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[narrator] By following
the playbook's opening lessons,
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you've maneuvered your way
from the ground floor
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to the mob boss penthouse.
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Now it's time to focus
on your bottom line.
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Vice is commerce.
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It's not about morally,
"Oh, it's wrong to deal drugs."
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Morally, "It's wrong to run a brothel."
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It's business.
It's about grabbing money with both fists.
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[narrator]
Reaching your full earning potential
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won't happen on its own.
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It is absolutely critical
that a mob boss has a business plan.
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If there's no plan,
the structure will fall.
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[narrator] But by putting your intellect
to work along with your muscle,
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you can outfox your competition
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and become
the underworld CEO of your dreams.
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Just like this guy.
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Harlem's superfly heroin tycoon,
Frank Lucas.
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Lucas's revolutionary strategy
upended New York's drug trade
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creating his own supply chain
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that banked more
than a million dollars a day.
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I used to sleep in the bed, in the cold.
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And then I was
in the big time, and I started rolling.
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[narrator] Follow Frank's
cutting-edge business plan,
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and you, too, can make sure
that your crimes do pay.
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[funk bass playing]
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[narrator] Frank Lucas built
a multimillion-dollar
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international heroin empire
from the ground up.
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All before his 40th birthday.
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His goal was to make money selling heroin,
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and so he made
a lot of money selling heroin.
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[narrator] But before you follow
Frank's path to the C-suite,
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here's what you can learn from his rise.
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Frank Lucas was born
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in rural North Carolina
during the Great Depression.
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We have no, no opportunity there
in, uh, segregated North Carolina.
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You won't make a good life for yourself
and be able to take care of your family.
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He did see his cousin murdered
by a member of the KKK.
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They came and blew his brains out.
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They stuck the shotgun in his mouth,
pulled the trigger.
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[gunshot]
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Sometimes certain things
happen in your life, and it change it.
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You know, it change it.
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And he left, and he came to New York.
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[Richie] Now, the problem was
he was illiterate.
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He couldn't get a job
delivering a newspaper.
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He couldn't do anything.
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The only way he could survive
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was to get into something illegal
where he would be accepted.
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So he started selling drugs.
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[Ezell] Bumpy Johnson was the baddest
Black gangster probably ever lived.
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Bumpy was like a, um... like a dad to him.
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[Frank] I worked with Bumpy
for that many years.
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Thirteen years,
nine months and eight days.
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And, uh, every dime I made,
I credit him for it.
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You know, I credit him for it.
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[Richie] When Bumpy died,
Frank got the drug business.
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Frank wanted the drugs
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because he thought that that was
where he would make the most money.
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Out of seven boys, Frank was the oldest.
He was like my hero.
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He'd ask us to do something,
we would do it.
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[Richie] He was able to maintain
his control through his brothers.
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He trusted his brothers
and made them rich.
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Always talks about family, you know.
He just drills it in your head.
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"You stick with your family."
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[narrator] Frank had
a promising career path
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and a loyal inner circle
to help him build his business.
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But that didn't mean
everyone respected his authority.
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As you launch your enterprise,
how do you prove you've got what it takes?
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Nobody fools
with a guy from Harlem, you dig?
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[narrator] As a mob boss, the only way
to ensure your operation's success
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is to immediately show
the consequences of getting in your way.
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First, I'm gonna bash his head to a pulp.
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You have to establish yourself
as a killer.
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It's a real tough industry
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where reputation
and street cred is critical.
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Yeah!
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If you show weakness as a mob boss,
you're not gonna be alive very long.
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[narrator] These guys knew how to flex
their muscles right out of the gate.
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Shortly after taking over
Boston's Winter Hill Gang,
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Whitey Bulger reportedly sent
a message by killing Louis Litif,
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a longtime associate
who disobeyed Whitey's orders.
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His body was found
mutilated in the trunk of a car.
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Albert Anastasia kicked off his reign
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by allegedly ordering the murder
of salesman Arnold Schuster,
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who got on the boss's hit list
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for helping police
track down a known fugitive.
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And when Griselda Blanco
began ruling the Miami cocaine trade,
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she invented a tactic
to keep her adversaries in line,
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enlisting motorcycle hit men
called sicarios,
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who would perform drive-by assassinations,
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usually in broad daylight.
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[indistinct chatter]
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It wasn't long after Frank Lucas
took over Harlem's heroin business
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that his reign was tested.
