSITS

THOUGH DELIVERIES WILL BE DELAYED.

THEY WERE ALL GOING TO THE DRUG-"DEALER" MARKET.

DRUGS AND MONEY, THEY GO HAND IN HAND IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

IT'S A $7 BILLION A YEAR RETAIL BUSINESS,

THAT'S ABOUT $12,000 FOR EACH HOUSEHOLD IN DADE COUNTY.

IF YOU REACH IN YOUR WALLET IN MIAMI

AND TAKE OUT A BILL AND ANALYZE THAT BILL,

YOU WILL FIND COCAINE ON IT.

Reporter: THE PROFITS FOR THE DRUG LORDS

HAVE MADE THE LOCAL ECONOMY RECESSION RESISTANT.

EVERY DAY, CASH POURS INTO OUR COCAINE ECONOMY.

Man: BUYING REAL ESTATE,

BOATS, CARS.

Jon: I HAD A TURBO PORSCHE,

I HAD A MERCEDES, BACK THEN THE 6.9 WAS THE HOT CAR.

WE HAD AN ARGUMENT ONE TIME.

WE GOT MAD AT EACH OTHER AND SHE WANTED SOMETHING

AND I WOULDN'T GIVE IT TO HER.

Toni: I WALKED OVER AND SLAPPED HIM ACROSS THE FACE.

SHE CHASED ME AROUND THE DRIVEWAY

AND WE TOOK TWO MERCEDES AND JUST SMASHED THEM TO DEATH.

JON PULLED OUT A GUN AND SHOT AT THE CAR

THROUGH THE... RIGHT NEXT TO MY HEAD.

Jon: I HAD TO HAVE SOMEBODY COME PICK THEM UP ON WRECKERS

AND DESTROY THEM!

WE DEMOLISHED BOTH VEHICLES.

AND THEN I'D LAUGH ABOUT IT THE NEXT DAY.

WE WRECKED A LOT OF THINGS.

JESUS, THAT WAS $100,000 WORTH OF CARS, YOU KNOW.

AT THAT TIME THERE WAS A COMPANY CALLED LP EVANS MERCEDES.

HE HAD GUYS LIKE MAX, RAFAEL, TWO OR THREE OF RAFAEL'S WORKERS

BUYING LIKE ON AN AVERAGE, WHAT? 8, 10 MERCEDES A YEAR

FROM THE MERCEDES DEALER WITH A CHECK FROM PANAMA.

I MEAN WHO BUYS 8, 10 MERCEDES A YEAR?

THEY DIDN'T CARE BACK THEN.

THEY WOULD LET ME WALK IN "OH, HOW ARE YOU MR. ROBERTS?

"WHAT DO YOU NEED THIS WEEK?"

"I NEED THE 6.9 OVER THERE."

"OKAY, IS IT ALL RIGHT IN BLACK?"

"YEAH, HE DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR IT IS.

"AND I NEED A STATION WAGON FOR HIS GIRLFRIEND."

AND I'D JUST WRITE HIM A CHECK.

IT WASN'T EVEN A CASHIER'S CHECK.

I KNEW THE GUY IN THE MERCEDES DEALER,

IT WAS JUST A CHECK DRAWN FROM A PANAMANIAN BANK,

OUT OF THE DOOR WOULD GO THE CAR.

Man: RELATIVELY LITTLE IS BEING DONE

TO STOP THIS DISEASE-LIKE SPREAD OF THE COCAINE ECONOMY.

EVERYBODY WANTED MONEY BACK THEN.

Man: IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR A LATIN TO SPEND $20,000 AND MORE

FOR ALL KINDS OF MERCHANDISE.

AND BEST OF ALL FOR THE MERCHANT, HE PAYS IN CASH.

IF SOUTH FLORIDA BUSINESSMEN ARE NOT HOOKED ON DRUGS,

THE EXPERTS SAY THEY CAN BE ADDICTED TO DRUG MONEY.

Mickey: WE PURCHASED A CESSNA CONQUEST.

WE PAID $980,000 FOR IT

IN CASH, HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? TRY THAT ONE TODAY.

THEY NEVER BLINKED AN EYE.

THEY SUSPECT THEY KNOW

WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM

BUT THEY ARE NOT GONNA BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS THEM.

THEY NEVER BLINKED AN EYE.

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL, TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN.

AND THEY DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT.

Man: COCAINE AND MARIJUANA SALES THROUGH MIAMI

GENERATE SO MUCH MONEY

THAT SMUGGLERS LITERALLY HAVE NO PLACE TO PUT IT ALL.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, I HAD GARBAGE BAGS IN MY LAWN

WITH, YOU KNOW, EACH BAG HAD LIKE A MILLION, $700,000,

BURIED IN THE LAWN 'CAUSE I HAD NOWHERE TO PUT IT.

Toni: HE USED TO BURY IT IN THE HORSE FEED TOO.

I REMEMBER I'D BE DIGGING FOR HORSE FEED

I'D FIND MONEY IN THE HORSE BAG.

AND IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, NOBODY WAS QUESTIONING ANYTHING

BECAUSE MY NEIGHBOR NEXT TO ME,

I WAS GIVING HIM 10 KILOS A WEEK.

Toni: TIERRA DEL REY, THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS LIKE

FALLING APART WHEN WE MOVED IN.

AND MY NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET WAS GETTING

20 KILOS A WEEK, SO HE WAS WATCHING OUT FOR ME.

EVERYBODY WAS HURT FOR MONEY

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYBODY HAD MONEY.

THAT WAS A WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD.

YOU SHELL OUT AN EXTRA HUNDRED GRAND YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO,

AND IT'S OKAY. YOU KNOW, JON WAS GOOD LIKE THAT.

IT DIDN'T MATTER, THOUGH. IT WAS NEVER LIKE,

"UH-OH, I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY THIS."

WELL, YOU KNOW, HOW COULD THAT BE?

HOW COULD IT POSSIBLY BE?

I HAD THREE CIGARETTES HANGING IN THE BACK YARD,

TWO COUGARS, I HAD MOUNTAIN LIONS LIVING IN MY HOUSE.

I HAD A HELICOPTER IN MY BACK YARD.

AND I USED TO FLY WITH THE HELICOPTER TO THE RACETRACK.

EVERYBODY ELSE WAS DRIVING THEIR CARS.

I'D LAND TO SEE MY HORSES RUNNING IN THE HELICOPTER

FOR LIKE AN HOUR AND THEN GO BACK HOME.

I HAD 40, 50 HORSES AT A TIME, RACE HORSES.

Toni: OH, MY GOD, HE HAD TERRIFIC RACE HORSES.

Jon: YOU KNOW WHAT THEY COST A MONTH TO FEED?

50,000 A MONTH JUST TO FEED 'EM.

YOU DIDN'T CARE WHAT IT COST

'CAUSE YOU HAD MONEY IN YOUR POCKET.

PEOPLE WENT OUT AND PARTIED.

Man: WE SUDDENLY HAD DOZENS

OF SUPER-HIGH-END NIGHTCLUBS OPENING.

IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE A REAL NIGHT CLUB

OPENED ON MIAMI BEACH.

Jon: THE JOCKEY CLUB, TURNBERRY,

THE PALM BAY CLUB, THE CRICKET CLUB.

Man: BUT THE BEST OF ALL CLUBS WAS DEFINITELY

THE MUTINY IN COCONUT GROVE.

IT CATERED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY TO THE DRUG TRAFFIC.

Mickey: IF YOU WERE IN THAT TRADE, YOU HAD THE MONEY.

YOU COULD ENTERTAIN PEOPLE LAVISHLY.

JON: I MEAN WE USED TO GO INTO RESTAURANTS...

Toni: TO DINNER AT ARTURO'S, OR THE PALM

OR JOE'S STONE CRAB.

Jon: AT THAT TIME, THE FORGE WAS THE BEST RESTAURANT.

THEY WOULD JUST GIVE US THE BACK ROOM AT THE FORGE

AND JUST CLOSE THE WHOLE BACK ROOM DOWN.

AND HERE YOU COULD SPEND $20,000 IN A NIGHT THERE

AND WE WOULD DESTROY THE WALLS,

AND HERE'S THE MONEY, WHATEVER WE DID, FIX IT UP.

IT WAS LIKE WASTE, IT WAS LIKE NOTHING, THE MONEY.

Mickey: AND JON LIKED TO GO OUT TO THE LADIES BARS.

Jon: IT WAS NOTHING TO SPEND $5,000 IN A STRIP JOINT.

I MEAN, YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT NOT ONE NIGHT

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THREE OR FOUR NIGHTS A WEEK

AND I'D TELL MY FRIENDS, "YOU SEE THAT GIRL THERE?

"I GUARANTEE YOU I CAN GET HER TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU TONIGHT."

AND HE WOULD SAY, "THERE'S NO WAY,

"SHE DOESN'T WANT TO LOOK AT ME AND HAVE SEX."

AND I'D TELL HER, "HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED

"TO HAVE SEX WITH THIS GUY?" "I'M NOT DOING THAT."

"YOU'RE NOT DOING IT? HERE'S 500."

"I'M NOT DOING IT." "HERE'S A THOUSAND."

"YOU'RE NOT DOING IT? HERE'S 2000."

EVENTUALLY, LIKE I SAID, SHE'D BREAK DOWN,

$2,000, $3000, "I'LL HAVE SEX."

AND THE GUY WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY'D BE SHAKING,

THEY COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU DO ALL THIS.

I STILL BELIEVE IT NOW EVEN THOUGH MAYBE MIAMI'S CHANGED,

EVERYBODY HAD A PRICE. EVERYBODY DOES HAVE A PRICE.

THERE ARE VERY FEW PEOPLE THAT DON'T.

YOU COULD START AS HIGH AS NORIEGA IN PANAMA

AND YOU CAN GO ALL THE WAY DOWN

TO CITY MANAGERS, TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

IF SOMEBODY GOT PULLED OVER

AND THEY HAD 50 KILOS IN THE TRUNK, OFFER A BRIBE.

YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU COULDN'T BRIBE A COP WITH $20

OR $50 OR $100, BUT THERE WERE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS

OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

TELL THEM WITHIN AN HOUR YOU'LL HAVE

WHATEVER IT IS THAT THEY WANT THERE IN CASH.

HALF A MILLION DOLLARS,

THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS.

Jon: BUT YOU'VE GOT TO LEAVE WITH THE COKE.

AND MOST OF THE TIME IT WORKED.

I HAPPENED TO KNOW THIS LIEUTENANT

THAT WORKED IN NORTH BAY VILLAGE,

APPROACHED HIM ONE DAY AND I SAID,

"LISTEN, I WANT TO UNLOAD SOME BOATS

"BEHIND THE NORTH BAY VILLAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT,

"YOU THINK WE'VE GOT ANY PROBLEM DOING THAT?"

HE SAID, "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, WE'LL HAVE TWO PATROL CARS

"AND WE'LL THROW IT IN THE BACK OF THE PATROL CARS

"AND DRIVE IT WHEREVER YOU WANT."

WE HAD FOUR MAYORS INDICTED,

MOST OF THEM CONVICTED OF ENGAGING IN CORRUPTION.

WE BECAME SO POWERFUL AND HAD SO MUCH MONEY.

ARE THERE PLACES WHERE THEY ARE MORE POWERFUL

THAN THE GOVERNMENT? UH...UNFORTUNATELY

I THINK THAT THAT MAY BE TRUE.

I WAS A MEMBER OF THE REPUBLICAN INNER CIRCLE.

HOWARD BAKER SENT ME A LETTER AND SAID,

"SEND ME MY CONTRIBUTION AND YOU CAN COME TO WASHINGTON."

HERE I AM WITH ALL THESE SENATORS, ALL THESE BIG PEOPLE,

AND NOT ONE OF THEM EVER QUESTIONED ME

OR EVEN SAID TO ME, "WHAT IS IT YOU DO DOWN IN MIAMI?"

COME ON, THEY WELCOMED ME IN THERE

BECAUSE I MADE A BIG CONTRIBUTION

TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

YOU'RE IN THE INNER CIRCLE, AND I SAID TO MYSELF,

"YOU KNOW, I DID THIS, YOU KNOW, ALL WITH DRUGS

"AND I DID IT WITH NOTHING ELSE, YOU KNOW."

COCAINE TRAFFICKING AND THE MONEY,

THE MONEY ALMOST RUINS ANY MORALITY IN THIS COMMUNITY.

Reporter: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CASH

SUPPORTS A NETWORK OF DRUG BANKS.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A CITY WITH SO MANY BANKS?

YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME THERE'S THAT KIND OF

INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS IN THIS CITY?

PLEASE, COME ON.

Reporter: WHAT MAKES LAW OFFICIALS SUSPICIOUS

IS THAT LAST YEAR SOUTH FLORIDA BANKS

TOOK IN $6 BILLION IN EXTRA CASH FROM DEPOSITORS.

BANK PRESIDENTS WERE IN ROOMS FOR DAYS COUNTING CURRENCY.

Man: IS LANDMARK A COCAINE BANK?

IT IS NOT, DEFINITELY NOT.

Burstyn: BANKS INVESTED IN HUGE CASH-COUNTING MACHINES.

Man 3: LACKING STORAGE SPACE, THE BANKS TURNED IT OVER

TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE.

Reporter: AUTHORITIES SAY A BANK THIS SIZE NORMALLY DEPOSITS

ABOUT $12 MILLION A YEAR IN CASH WITH THE FEDERAL RESERVE.

LAST YEAR, CONTINENTAL-NATIONAL

DEPOSITED $600 MILLION IN CASH.

ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT

IN THIS BANK THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG?

Reporter: THIS IS THE COUNTING ROOM

OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK IN MIAMI.

LAST YEAR, THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK HERE

GENERATED A SURPLUS IN CASH OF $5 BILLION,

MORE MONEY THAN ALL OF THE OTHER FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS

IN THE COUNTRY COMBINED.

MIAMI COULD POSSIBLY BE DESCRIBED

AS THE OVERSEAS CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

FOR MONEY LAUNDERING FOR THE COLOMBIANS.

I STARTED BUYING PROPERTY ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Reporter: THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PROPERTIES

WORTH MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS

THAT HAVE BEEN BOUGHT WITH ILLICIT MONEY IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

Mickey: A COUPLE OF HOUSES.

Jon: WE BOUGHT A BOAT COMPANY.

Mickey: THE PROPERTY WHERE THE BOAT SHOP WAS AT.

Jon: WE BOUGHT APARTMENTS.

Mickey: LOTS OF WAREHOUSE SPACE.

Jon: WE BOUGHT 480 ACRES OF LAND UP IN TAMPA.

Mickey: GREAT DEAL OF REAL ESTATE.

Jon: WE BOUGHT ONE OF THE BUILDINGS

SO WE COULD MAKE IT A RADIO ROOM.

Mickey: A THOUSAND ACRES UP HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA.

DRUG DEALERS WOULD COME IN AND BUY 8, 10, 15 HOUSES.

Mickey: ONE PLACE IN SOUTH MIAMI,

I OWNED PRACTICALLY THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD.

I HAD $24 MILLION IN REAL ESTATE.

I'M GOING TO WORK ONE DAY, I COME ONTO INTERSTATE 95,

WHICH GIVES ME A BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF ALL OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI.

"LOOK AT THIS" AND WE COUNTED...

22 CONSTRUCTION CRANES

ON THE HORIZON, THAT WE COULD SEE.

I SAID, "I WONDER HOW MUCH OF THIS IS DRUG MONEY."

GOD! HOW MUCH DID I SPEND?

Burstyn: AND THERE WAS SO MUCH MONEY THAT ONCE IT BROKE THROUGH

IT COULDN'T BE ERADICATED.

PROBABLY AS MUCH AS I PUT IN THE BANK--

$50 MILLION EASILY, EASILY.

BILLIONS OF DOLLARS MAY HAVE FUNDED

A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT AND A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION IN MIAMI.

BUT IT WAS BLOOD MONEY.

Edna Buchanan: '79 WAS THE YEAR WHEN

THINGS BEGAN TO GET REALLY SERIOUS.

CERTAINLY DADELAND REALLY WAS THE DEFINING MOMENT.

THE FIRST PUBLIC SHOT OF THE COCAINE WARS.

THE SHOOTOUT OCCURRED AT ABOUT 2:30 THIS AFTERNOON

WHEN TWO OR MORE LATIN MALES ENTERED THE CROWN LIQUOR STORE

HERE ON THE WEST END OF THE DADELAND MALL.

THEY WERE FOLLOWED BY TWO OR THREE OTHER LATIN MALES

AND THEN THE SHOOTING BEGAN.

I MEAN, WE KNEW EXACTLY, THE MINUTE WE HEARD THAT,

IT WAS ANOTHER COLOMBIAN DRUG-RELATED MACHINE-GUNNING.

RIGHT NOW TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD

AND THERE ARE OTHERS INJURED.

Woman: INSIDE THE LIQUOR STORE, ONE COLOMBIAN NATIONAL

AND ANOTHER NON-CUBAN LATIN SUSPECTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING

LAY FACE UP IN A POOL OF BLOOD.

WELL, I WENT RACING DOWN THERE AND I SAID,

"I'M FROM THE MIAMI HERALD, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED HERE?"

