With a violent childhood and mantra of “smuggling, bribery and murder,” witness the beginnings of Pablo Escobar’s cocaine empire in Medellín in the 1970s, and how he expanded it exponentially by joining forces with other Colombian drug traffickers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Before becoming “El Patron” and trafficking 80% of the world’s cocaine market, Pablo Escobar was nothing more than a petty criminal on the streets of Medellin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
By 2013, the DEA, FBI, DOJ, and Homeland Security were all after Ross Ulbricht, aka "The Dread Pirate Roberts." His drug website, The Silk Road, trafficked millions worth of drugs every week. So far, Ulbricht remained anonymous, thanks to Tor and the cloak of the Dark Web. Little did he know, the users he thought were his friends were federal agents in disguise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In 2011, Ross Ulbricht created The Silk Road, aka "The Amazon of Drugs." Hosted on the dark web and financed by Bitcoin, it was an anonymous marketplace where anyone could buy or sell anything without leaving a trace. Drugs, guns, hacking software, human organs -- the free market utopia quickly made Ulbricht a millionaire. And made him a top target for the DEA. Sponsors! Bombas - Get 20% off your first purchase at Bombas.com/KINGPINS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...
Thank you for being a loyal listener! We’re excited to announce all Parcast Network episodes older than 6 months are now available for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After being able to hide on the lam for years, Howard Marks was finally caught and forced to answer for his crimes. However, a convincing lie about his supposed involvement with MI6 ensured Marks’ release and allowed him to continue smuggling cannabis well into the 1980s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
During the 1970s, Howard Marks became one of the biggest cannabis smugglers in Europe. Through a series of networks, which included contacts in the IRA and the Mafia, he was able to bring in upwards of 30 tons of cannabis into the UK and the United States. But after years of anonymity, a single bust in Las Vegas would put him on the DEA’s radar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mafia life came with plenty of rules, and Anthony Casso loved that. He was a criminal, but an honorable criminal, and his dedication to the Mafia lifestyle took him to the top of the Lucchese family hierarchy. In the mid 1990s, as he faced threats from inside and outside the family, the pressure got to him, and he started to make mistakes. He was taking his violence too far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthony Casso was born in Mafia territory in South Brooklyn, and the money-making, wily intelligence, and violence that the "the life" demanded came naturally to him. It was no surprise that he started to climb the ranks of the Lucchese Family as they hit the height of their power in the 1980s. Parcasters - Watergate forever changed the way Americans look at the presidency, but could there be more to the story? Find out today on Conspiracy Theories! Subscribe to Conspiracy Theories on Spotify to...
By the 1970s, the Black Tuna Gang, led by Robert Platshorn, was running the marijuana game out of Miami. But, as internal strife grew out of control and the feds closed in around them, Platshorn's life was headed for a downfall. Sponsors! Bombas - Visit Bombas.com/KINGPINS and get 20% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In the late 1960s, Robert Platshorn was one of the most successful independent salespeople in the country. When a colleague offers to bring him into the marijuana business, Bobby just couldn't resist. Soon, he's off to Columbia to start his own smuggling outfit - which would become known to the FBI as "The Black Tuna gang." Parcasters - When Darwin published his thesis on human evolution, it was highly contentious. When John Scopes introduced the theory into his lesson plan, criminal charges wer...
In 1984, Queenpin Jemeker Thompson lost her husband Daff, when he was shot to death while playing dice. She would successfully run her empire without him, but it would all come crashing down, thanks in part, to her own son. Sponsors! Native - For $20 off a suitcase, visit AwayTravel.com/KING and use promo code KING during checkout! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
In 1977, when she was only 15 years old, Jemeker Thompson entered the world of drug-dealing by dipping her toes into the weed business. And with the help of her boyfriend, Daff, she would expand into the cocaine business, and become one of the foremost narcotics distributors in Los Angeles at the time. Parcasters - This week on The Dark Side Of, we move on from Hollywood and start our exploration of the music industry. Our first episode details the myth of the 27 Club, you won't want to miss it!...
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love reached new heights after the proliferation of their potent LSD tablet "Orange Sunshine." They spread their psychedelic gospel far and wide, even attracting infamous drug advocate Timothy Leary to their ranks. But all of their success would bring on unwanted attention from none other than the federal government. Parcasters - Don’t miss all of our special Summer of ‘69 episodes by subscribing to Parcast Presents: Summer of ‘69, on Spotify, or anywhere you listen to...
Just before the Summer of Love, 22-year-old John Griggs discovered LSD and had an epiphany – he would serve as the Hippie Messiah and guide the world to psychedelic revolution. John set out to the beaches of Southern California where he founded a psychedelic cult and international drug ring, while blazing the trail for the recreational use of psychedelics at the height of the hippie era. Parcasters - Don’t miss all of our special Summer of ‘69 episodes by subscribing to Parcast Presents: Summer ...
1926, Al Capone has risen to become the sole leader of The Chicago Outfit, and one of the most feared men in the country. As his enemies fall one by one, finally the United States Government gets involved. Parcasters - This week on Conspiracy Theories, we wrap up our exploration of the mysterious Denver International Airport. You won’t want to miss these shocking episodes! Available now on Spotify or wherever you listen to Parcast Originals! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...
As Prohibition and unsustainable economic growth spread across America in the early 1920s, a new wave of organized crime rose to meet the growing demand for illegal liquor. Among the many young immigrants enticed by a life of crime was Alphonse Gabriel Capone, a smart and violent Italian-American who would soon become the most infamous gangster of all time. Sponsors! Pair of Thieves - Get 20% off your first order at PairOfThieves.com/KING. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...
In the dawn of the 1970s, Frank Matthews was at the top of his game. But growing attention from the FBI causes Frank to consider whether he should quit while he's still ahead. Or maybe, he could just... vanish. Parcasters - When conservation advocate Joy Adamson turned up dead, the authorities initially suspected one of her lions. Little did they know one of her disgruntled employees would be much more dangerous! Listen to her story on Assassinations, available now on Spotify or wherever you get...
Throughout the late 1960s, Frank Matthews rose from petty thievery in Durham, North Carolina to become one of the premier narcotics traffickers in New York City. But his mysterious life of luxury caught the attention of his neighbor - NYPD Detective Joe Kowalski. Parcasters - This week on The Dark Side Of we dig into the trial of Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, and the media frenzy that followed. You might think you know the story, but the truth is much darker! Available now on Spotify or wherever you ...
By 1983, Rick Ross had risen to become the reigning kingpin of South Central LA. But when made a deal with a new supplier named Danilo Blandon, he ended up getting into much more than he’d bargained for. Parcasters - Catch up on our most recent episode of Crimes of Passion, where we explore the Sutton-Taylor feud, a back and forth battle between former Confederate soldiers, and the lawmen tasked with bringing them to justice. Available now on Spotify, or wherever you listen to Parcast podcasts! ...
In the 1970s, cocaine was seen as a “rich man’s drug” - reserved for the wealthy elites in the Hollywood Hills. That is, until 1979, when 19-year-old Rick Ross found a way to market it to the masses in South Central LA. Parcasters - For more information on this don't miss our Conspiracy Theories episode on the Crack Epidemic! Available now at parcast.com/conspiracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As an endless sequence of cartel leaders rose and fell, El Azul, miraculously managed to keep himself alive and free. After nearly five decades in the drug trade, a string of indictments in the 2000s threatened to end his streak of luck. Parcasters - Colleen Stan was locked away by her captor for 7 years, her perseverance to live is unmatched. How did she get through the ordeal? Find out today on Hostage at parcast.com/hostage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From the late 1960s to the 2010s, the Mexican narcotics trade evolved from a Wild West of independent traffickers into a network of massive, highly-organized cartels. Only one man successfully weathered all five decades: Juan José Esparragoza Moreno. Sponsors! Pair of Thieves - Get 20% off your first order at PairOfThieves.com/KING. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
After instigating a war with the Italian Mafia while high on a cocktail of psychedelic drugs in the early 2000s, former stockbroker Shaun Attwood realized he was in over his head. Shaun's resulting incarceration led him to a mission of education and advocacy. Parcasters - On Espionage this week we cover one of the longest embedded spies in U.S. history, Larry Wu-tai Chin, who sent documents to the Chinese government for over 30 years! Available now at parcast.com/espionage Learn more about your ...
In 1996, this British-born stockbroker quit his day job trading stocks and switched his focus to trading ecstasy. Within a year, Shaun Attwood controlled the majority of the ecstasy market in the American Southwest. But his business sense and English charm couldn't protect him after a run-in with his enterprising rival. Parcasters - Just like criminal masterminds, emperors hold tremendous power and control. In Ancient Rome, the only way to get the seat was to take it! Check out Assassinations to...
Under his leadership, the Juarez Cartel became one of the most powerful narcotics enterprises in Mexico - but it also caught unwanted attention from authorities on both sides of the border. In 1997, the caution and creativity that launched the "Lord of the Skies" to success would also prove to be Amado Carillo Fuentes’ downfall. Sponsors! Pair of Thieves - Get 20% off your first order when you go to PairOfThieves.com/KING. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The nephew of one of Mexico's first major drug kingpins, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, learned the narcotics trade from the best and brightest. By the time he took control in Ciudad Juarez in the late '80s, he knew exactly what to do - and what not to do - to ensure his reign didn't come to a premature end. Parcasters - Criminal organizations are built on trust, but occasionally a mole will infiltrate the group. How do spies achieve this? Find out on Espionage! A new episode released today at parcast....
After a hit job gone awry in 1932, 23-year-old Vincent Coll found himself in the crosshairs of the New York Police - as well as several of the most powerful organized crime outfits. Instead of accepting an early retirement, he kept pushing his luck and stirring up trouble, even as nearly every crime group in the city wanted him dead. Parcasters - Check out our new show today! We cover the most intriguing exoneration and acquittal cases in Not Guilty, now available at parcast.com/notguilty Learn ...
When mobsters wanted a particularly ruthless job done in the 1920s and 30s, their go-to man was Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll. Vincent would kidnap or kill anyone, from Hell's Angels leader "Big Frenchy" DeMange to Broadway singer Rudy Vallee. Parcasters - Did you catch Unexplained Mysteries yesterday? You won’t want to miss the case of the disappearing genius, Physicist Ettore Majorana, a supposed time traveler! Available now at parcast.com/unexplained Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastch...
As Griselda's closest ranks of family and associates turn into a list of enemies and rivals, she flees from Miami to California to escape the heat. But even as the law started to close in on Griselda's operation in the mid-'80s, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Parcasters - You won’t want to miss our new show, Espionage! Subscribe today for the most incredible spy stories you have ever heard! Available now at parcast.com/espionage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...