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When you're at the top,
there's always eagles, okay?
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There's always maybe somebody,
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they start looking at you and figure,
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"You know something? I could do this
a little bit better than this person."
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"Maybe I should be the leader."
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[narrator] You can't afford to let that
sort of insubordination go unanswered.
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In 1960s Harlem,
the baddest guy around is Tango.
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[Ezell] Tango was a big bully.
Six-foot-five, six-foot-six.
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People in Harlem were
kind of fearful of him.
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[narrator] Tango is
a freelance heroin dealer...
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known for shortchanging his suppliers.
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[grunting]
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It's something new boss
Frank Lucas can't allow.
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Frank senses an opportunity
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to show who's really in charge
and cut the giant down to size.
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When he hears
Tango is looking for more product,
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Frank supplies him with a kilo of heroin,
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knowing Tango
will ultimately try to stiff him too.
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And when Frank comes
to collect two weeks later,
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Tango doesn't disappoint.
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He refuses to pay Frank a dime
and lashes out, challenging Frank's honor.
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And his mother's.
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[gasping]
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[narrator] A crowd forms,
just as Frank knew it would.
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[tense music intensifies]
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[gun cocking]
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[crowd screaming]
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[narrator] The message is clear.
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Frank knew
to let people know when you are the boss,
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that not only
is your finger on the trigger,
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but you know how to pull it.
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[narrator] That's the sort of reputation
you need to succeed.
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But as a mob boss,
your brawn may kick open the door,
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but it's your brain
that'll bring in the cash.
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Start with this mantra
any wise businessman must follow,
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never pay retail.
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Kids dream of becoming athletes,
astronauts, or movie stars.
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No one ever aspires to become a middleman.
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Too bad,
because that's where the money is.
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[Lewis] In the heroin business,
the supply chain, it's international.
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The middleman is making
a tremendous amount of money
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because he's going right to the source.
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[narrator] And that's coming out
of your profits.
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Let me explain.
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While Frank was getting started,
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heroin came to the US
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through what was called
"The French Connection."
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[bell dings]
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It started with poppies grown in Turkey.
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When the plants matured,
they were harvested for opium sap.
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The sap was boiled with lime
to separate the morphine.
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Then it was off to France,
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where industrious chemists
turned the morphine into heroin.
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It's a precise and smelly process.
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Next, it was up to the middlemen
from the Corsican Mafia
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to move the refined heroin
across the Atlantic to America,
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hiding it any way they could.
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Now, that's an expensive toaster.
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Once the heroin made landfall,
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the American mob sold it
at a markup of up to 400%.
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Then it hit the streets,
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courtesy of domestic dealers
like Frank Lucas.
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For the Mafia, this arrangement
made them countless millions.
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But for hustlers like Frank,
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it was a painfully
inefficient proposition.
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Frank wanted to try to figure out,
"How do I cut out the middleman
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to maximize my profits?"
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And also reduce
the opportunity for law enforcement
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to penetrate his organization.
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[narrator] Lucas needed a big idea,
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which he got from the same place
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you're probably getting
this essential content,
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television.
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[Frank] There used to be
a news broadcast come on.
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They used to tell you
about those guys in Vietnam getting high.
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[broadcaster] Washington now admits
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there is a serious drug problem
among its servicemen in Vietnam.
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[narrator] And while some
might only see a crisis,
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Frank's mind went to a different place.
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Frank saw an opportunity
to bring the heroin in from Asia.
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[narrator] Frank's master plan?
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Bypass the French Connection
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and create his own heroin pipeline
from the Far East.
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And luckily, he already had a hookup.
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His cousin,
a gentleman named Ike Atkinson,
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was a retired Army sergeant in Asia
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who was able to make contact
with those who were growing the poppies.
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[narrator] But when you're considering
a new business venture,
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you need to look before you leap.
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[horns honking]
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[narrator] Frank travels
to Bangkok, Thailand,
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to meet with cousin Ike
who introduces him to his local supplier.
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A man Frank dubs 007 for obvious reasons.
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007 is willing to sell Frank
over 200 kilos of heroin on the spot
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for around a million dollars,
one-tenth of what the Mafia would charge.
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Frank eagerly agrees,
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and finds a helpful service man
to bring the haul stateside.
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This could be the start
of a beautiful relationship.
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But Frank needs to make sure
007's operation is up to the challenge.