AND THE COPS WERE JUST SHOCKED AND ASKANCE.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN IN MY LIFE UH...

UH...AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF, UH...

UH...HOW WOULD YOU PUT IT?

Al: WELL, JULY 1979, I'D BEEN IN HOMICIDE FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS.

BUT THIS WAS JUST BEYOND THE SCOPE OF ANYTHING

THAT ANYBODY COULD HAVE IMAGINED UP UNTIL THAT DAY.

Man: WELL, THERE WAS JUST GLASS, DEBRIS, ALL OVER THE PLACE.

THERE WERE BULLET CASES ON THE WALL, ON THE FLOOR,

ON THE SHELF, IT JUST LOOKED LIKE AN OLD WESTERN SHOOTOUT.

Man: THE ASSAILANT SPRAYED GUNFIRE

ALL AROUND THE PARKING LOT.

Reporter: DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM

WHEN THE SHOOTING WAS OVER?

THEY RAN. WHERE?

I DON'T KNOW, I WAS RUNNING.

Reporter: INNOCENT BYSTANDERS DOVE FOR COVER,

CARS WERE RIDDLED WITH MACHINE-GUN FIRE,

GAS TANKS SPILLING OUT.

ACTUALLY THERE WERE TWO SCENES, THEY WERE THE PRIMARY SCENE

WHERE THE TWO DEAD BODIES WERE INSIDE CROWN LIQUORS,

BUT THE SECONDARY SCENE, WHICH IS WHERE I WAS ASSIGNED TO

WAS WHAT HAS BECOME KNOWN AS THE WAR WAGON.

Reporter: A DELIVERY VAN WAS FOUND ABANDONED

IN THE NORTH SIDE OF THE MALL

WITH THE DOOR OPEN AND THE MOTOR RUNNING.

Al: IT WAS A 1979 BRAND-NEW FORD ECONOLINE VAN

CONVERTED INTO AN ARMED PERSONNEL CARRIER.

IT WAS JUST A DEATH MACHINE.

Al: IT HAD REINFORCED STEEL WELDED TO THE SIDES.

WINDOWS COULD BE POPPED OUT, USED AS GUN PORTS.

Edna: IT SAID "HAPPY TIME PARTY SUPPLY" ON THE SIDE.

Al: INSIDE WE FOUND 14 DIFFERENT WEAPONS.

THESE KILLERS WERE LIKE THE DIXIE CUP GENERATION,

THE THROWAWAY GENERATION.

THEY WOULD SHOOT A GUN UNTIL IT WAS EMPTY,

THROW IT DOWN AND PICK UP ANOTHER ONE.

Al: YOU NAME IT, SHOTGUNS, CARBINES, MAC-10, AN UZI,

ASSORTED HANDGUNS, AMMUNITION FOR ALL OF THEM.

THE WAR WAGON WAS REALLY I THINK THE BIG TURNING POINT

WHERE THE POLICE REALIZED WHAT THEY WERE UP AGAINST

AND HOW OUT-GUNNED THEY WERE.

Reporter: WHAT WOULD THE AMOUNT OF WEAPONRY IN THAT VAN

INDICATE TO YOU?

WELL...THEY WERE WELL ARMED, WE CAN SAY THAT

AND THEY...THEY CAME PREPARED TO DO BATTLE.

Woman: BULLETS WERE FLYING EVERYWHERE.

Al: THE FINAL TALLY WERE THAT 86 ROUNDS

HAD BEEN FIRED BY ALL THE WEAPONS.

Man: GOD KNOWS, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY...

HOW MANY TIMES THESE PEOPLE WERE SHOT.

THERE WERE JUST SO MANY BULLET WOUNDS OVER THESE VICTIMS

THAT IT JUST MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME

TO DETERMINE THE EXACT NUMBER OF SHOTS.

Al: WE DID THE STANDARD FOLLOW-UP LEADS,

THE TRUCK HAD BEEN FALSELY REGISTERED.

THE FIREARMS HAD BEEN BOUGHT UNDER FALSE NAMES.

WE WENT TO THE ADDRESSES-- THE ONES THAT WERE GOOD

THE PEOPLE HAD FLED.

SO IT WAS YOUR TYPICAL COLOMBIAN CASE,

YOU KNOW, WENT NOWHERE FAST.

Man: OFFICERS SEARCHED THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD

FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR BUT TURNED UP NO SUSPECTS.

I SAID, "ANOTHER OPEN PENDING,"

OPEN PENDING MEANS AN UNSOLVED CASE,

BECAUSE WE HAD NO SUCCESS WHATSOEVER TO DATE

CLOSING THE COLOMBIAN MURDER.

WE HAD A BRAND-NEW PHENOMENON HERE

THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE WAS UNPRECEDENTED.

THE SOPHISTICATION WAS UNPRECEDENTED.

I THINK THIS WAS THE FIRST CASE

WHERE WE HAD ACTUALLY A MACHINE-GUNNING

IN A PUBLIC PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF DAYLIGHT,

SHOPPERS AND PASSERS-BY AROUND.

OF COURSE AFTER THAT, THAT HAPPENED FREQUENTLY.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A WAR, THE COCAINE WARS DOWN HERE.

Reporter: LOCAL HOMICIDE DETECTIVES

SAY MIAMI IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A NARCOTICS WAR

BETWEEN COLOMBIAN AND CUBAN DRUG DEALERS.

Mickey: MIAMI WAS CHANGING.

THE COLOMBIANS WERE PUSHING THE CUBANS OUT.

THERE WAS A MAD SCRAMBLE FOR MARKET SHARE.

ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE VIOLENCE

WAS BECAUSE OF THE COMPETING FACTIONS.

AND THE VIOLENCE IS WHAT TURNED MIAMI INTO THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

Man: AS THEY CALL THEM, THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

Reporter: THEY CALL THEM THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

THIS COCAINE COWBOY THING, IT WAS ALL PEOPLE FROM MEDELLÍN.

Woman: ESTIMATES ARE THAT AS MANY AS 100,000

ILLEGAL COLOMBIAN ALIENS

ARE LIVING AND WORKING THE DRUG TRADE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

Edna: THEY WOULD GO AFTER THEIR TARGET,

THEY'D KILL THE WIFE, THEY'D KILL THE MAID.

"IF THERE'S A DOG THERE, I'LL KILL THE DOG,

"IF THERE'S A BIRD THERE, I'LL KILL THE BIRD,

"GOLDFISH THERE, I'LL KILL THE GOLDFISH."

Edna: IF A GIRL SCOUT RANG THE BELL TO SELL COOKIES,

THEY'D KILL THE GIRL SCOUT TOO.

POOR PEOPLE THAT WERE STANDING THERE AND KIDS,

ANYBODY WOULD JUST GET SHOT DEAD.

THEY JUST WOULD KILL EVERYBODY IN SIGHT.

Reporter: JESÚS HERNANDEZ, A SUBMACHINE BARRAGE

TORE HIM APART IN HIS CAR

ON A BUSY SOUTHWEST STREET AT NOON.

NUMEROUS MACHINE-GUNNINGS.

RAT-A-TAT! TRA! TRA!

BRA! AND THEN I HEARD THE...

BA-BOOM! BA-BOOM! PA! PA! PA!

Reporter: AND THE APARTMENT WAS SPRAYED BY MACHINE-GUN FIRE,

A TRADEMARK ACCORDING TO POLICE OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

Man: ON THE HIGHWAYS, THE TURNPIKE, US 1,

IN SOME CASES RESIDENTIAL STREETS.

Reporter: THE RED MUSTANG WAS HEADING NORTH

ON SOUTHWEST 107TH AVENUE.

THE GREEN SEDAN PULLED ALONGSIDE THE DRIVER, OPENING FIRE.

Reporter 2: THE TOOLS OF DEATH, AUTOMATIC WEAPONS AND SHOTGUNS.

THAT'S THE KIND OF STUFF YOU SEE ON TELEVISION,

YOU DON'T SEE IT IN REAL LIFE.

Reporter: WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE SCENE AS A WAR ZONE,

MIAMI VICE WITHOUT THE CAMERAS.

BUT THIS WAS REAL LIFE, IT WAS REALLY GOING ON.

YOU HAVE FIVE PEOPLE KILLED HERE,

YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE KILLED HERE.

Reporter: A QUIET RESIDENTIAL AREA IN KENDALL TONIGHT

BECAME THE SCENE OF A GRIZZLY MASS MURDER.

SIX BODIES WERE FOUND IN A POSH TOWNHOUSE.

Reporter 2: MIAMI POLICE SAY THIS IS THE WORST

MULTIPLE HOMICIDE IN THE CITY'S HISTORY.

Reporter 3: POLICE BELIEVE THE MASSACRE WAS DRUG RELATED.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MASS MURDERS THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE

WOULD GET BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE

FROM ALL THE CABLE TV STATIONS.

WE HAD THAT LEVEL OF VIOLENCE HAPPENING DAILY

AND THE LOCAL MEDIA, BECAUSE OF US JUST BEING SATURATED BY IT,

SAYING, "OH, IT'S JUST A DOUBLE HOMICIDE.

"OH, IT'S JUST A TRIPLE HOMICIDE."

Al: IT JUST BECAME COMMONPLACE THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE

JUMPING FROM CRIME SCENE TO CRIME SCENE.

WE HAVE TO HAVE MORE THAN FOUR OR FIVE PEOPLE DEAD

TO MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT.

I MEAN, I CAN RECALL GETTING FIVE MURDERS IN ONE NIGHT.

THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT MURDERS IN DADE IN JUST THE PAST 48 HOURS.

Edna: YOU NEVER KNEW WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO STUMBLE OVER

ANOTHER BODY.

Man: MIAMI KIND OF RESEMBLED

THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE IN CHICAGO IN THE '20S.

GANGSTERS DRIVING THROUGH THE STREETS

STANDING ON THEIR FLOORBOARDS

WITH THEIR THOMPSON .45 MACHINE GUNS

HAVING GUNFIGHTS IN CHICAGO IN THE '30S.

WHAT I SEE GOING ON HERE

WOULD MAKE CHICAGO IN THE DAYS OF PROHIBITION

LOOK LIKE A BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL PICNIC.

AND ONE OF THE COPS THEN EVEN SAID, "IT'S LIKE DODGE CITY."

Man: AND IT WAS LIKE THE WILD WILD WEST BACK THEN.

BUT OF COURSE HE WAS WRONG, BECAUSE DODGE CITY

WAS NEVER AS VIOLENT AS MIAMI WAS THEN.

Burstyn: MIAMI IN THE EARLY '80S WAS CONSIDERED

THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON EARTH.

FIRST DETROIT WAS MURDER CITY, THEN ATLANTA, NOW MIAMI.

Officer: IN 1976 WE INVESTIGATED 104 MURDERS.

Reporter: THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1979

HAVE BEEN CALLED THE BLOODIEST IN SOUTH FLORIDA'S HISTORY.

Man: THERE WERE 573 TOTAL HOMICIDES IN 1980.

Man 2: 1981 WILL GO DOWN AS ANOTHER RECORD YEAR

FOR KILLINGS AROUND GREATER MIAMI.

I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA SEE IN EXCESS OF 600 HOMICIDES

BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

AS SOUTH FLORIDA'S DRUG TRADE PROSPERS,

DADE'S HOMICIDE RATE WILL CONTINUE TO CLIMB.

CRIME IN MIAMI IS UP AND TOURISM IS DOWN.

DESPITE THE GLOOM AND DOOM THAT PEOPLE KEEP FORECASTING,

WE ARE PREDICTING THAT WE WILL HAVE

MORE FOREIGN ARRIVALS HERE IN THE GREATER MIAMI AREA

BY THE END OF THE SUMMER THAN WE DID LAST YEAR,

WHICH WAS OUR BANNER YEAR.

FOR FIDEL CASTRO IT WAS TANTAMOUNT

TO AN ACT OF GENOCIDE.

WITH ONE FELL SWOOP, HE RID CUBA

OF THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF UNDESIRABLES.

HE EMPTIED HIS PRISONS, HE CLEARED THE BUMS

OFF THE STREETS OF HAVANA. MURDERERS, THIEVES, PERVERTS,

PROSTITUTES, THE RETARDED, CRIPPLED, THE WINOS,

ALL WERE ROUNDED UP, SENT TO MARIEL HARBOR

AND PUT ABOARD BOATS BOUND FOR MIAMI.

FIDEL CASTRO HIMSELF PUBLICLY STATED

"I HAVE FLUSHED THE TOILETS OF CUBA ON THE UNITED STATES."

AND BRAGGED ABOUT IT.

Reporter: ONE BOAT LEFT MARIEL FOR THE US EVERY 5 MINUTES,

THEY CAME UNHINDERED NIGHT AND DAY.

IT BECAME COMMONPLACE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

SHOTS WERE FIRED, PEOPLE WERE KILLED,

AND MUCH OF THE TIME THE KILLERS ARE PEOPLE

WHO CAME OVER FROM CUBA IN THE BOATLIFT OF 1980.

CONSEQUENTLY OUR HOMICIDE RATE DOUBLED THAT YEAR.

IT WOULD BE LIKE IF AN INVADING ARMY WAS DROPPED IN HERE

TO RAPE, PILLAGE AND BURN IN OUR TOWN.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Reporter: AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS, RAPES, ROBBERIES.

IN NO TIME AT ALL, WE HAD BODIES ON THE FLOOR.

WE HAD THEM STACKED UP. IT WAS A DISGRACE.

Reporter: THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY MURDERS

THROUGHOUT GREATER MIAMI LATELY

THAT A SPECIAL REFRIGERATED TRUCK IS NOW BEING USED

BY THE DADE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE

TO STORE ALL THE BODIES.

THEY HAD ARRANGED TO RENT OR BORROW IT

FROM BURGER KING WHOSE HEADQUARTERS IS DOWN HERE.

AND I WAS VERY UPSET.

WE HAVE BEEN INVADED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE.

THESE GUYS ARE SPACED OUT.

NOBODY SEEMED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING

IN THE STREETS OF MIAMI. SO I OPENED MY MOUTH.

THEY ARE PSYCHOLOGICALLY TOTALLY NOT EVEN HUMAN.

THEY'RE ANIMALS-- NOT EVEN ANIMALS,

THAT'S AN INSULT TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

THERE WAS NO LAW AND ORDER WHATSOEVER.

WE ALL CARRYING GUNS. MY WIFE CARRY GUNS,

MY TWO SONS THEY CARRYING GUNS.

AND YOU SEE I HAVE A SHOTGUN LOADED IN MY HOUSE

AND WE'RE GONNA SHOOT SOMEONE.

I CERTAINLY NEVER TRAVELED

ANYWHERE IN DADE COUNTY WITHOUT BEING ARMED.

THERE'S...THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.

Edna: I ALWAYS HAD A GUN, I WOULDN'T SLEEP WELL WITHOUT ONE,

ESPECIALLY IN THE MIAMI OF THAT TIME.

EDNA BUCHANAN ON NATIONAL TELEVISION,

SAYING SHE WEARS TWO GUNS

AND EVERYBODY HAS TO WEAR A GUN.

Edna: MERRETT STEIRHEIM, WHO WAS THEN COUNTY MANAGER,

AND ALL THE COMMISSIONERS WERE FURIOUS

SO I WAS PERSONA NON GRATA FOR A WHILE.

MIAMI WAS LITERALLY BEING TORN APART AT THE SEAMS.

Reporter: BUT POLICE HELP WON'T COME SOON

BECAUSE OF A MANPOWER SHORTAGE IN THE DEPARTMENT.

FEDERAL AGENCIES READILY ADMIT THEY ARE CRIPPLED

BY A LACK OF MANPOWER, MONEY AND RESOURCES.

Man: THE CITY OF MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT

WENT ON A BLIND HIRING FRENZY.

Reporter: IT'S HOPED MORE POLICE ON THE STREET

WILL HELP TO REVERSE THIS RECORD-SETTING TREND.

Edna: AND THEY USED TO HAVE STANDARDS.

YOU COULDN'T EVER HAVE USED DRUGS

IF YOU WANTED TO BE A POLICEMAN.

SO THEY REDUCED IT TO YOU COULDN'T HAVE

USED DRUGS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS,

AND THAT DIDN'T WORK. SO THEY SAID,

"WELL, YOU COULDN'T HAVE USED DRUGS IN THE LAST 5 YEARS."

THEY STILL COULDN'T RECRUIT ENOUGH.

SO THEY SAID YOU COULDN'T HAVE USED DRUGS IN THE LAST 2 YEARS.

AND FINALLY IT GOT TO A POINT WHERE, IF YOU'RE NOT

UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS AT THE MOMENT YOU'RE HIRED.

THAT RESULTED IN THE LARGEST POLICE CORRUPTION CRISIS

SINCE THE SERPICO DAYS UP IN NEW YORK.

Edna: AND THE ENTIRE ACADEMY CLASS FROM THAT YEAR

LATER ON WENT TO JAIL OR DIED.

Reporter: THIS MAKES A TOTAL OF THREE MIAMI OFFICERS

ARRESTED OVER THE WEEKEND.

