Kingpins
175 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 2.9K ratingsUndeniable power. Unbelievable stories. Unlikely origins. Kingpins follows the rise and fall of rulers of the underworld. Every Friday, we examine the leaders of organized crime rings, and how money and power corrupted and changed their communities. What makes a kingpin or queenpin, and how can we stop them? Kingpins is a Spotify Original from Parcast.
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Episodes
Heroin Godfather: Haji Bagcho
March 22, 2019 07:01 - 45 minutesBy 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 podcastchoic...
“Black Mafia Family” Pt. 2: Demetrius and Terry Flenory
March 15, 2019 07:01 - 46 minutesEven 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
“Black Mafia Family” Pt. 1: Demetrius and Terry Flenory
March 08, 2019 08:01 - 42 minutesGrowing 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,...
“Cali Cartel” Pt. 4: The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers
March 01, 2019 08:01 - 47 minutesAs 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
“Cali Cartel” Pt. 3: The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers
February 22, 2019 08:01 - 46 minutesThe 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...
“Cali Cartel” Pt. 2: The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers
February 15, 2019 08:01 - 44 minutesAt 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
“Cali Cartel” Pt. 1: The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers
February 08, 2019 08:01 - 46 minutesThe 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
“Diamond Jim” Pt. 2: Vincenzo Colosimo
February 01, 2019 08:01 - 43 minutesOne 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....
“Diamond Jim” Pt. 1: Vincenzo Colosimo
January 25, 2019 08:01 - 44 minutesHe 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...
“King Larry” Pt. 2: Larry Hoover
January 18, 2019 08:01 - 43 minutesImprisoned 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
“King Larry” Pt. 1: Larry Hoover
January 11, 2019 08:01 - 45 minutesThe 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
“Mr. Murder Capital” Pt. 2 - Rayful Edmond III
January 04, 2019 08:01 - 41 minutesThis 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
“Mr. Murder Capital” Pt. 1: Rayful Edmond III
December 28, 2018 08:01 - 44 minutesHe 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
“Gangster Queen of Philadelphia” Pt. 2: Thelma Wright
December 21, 2018 08:01 - 39 minutesAfter 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
“Gangster Queen of Philadelphia” Pt. 1: Thelma Wright
December 14, 2018 08:01 - 43 minutesFor 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
“Cara de Piña” Pt. 2: Manuel Noriega
December 07, 2018 08:01 - 47 minutesHe 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
"Cara de Piña" Pt. 1: Manuel Noriega
November 30, 2018 08:01 - 49 minutesHow 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
"American Gangster" Pt. 2: Frank Lucas
November 23, 2018 08:01 - 57 minutesAfter 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
"American Gangster" Pt. 1: Frank Lucas
November 16, 2018 08:01 - 52 minutesMoving from North Carolina to New York City, Frank Lucas engaged in petty crime and pool hustling before he began smuggling drugs using coffins of dead American servicemen in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He cut out the middleman and bought heroin directly from the source. Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The Ojinaga Fox" Pt. 3: Pablo Acosta Villarreal
November 09, 2018 08:01 - 45 minutesThis vicious leader had very little regard for human life as if it stood in the way of his business. Pablo Acosta Villarreal commanded a 500 person operation on both sides of the border before his downfall and death in 1987. Sponsors! Parcast - Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The Ojinaga Fox" Pt. 2: Pablo Acosta Villarreal
November 02, 2018 07:01 - 47 minutesHe repaired schools, paid medical bills for the poor and elderly, in exchange for one thing: control. The whole town protected him. But who was the man that brought him down? Sponsors! Parcast - Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The Ojinaga Fox" Pt. 1: Pablo Acosta Villarreal
October 26, 2018 07:10 - 44 minutesIn the early years of the Mexican drug world, there were no cartels - there were only kingpins. The border region was a lawless desert governed by bloody shootouts, crooked cops, and folk-hero bandits. And to rule an old-fashioned frontier, it takes an old-fashioned outlaw. Parcast - Subscribe to our new show Hostage! Head to Parcast.com/Hostage now so you don’t miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The Iceman" Pt. 2: Richard Kuklinski
October 26, 2018 07:05 - 52 minutesAfter 13 years as a Mafia hit man, he found himself in the crosshairs of the New Jersey Police. There was only one thing left to do: slaughter every last one of his friends before they got the chance to turn on him. Parcast - Subscribe to our new show Hostage! Head to Parcast.com/Hostage now so you don’t miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"The Iceman" Pt. 1: Richard Kuklinski
October 26, 2018 07:01 - 55 minutesHe killed over a hundred people before the police had even heard his name. So when the Mafia needed a body to drop without getting their hands dirty, there was only one man to call. Richard Kuklinski was quick, vicious, and utterly invisible. Parcast - Subscribe to our new show Hostage! Head to Parcast.com/Hostage now so you don’t miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Welcome Trailer!
October 09, 2018 17:45 - 1 minuteViolence. Corruption. Decadence. Kingpins and Queenpins live heightened lives. This new podcast tells their unbelievable stories. Kingpins tracks the rise and fall of the notorious, presenting bizarre and captivating tales from the underworld. Along the way, the hosts profile the insane people, skewed relationships, and pressure-cooker environments behind organized crime. What's it really like to live like a Kingpin? Tune in to Kingpins every Friday. Kingpins is part of the Parcast Network an...