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So he heads into the Thai jungle himself,
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hiking for days in the sweltering heat...
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until finally he reaches
the Promised Land.
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[mysterious music plays]
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Frank is so impressed,
he buys more product on the spot.
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But the return trip hits a snag.
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Bandits.
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Frank fights alongside the guides.
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When the smoke clears,
the bandits are dead.
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While Frank's goal
of securing a direct heroin supply,
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that's alive and well.
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I went in. I got the load.
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And came back, and the rest is history.
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[narrator] But even if you secure
a direct hookup for your product,
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00:12:35,589 --> 00:12:38,967
you won't become a top boss
without mastering sales.
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00:12:39,635 --> 00:12:43,263
How do you keep
your merchandise flying off the shelves?
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00:12:48,685 --> 00:12:53,982
Anytime your sales volume
isn't up to your full market potential,
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00:12:54,066 --> 00:12:56,527
whatever the reason, you've got a problem.
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[narrator] The playbook solution
to this common dilemma?
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00:13:00,072 --> 00:13:02,074
Become the only game in town.
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00:13:03,909 --> 00:13:07,620
[woman] If you corner the market,
you have control over the market.
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00:13:07,704 --> 00:13:10,749
You can charge whatever the hell you want.
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00:13:11,375 --> 00:13:13,710
[narrator] It certainly worked
for these guys.
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00:13:14,837 --> 00:13:18,423
Crime boss Enoch "Nucky" Johnson
used his political connections
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to control all of Atlantic City's rackets
during Prohibition,
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00:13:22,344 --> 00:13:24,721
making half a million dollars a year,
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00:13:24,805 --> 00:13:26,431
nine million today,
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00:13:26,515 --> 00:13:29,476
off of illegal booze,
prostitution, and gambling.
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00:13:30,853 --> 00:13:35,190
Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo Scarfo
cornered the methamphetamine market
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by importing and distributing
more than 100 gallons of P2P.
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Enough of this key ingredient
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00:13:41,530 --> 00:13:44,032
to make half a ton
of the highly addictive drug.
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00:13:44,908 --> 00:13:47,994
And Cheng Chui Ping, known as Sister Ping,
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00:13:48,078 --> 00:13:50,872
made $40 million over two decades
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by becoming the go-to provider
for smuggling migrants
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from China to the United States,
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earning her the nickname
"The Mother of all Snakeheads."
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00:14:02,843 --> 00:14:04,677
But Frank Lucas was looking to serve
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00:14:04,761 --> 00:14:08,724
an even larger
and faster-growing consumer base.
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00:14:09,266 --> 00:14:12,727
About 50% of the heroin addicts
live in New York City,
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00:14:12,811 --> 00:14:17,774
and an estimated 80% of the known addicts
in New York City live here, in Harlem.
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00:14:17,858 --> 00:14:19,568
[narrator] Demand was clearly
not a problem,
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00:14:20,444 --> 00:14:24,197
but how do you make sure
customers come to you to get their fix?
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00:14:24,781 --> 00:14:26,783
It starts with marketing.
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00:14:27,826 --> 00:14:28,993
Like most organizations,
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00:14:29,077 --> 00:14:30,954
you have a product,
you give it a brand name.
240
00:14:31,038 --> 00:14:35,375
So you want people to look for your brand.
You have to make sure your brand is good.
241
00:14:36,460 --> 00:14:39,420
[narrator] And that its name
grabs people's attention.
242
00:14:39,504 --> 00:14:41,465
Here's some of Frank's competition.
243
00:14:41,965 --> 00:14:45,052
Some of these I recognize.
You want me to read all of them?
244
00:14:45,844 --> 00:14:46,719
Okay.
245
00:14:46,803 --> 00:14:47,720
Mean Machine.
246
00:14:47,804 --> 00:14:48,847
Could Be Fatal.
247
00:14:48,931 --> 00:14:49,806
Taster's Choice.
248
00:14:49,890 --> 00:14:51,099
Harlem Hijack. Joint.
249
00:14:51,183 --> 00:14:52,350
Fuck Me, Fuck You.
250
00:14:52,434 --> 00:14:53,309
Dick Down.
251
00:14:53,393 --> 00:14:55,395
Oh, Can't Get Enough of That Funky Stuff.
252
00:14:55,479 --> 00:14:56,771
- Payback.
- Tragic Magic.
253
00:14:56,855 --> 00:14:58,106
Nice To Be Nice.
254
00:14:58,190 --> 00:14:59,107
Ding Dong.
255
00:14:59,191 --> 00:15:01,109
OD Correct. Official Correct.
256
00:15:01,193 --> 00:15:02,026
Past Due.
257
00:15:02,110 --> 00:15:03,278
Payback Revenge.
258
00:15:03,362 --> 00:15:05,280
Green Tape. Red Tape. Rush.
259
00:15:05,364 --> 00:15:08,325
They didn't lack
for imagination. [chuckles]
260
00:15:09,534 --> 00:15:12,787
[narrator] But clever branding
only goes so far.
261
00:15:12,871 --> 00:15:15,791
It's what's in the package that counts.
262
00:15:16,375 --> 00:15:18,668
Frank stamped his "Blue Magic,"
263
00:15:18,752 --> 00:15:21,630
and it was the best dope you could buy.
264
00:15:22,923 --> 00:15:24,674
[narrator] Frank's secret sauce?
265
00:15:24,758 --> 00:15:26,801
Most heroin that dealers sold at the time
266
00:15:26,885 --> 00:15:29,596
had purity levels
of just one to three percent.
267
00:15:30,180 --> 00:15:32,682
But Lucas put his customers first,
268
00:15:32,766 --> 00:15:35,811
upping the purity level
to five to seven percent.
269
00:15:37,187 --> 00:15:38,229
They got a better high.
270
00:15:38,313 --> 00:15:41,858
I mean, you know, you can buy a Ford
or you can buy a Cadillac.
271
00:15:41,942 --> 00:15:43,192
I'd rather buy the Cadillac,
272
00:15:43,276 --> 00:15:45,070
and that's what Frank
was selling these people.
273
00:15:45,654 --> 00:15:49,490
[narrator] And when you're selling
a premium and potentially deadly product,
274
00:15:49,574 --> 00:15:51,827
quality control is essential.
275
00:15:53,954 --> 00:15:57,916
Frank made sure his production line
was in the hands of a true expert.
276
00:15:58,834 --> 00:16:02,212
The manufacturing genius
he called Red Top.
277
00:16:03,505 --> 00:16:06,466
Each time Frank receives
a heroin shipment from Asia,
278
00:16:06,550 --> 00:16:08,301
he delivers it to Red Top
279
00:16:08,927 --> 00:16:11,095
who cuts the heroin
with additional substances
280
00:16:11,179 --> 00:16:12,431
to get it street ready.
281
00:16:13,807 --> 00:16:16,768
As demand increases,
Frank hires more staff
282
00:16:17,394 --> 00:16:22,774
and makes these new employees
wear a specific uniform for transparency.
283
00:16:23,650 --> 00:16:25,068
To avoid detection,
284
00:16:25,152 --> 00:16:29,072
Lucas has Red Top frequently shift
the operation around the city.
285
00:16:33,869 --> 00:16:38,373
Sometimes he even reportedly pays off cops
to do the work inside their homes.
286
00:16:39,583 --> 00:16:43,462
But to truly corner the market,
Frank needed something else.
287
00:16:44,755 --> 00:16:46,798
A solid retail strategy.
288
00:16:48,467 --> 00:16:52,637
Studying police behavior,
Frank notices a key pattern.
289
00:16:54,598 --> 00:16:57,934
At 4:00 p.m. daily,
cops on the early shift leave their posts.
290
00:16:59,936 --> 00:17:02,689
But the night shift
doesn't take over until 5:00.
291
00:17:04,775 --> 00:17:07,235
Frank instructs his lieutenants
to hit the streets hard
292
00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:09,237
during this golden hour.
293
00:17:11,782 --> 00:17:15,284
While Frank monitors
his crew's customer service
294
00:17:15,368 --> 00:17:17,829
by cruising through Harlem undercover.
295
00:17:19,915 --> 00:17:23,043
If anybody slips up, there's hell to pay.
296
00:17:23,627 --> 00:17:25,087
[gasping]
297
00:17:27,464 --> 00:17:29,591
[narrator] But when your product
sells this well,
298
00:17:30,092 --> 00:17:33,637
sometimes all you have to do
is sit back and enjoy.
299
00:17:35,639 --> 00:17:40,309
By creating a premium product
and mastering distribution,
300
00:17:40,393 --> 00:17:43,730
Frank had Harlem's heroin market
in the palm of his hand.
301
00:17:45,190 --> 00:17:48,360
At this point, who wouldn't want
to enjoy the fruits of their labors?
302
00:17:49,402 --> 00:17:51,947
But before you start
throwing your money around,
303
00:17:52,447 --> 00:17:56,201
pay close attention
to the playbook's next lesson.
304
00:18:01,414 --> 00:18:03,791
When you're pushing drugs on the street,
305
00:18:03,875 --> 00:18:06,795
you don't exactly get paid
with direct deposit.
306
00:18:07,546 --> 00:18:10,339
Cash money is preferred
when you're dealing in illegal activity
307
00:18:10,423 --> 00:18:11,591
because there's no record.
308
00:18:12,300 --> 00:18:15,386
[narrator] But being flush with cash
can create some problems.
309
00:18:15,470 --> 00:18:18,265
They were making so much money
in the street, it was crazy.
310
00:18:19,307 --> 00:18:20,892
[Lewis] Guys like Frank Lucas,
311
00:18:20,976 --> 00:18:24,270
they had hundreds of thousands of dollars
of twenties and fifties
312
00:18:24,354 --> 00:18:25,980
and tens and fives.
313
00:18:26,064 --> 00:18:30,151
It's bulky to carry.
It's difficult to count.
314
00:18:30,235 --> 00:18:31,194
And you know,
315
00:18:31,278 --> 00:18:35,364
the bank will be a little suspicious
about why do you have all this cash money
316
00:18:35,448 --> 00:18:37,117
when most people get paid in checks?
317
00:18:37,868 --> 00:18:39,911
[narrator] Those aren't the only issues.
318
00:18:39,995 --> 00:18:42,371
Ultimately, everybody, including mobsters,
319
00:18:42,455 --> 00:18:44,707
have to give
some accounting of their money,
320
00:18:44,791 --> 00:18:48,419
and if you're living in a mansion
in Howard Beach, and you've got a Porsche,
321
00:18:48,503 --> 00:18:50,755
and then when it comes time
for your income taxes
322
00:18:50,839 --> 00:18:53,716
you claim that you make
$12,000 a year as a mailman,
323
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,135
it's not gonna add up.
324
00:18:56,261 --> 00:18:58,680
[narrator] This is why
the crime gods invented...
325
00:19:00,056 --> 00:19:01,349
money laundering.
326
00:19:02,058 --> 00:19:06,021
Ready to turn dirty money into clean cash?
327
00:19:07,939 --> 00:19:11,818
While techniques vary,
they mostly follow the same basic steps.
328
00:19:12,652 --> 00:19:15,071
Step one. Placement.
329
00:19:17,199 --> 00:19:18,491
Create a legitimate business
330
00:19:18,575 --> 00:19:21,578
with a bank account
where you can park your illicit profits,
331
00:19:22,495 --> 00:19:25,290
like a car wash or a strip club.
332
00:19:25,957 --> 00:19:28,376
Step two. Layering.
333
00:19:29,419 --> 00:19:33,589
Use complex transactions to separate
the money from its illegal source.
334
00:19:33,673 --> 00:19:36,092
For example, buy gold.
335
00:19:36,927 --> 00:19:37,761
Cash it in.
336
00:19:38,303 --> 00:19:39,262
Then send that money
337
00:19:39,346 --> 00:19:42,265
from one international bank account
to another
338
00:19:42,349 --> 00:19:44,559
to make it even harder to trace.
339
00:19:45,852 --> 00:19:52,275
Or sink the proceeds into assets
like luxury cars, jewelry, or real estate.
340
00:19:52,817 --> 00:19:58,114
Then sell them again.
Bringing us to step three. Integration.
341
00:19:59,783 --> 00:20:03,453
Invest your freshly-laundered dough
into the legitimate financial system
342
00:20:04,079 --> 00:20:06,748
to keep the taxman off your trail.
343
00:20:07,791 --> 00:20:12,462
Voilà! Your dirty drug money
is now clean as a whistle.
344
00:20:15,215 --> 00:20:16,132
Sounds easy,
345
00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,260
but the tricky thing
about money laundering,
346
00:20:19,344 --> 00:20:20,804
you can't do it alone.
347
00:20:22,138 --> 00:20:24,307
[Ezell] In New York, Frank knew everybody,
348
00:20:24,391 --> 00:20:28,060
so he had a nice connection
cleaning the money up for him.