TODAY'S ARREST CAME AS SEVEN OTHER MIAMI OFFICERS

WENT ON TRIAL ACCUSED OF RIPPING OFF OTHER COCAINE DEALERS

AND FOR DEALING DRUGS THEMSELVES.

THE SO-CALLED COCAINE COPS HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY,

DRUG TRAFFICKING AND RACKETEERING.

THE TALLY, SHOCKING-- 40 CURRENT OR FORMER MIAMI POLICE OFFICERS

ARRESTED OR SUSPENDED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS.

16 SUSPENDED IN JUST THE LAST 2 WEEKS.

AND IT IS NOT OVER.

AT LEAST 30 MORE MIAMI COPS WILL BE SUSPENDED.

Man: THE RULE OF LAW COMPLETELY BROKE DOWN IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST NOT EVEN COME INTO WORK

AND JUST GIVE THE STREETS UP.

Officer: WE TRULY ARE COMMITTED, AND WE ARE GOING TO GAIN CONTROL

OF THESE STREETS ONCE AGAIN.

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING HERE.

AND I SUGGEST A REVISIT OF THE WHOLE IDEA.

CENTAC 26 WENT FULLY OPERATIONAL IN DECEMBER OF '81.

THERE WERE 25 PREVIOUS CENTAC ORGANIZATIONS

IN DIFFERENT CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

CENTAC STANDS FOR CENTRAL TACTICAL UNIT.

OUR PRIMARY GOAL WAS TO COUPLE THE HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS

WITH DRUG INVESTIGATIONS.

THEY HAD GOOD CONNECTIONS WITH THE D.E.A., WITH THE F.B.I.

WE WERE DEALING WITH A KIND OF CRIMINAL

WITH WHOM WE HAD NOT DEALT BEFORE.

AND SO MY MANDATE TO MY PEOPLE WAS VERY SIMPLE.

EXTRAORDINARY TIMES CALLED FOR EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES.

Al: YOU WOULD USE WHATEVER METHOD YOU COULD

TO TAKE SOMEONE OUT OF THE PICTURE OR OFF THE STREET.

WE'RE GONNA GET RID OF THEM EITHER BY PUTTING THEM IN JAIL

OR WE WERE GOING TO KILL THEM.

Al: IT WAS A UNIT THAT WAS MEANT TO BE

MORE PROACTIVE THAN REACTIVE.

IT WAS JUST A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING POLICE WORK

AND IT WAS CALLED FOR AT THE TIME

BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE CRIMINAL

WITH BOTH THE COLOMBIANS AND THE CUBAN CRIMINALS

WHO CAME FROM MARIEL.

MIAMI SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME PARADISE LOST.

IN THE FALL-WINTER OF 1981,

THE ARTICLE PARADISE LOST? CAME OUT IN TIME MAGAZINE.

TIME MAGAZINE CRUSHED MIAMI.

Reporter: THE 9-PAGE ARTICLE INSIDE

FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON MIAMI

AS THE TROUBLED CENTER OF DRUGS, CRIME AND REFUGEES.

THE POLITICIANS IN MIAMI, DADE COUNTY, MIAMI,

WENT CRAZY WHEN THEY SAW THAT.

Man: THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION THAT'S ASKED,

"IS IT SAFE TO COME TO MIAMI BEACH?"

AND WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM? AND AGAIN I'M SAYING TO THEM,

UNLESS YOU'RE COMING DOWN HERE TO TRAFFIC IN DRUGS,

WE ARE AS SAFE HERE AS YOU WOULD BE

ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD INCLUDING YOUR OWN HOME TOWN.

WE WERE TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS.

FUN AND SUN CAPITAL...

MURDER CAPITAL.

THAT WAS THE GIST OF THAT ARTICLE--

THE CRIMINALS WERE WINNING

AND WE WERE LOSING.

Man: I WAS BORN IN CALI, COLOMBIA.

ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES, 1969.

I GREW UP IN CHICAGO, I WAS A MECHANIC WITH MY DAD.

I WORKED FOR GENERAL MOTORS, THAT'S WHERE I LEARNED

HOW TO BREAK INTO CARS.

WELL, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP I WAS KNOWN AS A CAR THIEF,

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CAR THIEVES IN CHICAGO,

AND THEN AFTER THE '80S I WAS...

I WAS KNOWN TO BE AN ASSASSIN FOR THE CARTEL.

Rivi: I JUST GOT WITH A GROUP OF GUYS

AND WE STARTED STEALING CARS TO SELL THEM TO THE CHOP SHOPS,

BETWEEN $200 AND $500 A CAR.

WE USED TO STEAL 5, 6 A NIGHT, THERE WAS THREE OF US.

SO WE WERE MAKING GOOD MONEY. BETTER THAN WORKING FOR MY DAD.

I COME FROM A GOOD FAMILY, I HAD EVERYTHING I NEEDED.

YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T NEED TO GO STEAL CARS,

BUT IT WAS JUST THE MONEY AND THE EXCITEMENT

OF GOING AND BREAKING INTO SOMEBODY'S CAR

AND SELLING IT, YOU KNOW.

TROPICANA RESTAURANT. WE USED TO

HANG OUT THERE BECAUSE OF THE PAY PHONE.

THAT'S WHERE THE JUNKERS USED TO CALL US.

WE USED IT AS OUR OFFICE.

AND I HAD A SPECIFIC SPOT WHERE I USED TO PARK MY CAR

AND NO ONE WOULD PARK THERE.

ONE MORNING I GOT THERE, THERE WAS A CAR PARKED IN FRONT,

SO I ASKED THE OWNER OF THE RESTAURANT,

"WHOSE CAR IS THAT?" HE SAID, "IT BELONGS TO

"SOME BIG SHOT FROM MIAMI."

SO I TOLD HIM I DIDN'T GIVE A FUCK WHO IT BELONGED TO.

AND I WANTED THE CAR MOVED SO I TOOK IT.

THE NEXT MORNING, WE WERE IN THE RESTAURANT AND...

THREE COLOMBIANS CAME IN AND HE ASKED WHO WAS RIVERITA.

HE SAID, "I'M LOOKING FOR HIM 'CAUSE HE STOLE MY CAR."

SO I SAID, "I'M THE GUY YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, I'M RIVI."

HE SAYS, "YOU STOLE MY CAR AND I WANT MY CAR BACK."

I SAY, "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BACK UNLESS YOU GIVE ME

"$500 FOR IT BECAUSE IT BELONGS TO ME NOW

"BECAUSE YOU PARKED WHERE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO PARK."

HE STARTED LAUGHING AND HE SAID,

"YOU'VE GOT SOME BALLS, YOU KNOW THAT?"

I SAID, "I'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE."

AND HE SAYS, "SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?"

I SAY "SIMPLE, $500, YOU GET YOUR CAR BACK."

HE PAID ME, GOT HIS KEYS OUT AND OPENED THE TRUNK.

IT WAS FULL OF GUNS, USED GUNS,

REVOLVERS, AUTOMATIC PISTOLS,

AND HE ASKED ME IF I'VE EVER BEEN TO FLORIDA.

AND I SAID "YEAH, WITH MY DAD." "GOT ANY FAMILY IN FLORIDA?"

I SAID, "YEAH, I GOT ABOUT SIX OF 'EM."

HE ASKED ME IF I COULD DRIVE HIM TO MIAMI.

I SAID, "SURE. WILL YOU PAY?" HE SAID, YEAH,

THAT HE WOULD PAY ME $5,000.

I TOLD HIM, "YEAH, NO PROBLEM."

WHEN I GOT TO MIAMI, HE SAID, "LOOK I GOT SOME THINGS GOING,

"MAYBE YOU GUYS COULD WORK FOR ME

"AND MAKE SOME MORE MONEY IN MIAMI, IF YOU STAY IN MIAMI."

I TOLD HIM, "WHAT?" HE SAID, "JUST DELIVERING DOPE

"AND PICKING UP MONEY...

"MAYBE ONCE IN A WHILE PUSHING MARIJUANA."

THE MONEY WAS GOOD, HE WAS PAYING ME $1,000 A DAY.

THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE WERE WORKING

WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WERE IN THE DRUG BUSINESS.

BUT I HAD NO PLANS TO START KILLING PEOPLE.

IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY LATER BUT...

A COUPLE OF WEEKS WENT BY AND WE WERE AT JACARANDA,

A COLOMBIAN NIGHTCLUB IN MIAMI.

YOU KNOW, FLACO CAME IN, "ARE YOU OUR DRUG CARRIER?"

HE SAID, "LOOK, YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE,

"BECAUSE WE'RE FIXED TO DO A HIT HERE."

"THOSE PEOPLE ON YOUR RIGHT OF THE TABLE,

"THOSE SIX COLOMBIANS LAUGHING AND DRINKING FIRE WATER,

"WE'RE GONNA SPRAY THAT TABLE, THE WHOLE TABLE."

AND I SAID, "ALL RIGHT. APPRECIATE IT, YOU KNOW."

I SAID, "LET ME GET MY GUYS." AND I TOLD EVERYONE

EXCEPT VANEGAS, NEGRO, HE WAS IN THE BATHROOM SNORTING COKE.

WE CALLED HIM NEGRO 'CAUSE HE WAS REAL DARK.

HE WAS NOT BLACK, HE WAS JUST A DARK COLOMBIAN.

SO I WENT BACK TO THE BATHROOM AND I TOLD HIM.

I SAID, "WE GOTTA GO, THERE'S GONNA BE A SHOOTOUT HERE."

BUT I DIDN'T TELL HIM WHO.

HE SAYS, "JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE." I WALKED OUT.

WELL, DURING THAT TIME, VANEGAS HAD STOPPED AT THE SAME TABLE

AND TOLD THE GUYS TO LEAVE

BECAUSE THERE WAS GOING TO BE A SHOOTOUT.

SO HE SCREWED UP THE HIT. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT.

HE KNEW ONE OF THE GUYS AT THE TABLE

SO HE WAS JUST LOOKING OUT FOR HIS FRIEND.

I WAS OUTSIDE, VANEGAS CAME OUT.

AND BEHIND VANEGAS EVERYBODY STARTED PUSHING AND SHOVING OUT.

FLACO CAME IN HIS MOTORCYCLE, HE WAS PRETTY PISSED OFF.

HE SAID, "YOU GUYS FUCKED EVERYTHING UP

"AND I SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAVE TOLD YOU."

I SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"ONE OF YOU GUYS TIPPED THEM OFF 'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T KNOW

"AND THE ONLY PERSON THAT KNEW WE WERE GONNA DO THE HIT

"WAS YOU GUYS. YOU."

I SAID, "YEAH, MAN, I JUST TOLD MY GUYS TO LEAVE."

I SAID, "HOLD UP, LET ME TALK TO NEGRO."

I SAID, "DID YOU TELL THEM PEOPLE?" AND HE SAID,

"I TOLD ONE OF THE GUYS THERE WAS GONNA BE A SHOOTING

"LIKE YOU TOLD ME BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THEIR TABLE."

I SAID, "WE IN DEEP SHIT, YOU KNOW."

I WENT BACK AND I SAID, "YEAH, WE DID IT, MAN,

"BUT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT."

HE SAYS, "WELL, YOU'RE IN TROUBLE, MAN,

"YOU'RE IN TROUBLE WITH MY BOSS. AND THE BOSS WANTS TO MEET YOU."

"TELL YOUR BOSS THAT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT."

HE SAID, "THEY DON'T WANNA HEAR IT, MAN,

"JUST YOU," HE SAID.

"THE BOSS WANTS TO MEET JUST YOU.

"EITHER THAT OR YOU'RE IN TROUBLE."

SO WE GET IN THE CAR, ON THE WAY I'M TELLING HIM,

I SAID, "THESE PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA KILL ME, ARE THEY?"

HE SAYS, "I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T MAKE NO GUARANTEES, MAN."

WE HAD FUCKED SOMETHING UP, I KNOW,

I MEAN, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT KILLING SIX PEOPLE.

SO YOU KNOW THEY AIN'T NO... NO PUSSIES HERE.

HE ASKED ME IF I HAD A GUN. I SAID, "YEAH, MAN. I GOT A GUN."

BUT I HAD TWO.

I HAD A BACKUP GUN IN MY LEFT LEG.

SO WE DROVE TO A HOLIDAY INN ON I95.

I LOOKED AND FOUR GUYS GOT OUT OF THE CAR.

I SAID, "IS THAT THEM?" HE SAID, "THAT'S THEM,

"THAT'S PART OF THEM, THERE ARE MORE TO YOUR LEFT."

AND I LOOKED AND THERE WAS FOUR OTHER GUYS ON THE OTHER SIDE.

I APPROACHED THE OLDER GUY AND HE SAID,

"ARE YOU RIVI?" I SAID, "YES, I AM."

"COME WITH ME." GOT INTO THE BACK OF A CAR

AND IN THE BACK SEAT WAS A LADY.

SHE WAS CALLING THE SHOTS.

WHATEVER SHE'D SAY EVERYBODY WOULD JUST KEEP QUIET,

NOBODY GAVE AN OPINION,

THEY WERE JUST, WHATEVER SHE WAS SAYING.

AND HER HUSBAND WAS IN THE FRONT SEAT.

HE DIDN'T OPEN HIS MOUTH. HE'S NOT ASKING ME ANY QUESTIONS,

JUST HER, TELLING ME WHAT TO DO.

SHE'S THE ONE WITH THE POWER THERE.

I'M GETTING THIS LIP FROM A WOMAN, YOU KNOW,

AND I DON'T--I OUGHTA HAD LIKE, LIKE SAY YOU GO FUCK YOURSELF,

AND I THOUGHT, "NO, NO."

AND SHE ASKED ME, SHE SAID, "YOU THE ONE THAT FUCKED UP

"THE HIT LAST NIGHT?" AND I SAID, "IN A WAY I DID."

SHE TOLD ME, "I'VE BEEN AFTER THESE PEOPLE FOR MONTHS

"AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE GOT SIGHT OF THEM."

AND I...I HAD FUCKED IT UP.

SHE SAYS, "WELL, I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU FIND THEM,

"AND YOU KILL THEM FOR ME, THEN WE CALL IT EVEN."

"I'M INTERESTED IN THE TWO BROTHERS."

THE OTHER FOUR WE WERE JUST GONNA HIT

BECAUSE THEY WERE SITTING ON THE TABLE.

I SAID, "YOU WERE GONNA KILL 4 OTHER PEOPLE JUST TO KILL 2?"

SHE SAID, "THAT'S THE WAY I DO MY THINGS,

"SPRAY THE WHOLE TABLE. GET EVERYBODY OUT OF THE WAY."

THAT SURPRISED ME, YOU KNOW.

I MEAN, SHE WAS TALKING TO MURDER LIKE...

SO I TOLD HER, I SAID, "JUST GIVE ME A WEEK,

"I FIND THESE PEOPLE."

AND SHE SAYS, "WHEN YOU DO, YOU CALL ME.

"I'LL GIVE YOU $50,000 FOR EACH."

SO ON MY WAY BACK I STARTED ASKING FLACO QUESTIONS.

I ASKED HIM, "WHAT'S UP WITH THIS LADY, MAN?"

HE SAYS, "SHE'S THE GODMOTHER."

I SAY, "YOU WANNA FILL ME OUT A LITTLE ABOUT THE GODMOTHER?"

AND HE SAYS, "I'VE KNOWN HER SINCE COLOMBIA...

"AND SHE'S DEADLY.

"IF YOU DON'T DELIVER, SHE'S GONNA PUT A HIT ON YOU."

SHE WAS THE BIGGEST BACK THEN.

SHE WAS THE GODMOTHER OF THE COCAINE TRADE.

SO WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE HOTEL,

I TOLD THE GUYS WHAT HAPPENED

AND VANEGAS WAS THERE AND I SAID,

"LOOK, WE IN DEEP SHIT WITH THIS LADY.

"IF WE DON'T FIND THESE PEOPLE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAUL ASS

"'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA COME AFTER--

"THEY TOLD ME IN SO MANY WORDS." VANEGAS...

HE SAYS, "YEAH, I COULD GET HOLD OF ONE, THE OLDER ONE."

I SAID, "THAT'S ALL WE NEED, ONE."

THROUGH HIM WE GET THE OTHER ONE.

I SAID, "DO THIS, JUST GO TO A PAYPHONE AND BEEP

"AND SET UP A MEETING FOR TONIGHT.

"AND WE'RE GONNA KIDNAP HIS ASS

"AND WE'RE GONNA TURN HIM OVER TO THESE OTHER PEOPLE."

WE BEEPED, NO ANSWER. SECOND DAY WE BEEPED, NO ANSWER.

THIRD DAY, I WAS LOSING MY HOPES, NO ANSWER.

FOURTH DAY, HE BEEPED AND THE GUY ANSWERED.

HE SET UP A MEETING AT THE RAMADA INN

WE TOLD HIM THAT WE HAD SOME GUNS

AND EXPLOSIVES TO SELL.

BUT THE PROBLEM WAS, WHEN HE ARRIVED AT THE HOTEL,

HE ARRIVED WITH HIS KID, IT WAS A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY.

WE WEREN'T COUNTING ON NO KID.

SO VANEGAS, HE MADE A SMART MOVE AND TOOK THE KID TO THE CAR.

