Kingpins

After a DEA investigation forced Griselda Blanco to flee New York City in 1975, she returned to her hometown of Medellin, Colombia to run her cocaine operation from the shadows. There, she met a protege who would soon become her deadliest rival: Pablo Escobar. Parcasters - The US government needed a way to turn public opinion in favor of conflict with Cuba during the Cold War. You know about the Bay of Pigs incident, but do you know about Operation Northwoods? Check it out now: parcast.com/conspiracy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The woman who would become one of Colombia's first major cocaine traffickers in the 1970s got her start as a criminal at age 11, kidnapping neighborhood children for ransom. This brand of ruthlessness and violence would become Griselda Blanco’s signature whenever she was crossed, even by her own husbands. Parcasters - Check out our new show, Survival! In our first episode we covered Shin Dong-hyuk’s escape from a North Korean internment camp. Available now at parcast.com/survival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the time this 70-year-old Afghan kingpin stood trial in 2012, Haji Bagcho had been moving drugs for nearly five decades and responsible for twenty percent of the entire world's heroin supply. He didn't climb to the top on his own: he had some help from both the CIA and the Taliban. Parcasters - Thank you so much for listening! Check out Extraterrestrial if you’re looking for a another perspective on things at parcast.com/extraterrestrial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Even while he was building his nationwide drug empire, Demetrius Flenory never gave up on his childhood dream of becoming a hip-hop artist and producer. After a shooting at an Atlanta nightclub in 2003, the law started closing in and his chances of going legit started slipping away. Parcasters - All caught up with Kingpins? Try out our new show, Crimes of Passion! Check it out: parcast.com/passion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Growing up in poverty in Detroit, brothers Demetrius and Terry Flenory started dealing drugs to keep the family afloat before they were even old enough to drive. In 1989, Demetrius moved to Atlanta to expand his cocaine empire nationwide. He became a fixture of the city's nightlife scene, catching the attention of rappers like Young Jeezy...and DEA agents like Jack Harvey. Parcasters - To learn about an iconic event in American history, check out our our new episode on John McCain on HOSTAGE, wherever you get your shows. Listen now at parcast.com/hostage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Colombia descended into chaos in the late 1980s, the Orejuela Brothers knew there was only one way to save the Cali Cartel from crumbling: get rid of Pablo Escobar for good. They didn't anticipate that by bringing down their rival, they'd only be setting the stage for their own inevitable fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Brothers infiltrated the streets of New York City and built the infrastructure for one of the United States’ largest cocaine rings in the 80s. Never getting caught by a local or federal enforcement officer, the Orejuela brothers thought they could continue their operation unscathed. However, more was happening behind-the-scenes than they ever knew.  Parcasters - Brotherly love brought the Cali Cartel to the heights of the drug running world, learn more about criminal siblings with our new show CRIMES OF PASSION. Listen now at parcast.com/passion Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the height of their power, Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela were bringing in one million dollars a week by smuggling cocaine into New York City. In the 1980s, a war broke out between the Cali Cartel and the Medellin Cartel. Officials struggled to track down the notorious kingpins. Parcasters - Be sure to check out our newest podcast Extraterrestrial! It’s out of this world!  Listen at parcast.com/extraterrestrial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The two brothers that made up half of the Cali Cartel in Colombia, Gilberto and Miguel Orejuela became the leaders of one of the world’s most successful cocaine cartels in the 1970s. Most of the cocaine in New York City at the time was delivered by this massive operation that stretched from Bolivia to Peru.  Parcasters - Be sure to check out Parcast’s newest show Extraterrestrial! Listen at  parcast.com/extraterrestrial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most powerful men in Chicago, Big Jim’s businesses ranged from brothels and opium dens to upscale dining. His political influence in the early 1900s helped shape the way American organized crime operated for decades to come. Nobody could take down Big Jim… but that doesn’t mean they didn’t try.  Parcasters - Take a trip from Chicago to New Hampshire and learn about the alien abduction of Barney and Betty Hill on our new show Extraterrestrial. Listen at parcast.com/extraterrestrial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He had come from nothing, and yet had risen to become Chicago’s most feared and respected crime lord. Everybody knew Diamond Jim, and not just for his jewelry and that flashy three-piece suit he always wore. By 1914, Jim Colosimo controlled more than a 100 businesses in Chicago’s Red Light District.  Parcasters - Once you’re finished with “Diamond Jim” you’ll want to learn about fate of Chicago native Alan Berg on this week’s episode of Assassinations. Listen now at parcast.com/assassinations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imprisoned in 1973 for drug crimes, he continued to oversee Chicago’s Gangster Disciples from his prison cell. Hoover used his time in prison to educate himself on politics and history. The Pontiac Prison Library provided a place for him to formulate a new plan: take the Gangster Disciples from street gang to political powerhouse. Parcasters - Hear Hercules as you’ve never heard him before on this week’s episode of Mythology! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The leader of one of Chicago's most dangerous gangs in the 1970s, Larry Hoover was only 23 when he was sent to a maximum-security prison. The police thought they’d taken one of Chicago’s most dangerous gang leaders out of the game, but they’d only given him a new territory to reign, and 3,200 new inmates to recruit. Parcast News - Be sure to check out Parcast’s first fictional crime show MIND’S EYE at Parcast.com/MindsEye! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This powerful Kingpin was responsible for the drug epidemic that gave D.C. the reputation as the “murder capital” of the U.S. Edmond’s infamous trial in 1989, required the jury to sit behind bulletproof glass for their protection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was the youngest drug lord in D.C. history and began selling drugs at the ripe old age of 9-years-old. By the mid-1980s,  Rayful Edmond III controlled 60 percent of the drugs that came into the city and was making $300 million annually. But this would only be the beginning of his legendary reign.   Sponsors! Audible -  Listen to “Evil Has A Name” only on Audible. Listen now at Audible.com/EvilKingpins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After her husband's murder in 1986, Thelma stepped in and took over a nationwide drug operation, moving cocaine and heroin from LA to Philadelphia. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Wright enjoyed the lavish lifestyle the drug trade afforded, but would soon learn the consequences of engaging with the criminal underworld. Parcast Network - Check out our new show Mythology at https://www.parcast.com/mythology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, this queenpin watched from the shadows while her husband built a drug empire. After tragedy struck in 1986, Thelma was thrust into the center of the action navigating a bi-coastal drug trade between Philadelphia and Los Angeles.  Parcast - Check out our brand new podcast Mythology at https://www.parcast.com/mythology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He rose from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama throughout the 1980s. However, it turns out he had a great deal of help from the American CIA. Sponsors! Audible - Get 3 months of Audible for just $6.95 a month by going to Audible.com/KINGPINS or text KINGPINS to 500 500. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did Manuel Noriega rise from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama? He had a great deal of help from the American CIA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the death of his boss, Bumpy Johnson in 1968, Frank Lucas is ready to capitalize on the open market. Originally a small-time dealer on the streets of Harlem, he becomes one of the most successful heroin dealers of all time. Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review and subscribe to our new show Assassinations which premieres November 19th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices