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00:00:00,290 --> 00:00:13,170
(music)
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00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:20,210
MALE: 24, possible
overdose on
(Bleep) Street,
3
00:00:20,210 --> 00:00:24,210
at 125th and 128th.
-Okay.
4
00:00:24,210 --> 00:00:28,210
ZAKARIYA: Fire Dispatch,
can you add unit
122 that run on 24's.
5
00:00:30,370 --> 00:00:33,410
Here we are in
little sleepy Toledo.
6
00:00:33,410 --> 00:00:36,610
There's been times
where I've put in 15
opiate overdoses
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00:00:36,610 --> 00:00:39,010
in a 24 hour period.
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00:00:39,010 --> 00:00:40,450
It's very, very
frustrating.
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00:00:43,890 --> 00:00:48,690
A lot of the deaths
that we have are young,
10
00:00:48,690 --> 00:00:52,850
uh, you know, it's,
it's tragic. Right,
go do your thing.
11
00:00:55,650 --> 00:01:00,330
It's an ongoing, never
ending, losing battle.
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00:01:02,450 --> 00:01:07,530
(police siren)
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00:01:07,530 --> 00:01:12,610
(dramatic music)
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00:01:12,610 --> 00:01:14,610
MEDIC: Open your eyes dude.
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What, what drug did
you take?
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00:01:18,330 --> 00:01:21,810
ZAKARIYA: What we have
uh, seemed like an
accidental overdose.
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00:01:21,810 --> 00:01:25,370
We had somebody who was
addicted to opiates in
the past.
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00:01:25,370 --> 00:01:29,930
He admitted taking
Fentanyl twice today,
down at the park.
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00:01:35,450 --> 00:01:39,610
What we've seen here on
the street is Fentanyl
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00:01:39,610 --> 00:01:44,690
which is a way
stronger than heroin
has ever been.
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00:01:53,210 --> 00:01:56,410
I cannot believe we
had four overdoses
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00:01:56,410 --> 00:02:01,770
before 11 o'clock and,
we'll get there.
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00:02:09,490 --> 00:02:12,130
DISPATCH: Agent
can you see...
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00:02:12,130 --> 00:02:15,850
ZAKARIYA: Alright dispatch,
can you put 122 on that run
with medic 18? Last one.
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00:02:18,890 --> 00:02:21,210
MALE: Oh god. It's
possible overdose.
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00:02:21,730 --> 00:02:24,170
(police siren)
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00:02:26,690 --> 00:02:28,050
FEMALE: 18-18.
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00:02:28,050 --> 00:02:29,370
ZAKARIYA: That's a code 18.
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00:02:29,370 --> 00:02:32,850
It's a, It's a, dead,
dead on scene.
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00:02:43,210 --> 00:02:46,210
MALE: Shake this square
world and blast off for
kicks-ville.
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00:02:46,210 --> 00:02:50,690
RICHARD NIXON: America's
public enemy number one
is drug abuse.
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00:02:50,690 --> 00:02:52,090
MALE: Heroin
destroys everything.
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00:02:53,090 --> 00:02:57,010
MALE: Prescribing pain
pills created huge
numbers of addicts.
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00:02:57,010 --> 00:02:59,250
GROUP OF PEOPLE:
People die! (Inaudible)
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00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:00,490
MALE: Opium is cash.
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00:03:00,490 --> 00:03:02,690
It's like you're growing
bills on the bush.
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00:03:02,690 --> 00:03:04,810
Crime and drug abuse
go hand in hand.
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00:03:04,810 --> 00:03:06,610
It's like peanut
butter and jelly.
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00:03:06,610 --> 00:03:08,010
KAMALA HARRIS: There's
now an understanding
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00:03:08,010 --> 00:03:10,250
that the war on drugs
was an abject failure.
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00:03:11,450 --> 00:03:13,810
MALE: You have to stop
and ask yourself; how
did we get here?
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00:03:56,170 --> 00:04:01,010
FISHERMEN:
(Foreign dialogue)
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00:04:04,810 --> 00:04:07,650
FRANK: Mattanza is
a Sicilian custom.
44
00:04:07,650 --> 00:04:09,650
A whole bunch of
fishermen get together
45
00:04:09,650 --> 00:04:14,050
and put out 100 yard net
and kill 1,000 tunas.
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00:04:20,690 --> 00:04:25,130
The water turns red
and that's La Mattanza.
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00:04:27,410 --> 00:04:29,930
But it has a
double meaning.
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00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:34,250
1978, it's no longer
tuna that was being
slaughtered,
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00:04:34,250 --> 00:04:35,890
it was Sicilian people.
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00:04:39,410 --> 00:04:42,850
My name is Frank
Fiordilino and I was
born into a mafia family
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00:04:42,850 --> 00:04:45,250
in 1970 in Sicily.