OTHERWISE WE HAD TO TAKE THE KID WITH US TOO.

HE'S TALKING, LAUGHING WITH VANEGAS,

I'M BEHIND A TREE, AND WHEN VANEGAS OPENED THE TRUNK,

I CAME OUT FROM BEHIND THE TREE, I PUT A GUN IN HIS RIBS

AND I SAID, "I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU."

SO THE GUY SAYS, "I OWE YOU NOTHING."

I SAY, "NO, YOU DON'T. SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS YOU.

"THERE'S A LADY LOOKING FOR YOU.

"HER NAME IS GRISELDA BLANCO."

AND HE SAID, "THAT FAT BITCH, I DON'T OWE HER NOTHING."

SO CUMBAMBA KICKED HIM IN THE FACE AND KNOCKED HIS TEETH OUT.

HE SAID, "MORE RESPECT FOR THE LADY.

"YOU TELL HER WHEN YOU SEE HER, WE WORK FOR HER."

HE TURNED WHITE. HE SAID, "YOU'RE GONNA MEET HER

"IN A COUPLE OF HOURS." HE STARTED SHAKING.

SO AN HOUR LATER THEY ARRIVED, THEY TOOK HIM.

THE NEXT DAY I'M AT HOME, AT 4 O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON.

SHE COMES TO MY HOUSE,

SHE JUST COMES IN LIKE SHE OWNED THE HOUSE.

AND MY WIFE WAS FRYING FISH.

SHE SAID, "OH, I LOVE FISH."

SHE'S JUST EATING, TELLING ME HOW THEY KILLED THIS GUY--

THEY CHOPPED HIM UP INTO LITTLE PIECES--

WHILE WE WERE HAVING DINNER.

I SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU SHOT THIS GUY?"

SHE SAID, "YEAH, I SHOT HIM...

"AND CUMBAMBA CUT HIM UP

"AND PUT HIM IN A SMALL BOX AND WRAPPED HIM UP LIKE A GIFT

"WITH A LITTLE BOW AND TAG AND WE LEFT IT

"A COUPLE OF BLOCKS FROM HERE ON THE TURNPIKE."

I SAID, "IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD?" SHE SAID "YEAH,

"WE WERE HEADING SOUTH TO COME AND VISIT YOU

"SO WE FIGURED IT WAS A GOOD SPOT TO DROP HIM OFF."

I JUST LOOKED AT HER AND SAID, "YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?"

SHE SAYS, "NO, FOR REAL."

I SAID, "YOU GUYS USUALLY DO THIS?"

SHE SAID YEAH, SHE LIKES IT.

SHE LIKES US TO CUT PEOPLE UP AND JUST THROW THEM LIKE THAT.

GRISELDA BLANCO, SHE GREW UP WITH HER MOTHER

IN MEDELLÍN, VERY POOR. SHE WAS A PROSTITUTE.

SHE STARTED HER CRIMINAL LIFE AS A PICKPOCKET,

THEN THEY MOVED TO NEW YORK.

THAT'S WHEN THEY GOT INTO THE DRUG BUSINESS.

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD HER NAME WAS THE LATTER PART OF 1973.

FROM THE INTELLIGENCE THAT WE WERE GIVEN,

SHE DID FIGURE AS AN EMERGING THREAT

TO THE UNITED STATES.

Rivi: HER BUSINESS GREW.

SHE WAS A SIGNIFICANT COLOMBIAN AND COCAINE TRAFFICKER.

RAFA AND GRISELDA, THEY WERE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS.

SO RAFA GAVE EVERYTHING TO HER.

Burstyn: IN THE MID-'70S GRISELDA GOT CHARGED

ON A VERY LARGE COCAINE CASE IN NEW YORK,

PROBABLY THE LARGEST AT THE TIME,

AND SHE FLED AFTER THAT AND SHE TOOK OFF.

THERE WAS A FUGITIVE WARRANT ISSUED FOR HER.

I LOST TRACK OF HER FROM THE TIME OF THE INDICTMENT

UP UNTIL I WAS TRANSFERRED TO MIAMI.

Al: WELL, WE CAN'T SAY FOR SURE EXACTLY WHEN SHE WAS IN MIAMI,

PROBABLY IN '78, AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE, OBVIOUSLY,

'CAUSE SHE WAS A FUGITIVE.

BUT WE KNEW SHE WAS A MULTI-KILO DEALER.

IN THE VERY, VERY LATINO CULTURE IT'S NOT USUAL

THAT A WOMAN WOULD BE THE HEAD OF HER OWN ORGANIZATION,

SO I FIGURED THAT SHE HAD TO HAVE BEEN ONE MEAN LADY.

GRISELDA HAD TO PROVE TO ALL THE OTHER COLOMBIANS

THAT SHE WAS WORTHY TO KEEP

THE TRADE THAT THEY GAVE HER.

AND SHE LIKED PEOPLE TO FEAR HER, AND THEY DID.

PEOPLE WERE SO AFRAID OF HER,

HER REPUTATION PRECEDED HER WHEREVER SHE WENT.

I MADE A MISTAKE OF NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHO SHE WAS AT FIRST.

I MET HER AT RAFA'S APARTMENT, AND I LOVED LATIN WOMEN,

SO I WENT TO RAFA AND I SAID, "WHAT'S HER STORY?"

AND RAFA SAID, "OH, NO.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING INVOLVED WITH HER."

AND I SAID, "WHY NOT?" AND HE SAYS,

"IF YOU FUCK THIS WOMAN, I'M GONNA HAVE TO KILL HER."

SO I WENT TO MAX AND I SAID TO MAX,

"WHAT'S THE WOMAN'S STORY?"

AND MAX STARTED TELLING ME THESE STORIES.

SHE WAS A HYPOCHONDRIAC.

Man: SHE WAS PRETTY DECADENT.

Rivi: SHE'D GET A BRAND-NEW FERRARI

FOR CHRISTMAS, IT WAS $80,000.

SHE COLLECTED WEALTH.

HER CHRISTMAS PRESENTS WERE ALWAYS LIKE EXPENSIVE.

Jon: EVA PERÓN'S RING...

Rivi: AND JEWELRY AND STUFF.

Man: A BAD FREEBASE COCAINE USER AND ABUSER.

2nd man: A LESBIAN AS WELL.

Man: PARANOID.

2nd man: BEYOND THE MOVIES.

I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN THINK MIAMI VICE

WOULD BE THIS FLAMBOYANT.

OF COURSE SHE HAD THE THREE OLDER SONS.

HER LAST SON, THEY NAMED HIM MICHAEL CORLEONE SEPULVEDA,

WHICH IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE.

AS FAR AS HER MURDERS GO, MY GOD!

THEY CALLED HER THE BLACK WIDOW BECAUSE SHE HAD KILLED

A COUPLE OF HER HUSBANDS, OR HAD THEM KILLED.

THIS WOMAN LITERALLY SLITS MEN'S THROATS

AFTER SHE SLEEPS WITH THEM.

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES SHE DID THAT.

"SHE'S NOT GONNA DO THAT 'CAUSE RAFA'S GONNA TELL HER

"THAT, YOU KNOW--" AND MAX WAS LIKE,

"IT DON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

SHE COULD BE BUGGED OUT ONE NIGHT AND YOU SLEEP WITH HER

AND SHE'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT AND WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN HERE?

THERE'S GONNA BE A WAR.

GRISELDA WAS WORSE THAN ANY OF THE MEN

THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS.

THE FIRST HOMICIDE OF NOTE

THAT SHE'S INVOLVED WITH IS DADELAND.

Rivi: THAT'S WHEN GRISELDA'S CREW

WALKED INTO THE LIQUOR STORE AND BLEW HIS HEAD OFF.

WELL, HALF HIS HEAD OFF.

Al: WHICH OF COURSE IS JULY 1979.

I GUESS HE WAS DYING FOR A DRINK.

AND THAT'S WHAT ESTABLISHED HER AS ONE OF

THE MOST VIOLENT TRAFFICKERS KNOWN.

THAT'S WHAT REALLY STARTED RIGHT THERE, THE COCAINE WARS.

AS WE STARTED SEEING MORE HOMICIDES,

THE ROLE OF GRISELDA BLANCO BECAME VERY, VERY PROMINENT

IN WHAT WE WERE CALLING THE COCAINE WARS.

Jon: SHE KILLED A LOT OF COLOMBIANS AND A LOT OF CUBANS

TO GET HER POSITION IN LIFE.

Reporter: WHEREVER THEY GO

THEY TAKE THEIR SPECIAL BRAND OF VICIOUSNESS WITH THEM.

THIS WOMAN KNOWN AS LA MADRINA, THE GODMOTHER.

SHE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE HOMICIDES

THAT OCCURRED IN SOUTH FLORIDA DURING THOSE DAYS.

Al: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, THOSE WERE THE YEARS

WHERE SHE DID HER KILLING IN DADE COUNTY.

GRISELDA BLANCO, SHE WAS REALLY, UH...AN ANGEL OF DEATH.

Man: I DON'T KNOW THAT ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION

CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE NUMBER OF HOMICIDES

THAT GO BACK TO GRISELDA, I JUST DON'T.

Jon: AND IT COULD BE OVER SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS...

IF SHE WAS IN A RESTAURANT THE NIGHT BEFORE.

Rivi: LIKE WHEN WE WENT TO THE PEROZ ON THE BEACH.

SHE COULD BE EATING AT A TABLE

AND THE OWNER GAVE HER A PROBLEM OR SOMETHING.

THERE WAS THIS BIG GUY THERE, STARTED RUNNING HIS MOUTH.

AND HE GOT SMART WITH HER TOO.

SHE DECIDED, YOU KNOW, "FUCK THIS OWNER,

"I'M GOING TO DESTROY HIS BUSINESS."

AND SO WE LEFT.

AND THESE GUYS WOULD COME ON MOTORCYCLES,

THEN THEY'D TURN AROUND ON THE BACK OF THE MOTORCYCLE,

AND JUST SPRAY EVERYBODY WAITING ON LINE

TO GET INTO THE PLACE AND EVERYTHING.

AND THEN MACHINE-GUN HIS ASS DOWN

RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR.

YEAH, THEY WERE TRYING TO PIN IT ON ME...

BUT I WAS OUT OF TOWN.

SO HE MUST HAVE MESSED WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE.

Jon: RIVERITA BECAME GRISELDA'S MAIN ENFORCER.

Rivi: SHE WAS ALWAYS WITH ME, AND THREE OR FOUR GUYS.

SHE HAD AN ARMY WITH HER. A ROGUE CAST OF CHARACTERS.

HER CREW WAS...ALMOST LIKE YOU WOULD SEE IN THE MOVIES.

SHE HAD PACO. Man: PACO SEPULVEDA.

DIEGO SEPULVEDA. TOTO. CARLOS VANEGAS. ALONSO AYALA.

JUST RAGTAG GUYS, YOU KNOW,

LIKE THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT.

UBER, GUILLERMO, VELASQUEZ,

ONLY THEY ACTUALLY COULD HIT PEOPLE.

Rivi: CUMBAMBA.

Al: MONTECO, DIEGO ESCOBAR.

OSCAR MARIO.

Rivi: JAIME BRAVO.

Al: THEY WERE MAINLY ENFORCERS- SLASH-HIT MEN.

THIS IS HOW THEY MADE A LIVING.

SOME PEOPLE ARE PHARMACISTS,

AND OTHERS ARE GARBAGE MEN AND THESE ARE KILLERS.

AND THAT'S ALL THAT THEY DID.

Al: AND CHUCHO CASTRO WAS HER CHIEF ENFORCER.

Rivi: TO ME HE WAS ONE OF THE BEST ENFORCERS

THAT GRISELDA EVER HAD.

I MEAN, HE'S A LEGEND. HE ALWAYS GOT HIS MAN.

OSVALDO, GRISELDA'S SON. BACK THEN HE WAS 15.

HE WANTED TO LIVE FAST.

I MEAN, HE WAS CARRYING GUNS AND STUFF,

HE WAS DEALING 300 AND 400 KILOS OF COCAINE A MONTH.

Bob: THIS WAS ALL ORCHESTRATED BY THE MOTHER.

HE WANTED TO LOOK LIKE DON CORLEONE, YOU KNOW,

AND ACT LIKE HIM, AND HE DID.

COCKY ATTITUDE, BECAUSE OF HIS MOM. HE WAS A SMART ASS.

HE WAS IN THE FACES NIGHTCLUB IN COCONUT GROVE

WITH HIS BUDDIES AND HIS GIRLFRIEND AND ALL.

CHUCHO LIVED NEAR THERE.

SO OSVALDO, HE FIGURED, "WELL, I'LL GO CAMP OVER HERE

"AT CHUCHO'S HOUSE."

HE DROVE HIS CAR RIGHT TO THE FRONT LAWN,

ALMOST TO THE FRONT DOOR, SKIDDING THE TIRES AND...

MAKING A WHOLE BUNCH OF NOISE. SO CHUCHO CAME OUT.

SO HE TOLD HIM, YOU KNOW, TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HIS HOUSE.

SO HE SAID, "WELL, IF YOU DON'T LET ME SPEND THE NIGHT,

"I'LL TELL MY MOM." SO CHUCHO SAID,

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHO YOU TELL,

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR MOM,

"TELL YOUR MOM THAT I SAID TO FUCK HERSELF."

CHUCHO KICKED HIM IN THE ASS AND TOLD HIM,

"GET BACK IN THE CAR, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.

"TELL YOUR MOM THAT I KICKED YOUR ASS."

SO THE KID WENT BACK HOME AND TOLD HIS MOM.

AND THAT'S ONE THING ABOUT HER,

YOU COULDN'T TOUCH HER KIDS.

IT DIDN'T MATTER WHO IT WAS, THAT PERSON WOULD DIE.

THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMEBODY THAT DID SOMETHING WRONG.

WHETHER THEY DID OR NOT, THERE WAS A REASON FOR HER

TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THEM.

Rivi: I WAS CALLED THAT AFTERNOON TO HER HOUSE.

SHE SAID, "I NOTIFY HIM THAT WE AT WAR,

"THAT HE'S NO LONGER MY FRIEND, HE'S MY ENEMY.

"SO FROM THIS POINT ON IF YOU SEE HIM, SHOOT HIM."

RIVI AND HIS PEOPLE WERE DEPLOYED IN THIS AREA.

WELL, IT WASN'T GONNA BE EASY, 'CAUSE HE'S GOOD.

WE MAKE A MISTAKE, WE WON'T GET HIM

OR WE WERE GONNA GET KILLED BY THIS GUY.

RIVI, A DRIVER, AND A SECOND GUNMAN WITH A WHITE VAN.

I WAS GONNA BE THE SHOOTER, SO I GOT AN M16,

AND I JUST TOLD THE DRIVER, "WHEN YOU GET NEAR HIM,

"YOU KNOW, WINDOW TO WINDOW, LET ME KNOW

"AND I'LL FIRE THROUGH THE DOOR."

'CAUSE I KNEW IF I OPENED THE DOOR

WHILE WE WERE MOVING, HE WAS GONNA KNOW.

HE KNEW ALL THE TRICKS.

Al: CHUCHO OPENED UP THE GARAGE DOOR,

DROVE OUT OF HIS GARAGE ONTO 168 STREET

AND THEN DROVE WEST TOWARDS US 1.

Rivi: US 1, WHERE THE LIGHT WAS,

IT WAS ABOUT HALF A MILE AWAY.

SO WE HAD PLENTY OF TIME.

SOMEWHERE IN THIS AREA WOULD HAVE BEEN WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE,

YOU KNOW, CAUGHT UP WITH CHUCHO, GONE PARALLEL WITH HIM,

BOTH WESTBOUND, VAN TO THE LEFT, CHUCHO TO THE RIGHT.

AND I GRABBED THE MACHINE GUN AND I STARTED SHOOTING HIS TIRES

TRYING TO BLOW HIS TIRES OFF. HE LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR

AND HE ALMOST HIT A WALL BUT HE TOOK CONTROL.

HE CAME BACK ON THE ROAD THIS TIME.

Al: IT WAS ABOUT THE TIME THEY WERE APPROACHING US 1.

BY THAT TIME WE WERE REAL CLOSE TO THE RED LIGHT.

THERE WAS A GAS STATION ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE.

AS THEY APPROACH US 1,

CHUCHO THEN CUTS THROUGH THIS GAS STATION PARKING LOT,

THEY ARE AT REAL HIGH RATE OF SPEED, GOES NORTH ON US 1,

AND THAT'S WHERE HE LOSES THE GUY SHOOTING AT HIM.

WE LOOKED EVERYWHERE, WE DIDN'T SEE HIM.

SO WE JUST LEFT, AND SAID, YOU KNOW,

"WE FUCKED IT UP."

WELL, THE NEXT DAY GRISELDA CALLED ME

AND SHE SAYS, "HIS SON GOT KILLED,

"HIS SON WAS IN THE BACK OF THE CAR SLEEPING

"AND THE BULLETS WENT RIGHT THROUGH THE TRUNK OF THE CAR

"AND HIT HIM IN THE HEAD."

I SAID, "WE NEVER SAW HIM," 'CAUSE IF I WOULD HAVE SEEN HIM,

WE WOULD NEVER HAVE TOUCHED THAT CAR.

SHE SAYS, "HE TOLD ME TO TELL YOU

"THAT HE'S GONNA GET YOU CAUSE HE SAW YOU."

I SAID, "THAT'S FINE."

Al: CHUCHO WAS ACTUALLY A FUGITIVE, FEDERAL FUGITIVE,

HE WAS INVOLVED IN TRAFFICKING,

THERE WAS A WARRANT FOR HIS ARREST FROM D.E.A.

AND THAT WAS THE PRIMARY REASON HE WAS NOT GOING TO GET INVOLVED

WITH REPORTING THIS THING TO THE POLICE.

HE RETURNED BACK HOME, PUT THE BABY IN A BATHTUB,

PUT ICE AROUND THE BABY

SO THE BABY WOULD BE PRESERVED ALL EVENING.

HE AND HIS WIFE SPENT THE ENTIRE EVENING CRYING

WITH HIS BABY IN THE BATHTUB.

THE FOLLOWING DAY THEY CALLED THE POLICE

TO LET US KNOW WHERE TO FIND THE BODY.

THIS IS THE PHONE CALLS THAT JESUS MADE

TO THE COMPLAINT ROOM.

"PLEASE, I JUST LEFT THE BODY WITHOUT LIFE

"OF A BABY THEY KILLED YESTERDAY.

"EXCUSE ME, YESTERDAY SOME BANDITOS

"THAT WERE IN A WHITE VAN

"SHOOT ME WITH A MACHINE GUN

"AND THE BOY WAS SITTING AND THEY KILLED HIM

"AT 7TH AVENUE AND 53RD STREET.

"THE BODY OF THE BOY THEY KILLED YESTERDAY,

"THE BANDITOS."

THIS IS THE MOSQUE

WHERE THE BODY OF JOHNNIE CASTRO WAS PLACED.

CHUCHO WAS LOOKING FOR THE CHURCH

WHERE JOHNNIE CASTRO HAD BEEN CONFIRMED MONTHS EARLIER.

HE WAS UNABLE TO FIND THE CHURCH

AND THIS WAS THE BEST HE COULD DO,

HE FOUND THIS MOSQUE WHICH WAS IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE CHILD WAS WRAPPED IN A SHEET.

IN HIS HANDS WAS THREE ROSES.

A ROSE FOR EACH YEAR OF THE CHILD'S AGE,

AND I THINK A PASSPORT...

HERE IT IS.

HE KNEW THEY NEEDED A PASSPORT TO SHOW WHO HE WAS.

HE WAS BORN MARCH 10TH 1979

SO HE WAS ALMOST 3 YEARS OLD...

ALMOST 3 YEARS OLD.

WE REALIZED THAT IT WAS A COLOMBIAN CHILD

BECAUSE OF THE PASSPORT AND SO FORTH.

WE MADE CONTACT WITH SERGEANT SINGLETON,

CENTAC, AND HIS PEOPLE.

WE KNEW IT WAS GRISELDA BLANCO AND HER GROUP.

WE HAD GOTTEN THE NAME OF RIVERITA,

BUT NOTHING CONCRETE, YOU KNOW, NO PICTURE TO SAY

"OKAY, THIS IS WHO YOU'RE LOOKING FOR."

NOTHING LIKE THAT.

I CAN'T THINK OF ANY OTHER CASE WHERE THERE WAS A CHILD KILLED.

LITTLE JOHNNIE CASTRO

SHOT JUST BECAUSE HE HAPPENED TO BE SITTING

NEXT TO HIS FATHER WHO WAS COLOMBIAN AND A TARGET

OF SOME OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

I WAS A ROOKIE HOMICIDE DETECTIVE,

ONLY BEEN UP THERE LESS THAN A YEAR,

AND MY SON WAS ABOUT THE SAME AGE AT THAT TIME.

UH... PEOPLE ALWAYS ASKED ME, YOU KNOW,

"HAVE BODIES EVER BOTHERED YOU?"

AND NEVER, OTHER THAN THIS ONE CASE.

I MEAN THAT REALLY HIT ME, YOU KNOW, REAL HARD,

'CAUSE I HAD... I HAD KIDS THAT AGE.

INNOCENT, INNOCENT BABY, YOU KNOW.

GRISELDA, SHE SAID, "WELL, FUCK IT, YOU KNOW,

"AT LEAST WE GOT HIM."

I MEAN, SHE WASN'T SORRY ABOUT IT,

AND SHE WAS LIKE... LIKE, SHE DIDN'T GIVE SHIT.

Jon: EVEN THOUGH THE COLOMBIANS WERE WILD

IN THE WAY THEY DID THINGS,

SHE WOULD JUST DO IT EVEN IN A STUPID WAY.

BUT IT BOTHERED A LOT OF PEOPLE,

NOT JUST HERE IN THE UNITED STATES

IT BOTHERED PEOPLE IN COLOMBIA.

EVERYBODY WOULD TELL THEM THIS WOMAN'S OUT OF CONTROL

AND SHE'S GONNA RUIN EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS.

IT CAME BACK FROM THE OCHOAS, WORD TO HER,

THAT LET'S JUST GET WHOEVER'S INVOLVED

AND LET'S TRY TO AVOID KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.

AND THE ONLY THING THAT I REMEMBER

THE COLOMBIANS WANTED OF HER

WAS REALLY TO STAY OUT OF MIAMI AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

SO SHE GOT A LOT OF HEAT FROM THE OTHERS BUT SHE SAYS,

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK THEM ALL.

"I DO WHAT I WANT UP HERE."

"IF THEY DON'T LIKE IT THEY CAN COME AFTER ME TOO."

JUST LIKE THAT.

Jon: I WOULD HEAR CONVERSATIONS IN SPANISH WITH RAFA

'CAUSE I WAS SITTING IN HIS HOUSE,

"THAT MOTHERFUCKING GIRL!

"AGAIN SHE DID THIS TO ME! NOW WHAT AM I GONNA DO?"

AND I KNOW HE'D CALL DOWN THERE

AND HE'D ASK THE GUYS DOWN THERE,

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" AND SOMEHOW THIS GIRL

GOT A PASS EVERY TIME BECAUSE SHE SHOULD HAVE

BEEN DEAD A LONG TIME BEFORE HER TIME, A LONG TIME.

BACK TO WORK.

Al: RIVERITA...

HE BECAME GRISELDA'S MOST FAVORED ENFORCER.

SORT OF LIKE SECURITY.

LIKE I WAS LIKE THE HEAD OF SECURITY,

NOBODY KNEW WHERE SHE LIVED BUT ME.

MOST OF THE MEETINGS TOOK PLACE IN RAFA'S HOUSE, IN MAX'S HOUSE.

I MET MAX THE FIRST TIME AT HIS HOME AS MATTER OF FACT.

I WENT THERE WITH GRISELDA.

FROM THAT POINT ON, I NEVER LIKED HIM.

I USED TO TELL GRISELDA, I SAID, "DON'T TRUST THIS MOTHERFUCKER,

I DON'T TRUST HIM." AND I SAID, "LISTEN,

"IF YOU DON'T STAY AWAY FROM THIS GUY, HE'S GONNA

"PUT YOU IN PRISON.

"THE NEXT TIME I RUN INTO HIM I'M GONNA SHOOT HIM."

BUT HE WOULD RUN AND TELL RAFA

AND THEY WOULD COME BACK WITH THE MEN AND MAKE SURE

NOTHING HAPPENS TO MAX, YOU KNOW,

"TAKE CARE OF MAX, MAX IS MY COMPADRE."

I SAID, "FUCK MAX, I'M GONNA SHOOT THAT MOTHERFUCKER."

AND HE SAID, "YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME?"

I SAID, "NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT I WILL LATER."

I MEAN, YOU HAD TO RESPECT HIM BECAUSE THE GUY CAME IN

WITH LIKE TOUGH TALK, GUNS, AND ALL THESE PEOPLE WITH HIM.

YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A GUY,

ANYBODY COMING IN ANYWHERE WITH AN ENTOURAGE,

YOU GO, "THIS GUY IS SOMEBODY."

I DIDN'T ROLL ALL FLASHY AND STUFF LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW,

I HAD MY HOUSE IN MIAMI AT PALM BEACH,

I HAD A HOUSE IN SAN AGUSTÍN AND TWO HOUSES IN CHICAGO.

MY CARS, I HAD PLENTY OF CARS.

I'D BUY THEM FOR MY GIRLFRIENDS TOO.

MY WIFE, A COUPLE OF GIRLFRIENDS.

THE LIFE, YOU GOTTA HAVE... YOU GOTTA KEEP A COUPLE.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS WHAT I WANTED, WHAT I LIKE,

I SAW ON THE STREET I BOUGHT IT.

YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE PRICE.

I DON'T KNOW, SHOW BUSINESS KIND OF...

THAT TYPE OF THING.

Bob: A HANDSOME GUY, HE SPOKE ENGLISH,

HAD A LOT CHARISMA.

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT SHE LIKED ME SO MUCH.

I GREW UP IN THIS COUNTRY.

I JUST DIDN'T COME ACROSS THE WATER

AND I STARTED... AND PUT ME ON THE STREET.

ALTHOUGH HE WAS AS BAD AND PROBABLY KILLED MORE THAN...

THAN ANY OF THE OTHER ONES.

I CAME FROM A GOOD FAMILY BUT I GREW UP ON THE STREETS,

IN CHICAGO.

I WAS A BAD BOY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

A STONE-COLD KILLER.

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I DIDN'T LIKE THE GUY VERY MUCH

BECAUSE HE USED TO BRAG TO ME ABOUT--

LIKE PEOPLE THAT HE HAD KILLED AND THAT SORT OF THING.

ONE TIME I ROLLED MY WINDOW DOWN AND I SHOT HIM WITH A MAC-11

ON THE FACE.

I DON'T WANNA HEAR "OH, HE KILLED THIS GUY

"HERE, THERE," IT WAS LIKE...

AND I'LL KILL ANYONE IN THE UNITED STATES,

OR ANYWHERE IN EUROPE, ANYWHERE THEY SEND ME, I'LL DO IT.

I DON'T WANNA HEAR ABOUT IT. BRAGGING ABOUT STUFF.

AS FAR AS WORKING ON US SOIL, I WAS THE BEST.

IT WAS UNNERVING IN A WAY, YOU KNOW,

BECAUSE HE WAS KINDA AN ENFORCER FOR THIS WOMAN

OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER HE WAS.

AND HE WAS THE GUY DURING THE YEARS

OF '82 TO '84 THAT SHE USED

BASICALLY EXCLUSIVELY TO DO HER KILLINGS.

Rivi: MY REPUTATION WAS

THAT ONCE I WENT AFTER YOU, I WILL GET YOU.

IF YOU RUN, I'M GONNA CATCH YOU.

IF THERE WAS A DRUG DEBT TO BE COLLECTED,

HE WAS SENT TO COLLECT IT.

A LOT OF HER CUSTOMERS SAID THAT THEY WERE LATE,

AND SHE SAID, "WELL, IF YOU'RE NOT HERE TOMORROW,

"I'LL SEND RIVI AFTER YOU."

"OH, NO, NO, DON'T SEND HIM."

ALFREDO LORENZO WAS A DRUG CUSTOMER OF GRISELDA BLANCO.

Rivi: GRISELDA ORDERED ME TO DELIVER

5 KILOS OF COCAINE TO THEM.

BACK THEN IT WAS $50,000 EACH, IT WAS $250 AN OUNCE.

HE HAD BEEN GIVEN COCAINE ON CONSIGNMENT.

THAT WAS THE WAY GRISELDA DID IT,

SHE SAID, "HOW MANY DAYS DO YOU NEED TO PAY ME BACK?"

"ONE WEEK." "OKAY, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU TWO WEEKS."

"WHEN THOSE TWO WEEKS WERE UP, SHE DIDN'T WANT THE MONEY,

"SHE WANTED THE PERSON'S LIFE."

RIVI WAS SENT TO COLLECT THE DEBT.

I WENT TO HIS HOUSE, YOU KNOW, TO PICK UP THE MONEY,

AH, YOU KNOW, EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES,

AND HE SAYS, "TELL HER TO GIVE ME MORE CREDIT

"AND I'LL COME UP WITH THE MONEY."

I DIDN'T SAY NOTHING TO HIM. I JUST FELT SORRY FOR HIM.

RIVI REALIZED THAT LORENZO WAS GIVING HIM

A LOT OF BULLSHIT, BASICALLY.

AND HE REPORTED THAT BACK TO GRISELDA.

SHE SAYS, "WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO."

WELL, THEN HIS FATE WAS SEALED.

WITH GRISELDA, YOU DIDN'T PAY, YOU DIE.

EVEN THE MAFIA WOULD HAVE SOME KIND OF CODE OF HONOR.

THE ITALIANS WOULD THINK AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT

HOW AM I GONNA GET MY MONEY BACK?

AND MAYBE AFTER I GOT MY MONEY THEY WOULD BEAT HIM TO A PULP

BUT HE WAS FINE, THREE WEEKS LATER HE'D HEAL.

AS THE COLOMBIANS CAME IN, THERE WAS NO BEATING PEOPLE UP.

YOU KNOW, THE HOT-BLOODED LATINS,

THEY DON'T THINK FIRST.

THEY ACT FIRST AND THEN THEY THINK AFTERWARDS.

EVEN THOUGH THEY MIGHT KILL THE WHOLE FAMILY,

THEN THEY'D THINK TO THEMSELVES

"OH, MY GOD, I SCREWED MYSELF OUT OF MY...

"HOW AM I GONNA GET MY MONEY?"

WHEN IT'S TOO LATE TO ACTUALLY GET THE MONEY.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY, JUST TO PROVE A POINT,

"DON'T RIP ME OFF, DON'T FUCK WITH ME,

"'CAUSE I'LL KILL YOU OR SEND SOMEBODY AFTER YOU."

SHE SAID, "KILL THEM." AND HE DID.

Rivi: MIGUEL GOT ON MY RIGHT, AND OSCAR MURILLO, ÑATO,

HE GETS ON THE LEFT, AND I KNOCK ON THE DOOR.

ALFREDO OPENED THE DOOR,

AS SOON AS HE OPENED THE DOOR, I PUT A GUN TO HIS RIBS,

I SIGNAL HIM TO BE QUIET.

I ASKED HIM WHERE HIS WIFE AT.

HE SAID, "SHE'S IN THE KITCHEN COOKING."

SO I WENT AND GOT HER AND SHE SAYS,

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA GO ON,

"THE ONLY THING I'M ASKING FROM YOU IS DON'T HURT MY KIDS."

Al: THREE CHILDREN, TWO DAUGHTERS, ONE SON.

THE DAUGHTERS' AGES I BELIEVE ARE 6 AND 4.

AND I THINK THE SON WAS LIKE A BABY.

Rivi: I SAID "NO, I'M NOT GONNA HURT YOUR KIDS."

GRISELDA, SHE GAVE ME THE ORDERS TO KILL THEM.

I FIGURED I WAS JUST GONNA DO HIM.

I WAS TALKING TO HER, I HEARD TWO SHOTS,

A COUPLE-- [BANG, BANG] I KNEW WHAT WAS UP.

MIGUEL HAD SHOT ALFREDO.

SO I TOLD OSCAR, I SAID, "WATCH HER, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK."

I WENT TO THE NEXT ROOM.

AND I TALKED TO MIGUEL, I SAID, "DONE?"

AND HE SAYS, "DONE."

WHILE WE WERE TALKING, I HEARD THIS SCREAM

AND THEN I HEAR A MACHINE GUN GO OFF.

[SCREAMING, GUNFIRE]

SO I WENT BACK TO THE ROOM

AND HE SAID, "SHE TRIED TO JUMP ME."

SO OSCAR FIRED, SHE WAS SHOT ABOUT 10, 15 TIMES IN THE CHEST,

AND SHE WAS STILL ALIVE, SHE WAS MAKING THESE...

WEIRD NOISES, AND BLOOD'S COMING OUT OF HER MOUTH,

SHE'S DYING. SO I GRABBED MIGUEL'S GUN.

IT WAS A .380 WITH A SILENCER AND I SHOT HER...

TWICE BEHIND THE HEAD, PUT HER OUT OF HER MISERY.

I THOUGHT, "LET'S GET, YOU KNOW, LET'S GET OUT OF HERE."

BUT MIGUEL TELLS ME, "NO, GRISELDA TOLD ME

"TO KILL EVERYBODY IN THE HOUSE."

I SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

"IT'S ONLY THE KIDS LEFT."

HE SAYS, "NO, I'M GONNA KILL THE KIDS."

I SAID, "NO, YOU'RE NOT."

HE'S TELLING ME, "SHE TOLD ME

THAT SHE WOULD PAY ME EXTRA FOR THEM,

"SO I'M GONNA MAKE THE MONEY."

I SAID, "YOU'RE NOT GONNA KILL THOSE KIDS."

WELL, HE'S WALKING TOWARDS THE KIDS.

SO I PULLED MY GUN OUT, AND I TOLD HIM

TO LEAVE THE GODDAMN HOUSE.

SO MIGUEL GOT REAL MAD, "WE GOTTA GET THAT LITTLE GIRL."