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00:04:49,970 --> 00:04:52,250
The Sicilian started, as
early as the fifties,
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00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:56,890
to transport heroin
and in the sixties got
a little bit larger
54
00:04:56,890 --> 00:05:00,050
until it just blew
up in the seventies
and eighties.
55
00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:20,890
Gaetano Badalamenti
and they would call
him Don Tano.
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00:05:20,890 --> 00:05:24,370
He's one of the most
powerful mob bosses
in Sicily.
57
00:05:27,490 --> 00:05:33,130
Gaetano Badalamenti became
very rich, very fast.
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00:05:34,130 --> 00:05:39,530
He got into everything,
from livestock to politics
59
00:05:39,530 --> 00:05:43,690
to extortion to
construction.
60
00:05:48,450 --> 00:05:50,770
He had a lot to do with
the airport in Palermo
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00:05:50,770 --> 00:05:53,970
and it's called
Borsellino Falcone
Airport but,
62
00:05:53,970 --> 00:05:57,650
with all due respect,
it should be called
Gaetano Badalamenti
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00:05:57,650 --> 00:05:59,250
because he did build it.
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00:06:00,370 --> 00:06:02,450
And he starts
smuggling drugs.
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00:06:17,890 --> 00:06:20,730
NARRATOR: Eventually,
on an American street
you are talking
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00:06:20,730 --> 00:06:23,050
about more than a half
million dollars a pound.
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00:07:50,090 --> 00:07:53,770
RALPH: Gaetano Badalamenti
was believed to be
responsible
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00:07:53,770 --> 00:07:58,970
for 80 percent of the
heroin coming into America,
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00:07:58,970 --> 00:08:01,090
which yielded huge profits
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00:08:02,410 --> 00:08:06,570
and that triggered a lot
of jealousy among his
fellow Mafia bosses.
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00:08:12,810 --> 00:08:17,290
RALPH: Salvatore 'Toto'
Riina was the boss of
the Corleonesi family,
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00:08:17,290 --> 00:08:22,010
which was the most
vicious of the Mafia
clans in Sicily
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00:08:22,010 --> 00:08:25,210
and he was called
'The Beast' (laughs)
for a reason.
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00:08:25,970 --> 00:08:28,810
FRANK: 1978 'Toto'
Riina wanted
everything.
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00:08:28,810 --> 00:08:30,570
He wanted the
drugs from Palermo.
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00:08:30,570 --> 00:08:34,410
He wanted the rackets
and the political power
from Badalamenti
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00:08:34,410 --> 00:08:38,730
and he starts eliminating
the old guard and it
becomes a blood bath.
78
00:08:51,410 --> 00:08:53,850
This war broke
every rule possible.
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00:08:58,370 --> 00:09:01,450
It was kids being
murdered.
80
00:09:01,450 --> 00:09:04,290
No more them just
killing each other.
81
00:09:04,290 --> 00:09:07,290
Now it's, they're
killing everybody.
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00:09:20,530 --> 00:09:23,330
RALPH: It's a terrible
time for Badalamenti.
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00:09:23,330 --> 00:09:25,650
Bodies are turning up
all over the place.
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00:09:30,330 --> 00:09:32,930
FRANK: Once his friends
started getting picked
up and killed
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00:09:32,930 --> 00:09:34,370
he had to get out.
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00:09:40,330 --> 00:09:46,330
RALPH: He's forced into
exile for self-protection
and he flees to Brazil.
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00:09:49,570 --> 00:09:52,890
FRANK: Anything that he
made illegally were now
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00:09:52,890 --> 00:09:56,170
property of Toto Riina
and the Corleonesi.
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00:09:59,050 --> 00:10:01,410
RALPH: In Brazil, Gaetano
Badalamenti faces
90
00:10:01,410 --> 00:10:03,450
the most important
crisis of his life.
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00:10:04,730 --> 00:10:06,530
He's now alone.
92
00:10:06,530 --> 00:10:10,050
He's lost his
connections in Italy.
93
00:10:10,050 --> 00:10:13,130
He's really hard
pressed for money.
94
00:10:13,130 --> 00:10:18,450
How is he gonna find new
sources of heroin to
continue his trafficking?
95
00:10:18,450 --> 00:10:20,850
How is he gonna hang
onto his empire?
96
00:10:20,850 --> 00:10:23,210
This is a real moment
of truth for him.
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00:10:53,130 --> 00:10:56,530
PRESIDENT CARTER: Massive
Soviet military forces
have invaded
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00:10:56,530 --> 00:11:00,090
the small sovereign
nation of Afghanistan.