I SAID, "NO, NO. THIS IS IT.

"IT'S TIME TO GO, GET OUT OF HERE."

I HAD TO GET THEM OUT OF THERE AT GUNPOINT.

Man: ALFREDO AND GRISELDA LORENZO

WERE FOUND SHOT AND KILLED

IN JUNE OF 1982 IN THEIR HOME.

IT WAS A MODEST HOME IN THE RHODES SECTION OF MIAMI.

BACK IN 1982 I HAD JUST RECENTLY GONE TO THE CENTAC SQUAD,

RECEIVED A CALL FROM NELSON ANDREW,

WHO WAS A DETECTIVE--HOMICIDE DETECTIVE IN THE CITY OF MIAMI.

THE BODIES WERE IN SEPARATE ROOMS OF THE HOUSE

AND WHOEVER COMMITTED THE HOMICIDE

LEFT THE CHILDREN RIGHT INSIDE THE HOUSE

WITH THE DEAD PARENTS. THEY ACTUALLY FOUND

THE TWO DAUGHTERS AND THE SON

PLAYING WITH THE BLOODY, DEAD BODY OF THEIR MOTHER

INSIDE THE HOUSE.

Rivi: WE GOT PAID, SO I EXPLAINED TO HER,

I TOLD HER, I SAID, "WE DIDN'T DO THE KIDS."

SHE GOT PISSED, SHE SAYS, "THE ORDER WAS TO KILL EVERYBODY."

I MEAN, WHEN SHE SAID EVERYBODY IT MEANS EVERYBODY.

I SAID, "YOU KNOW, I MADE THE DECISION

"TO LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE." "WHY?"

I SAID, "THEY JUST BABIES."

BUT AFTER JOHNNIE CASTRO, YOU KNOW,

WHEN THE BABY GOT KILLED,

I GUESS SHE GOT USED TO IT AFTER THAT.

YOU KNOW, KILLING KIDS.

SHE LIKED TO BE AT WAR.

EVERY DAY SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT IT,

WE GOTTA GET SO AND SO, WE GOTTA GET SO AND SO,

WE GOTTA GET RID OF HIM.

IT WAS JUST...IT WAS SOMETHING THAT SHE ENJOYED.

SHE WENT TO WAR WITH PACO MEJIA, HE USED TO BE

AN ENFORCER FOR GRISELDA YEARS BACK.

APPARENTLY, HE RIPPED HER OFF AND HE WENT ON HIS OWN.

AND HE DECLARED WAR ON GRISELDA.

Reporter: HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS LEARNED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO

THAT A BIG SHIPMENT OF COCAINE WORTH SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS

FROM COLOMBIA NEVER ARRIVED HERE.

POLICE SAY IT WAS HEADED TO NEW YORK CITY.

AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT SHE DIDN'T FORGET OR FORGIVE.

SO I GO TO NEW YORK TO KILL EVERYBODY

THAT WAS WORKING FOR PACO MEJIA, ALL HIS CREW.

BROKE ALL THEIR RULES THERE TOO.

THE WORDS THAT THE PERSON THAT I SPOKE TO WAS

"THERE IS GONNA BE A BLOODBATH."

FROM THE STASHERS TO THE HITMEN, 11 PEOPLE, THEY ALL GOT KILLED.

11 PEOPLE. HMPH. IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS.

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 12, BUT I LET ONE GO.

Man: HOMICIDE DETECTIVES ARE NOW CONTACTING NEW YORK POLICE

TO INVESTIGATE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ANY DRUG HITS

IN THE NEW YORK AREA AND THE RECENT DRUG ASSASSINATIONS

HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.

THEY WENT TO WAR.

WELL, GRISELDA TOOK THE FIRST STEP.

Al: WE ARE NOW AT THE MALL OF THE AMERICAS

WHICH BACK IN 1981 WAS CALLED THE PAN-AMERICAN MALL.

SO WHEN WE GET TO THE MALL, I SET UP ALL THE CARS

WHERE WE WANTED THEM AT.

Al: THIS IS THE SCENE OF THE OCTAVIO MEJIA HOMICIDE,

HE WAS PACO'S FATHER.

BASICALLY, WHEN MEJIA LEFT THE SHOPPING MALL...

THEY AMBUSHED HIM.

AND HE WAS SHOT NUMEROUS TIMES BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT GUNMEN.

Rivi: A LOT OF PEOPLE WAS PISSED BECAUSE THEY CLAIMED THAT

HE WASN'T A PART OF THE WAR BETWEEN PACO AND GRISELDA.

SO MOST PEOPLE FLIPPED ON GRISELDA.

SHE CREATED MORE ENEMIES, BUT SHE DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT.

SHE LIKED THAT.

WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW, HIS SON WAS THERE, PACO.

HE WAS IN THE CAR WHEN HIS FATHER WENT IN THE MALL.

I WAS PISSED OFF 'CAUSE I MISSED HIM.

I'M GONNA GET HIM A DIFFERENT WAY.

SOMEBODY HAD TIPPED US OFF HE HAD A NEW HOUSE

IN KILLIAN PARKWAY. SO GRISELDA SAYS,

"YOU'RE NOT GONNA MISS THIS TIME, ARE YOU?"

AND I SAID, "NO, I'M GONNA BLOW THE WHOLE HOUSE UP."

SHE SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

I SAID, "I'M GONNA PUT A BOMB, KILL EVERYBODY."

AND I GOT ABOUT 200 STICKS OF DYNAMITE.

THAT GODDAMN EXPLOSION WAS SO LOUD.

[BOOM]

THAT FIRST THING THAT WENT WAS THE ROOF COME OUT OF THE HOUSE.

THE HOUSE CAME APART.

THE NEIGHBORS ALWAYS WONDERED

WHAT BUSTED THE CARS AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

ALL THE WINDOWS WERE BUSTED.

I JUST WANT TO GET TO THE GOOD NEWS

THAT THEY FOUND SOMEBODY IN THERE.

TURNS OUT, I MISSED AGAIN. THE HOUSE WAS EMPTY.

Al: THIS IS JUST ONE MORE, YOU KNOW, SKIRMISH

IN THE GRISELDA BLANCO-MEJIA, YOU KNOW, CONFLICT.

Rivi: TWO WEEKS LATER, THEY HAD JUST GOTTEN WORD

THAT PACO MEJIA WAS ON THE NEXT FLIGHT TO MIAMI

AND HE WAS BY HIMSELF. GRISELDA, SHE SAYS,

"WELL, WE'RE GONNA GET HIM AT THE AIRPORT.

"YOU ARE." SHE REACHED UNDER ONE OF THE TABLES AND STUFF

AND HANDS ME A BAYONET, 16-INCH BAYONET.

SHE SAID, "I WANT YOU TO KILL HIM WITH THIS."

SHE WANTED HIM STABBED TO DEATH.

I SAID, "WHAT'S THIS? WE CHANGED STYLES OR SOMETHING?"

THEY CALLED HIM THE PIG AND SHE WANTED HIM KILLED LIKE A PIG.

SHE OFFERED ME A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS,

SHE SAYS, "YEAH, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET HIM INSIDE."

I SAID, "NO, I WON'T GO INSIDE THE AIRPORT."

SHE SAYS, "WHY NOT?" I SAID, "NO, THAT'S A SUICIDE MISSION,

"I DON'T DO SUICIDE MISSIONS."

Al: MAX MERMELSTEIN AND RIVERITA

BOTH STRONGLY ADVISED AGAINST THIS BIZARRE HIT.

Rivi: I'M NOT GOING INTO THE AIRPORT

TO STAB THIS GUY TO DEATH 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA GO TO JAIL.

GOTTA GET SOMEONE ELSE, AND SHE SAYS, "OH, I GOT SOMEBODY ELSE."

I SAID "WHO?" AND SHE SAYS, "MIGUEL."

MIGUEL PEREZ, MIGUELITO.

Al: MIGUELITO WAS KIND OF LIKE RIVI WITH NO CLASS.

I MEAN, MIGUEL TOLD ME ONE DAY IF THE MONEY WAS RIGHT

HE WOULD WALK UP TO THE WHITE HOUSE

AND KILL THE PRESIDENT.

THIS IS A PICTURE THAT WAS TAKEN OF HIM

SHORTLY AFTER HE ARRIVED HERE

IN 1982 ON THE MARIEL BOATLIFT.

Al: HE WAS ONE OF THE SCARIEST GUYS I'VE EVER

REALLY ENCOUNTERED IN MY CAREER.

Rivi: THAT'S WHEN THEY GOT THE REPUTATION OF MARIELITOS,

FEARLESS MARIELITOS.

Al: HE WAS MORE PHYSICALLY INTIMIDATING,

HE WAS BIGGER THAN RIVI, STRONGER PHYSICALLY THAN RIVI.

HE'S THE KIND OF GUY THAT YOU'D LOOK AT

AND YOU'D THINK TO YOURSELF,

"THIS GUY COULD SNAP AT ANY MOMENT AND GO OFF

"AND PROBABLY JUST SNAP YOUR NECK."

Rivi: I TALKED TO MIGUEL AND HE WAS ALL FOR IT,

HE SAID "YEAH, I'M GONNA DO IT, THEY'RE GONNA GIVE ME

"$250,000 PLUS A HOUSE TO GET HIM INSIDE THE AIRPORT."

I TOLD HIM, "MIGUEL, IF YOU GO IN THERE

"I WILL BACK YOU UP."

BUT MIGUELITO JUST SAYS "SCREW IT" AND HE WENT AND DID IT.

Rivi: "THE ONLY THING I'M GONNA DO FOR YOU,

"I'M GONNA SHOW YOU PACO WHEN I'M UP HERE."

Al: THEY KNEW WHAT FLIGHT HE WAS ON, WHEN HE WAS ARRIVING,

AND THEY WERE HERE WAITING FOR HIM.

Rivi: SO SURE ENOUGH, HERE COMES PACO,

THE LAST THING HE EXPECTED WAS A...

A NIGGER TO HIT HIM.

Edna: AND AS HE WALKED OUT FROM CUSTOMS

A MAN CAME UP WITH A BAYONET.

MIGUEL'S COMING FROM BEHIND HIM,

PUTS HIM, CHOKE HOLD, AND PICKS HIM UP

AND STARTS STABBING HIM.

WITH A BAYONET. SEVERAL TIMES.

I COUNTED 6 OR 7.

I MEAN EVERYBODY IN THE AIRPORT WAS LIKE,

WITH THEIR MOUTHS OPEN, LIKE THIS.

EVERYBODY WAS IN SHOCK, NOBODY WAS SAYING NOTHING.

DROPS IT ON THE FLOOR AND HE TAKES OFF RUNNING.

THAT'S WHEN EVERYBODY STARTED SCREAMING.

POLICE OF COURSE RAN TO THE AREA WHERE THIS PERSON WAS STABBED,

THEY POINTED OUT THE DIRECTION THAT MIGUEL HAD FLED IN

AND WITHIN MOMENTS, YOU KNOW, CAUGHT UP WITH HIM.

ONE OF THE OFFICERS TACKLES MIGUEL,

HE LANDS ABOUT 3 FEET AWAY FROM ME

AND MIGUEL'S LOOKING AT ME LIKE SAYING, HELP ME,

YOU KNOW, WITH HIS EYES.

THEN I JUST SHOOK MY HEAD AND I SAID, "UH-UH."

THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO.

THERE WAS POLICE OFFICERS COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION.

THEY TOOK HIM INTO CUSTODY AND WE JUST LEFT.

Al: THIS WAS REALLY OVER THE TOP BECAUSE THIS PLACE

EVEN BACK THEN PRETTY MUCH CRAWLS WITH POLICE.

THERE ARE POLICE ON EVERY CONCOURSE.

AND TO ATTEMPT SOMETHING LIKE THAT,

IT'S INSANE REALLY, AND OBVIOUSLY

IT TURNED OUT THAT WAY BECAUSE HE WAS CAUGHT.

BUT THAT'S THE KIND OF PERSON THAT MIGUELITO WAS,

HE DIDN'T CARE. HE HAD A JOB TO DO,

WHATEVER IT TAKES-- YOU GAVE HIM A GUY TO KILL

AND THAT'S WHAT HE DID.

BUT PACO SURVIVED THE STABBINGS

AND MIGUEL, HE WAS EVENTUALLY CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDER,

SENTENCED TO I BELIEVE 15 YEARS.

THAT'S THE LAST TIME I SAW MIGUEL.

Al: THAT WAS THE LAST OVERT ACT I KNOW OF

AS FAR AS THE MEJIA-GRISELDA BLANCO WAR.

GRISELDA BLANCO WAS THE CATALYST FOR THE RECOGNITION

BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

THAT MIAMI HAD A SERIOUS PROBLEM,

THAT WE WERE REALLY A DODGE CITY.

IT WAS OUT OF FUCKING CONTROL.

Al: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WHEN PEOPLE START GETTING SHOT

OR GETTING KILLED, A LOT OF HEAT COMES FROM IT.

YOU HAVE THIS GOOSE THAT KEPT LAYING GOLDEN EGGS.

WHY MESS IT UP?

Jon: AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENCE.

IT WASN'T BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SO MANY DRUGS COMING,

THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE AS TO HOW MANY DRUGS WERE COMING.

THEY STARTED FORMING SPECIAL GROUPS.

Reporter: A SPECIAL ANTI-NARCOTICS DETECTIVE SQUAD

KNOWN AS CENTAC 26.

I MEAN, I HAD GUYS CHASING ME I NEVER--

YOU KNOW, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU? I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW

WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE, YOU KNOW? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?

Reporter: PROSECUTORS EXPECT

MORE ARRESTS OF DRUG DEALERS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

REAGAN HAD BEEN ELECTED.

WE NEED TO GET THE PRESIDENT TO COME TO DADE COUNTY

TO TALK TO THE WIDOW OF A TAXICAB DRIVER

WHOSE HEAD HAS BEEN BLOWN AWAY.

Al: THE COCAINE WARS, THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE,

THE HOMICIDE RATE, THE COVER OF TIME, PARADISE LOST?,

LED TO ACTION.

VICE PRESIDENT BUSH'S TASKFORCE

ON VIOLENT CRIME IN SOUTH FLORIDA,

FLOODING MIAMI WITH FEDERAL AGENTS.

Man: IT IS A JOINT OPERATION WITH THE STATE PEOPLE,

LOCAL POLICE OFFICIALS, COASTGUARD, CUSTOMS.

SOUTH FLORIDA CANNOT BE A HAVEN FOR CRIMINALS,

FOR SOPHISTICATED AND ORGANIZED DRUG TRAFFICKERS,

FOR HIRED ASSASSINS.

FINALLY THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES

WAS WAKING UP TO IT, THAT IT WAS NOT A MIAMI PROBLEM,

IT WAS A NATIONAL PROBLEM.

THIS INITIATIVE WILL BRING TOGETHER ALL OUR RESOURCES

TO COMBAT THE MAJOR DRUG TRAFFIC AND THE CRIME PROBLEMS IN MIAMI.

I HAVE TODAY SENT A TELEGRAM TO THE PRESIDENT IMPLORING HIM

TO PUT HOMESTEAD AIR FORCE BASE

ON A WAR FOOTING TO INTERCEPT, STOP

AND SHOOT DOWN, IF NECESSARY,

DRUG-LADEN CLANDESTINE AIRCRAFT AND VESSELS

WHICH ARE TRYING TO SMUGGLE NARCOTICS INTO FLORIDA.

Man on radio: WE HAVE AN UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL

JUST WEST OF WEST END, GRAND BAHAMA.

CAN YOU SEND AN AIRCRAFT OUT TO VISUALLY ID HIM?

Man: I HAVE RECEIVED AUTHORIZATION

FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF COLOMBIA

TO FIRE INTO YOUR VESSEL.

Man: ROGER, 1-6-0, ALL RIGHT.

[INDISTINCT SHOUTING ON RADIO]

2nd man: PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP, STOP.

Man: TELL HIM TO STOP AND I WILL STOP.

3rd man: BEEN HIT. GOT SMOKE, GOT SMOKE!

Reporter: AND THE AGENTS SAY THEIR DOCKSIDE TESTS CONFIRM

THEY GOT A TONNE OF COCAINE WORTH $31 MILLION WHOLESALE,

A COOL BILLION ON THE STREET.

Man: THE AMOUNT OF DRUGS THAT WAS SEIZED IN THIS AREA

HAS GONE UP 2500%.

2nd man: THE NET WEIGHT APPEARS TO BE

SOMEWHERE AROUND 3700 POUNDS.

IT'S BY FAR THE LARGEST SEIZURE

EVER MADE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

IN FACT I WOULD SAY IT'S 4 TIMES THE LARGEST WE'VE EVER MADE.

Reporter: ARE YOU SAYING IT WILL NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE

TO SMUGGLE DRUGS INTO THE UNITED STATES?

NO, WE HAVEN'T SAID THAT.

Reporter: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

WHAT CLAIMS DO YOU MAKE?

IT'S BECOMING PROGRESSIVELY MORE DIFFICULT.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT MIAMI'S RUNAWAY CRIME RATE

HAS BEEN BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL,

BUT THERE IS NOW A FULL-SCALE COMMITMENT

ON THE PART OF CITIZENS, GOVERNMENT,

POLICE AND OUR COURTS

TO WAGE A BATTLE AGAINST THE CRIMINAL ENEMY.

[MAN SHOUTING IN SPANISH]

SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

AND IT REALLY WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END

OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS ERA.

Man: THE MURDER RATE HAS CERTAINLY COME DOWN SINCE 1980.

THERE'S BEEN LIKE A 50% DECREASE IN THE INNER CITY

AND ABOUT A 30% DECREASE IN THE SUBURBS.

Rivi: SO THERE WAS JUST TOO MUCH POLICE

AND A LOT OF HEAT ON TV,

SO I TOLD GRISELDA I SAID, "YOU KNOW,

"IT'S GETTING REAL HOT HERE,

"LET'S TAKE A VACATION SOMEWHERE."

SHE SAID, "YEAH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MOVING

"THE OPERATION TO CALIFORNIA. RIVI, ARE YOU GOING WITH ME?"

I'M DONE WITH THE KILLING, I GOT ENOUGH MONEY,

I'M GOING BACK TO CHICAGO.

NOW THAT WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, IN HINDSIGHT,

THAT SHE LEFT THE AREA BACK IN AROUND 1984,

CLEARLY THE HOMICIDE RATE WENT DOWN IN THAT TIME PERIOD.

Rivi: I WAS HAPPY TO LEAVE MIAMI

'CAUSE I KNEW ALL THIS HEAT THAT WAS AROUND ME, YOU KNOW,

AND SHE DIDN'T WANNA UNDERSTAND THIS.

FACED WITH THE FACT THAT THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION

HAD RELOCATED TO CALIFORNIA,

AND I'M A MIAMI AGENT,

I HAD TO CONVINCE MY SUPERIORS THAT IT WAS WORTHWHILE

FOR ME TO INVESTIGATE A CASE IN CALIFORNIA.

I KNEW IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME

BEFORE THEY CAME AFTER US.

YOU KNOW, I SAID, "IF I EVER GET HER,

"I'M GONNA GIVE HER A KISS ON THE CHEEK."

SO SHE WENT TO CALIFORNIA AND STARTED

HER BUSINESS OUT THERE.

RAFA DIDN'T WANNA REALLY SEND PRODUCT OUT THERE

SO SHE DECIDED TO BECOME FRIENDLY WITH MARTA

TO GET THE COCAINE.

Al: SHE WAS A RELATIVE OF THE OCHOAS.

Jon: "WELL, I DON'T NEED RAFA, I CAN GET EVERYTHING I WANT

"THIS WAY," AND SHE DID.

AND MAX SAYS TO ME "THERE ISN'T GONNA BE

"ANY COKE FOR A WHILE BECAUSE THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM HERE.

"GRISELDA'S DECIDED SHE DOESN'T WANNA PAY

"FOR LIKE 1500 KILOS OR SOMETHING."

AND I SAY, "WELL, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH US?"

"WELL, THE OCHOAS DON'T WANNA SEND ANYTHING

"UNTIL EVERYTHING IS STRAIGHTENED OUT."

SO GRISELDA SAYS, "I WANNA KILL THIS BITCH."

I SAID, "WHO WOULD THAT BE?" SHE SAYS, "THIS BITCH."

Jon: GRISELDA'S ANSWER WAS IF SHE KILLED MARTA

THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANY PROOF

WHETHER SHE GAVE THE MONEY TO MARTA

AND MARTA DIDN'T SEND THE MONEY TO HER FAMILY.

Rivi: I START TELLING GRISELDA,

I SAID "THIS IS DONE, YOUR BUSINESS GOES DOWN THE DRAIN.

"AIN'T NO PLACE FOR US TO HIDE, NOWHERE IN THE WORLD,

"THEY ARE GOING TO CHASE YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."

"NO, IT NEEDS TO BE DONE." AND I SAID,

"THIS DON'T NEED TO BE DONE."

THAT WAS HER OUT-- "I'M JUST GONNA KILL MARTA

"AND THEN I'M GONNA SAY I GAVE HER THE MONEY

"AND THIS WAY THEY CAN COME TO ME,

"'I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY IS, I GAVE IT TO HER.'"

I TOLD HER, "GRISELDA," I SAID, "WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?"

SHE SAID, "JUST KILL HER."

AS SOON AS SHE WALKED IN AND SHE SAW GRISELDA,

SHE SHIT ON HERSELF.

SHE SAID, "MADRINA, GODMOTHER, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU?"

GRISELDA SAYS, "NOTHING."

SHE WAS KIDNAPPED AND THEN MURDERED AND FOUND...

ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD.

OBVIOUSLY SHE WAS BLOOD MARKED, YOU COULDN'T KILL MARTA.

THAT'S WHEN ANOTHER WAR STARTED.

AND THIS IS WHAT ALL BLEW UP IN HER FACE.

Rivi: EVERYBODY TURNED ON HER.

RAFA, WHO WAS HER BEST FRIEND, FLIPPED ON HER.

Jon: AND I REMEMBER RAFA AND EVERYBODY...

EVERYBODY FROM THE CARTEL,

DECIDING, "WELL, I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO KILL THIS WOMAN."

THERE WAS A PRICE ON GRISELDA'S HEAD.

THEY TOLD HER, "WHENEVER WE SEE YOU,

"WE'RE GOING AFTER YOU."

MAX GETTING IN TROUBLE,

THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END.

HE KNEW HE A HAD A PROBLEM.

HE SHOULDN'T HAVE SMOKED IT, BUT HE DID.

HE DIDN'T THINK IT WAS COMING TO HIM.

MAX CALLS ME UP, HE SAYS, "I THINK I GOT SOME HEAT,

"I'M GETTING IN MY CAR AND I'M GOING FOR A RIDE,

"YOU STAY ON THE CELL PHONE WITH ME."

"OKAY, MAX, I'LL STAY ON THE PHONE WITH YOU."

SO MAX GETS IN HIS CAR AND DRIVES OUT.

HE GETS OUT OF HIS DRIVEWAY, HE SAYS,

"UH-OH, THEY'RE COMING FROM EVERY DIRECTION."

I KNEW I WAS UNDER SURVEILLANCE.

THE MARKED CARS BLOCKED OFF MY PATH

AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW, I HAD 40 GUNS POINTING AT ME.

Jon: END OF THE CONVERSATION.

Mickey: AND THEY ARRESTED HIM, THAT WAS THE LAST WE SAW OF MAX.

Jon: I GOT LIKE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

BURIED IN GARBAGE BAGS IN MY LAWN.

THAT NIGHT, I'M OUT THERE WITH A FLASHLIGHT

DIGGING UP BAGS OF MONEY 'CAUSE I'M AFRAID THEY'RE COMING.

AND I LIVED ON THE EVERGLADES--

I JUMPED INTO A CANOE I HAD WITH LIKE--

I'M NOT EXACTLY-- $6 MILLION TO $8 MILLION,

THREW IT IN THE CANOE, PADDLED TO THE OTHER SIDE

AND BURIED IN THE EVERGLADES

THINKING THEY'RE COMING TO MY HOUSE.

NOBODY CAME, NOTHING HAPPENED.

NOBODY THOUGHT THERE WAS GONNA BE ANY PROBLEM.

MICKEY AND EVERYBODY SAID,

"WELL, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY PROBLEMS WITH

"THE LAST PLANE THAT LANDED,

"YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE FINE."

I SAID, "OKAY, WELL, THEN LET'S JUST KEEP GOING

"UNTIL WE FIND OUT."

JON SAID THERE WAS NO REASON TO BE WORRIED.

WE THOUGHT JON WAS SO SMART.

Jon: I REMEMBER SEPTEMBER 20TH,

FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT I COULDN'T SLEEP.

AT THAT PARTICULAR NIGHT I WAS WORKING

WITH MICKEY AND HIS CREW.

AND BECAUSE I COULDN'T SLEEP, I DECIDED THAT I WOULD GO

TO A RADIO ROOM THAT WE HAD SET UP

HERE IN MIAMI TO MONITOR THE INCOMING PLANES.

IT WAS THE REGULAR TRIPS, THE ONLY THING THAT WAS UNUSUAL,

AND IT SHOULD HAVE GIVEN IT AWAY,

IT WAS REAL QUIET ON THE RADIO,

'CAUSE THEY KNOW THAT WE LISTENED TO EVERYTHING.

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I LOOKED AROUND WHEN I DROVE OFF

BECAUSE I WAS STILL PARANOID FROM MAX

AND I SAW NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL.

UM...EVERYTHING WENT AS USUAL.

Jon: THE PLANE LANDED, I SAID, "OH, MAN, ANOTHER GOOD TRIP.

"I'M GOING HOME, I FEEL GREAT."

Mickey: AND AS SOON AS THE AIRPLANE LANDED

AND WENT IN THE BARN,

THEY SHOWED UP IN HELICOPTERS AND ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE

JUMPED OUT WITH GUNS EVERYWHERE.

Man: STEP DOWN SLOWLY, KEEP YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!

HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!

Jon: I HEARD A NOISE,

IT WAS LIKE THE PLACE WAS HIT WITH LIGHTNING OR THUNDER.

AND THE GUYS THAT WERE IN THE AIRPLANE, THEY ALL RAN.

Jon: AND THEY JUST DROVE THIS TRUCK

PROBABLY 60 MILES AN HOUR THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR.

IT WAS A SIMULTANEOUS BUST, TAMPA WITH MIAMI.

THEY CAME IN THERE ALL IN BLACK

AND WITH THESE NIGHT GOGGLES AND MASKS

AND IT WAS LIKE, I SAID, "WHAT AM I, BACK IN VIETNAM?

"YOU KNOW, THIS IS NUTS."

I WENT OUT THE BACK DOOR.

"WHAT, AM I GONNA SHOOT IT OUT WITH YOU GUYS?"

HAD A SMALL CONFRONTATION WITH ONE OF THE GUYS...

"GET ON THE FLOOR AND SHUT UP!" "YEAH, ALL RIGHT."

AND THEY LOOKED AT ME AT FIRST,

AND I'LL NEVER FORGET, "ROBERTS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

AND I SAID "I GUESS I FUCKED UP, HUH?"

AND HE SAID, "YOU FUCKED UP, MAN.

"WE WOULD HAVE COME TO YOUR HOUSE LATER,

"BUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING YOU MADE IT EASY FOR US."

"I COULDN'T SLEEP, MAN." HE SAID, "WELL, IT'S TOO BAD."

AND WHEN I GOT DOWNTOWN, I HEARD ON THE RADIO,

"THERE'S SHOOTING! THERE'S GUNFIRE! BANG!

"THERE'S ALL KINDS OF WAR!" I SAID,

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? IS THIS INVOLVING ME?"

"THAT'S YOUR PLANE, THAT'S YOUR FARM UP THERE."

THERE'S GUNFIRE, THERE'S SHOOTING.

THEY WERE RUNNING ALL OVER, THEY WERE SHOOTING GUNS.

"YOUR FRIEND IS SHOOTING AT US." MY FRIEND, MICKEY.

Mickey: I TRIED TO RUN IN THE AIRPLANE.

MICKEY HAD A FLARE GUN, AND AROUND THE PLANE

THERE WERE GASOLINE TANKS WHICH WERE USED

TO REFUEL THE PLANE TO GET OUT OF THERE.

I PUSHED ONE OVER.

MICKEY WANTED TO ESCAPE,

SO HE SHOT THE FLARE GUN...

Mickey: SO I HIT THE SWAMP. I WATCHED THE SHOW ALL DAY LONG.

Jon: THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM, AND THEY WERE CHASING HIM

THROUGH THE WOODS ALL NIGHT.

THESE PEOPLE WENT NUTS.

Reporter: EARLY THIS MORNING, CUSTOMS AND FBI AGENTS

BEGAN A ROUND-UP OF 12 PEOPLE AUTHORITIES SAY

HELPED TRANSPORT NEARLY 20,000 POUNDS OF COCAINE

INTO THIS COUNTRY BY SEA AND BY AIR FROM COLOMBIA.

ONE OF THE MEN BEHIND THE SCHEME WAS FUGITIVE MICHAEL MUNDAY.

Man: THE MUNDAY ORGANIZATION TRANSPORTED COCAINE

FROM COLOMBIA

USING AIRCRAFT MAKING DIRECT FLIGHTS.

AN AIRCRAFT IN COMBINATION WITH SMALL BOATS.

THE AIRCRAFT DROPPED LOADS IN THE BAHAMAS.

IT WASN'T THEIR COCAINE AND THEY DIDN'T SELL

COCAINE ON THE STREETS, ALL THEY DID WAS TRANSPORT

FOR OTHER PEOPLE AND CHARGE A FEE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION.

BASICALLY, A CONTRACT SERVICE.

Man: MANY OF THOSE SHIPMENTS WERE ATTACHED TO A HIGHLY

SOPHISTICATED HOMING BEACON

THAT ALLOWED THE BAD GUYS TO FIND THEIR DRUGS

WHEN AUTHORITIES WERE NOT AROUND.

THIS TRANSMITS A RADIO SIGNAL

AS WELL AS HAVING INFRARED LIGHT

SO THEY CAN SEE IT AT NIGHT WITH GOGGLES.

SO THIS JUST SHOWS HOW SOPHISTICATED THEY WERE.

MAX MERMELSTEIN BECAME THE WITNESS

WHO WANTS TO TALK ABOUT, AMONG OTHER THINGS,

MURDERS IN MIAMI.

WE'RE GOING TO DEBRIEF THIS GUY...

AND QUITE FRANKLY, AT FIRST I DIDN'T BELIEVE

75% OF WHAT HE SAID, IT WAS JUST TOO OUTLANDISH.

MAX ROLLED.

HE ROLLED OVER ON ALL OF US.

AND STARTED COOPERATING WITH THEM IN JAIL.

I TOLD JON, HE DIDN'T BELIEVE, HE DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME.

I TOLD THEM FROM DAY ONE THAT MAX WAS WEAK

THAT HE WOULD SNITCH ON US LATER DOWN THE ROAD

AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY I WANNA KILL HIM SO BAD

BUT THEY WOULDN'T LET ME, YOU KNOW.

THE GOVERNMENT HAD NO IDEA,

AND, HONEST TO GOD, IF IT WASN'T FOR MAX MERMELSTEIN...

I DON'T THINK THEY WOULD HAVE EVER CAUGHT US.

AND FILLED IN THE GAPS.

THEY KNEW NOTHING OF WHERE THE FARM WAS,

THEY KNEW NOTHING OF OUR TRIPS,

THEY KNEW NOTHING. WE HAD BEEN WORKING FOR LIKE FIVE YEARS.

MAX WAS LIKE FAMILY.

Mickey: I NEVER FIGURED HE'D DO WHAT HE DID.

THEY CAME THE NEXT DAY

AND THEY BUSTED OUR GATE, AND SEIZED THE HOUSE.

WE WERE ABLE TO SEIZE PROPERTY IN THE VALUE OF $130,000,000

IN THE FLORIDA AREA.

Reporter: 35 PASO FINO BREEDING HORSES

AND 35 ACRES OF RANCHLAND IN MARION COUNTY, FLORIDA,

WAS ALSO CONFISCATED.

Toni: THIS IS FRONT-PAGE NEWSPAPER THE NEXT DAY,

AND EVERYBODY WAS ALL OVER ME.

I MEAN, PEOPLE WANTING TO KILL ME

BECAUSE THEY SAID JON OWED THEM MONEY,

PEOPLE THAT HAD HIS MONEY

CERTAINLY WEREN'T GIVING IT TO ME.

AND MAX MADE THE INDICTMENT AGAINST MICKEY AND ME.

WHEN I'M READING THE INDICTMENTS I'M ALSO JUST LIKE, HOLY SHIT.

I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT HE WAS

ACTUALLY WORKING WITH THE CARTEL.

I DIDN'T KNOW RAFA WAS IN THE CAR--

I DIDN'T KNOW ANY OF THIS. I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING

I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING. I'M JUST SAYING NOBODY REALIZED

THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT JON WAS INVOLVED IN.

YOU GET ON THE TRIP WHERE YOU ARE MAKING SO MUCH MONEY

THAT YOU ARE JUST SO POWERFUL

THAT NOTHING WAS GONNA-- IT WASN'T GONNA HAPPEN.

AND I REMEMBER THE DAY HE WAS, YOU KNOW, SITTING IN THE CHAIR

CRYING LIKE A BABY THAT HE HAD TO LEAVE

EVERYTHING HE LOVED AND...

I...I HAVE NOBODY TO BLAME BUT MYSELF, NOBODY.

TIME TO GO, YOU GOTTA GO.

Rivi: EVERY DAY I TALKED TO HER, AND SHE SAID, "NO,

"YOU KNOW, HE'S NOT A RAT."

I SAID, "HE'S WORKING FOR THE POLICE, THAT'S WHY

"I'M NOT NEAR YOU 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA GO TO JAIL

"BUT I AIN'T GOING WITH YOU." "OH, COME TO LOS ANGELES."

I SAID "NO, NO, I AM ALL RIGHT OVER HERE."

WE LOCATED A SMALL HOUSE THAT THEY HAD RENTED.