99
00:11:05,490 --> 00:11:08,370
Heavily armed troops have
crossed the border
100
00:11:08,370 --> 00:11:11,450
and are now attempting to
conquer the fiercely
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independent Muslim
people of that country.
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00:11:21,650 --> 00:11:25,330
(multiple shots)
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00:11:27,890 --> 00:11:32,210
MIRWAIS: We had only one
way and that was to fight.
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00:11:32,210 --> 00:11:34,930
REPORTER: President Carter
called the Russian
invasion of Afghanistan
105
00:11:34,930 --> 00:11:38,210
the greatest threat
to peace since World
War Two.
106
00:11:43,130 --> 00:11:45,170
MIRWAIS: My name
is Mirwais Farahi.
107
00:11:45,170 --> 00:11:52,330
I used to be the freedom
fighter mujahideen
in Afghanistan in 1980s.
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00:11:53,170 --> 00:11:55,970
I was 13, very young.
109
00:11:57,010 --> 00:12:03,170
Mujahid is a person who
fight for the freedom
of his country.
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00:12:12,410 --> 00:12:15,810
People from all
different backgrounds.
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00:12:15,810 --> 00:12:21,370
Farmers, business
people, shopkeepers,
112
00:12:21,370 --> 00:12:25,010
fighting with anything
they put their hands on.
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00:12:25,010 --> 00:12:27,130
MALE: (Foreign dialogue)
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00:12:27,130 --> 00:12:29,050
MIRWAIS: To defeat
Soviet Union.
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00:12:49,730 --> 00:12:53,810
I remember when
they bombed Kabul.
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00:12:55,490 --> 00:13:01,210
I lost 18 member of my
family, and it's tough.
117
00:13:01,210 --> 00:13:05,370
We, we get killed; our
country's destroyed.
118
00:13:15,130 --> 00:13:21,530
Farmers couldn't
really grow crops.
119
00:13:21,530 --> 00:13:25,570
But it was easy
to grow poppy.
120
00:13:29,410 --> 00:13:33,330
Cultivation start
increasing rapidly.
121
00:13:34,490 --> 00:13:35,770
MALE: This is what
it's all about,
122
00:13:35,770 --> 00:13:38,490
the bulb found inside
the opium poppy.
123
00:13:38,490 --> 00:13:41,050
Slit the bulb and
opium oozes out.
124
00:13:41,050 --> 00:13:43,770
Refine the opium
and you have heroin.
125
00:13:49,010 --> 00:13:51,130
DOUG: I'm Doug Wankel.
126
00:13:51,130 --> 00:13:54,090
I was the DEA's
man in Afghanistan.
127
00:13:56,530 --> 00:14:01,930
In 1978, when I arrived,
Afghanistan was largely
viewed as a producer
128
00:14:01,930 --> 00:14:03,490
of hashish and opium.
129
00:14:08,170 --> 00:14:10,850
It wasn't that big
of a threat to the
United States.
130
00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:14,690
It was produced for
internal consumption and
regional consumption.
131
00:14:16,130 --> 00:14:20,730
In the summer of 1980,
we saw things
drastically change.
132
00:14:20,730 --> 00:14:25,330
Heroin production in
the border areas of
Afghanistan had grown,
133
00:14:25,330 --> 00:14:27,330
almost beyond
belief growth.
134
00:14:27,330 --> 00:14:31,490
So, it was quite
concerning, quite
alarming.
135
00:14:38,410 --> 00:14:40,530
DOUG: But with the
Russians taking over,
136
00:14:40,530 --> 00:14:44,730
we had no real access to
operate in Afghanistan,
137
00:14:44,730 --> 00:14:47,570
to take action against
the major traffickers
involved,
138
00:14:47,570 --> 00:14:49,210
try to get them arrested.
139
00:14:59,490 --> 00:15:01,490
RALPH: When the war broke
out in Afghanistan
140
00:15:01,490 --> 00:15:03,210
it was very good for
Badalamenti.
141
00:15:05,290 --> 00:15:09,330
It was a great chance
for him to rebuild his
heroin empire.
142
00:15:12,050 --> 00:15:13,290
He lucked out.
143
00:15:25,370 --> 00:15:29,770
MALE: Ten kilos of opium
can be turned into one
kilo of heroin.
144
00:15:31,210 --> 00:15:35,690
All that's needed is
water, a Bunsen burner, a
press and some chemicals.
145
00:15:46,210 --> 00:15:48,450
GREG: We knew that
there was heroin
production that was
146
00:15:48,450 --> 00:15:53,010
increasing but there
was nothing we could
possibly do about it.
147
00:15:55,210 --> 00:15:56,890
My name's Gregory D Lee.