WE KNEW THAT SHE WAS IN THE RESIDENCE

SO WE FOUND HER, AND IN WE WENT.

I WENT UPSTAIRS AND FOUND HER SITTING IN BED

READING THE BIBLE, AND I JUST WALKED UP TO HER,

I OBVIOUSLY HAD MY WEAPON DRAWN.

SHE WAS PRETTY STARTLED.

YOU WOULD NEVER THINK THAT SHE WAS A VIOLENT, HOMICIDAL MANIAC.

Rivi: THEY ARRESTED HER AT HOME.

AND THEN I GAVE HER A LITTLE KISS ON HER CHEEK

AS I PROMISED I WOULD TO THE AGENTS

MANY, MANY MONTHS EARLIER.

Reporter: POLICE ARE SAYING SHE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR AS MANY AS 200 MURDERS--

THAT OVER A PERIOD OF MORE THAN A DECADE OF DRUG WARS.

TONIGHT, AN ARREST THAT COULD BRING DOWN

ONE OF SOUTH FLORIDA'S MOST INFAMOUS CRIME FIGURES.

Rivi: LATER THEY ARRESTED HER KIDS.

EVERYTHING CRUMBLED FOR REAL, YOU KNOW?

I'M JUST LOOKING NOW FOR MYSELF.

EVERYBODY IS IN PRISON EXCEPT ME

AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR ME NOW.

Al: ABOUT THE SAME TIME, HE AND HIS BROTHERS

ARE AT THE AIRPORT IN A STOLEN VEHICLE.

AND THEY GET STOPPED BY THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE,

RESIST ARREST, THEY GOT COCAINE ON THEM,

SO THEY ARE IN CUSTODY.

EVER SINCE THEN I'VE BEEN IN CUSTODY.

Burstyn: EVENTUALLY, THE DRUG MARKET WAS SERIOUSLY

DISMEMBERED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

A LOT OF THAT MONEY KIND OF DISAPPEARED,

AND AS DRUG MERCHANTS WERE BEING PROSECUTED,

CONVICTED AND IMPRISONED, A REMARKABLE THING HAPPENED.

THE BUSINESSES THAT THEY FREQUENTED AND SUPPORTED

STARTED DRYING UP AND CLOSING DOWN.

Reporter: THE SUNSHINE STATE BANK IS OUT OF BUSINESS.

SUNSHINE STATE ALLEGEDLY

WAS BOUGHT WITH LAUNDERED DRUG MONEY.

Burstyn: ALL THE NIGHTCLUBS DRIED UP,

CAR DEALERSHIPS STARTED TO GO BROKE,

UH...JEWELRY SHOPS.

THE REAL ESTATE BUYERS ARE DETERIORATING TREMENDOUSLY.

THEIR BUSINESSES AS SUCH

HAVE BEEN SUFFERING TREMENDOUSLY.

AND THAT COLLAPSE CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITY.

THE ECONOMY OF MIAMI WAS KEPT TOGETHER

BY SPECULATORS WHO HAD MADE A LOT OF MONEY IN THE DRUG TRADES.

IF YOU WERE A CAR DEALER WHOSE SALES WENT FROM

20 MILLION A YEAR TO 60 MILLION A YEAR

FOR TEN YEARS, YOU'VE GOT AN EXTRA

HALF A BILLION DOLLARS KICKING AROUND.

IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THERE

IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE HORRORS

OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS, ABSOLUTELY.

DRUGS DESTROY A COMMUNITY,

WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH STREET-LEVEL.

WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DRUG DEALING ON A LEVEL

WHERE MAJOR DRUG DEALERS

ARE LIVING HERE, VACATIONING HERE, BUYING HOMES,

LAUNDERING THEIR MONEY AND SO FORTH,

THAT PICKS UP THE ECONOMY OF A CITY OR A COMMUNITY.

AND A LOT OF THE MONEY SECRETLY DID GO INTO INFRASTRUCTURE.

Reporter: $2.3 BILLION WORTH OF CONSTRUCTION

IS CURRENTLY UNDER WAY IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI.

Burstyn: THE GENERAL CONSTRUCTION AND EVERYTHING

IN DOWNTOWN AND ON BRICKELL.

Reporter: DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OFFICIALS

SAY ANOTHER BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF CONSTRUCTION

WILL BE IN PROGRESS WITHIN THE NEXT 6 TO 8 MONTHS.

PHEW. IT BUILT HALF THE CITY.

IT BUILT THE HIGH-RISES, IT BUILT THE SCRAPES.

Reporter: THIS BUILDING BOOM THEY SAY

WILL LAST FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.

THE DRUG TRADE SAVED MIAMI IN A LOT OF WAYS.

IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SKYLINE, A LOT OF THIS REAL ESTATE

WAS BUILT OR BOUGHT OR PAID FOR WITH DRUG MONEY.

Reporter: THIS NEW CONSTRUCTION MEANS AT LEAST

25,000 ADDITIONAL JOBS AND AN ANNUAL PAYROLL IN THE MILLIONS.

THE NEW CONDOMINIUMS, OFFICE BUILDINGS, AND BANKS,

WILL ADD AN ADDITIONAL $20 MILLION

TO THE CITY OF MIAMI'S TAX BASE.

AS YOU HAD THE COCAINE COMING INTO MIAMI

AND AS YOU HAD THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

GOING INTO LATIN AMERICA, LEGITIMATE MIAMI

ALSO REALIZED WE'RE THE GATEWAY TO THE AMERICAS.

Burstyn: THE DRUG TRADE CERTAINLY PUT MIAMI ON THE MAP.

Reporter: NEWSWEEK HAS CALLED MIAMI AMERICA'S CASABLANCA.

WHAT A CONTRAST FROM 7 YEARS AGO.

ONE THING ABOUT THE HORRIBLE PUBLICITY,

THERE WAS A LOT OF IT. MIAMI WAS ON EVERYONE'S LIPS.

MIAMI. MIAMI.

MIAMI. TO MIAMI BEACH.

EVERYONE IN THE WORLD. PEOPLE SAID,

"YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO TO MIAMI,

"IS IT REALLY LIKE THIS? THE BEACHES I SEE

"AND THE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN AND THE NIGHTCLUBS."

Woman: IT'S CALLED CLUB 1235. IT'S THE PLACE WHERE

THAT BIG MIAMI VICE BASH WAS HELD SATURDAY NIGHT.

Burstyn: WE WERE ON TV EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT PRIMETIME

WITH MIAMI VICE.

THE STORYLINES WERE BASED ENTIRELY ON DRUG TRAFFICKING.

Reporter: MIAMI VICE MAY NOT ENHANCE THE CITY'S IMAGE

BUT IT'S DOING GREAT THINGS FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY.

Man: DON JOHNSON AND MIAMI VICE AND AL PACINO IN SCARFACE,

IT WAS ALLURING.

THIS IS MIAMI, THINGS ARE MORE RELAXED.

Edna: IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN MIAMI VICE CAME OUT

THEY WOULD FIND AN OLD DILAPIDATED OR ABANDONED HOTEL

OR A GAS STATION ON MIAMI BEACH,

THEY'D PUT IN NEON, THEY'D PAINT IT,

THEY'D FIX IT UP, THEY'D REHAB IT,

AND SHOOT THEIR SCENES THERE

AND LEAVE A REHABILITATED SITE BEHIND.

AND I THINK THEY MADE A LOT OF PEOPLE

SEE WHAT THE POSSIBILITIES WERE.

Burstyn: IN THE LATE '80S AND EARLY '90S

THE EUROPEAN MODELING INDUSTRY DISCOVERED SOUTH BEACH

AND OF COURSE AFTER THE MODELS

COME THE WEALTHY EUROPEAN VISITORS

WHO WERE CHASING THE MODELS.

AND WE ENDED UP GETTING THE GLITTERATI.

IT REMINDS ME OF GREENWICH VILLAGE 1965

BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENING AND IT'S NEW.

THEN THE PAPARAZZI TOOK IT FROM THERE

AND CREATED A PHENOMENON.

TOOK IT FROM THE PREDOMINANTLY SLEEPY VACATION SPOT

TO A THRIVING INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL OF THE AMERICAS.

AND THE WORLD AGAIN STARTED TO FLOCK TO MIAMI AND WE MADE IT.

Edna: I THINK WE COULD HAVE HAD A RENAISSANCE

WITHOUT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVING TO DIE FOR IT.

I COULD HAVE LIVED WITHOUT IT. AND SO COULD

A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE LIVED WITHOUT

THE ENORMOUS CONTRIBUTION OF MONEY TO THIS COMMUNITY.

THERE WAS TOO MUCH COLLATERAL DAMAGE.

I DON'T THINK THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS

WERE WORTH THE COST ON SOCIETY.

Edna: I STILL LOVE MIAMI, BUT I THINK I LOVE IT MORE

FOR WHAT IT WAS BEFORE THE COCAINE WARS,

I MEAN, AT WHAT PRICE A SKYLINE?

HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE FOR A SHINY SKYLINE?

IT WASN'T WORTH IT, TOO MANY PEOPLE DIED FOR IT.

Bob: BUT MIAMI HONESTLY COULDN'T BE WHERE IT IS NOW

WITHOUT HAVING TO GO THROUGH THE HORRORS

AND TRAGEDIES OF THE '70S AND '80S.

TODAY, PEOPLE KINDA GET A KICK OUT OF TALKING ABOUT

HOW THEY SURVIVED THE '70S AND '80S IN MIAMI.

Jon: I CAME BACK HERE 'CAUSE I HAD TO COME BACK HERE.

I HAD NO CHOICE.

AND WHEN I FIRST GOT OUT, I'LL NEVER FORGET,

I WENT TO THE HOTEL ON SOUTH BEACH,

IT WAS CALLED THE SURFCOMBER, AND THE FIRST MORNING

I WOKE UP, I REMEMBER GOING TO THE BEACH.

I WAS LAYING HERE AND HERE COMES THIS GIRL OUT OF THE WATER,

AND AS SHE'S WALKING OUT OF THE WATER,

I SEE SHE'S GOT NO TOP ON.

AND YOU GOTTA REALIZE,

I'M IN JAIL NOW 11 YEARS OR SOMETHING

AND I'M LOOKING AT THIS GIRL WITH NO TOP ON,

I'M SAYING, "MY GOD." I GOT SCARED.

I RAN BACK TO THE ROOM AND I WOULDN'T EVEN COME OUT

OF THE ROOM FOR LIKE A DAY, I WAS SO LIKE, "WHAT HAPPENED?

"THE WORLD HAS CHANGED HERE, YOU KNOW."

THIS CITY HAD GROWN SO MUCH IN THE 12 YEARS THAT I WAS GONE.

I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, TIMES CHANGE.

BACK THEN, WE JUST DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT.

MIAMI BACK THEN WAS AN OPEN TOWN,

IT WAS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

I MEAN, IF YOU TOLD ME YOU WANNA KILL SO AND SO,

ALL I ASK YOU IS JUST POINT HIM OUT TO ME

AND I WENT AND SHOT HIM.

NOW IT'S NOT OPEN ANYMORE,

YOU KNOW, IT'S A DIFFERENT TOWN.

THESE DAYS, I WOULDN'T DO IT.

I'D DO IT DIFFERENTLY, TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

IT'S A MUCH DIFFERENT CITY THAN I REMEMBER IT.

Jon: AND A LOT OF PEOPLE I KNOW, YOU KNOW,

THEY'RE NOT AROUND ANYMORE.

Rivi: MY FRIENDS, THAT WE GREW UP TOGETHER,

THEY'RE ALL DEAD. THEY GOT KILLED.

I WENT TO MIAMI, I PLEADED GUILTY TO THE TWO MURDERS.

A LIFE SENTENCE IN HIS CASE TO BE SERVED CONCURRENTLY.

I'VE BEEN HERE EVER SINCE.

Al: AS A RESULT OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN TO US BY RIVI

THERE WERE 14 DIFFERENT HOMICIDES

CLOSED ON GRISELDA BLANCO'S ORGANIZATION.

WHEN HE FLIPPED AND TOLD US CHAPTER AND VERSE

ABOUT ALL THESE DIFFERENT HOMICIDES

AND HOW SHE ORDERED THEM, THEN SHE WAS DONE.

SHE WAS ESSENTIALLY OUR JOHN GOTTI

AND RIVI WAS HER "SAMMY THE BULL" GRAVANO.

THE CASE AGAINST GRISELDA BLANCO

TURNED OUT TO BE LIKE A TOTAL DUD.

INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTING AND FRUSTRATING.

SHE ENDED UP PLEADING TO LIKE BASICALLY A WALK IN THE PARK.

THROUGH THE CRACKS, YEAH. I THOUGHT WE HAD HER.

I MEAN IT WAS SHAMEFUL, WHAT HAPPENED.

SO ONCE WE LOST RIVI, WE LOST THE CONNECTION

BETWEEN THE HIT GUYS AND GRISELDA.

RIVERITA CREATED THE CASE AND DESTROYED THE CASE.

BASICALLY TORPEDOED ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS THAT I CAN EVEN IMAGINE BEING DONE.

Bob: DURING THE COURSE OF HER REIGN OF TERROR, IF YOU WILL,

SHE MADE A LOT OF ENEMIES BOTH HERE AND IN COLOMBIA

AND THEY HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN,

AND THEY CERTAINLY HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN WITH RESPECT TO

UBER AND OSVALDO.

THE SAYING THAT LIVE BY THE SWORD

AND DIE BY THE SWORD IS VERY TRUE

IN THE BUSINESS THEY WERE IN.

AND IT'S LIKELY THAT IF SHE'S EVER RETURNED TO COLOMBIA,

THAT SHE'LL MEET THE SAME FATE.

Al: THERE IS CERTAINLY NOBODY MORE DESERVING OF

THE DEATH PENALTY THAN SHE IS.

SHE SHOULD BE ON DEATH ROW.

BUT, I TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT

AT LEAST UNTIL I RETIRE, SHE'LL STILL BE IN PRISON.

I CAN'T SAY FOR HOW MUCH LONGER,

BUT SHE WILL BE... STILL BE IN PRISON

AS LONG AS I'M A COP.

Rivi: WHEN I MOVED TO FLORIDA I WAS IN ORLANDO

IN DISNEY WORLD WITH MY KIDS, YOU KNOW,

I WAS TALKING TO THESE PEOPLE FROM GERMANY.

"OH, YOU'RE FROM MIAMI, OH, MY GOD."

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH MIAMI?"

"OH, MY GOD, THEY KILL PEOPLE THERE EVERY DAY.

"WE'RE WATCHING THE NEWS IN EUROPE."

AND I SAID, "YEAH, MAN, THEY DO, VERY DANGEROUS TOWN."

"OH, I'M NOT GOING THERE ON VACATION."

MY WIFE WAS JUST LOOKING AT ME LIKE...

IF YOU ONLY KNEW.

BUT THE THING I WANTED TO KNOW WAS

WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE MONEY.

Reporter: THE INVASION CAME BEFORE DAWN

WHEN US FIGHTER JETS

BOMBED GENERAL NORIEGA'S MILITARY HEADQUARTERS.

Man: HE UTILIZED HIS POSITION

TO SELL THE COUNTRY OF PANAMA TO THE TRAFFICKERS.

WHEN NORIEGA WENT DOWN

THROUGH THAT BANK IN PANAMA, WE LOST

ABOUT $140 MILLION BETWEEN MAX, MYSELF,

RAFA, OCHOAS, ESCOBAR, EVERYBODY TOOK A BIG CHUNK.

THAT'S HOW COME WE LOST SO MUCH.

'CAUSE I WAS IN JAIL AT THE TIME

AND THERE WAS NO WAY TO GET YOUR MONEY OUT.

AND THE GOVERNMENT SEIZED ALL THE MONEY IN THAT BANK.

THEY TOOK ALL MONEY.

WE WENT TO A MOVIE THEATER,

AND GOT IN LINE FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS TO GO AND SEE

SCARFACE, THE FAMOUS MOVIE SCARFACE,

MYSELF AND NINE OTHER GUYS, ALL TEN KILLERS.

MOVIE STARTED, YOU KNOW,

AND ALL THESE ATTEMPTS ON HIM,

THEY CAME, THEY BROUGHT TWO COLOMBIANS TO KILL HIM,

AND WE WERE JUST LAUGHING.

[LAUGHS] WE WOULD HAVE HAD HIM.

IF IT WAS TAKING PLACE IN REAL LIFE,

WE WOULD HAVE GOT HIM.

Reporter: ON FEBRUARY 3RD, 2006,

MIAMI ATTORNEY SAMUEL I. BURSTYN

PLED GUILTY TO OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CHARGES

AFTER BEING ARRESTED AT HIS

$4.8 MILLION HOME ON SUNSET ISLAND.

PROSECUTORS SAY HE ACTED AS HOUSE COUNSEL

FOR A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION

THAT IMPORTED AND DISTRIBUTED

COCAINE AND MARIJUANA.

BURSTYN, WHO IS FACING 20 YEARS IN PRISON

IF CONVICTED OF ALL CHARGES, WILL SERVE 42 MONTHS,

FORFEIT HIS LAW LICENSE AND GIVE UP NEARLY

$400,000 IN CASH AND ASSETS.

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