148
00:15:56,890 --> 00:16:00,810
I'm a 20-year retiree
of the Drug Enforcement
Administration
149
00:16:00,810 --> 00:16:03,170
as a supervisory
special agent.
150
00:16:05,770 --> 00:16:09,290
It was very easy for
heroin traffickers
to transport
151
00:16:09,290 --> 00:16:12,770
from the source country
of Afghanistan
152
00:16:12,770 --> 00:16:15,650
to Pakistan, which is
right next door.
153
00:16:23,490 --> 00:16:26,930
REPORTER: Smugglers find
many ways of hiding
their illegal cargo.
154
00:16:26,930 --> 00:16:29,050
In this case it was
hollowed out stones.
155
00:16:36,570 --> 00:16:39,050
GREG: They would take
it down to Karachi
156
00:16:39,050 --> 00:16:41,490
and they would put it in
commercial shipments,
157
00:16:41,490 --> 00:16:45,810
cover it up with rice
or wheat or whatever the
export happened to be.
158
00:16:48,050 --> 00:16:50,890
Heroin traffickers had
free reign to do whatever
they wanted to do.
159
00:17:08,850 --> 00:17:14,130
Either Don Tano himself,
or somebody within the
Badalamenti organization,
160
00:17:14,130 --> 00:17:20,810
made it a point to go to
a place like Karachi or
Islamabad or Peshawar
161
00:17:20,810 --> 00:17:26,170
and completed a deal,
establishing a steady
supply of Afghan heroin
162
00:17:26,170 --> 00:17:29,130
that he could smuggle
eventually to the
United States.
163
00:17:33,450 --> 00:17:36,050
When that took
place, nobody knows.
164
00:17:36,050 --> 00:17:40,090
But the fact is,
the deal was done.
165
00:18:13,770 --> 00:18:17,770
FRANK: Just because
Badalamenti didn't do no
more business in Sicily
166
00:18:17,770 --> 00:18:21,410
didn't mean he didn't
have powerful friends
in other places.
167
00:18:25,210 --> 00:18:28,770
He knows who's in the drug
game in the United States.
So, that was easy.
168
00:18:28,770 --> 00:18:31,130
Once you know the players,
you know the game.
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00:18:33,690 --> 00:18:37,130
RALPH: He had relatives
and connections all
over the world.
170
00:18:39,690 --> 00:18:44,050
In Germany, in Argentina.
171
00:18:45,090 --> 00:18:47,890
FRANK: Brazil has an
Italian community.
172
00:18:47,890 --> 00:18:52,370
He connects with them and
he creates his pipeline.
173
00:18:58,250 --> 00:19:00,850
From Afghanistan to
the United States
174
00:19:02,490 --> 00:19:05,330
and Badalamenti is
directing this.
175
00:19:06,490 --> 00:19:09,210
RALPH: And he built this
multi-billion-dollar
heroin empire
176
00:19:09,210 --> 00:19:12,450
based on his
ability to organize
177
00:19:12,450 --> 00:19:14,530
he was absolutely
brilliant at it.
178
00:19:14,530 --> 00:19:18,810
When you think there's
one man masterminding
this it's extraordinary.
179
00:19:19,370 --> 00:19:22,370
FRANK: I mean, we're
Italians, we built
(Bleep) Rome.
180
00:19:38,610 --> 00:19:43,370
RALPH: Don Tano Badalamenti
started to send Sicilian
Mafia operatives
181
00:19:43,370 --> 00:19:47,690
into the U. S. to set up
pizza parlors all
across America.
182
00:19:48,410 --> 00:19:53,130
In Illinois, New
Jersey, all over the
Eastern Seaboard,
183
00:19:53,130 --> 00:19:54,850
all over the heartland.
184
00:19:57,970 --> 00:20:07,410
Heroin was smuggled in
tomato cans, in olive oil
cans and cheese boxes.
185
00:20:08,970 --> 00:20:11,490
It was so innovative.
186
00:20:17,170 --> 00:20:19,290
FRANK: It's eventually
called "The Pizza
Connection,"
187
00:20:19,290 --> 00:20:24,730
because pizzerias all
over the United States
are being used
188
00:20:24,730 --> 00:20:28,530
as a pickup spot to
pick up your drugs.
189
00:20:29,810 --> 00:20:32,410
I mean what better
place to have a cover.
190
00:20:32,410 --> 00:20:34,530
You're Italian, you
own a pizza shop.
191
00:20:34,530 --> 00:20:36,010
It's perfect.
192
00:20:38,610 --> 00:20:40,370
RALPH: They actually did
make some good pizza
193
00:20:40,370 --> 00:20:44,410
but, but the real purpose
of this was to further
the drug business.
194
00:20:46,850 --> 00:20:49,810
FRANK: Out of being
kicked out and
being exiled,
195
00:20:49,810 --> 00:20:52,570
Badalamenti becomes
the biggest middleman
196
00:20:52,570 --> 00:20:55,330
in the world in the
heroin game at that time.
197
00:20:55,330 --> 00:20:59,090
It was kinda like he
was saying to "Toto
Riina," (Bleep) you,
198
00:20:59,090 --> 00:21:00,730
I'm gonna do whatever
I want to do
199
00:21:00,730 --> 00:21:03,410
and I'm gonna take
your business and do
it somewhere else.
200
00:21:13,210 --> 00:21:16,490
MALE: The most active
street business in New York
is in the Lower East Side.
201
00:21:16,490 --> 00:21:18,970
Customers come here
from all around the
Metropolitan area.
202
00:21:24,330 --> 00:21:28,450
FEMALE: An influx of
heroin is feeding a
new heroin epidemic.
203
00:21:28,450 --> 00:21:31,690
RALPH: DEA looked at it
and said this is coming
from Afghanistan.
204
00:21:31,690 --> 00:21:34,250
That's a sudden new
problem, they didn't know
how to cope with that.
205
00:21:34,250 --> 00:21:35,850
GERALDO: How do you
get the money to do
that to yourself?
206
00:21:35,850 --> 00:21:37,570
HEROIN ADDICT: Steal it.
207
00:21:37,570 --> 00:21:40,730
RALPH: It unleashed a
huge crime wave that
devastated America.
208
00:21:46,890 --> 00:21:51,690
RALPH: Cities were
going bankrupt dealing
with the problems.
209
00:21:51,690 --> 00:21:53,690
It was a terrible time.
210
00:21:53,690 --> 00:21:56,490
REPORTER: More than
half a million
Americans are hooked.
211
00:21:56,490 --> 00:21:58,450
RALPH: The country
was in a panic.
212
00:21:59,530 --> 00:22:03,410
The DEA were asking
themselves, how do
we stop this?
213
00:22:03,410 --> 00:22:05,250
How do we plug
this pipeline?
214
00:22:21,690 --> 00:22:23,450
RICHARD: So, my name
is Richard Fiano.
215
00:22:26,810 --> 00:22:33,850
I spent 20 years in DEA,
assigned to the New York
Office, Miami Office.
216
00:22:35,450 --> 00:22:39,130
I wind up getting
a job in Pakistan.
217
00:22:59,770 --> 00:23:03,170
JOHN: The war in
Afghanistan has had one
deadly consequence.
218
00:23:03,170 --> 00:23:07,370
Its neighbor Pakistan
has become the world's
biggest center for heroin.
219
00:23:09,210 --> 00:23:14,010
In towns like Landi
Kotal, it's openly on
sale in vast quantities.
220
00:23:16,610 --> 00:23:22,930
RICHARD: Landi Kotal
is on the border between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
221
00:23:22,930 --> 00:23:26,730
It's a tribal area
run by warlords
222
00:23:27,610 --> 00:23:31,170
and a very dangerous
place for any informants.
223
00:23:32,130 --> 00:23:35,810
We knew that Landi Kotal
was a smuggling hot spot
224
00:23:35,810 --> 00:23:40,090
and you can pretty
much buy anything
you want there.
225
00:23:41,650 --> 00:23:44,090
It's like Dodge City.
226
00:23:44,090 --> 00:23:48,050
You could walk into any
bazaar and buy dope.
227
00:23:57,810 --> 00:24:00,250
Haji Ayub Afridi.
228
00:24:00,250 --> 00:24:03,690
His name came up in
several investigations.
229
00:24:03,690 --> 00:24:07,370
He had a lot of influence
and he had a lot of wealth.
230
00:24:12,530 --> 00:24:18,010
There aren't that many
ways that you can come
to that kind of wealth
231
00:24:18,010 --> 00:24:24,530
in a place like Landi
Kotal by selling
onions and tomatoes.
232
00:24:37,850 --> 00:24:41,770
GREG: Afridi built
this huge square
kilometer compound
233
00:24:41,770 --> 00:24:45,250
that can only be described
as unbelievable.
234
00:24:46,690 --> 00:24:48,890
25 foot walls.
235
00:24:51,930 --> 00:24:56,130
Was pretty well
furnished with the best
you can get in Pakistan.
236
00:24:58,490 --> 00:25:00,450
He's got 30,000
armed guards.
237
00:25:03,450 --> 00:25:07,890
He had anti-aircraft
weaponry at the corners
of his compound.
238
00:25:11,410 --> 00:25:16,770
He had a football
field size rose garden.
239
00:25:18,210 --> 00:25:22,730
The breeze would bring the
scent of the roses to him
240
00:25:22,730 --> 00:25:25,410
while he drank his
tea in the afternoon.
241
00:25:25,410 --> 00:25:28,290
I mean that's the
kinda guy you're
dealing with here.
242
00:25:29,850 --> 00:25:32,930
You end up with the
biggest house in all
of southwest Asia,
243
00:25:32,930 --> 00:25:34,530
'cause what else you gonna
spend your money on
244
00:25:34,530 --> 00:25:37,090
if you're a successful
drug trafficker?
245
00:25:49,050 --> 00:25:51,810
MEN: (Shouts)
246
00:25:56,210 --> 00:25:58,770
PRESIDENT REAGAN: During
the past 18 months,
247
00:25:58,770 --> 00:26:01,850
the mujahideen fighting
inside the country
248
00:26:01,850 --> 00:26:04,810
have improved their
weapons, tactics
and coordination.
249
00:26:14,250 --> 00:26:16,930
The support that the United
States has been providing
250
00:26:16,930 --> 00:26:19,490
the resistance will
be strengthened
251
00:26:19,490 --> 00:26:22,330
so that it can continue
to fight effectively
for freedom.
252
00:26:30,810 --> 00:26:32,930
REPORTER: Have you
bought many guns
for Afghanistan?
253
00:26:32,930 --> 00:26:34,450
MUJAHIDEEN: Yes.
Yes, many guns.
254
00:26:34,450 --> 00:26:35,570
REPORTER: Where's
the money come from?
255
00:26:35,570 --> 00:26:37,250
MUJAHIDEEN: This uh,
come America.
256
00:26:37,250 --> 00:26:38,770
REPORTER: From America?
MUJAHIDEEN: Yes.
257
00:26:49,170 --> 00:26:56,210
RICHARD: Afridi was a
great asset in moving
equipment, AK47s,
258
00:26:56,210 --> 00:27:02,450
I mean a lot of weaponry
for the United States in
and out of Afghanistan.
259
00:27:03,410 --> 00:27:07,210
NARRATOR: So long as
Afridi is an asset
for the CIA
260
00:27:07,210 --> 00:27:12,170
in the war against the
Soviets, he was
essentially untouchable.
261
00:27:12,170 --> 00:27:16,250
GREG: So, we have
to change direction and
try something different.
262
00:27:17,890 --> 00:27:21,730
RICHARD: In order to stem
the flow of the heroin,
263
00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:24,130
we have to target the
criminal groups
264
00:27:24,130 --> 00:27:26,890
that are distributing it
in the United States.
265
00:27:35,930 --> 00:27:40,970
FEMALE: Fentanyl poisoning
deaths doubled in 30 states
between 2019 and 2021,
266
00:27:40,970 --> 00:27:42,770
in just two years.
267
00:29:31,890 --> 00:29:41,090
(music)
268
00:31:04,490 --> 00:31:06,250
(multiple shots)
269
00:31:57,570 --> 00:32:00,130
PRESIDENT REAGAN: Today,
the power of organized
crime reaches
270
00:32:00,130 --> 00:32:02,970
into every segment
of our society.
271
00:32:08,730 --> 00:32:11,650
It holds a virtual
monopoly on the
heroin trade.
272
00:32:16,930 --> 00:32:21,170
The time has come to
cripple the power of
the mob in America.
273
00:32:24,410 --> 00:32:34,210
MALE: (Foreign dialogue)
FEMALE: (Foreign dialogue)
274
00:32:34,210 --> 00:32:38,010
CARMINE: We formed
surveillance units
conducting wiretaps.
275
00:32:45,490 --> 00:32:47,810
This went on for many,
many, many months.
276
00:32:47,810 --> 00:32:51,730
We were trying to take down
an organization, not just
a bunch of individuals.
277
00:32:55,090 --> 00:32:57,490
My name is
Carmine F. Russo
278
00:32:57,490 --> 00:33:02,210
and I was a special
agent with the FBI
for 24 years.
279
00:33:02,210 --> 00:33:03,890
Tie straight?
280
00:33:10,970 --> 00:33:15,050
The key figure in
this investigation.
281
00:33:15,050 --> 00:33:20,730
This article referred to
an individual, who had
been arrested in Germany
282
00:33:20,730 --> 00:33:24,570
and, lo and behold, his
last name was Badalamenti.
283
00:33:25,570 --> 00:33:28,090
Could it be that the
individual that
they're talking about
284
00:33:28,090 --> 00:33:31,090
and they're dealing with
is Gaetano Badalamenti?
285
00:33:31,770 --> 00:33:37,370
We thought this guy had
disappeared from the face
of the earth it seemed.
286
00:33:37,370 --> 00:33:40,050
About a week or so
later it happened again.
287
00:33:40,050 --> 00:33:44,730
Another member of the
Badalamenti family was
killed in Argentina.
288
00:33:44,730 --> 00:33:49,890
At this point, I said,
guys, Gaetano Badalamenti's
involved in this.
289
00:33:52,330 --> 00:33:54,170
He became the target.
290
00:34:03,850 --> 00:34:09,930
TONY: Gaetano Badalamenti
had been in hiding
somewhere in the world.
291
00:34:09,930 --> 00:34:11,850
It was thought to
be in South America.
292
00:34:11,850 --> 00:34:13,650
But we don't know
where he's at.
293
00:34:16,410 --> 00:34:17,930
My name's Tony.
294
00:34:17,930 --> 00:34:21,770
I was with DEA 26 years and
I'm still in the business,
295
00:34:21,770 --> 00:34:26,650
so that's why I choose
not to reveal my face
during this interview.
296
00:34:26,650 --> 00:34:30,850
I was assigned to the
DEA-FBI task force
297
00:34:30,850 --> 00:34:32,530
because I was able
to speak Sicilian.
298
00:34:35,450 --> 00:34:41,450
I was asked if I wanted to
go on a temporary assignment
to monitor a wiretap.
299
00:34:42,810 --> 00:34:48,650
The wire focused on Pietro
Alfano's pizza restaurant
in Rockford, Illinois.
300
00:34:48,650 --> 00:34:52,970
Pietro's wife was a
family member of
Gaetano Badalamenti.
301
00:34:57,610 --> 00:35:00,930
I was assigned to follow
Pietro Alfano to see
302
00:35:00,930 --> 00:35:03,330
if he could lead
us to Badalamenti
303
00:35:07,090 --> 00:35:09,370
and he used this
payphone like daily.
304
00:35:09,370 --> 00:35:12,250
So, a wiretap was
initiated on the
restaurant
305
00:35:12,250 --> 00:35:16,450
and on the payphone
that were next to
the restaurant.
306
00:35:17,330 --> 00:35:23,650
(phone ring tone)
307
00:35:27,210 --> 00:35:30,290
We'd been waiting
for several months
on this wire.
308
00:35:33,450 --> 00:35:36,890
MALE: (Foreign dialogue)
309
00:35:37,930 --> 00:35:46,090
TONY: Pietro is on
the payphone talking
to Zio, his uncle.
310
00:35:46,090 --> 00:35:48,410
This is good, we
have movement.
311
00:35:48,410 --> 00:35:52,370
We believe we have
Gaetano Badalamenti
on the other end.
312
00:35:52,370 --> 00:35:54,570
The adrenaline is flowing.
313
00:35:54,570 --> 00:35:57,170
MALE: (Foreign dialogue)
314
00:35:57,170 --> 00:36:01,770
TONY: And the uncle orders
him to come to meet him.
315
00:36:01,770 --> 00:36:05,850
Drop everything you're
doing and come meet me. So,
Alfano says, okay, he will.
316
00:36:05,850 --> 00:36:07,810
MALE: (Foreign dialogue)
317
00:36:09,450 --> 00:36:12,410
TONY: And that was the
end of that conversation.
318
00:36:13,450 --> 00:36:15,890
But nobody mentions
what city he's in.
319
00:36:15,890 --> 00:36:21,610
So, we're there wondering
how do we find that out,
what city is he going to?
320
00:36:25,770 --> 00:36:27,130
Well he goes back
into his restaurant
321
00:36:31,610 --> 00:36:33,850
he makes a call
to an airline
322
00:36:33,850 --> 00:36:40,970
and that's when we
knew that this uncle
was in Madrid, Spain.
323
00:36:40,970 --> 00:36:45,210
We still weren't 100
percent sure that it was
Gaetano Badalamenti.
324
00:36:46,890 --> 00:36:48,490
FBI supervisor comes in.
325
00:36:48,490 --> 00:36:50,850
He goes hey, kid, you
got a valid passport?
326
00:36:50,850 --> 00:36:55,130
You're gonna get on a
plane tomorrow and go
follow Alfano to Madrid.
327
00:36:55,130 --> 00:36:58,570
I said yes, sir,
I will do that.
328
00:37:19,770 --> 00:37:25,770
At O'Hare Airport, we have
Alfano seated at the gate.
329
00:37:25,770 --> 00:37:32,170
He's wearing a suit, thin
build and gets on board.
330
00:37:41,450 --> 00:37:43,570
The FBI agent was on
one part of the plane
331
00:37:43,570 --> 00:37:45,250
and I was in a different
part of the plane.
332
00:37:45,250 --> 00:37:49,450
That way we had him
under our view at all
times during the flight.
333
00:38:11,170 --> 00:38:13,970
They follow Alfano
off the plane.
334
00:38:17,050 --> 00:38:20,090
Follow him to a
residence in Madrid.
335
00:38:24,930 --> 00:38:27,330
They stake out
the place all day.
336
00:38:28,650 --> 00:38:31,810
Gaetano Badalamenti,
he's the one they're
waiting for.
337
00:38:50,530 --> 00:38:55,930
RALPH: The Spanish police
now have created an army
of surveillance people
338
00:38:55,930 --> 00:38:57,970
and they covered
the neighborhood.
339
00:39:03,570 --> 00:39:05,130
They wait through
the night.
340
00:39:08,010 --> 00:39:10,610
No sign of Don
Tano Badalamenti.
341
00:39:11,610 --> 00:39:14,410
But suddenly,
Alfano comes out
with an older man
342
00:39:17,690 --> 00:39:21,810
with sunken eyes,
mournful looking.
343
00:39:23,690 --> 00:39:26,290
Spanish police
surround them.
344
00:39:26,290 --> 00:39:27,850
There's no escape.
345
00:39:28,450 --> 00:39:30,530
They're immediately
arrested.
346
00:39:36,130 --> 00:39:40,330
But it was a signal moment
in law enforcement history.
347
00:39:43,050 --> 00:39:45,850
MALE: Hit it!
Hit it! Hit it!
348
00:39:45,850 --> 00:39:47,050
Go!
349
00:39:59,010 --> 00:40:02,810
CARMINE: A decision
was made that once
Badalamenti was arrested,
350
00:40:02,810 --> 00:40:05,770
the rest of the
individuals we identified
in this conspiracy
351
00:40:05,770 --> 00:40:07,450
would also be arrested.
352
00:40:15,450 --> 00:40:16,730
REPORTER: In Manhattan
Federal Court today,
353
00:40:16,730 --> 00:40:20,890
the Pizza Connection
drug trial got underway.
354
00:40:20,890 --> 00:40:24,050
Gaetano Badalamenti,
reputed Sicilian mob boss,
355
00:40:24,050 --> 00:40:27,250
is charged with running
a 1.6-billion-dollar
heroin ring,
356
00:40:27,250 --> 00:40:29,850
along with 20
other defendants.
357
00:40:32,370 --> 00:40:34,290
FRANK: The trial had
a big spotlight on it.
358
00:40:34,290 --> 00:40:37,730
It was one of the
biggest at the time and
it took a long time.
359
00:40:37,730 --> 00:40:40,290
It had big, big names
here in the United States
360
00:40:40,290 --> 00:40:43,170
and of course,
Badalamenti himself.
361
00:40:57,530 --> 00:41:01,610
TONY: This really puts
the nail in the coffin
against the heroin trade
362
00:41:01,610 --> 00:41:03,730
being conducted by
the Mafia.
363
00:41:36,890 --> 00:41:40,290
GREG: I got a phone call
from Haji Ayub Afridi
364
00:41:40,290 --> 00:41:44,530
and he says that
he's considering
self-surrendering
365
00:41:44,530 --> 00:41:46,810
to the United States.
366
00:41:47,250 --> 00:41:49,610
I went to my boss
and he had a laugh.
367
00:41:49,610 --> 00:41:53,290
He said there's no
way in the world this
guy's gonna surrender.
368
00:41:59,730 --> 00:42:02,610
All of a sudden,
things changed in
Pakistan politically,
369
00:42:02,610 --> 00:42:08,010
and Afridi thought
seriously that he was
gonna be kidnapped,
370
00:42:08,010 --> 00:42:10,690
tortured, put in a dungeon
somewhere, beaten every day,
371
00:42:10,690 --> 00:42:17,370
that type of thing and I
suggested to Afridi that
I meet him in Dubai.
372
00:42:24,050 --> 00:42:28,610
And we left the next
day and went to his
hotel room to meet him.
373
00:42:30,850 --> 00:42:35,530
Here I am now, U. S.
citizen, unarmed.
374
00:42:35,530 --> 00:42:39,330
The only people I have
with me are my partner,
who's also unarmed
375
00:42:42,250 --> 00:42:46,810
and we're about to meet
one of the biggest heroin
traffickers in the world.
376
00:42:55,010 --> 00:42:56,610
We were holding
our breath.
377
00:42:56,610 --> 00:42:59,210
I opened the door
and there he was.
378
00:42:59,210 --> 00:43:01,090
Haji Ayub Afridi.
379
00:43:07,130 --> 00:43:10,970
He paid his own
way (laughs) to
get to New York.
380
00:43:27,810 --> 00:43:31,210
GREG: Afridi was
sentenced to five years
in a federal penitentiary
381
00:43:31,210 --> 00:43:33,770
and fined $100,000.
382
00:43:53,330 --> 00:43:55,330
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