349
00:20:28,144 --> 00:20:31,772
[Lewis] He had a connection
at Chemical Bank at the executive level.
350
00:20:31,856 --> 00:20:34,526
He would direct the tellers
to take care of Frank when he came in.
351
00:20:35,527 --> 00:20:37,820
[narrator] And take care of him they did.
352
00:20:37,904 --> 00:20:40,531
[Lewis] They would count
hundreds of thousands of dollars
353
00:20:40,615 --> 00:20:42,825
in fives, tens, ones, and twenties.
354
00:20:42,909 --> 00:20:46,120
And the bank person he was working with
would ask no questions
355
00:20:46,204 --> 00:20:48,957
and just change that money
into $100 bills.
356
00:20:51,084 --> 00:20:54,086
[narrator] Like a true boss,
Lucas invested his clean cash
357
00:20:54,170 --> 00:20:56,756
in legitimate tax-generating businesses.
358
00:20:57,841 --> 00:21:01,011
He practically controlled
an entire block in Harlem.
359
00:21:01,511 --> 00:21:05,390
He had a club there.
He had a couple of stores.
360
00:21:06,057 --> 00:21:09,435
He had office buildings
in places like Detroit
361
00:21:09,519 --> 00:21:11,562
and other parts of New York City.
362
00:21:11,646 --> 00:21:13,398
A ranch in North Carolina.
363
00:21:14,107 --> 00:21:16,317
[mooing]
364
00:21:16,401 --> 00:21:19,987
He bought 4,000 acres of land.
Three hundred heads of cattle.
365
00:21:20,071 --> 00:21:23,282
He had, like,
a $100,000 prize bull down there.
366
00:21:23,366 --> 00:21:25,618
It was a big-ass bull.
367
00:21:26,494 --> 00:21:27,454
[mooing]
368
00:21:28,079 --> 00:21:29,789
This sucker was huge.
369
00:21:31,791 --> 00:21:36,379
[narrator] Frank's diversified portfolio
paved his way into high society.
370
00:21:37,297 --> 00:21:43,928
Frank knew the celebrities of the day.
Boxers, Joe Louis. Entertainers.
371
00:21:44,012 --> 00:21:46,389
He was a celebrity of his day
372
00:21:46,473 --> 00:21:51,811
even though he was, you know,
doing something very illegal and wrong.
373
00:21:53,146 --> 00:21:54,689
[Ezell] One time I'm sitting in the bar,
374
00:21:54,773 --> 00:21:57,609
he's like, "Boy, you like James Brown?"
I'm like, "Yeah."
375
00:21:58,401 --> 00:22:01,404
And then the music started playing,
and James Brown came over,
376
00:22:01,488 --> 00:22:05,950
grabbed my hand and tried to get me
to dance, and I'm like, "Whoa!" [laughs]
377
00:22:06,576 --> 00:22:09,662
[narrator] Thanks to Frank's
money laundering expertise,
378
00:22:09,746 --> 00:22:13,124
he and his brothers were able
to live it up as Harlem royalty.
379
00:22:14,959 --> 00:22:17,920
Everything's money.
This is America. [chuckles]
380
00:22:18,004 --> 00:22:19,422
Everything's money.
381
00:22:19,506 --> 00:22:23,009
[narrator] But when your core product
is high-grade heroin,
382
00:22:23,093 --> 00:22:26,304
the happy days
probably won't last forever.
383
00:22:26,388 --> 00:22:27,305
[siren wailing]
384
00:22:27,389 --> 00:22:31,684
A lot of people started dying,
and the government started waking up.
385
00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:38,233
America's Public Enemy Number One
in the United States is drug abuse.
386
00:22:39,442 --> 00:22:41,152
[narrator] At times like these,
387
00:22:41,236 --> 00:22:43,321
how do you keep
your business plan on course?
388
00:22:43,405 --> 00:22:47,659
The company has suffered serious damage
both to productivity and human relations.
389
00:22:48,576 --> 00:22:51,579
Both must be repaired
as quickly and completely as possible.
390
00:22:56,543 --> 00:22:59,254
[narrator] If you want to build
your business to last,
391
00:22:59,754 --> 00:23:03,550
you need a strategy
that can adapt to all market conditions.
392
00:23:04,259 --> 00:23:09,638
In 1971, President Nixon
coined the term "War on Drugs,"
393
00:23:09,722 --> 00:23:12,308
and in New York City, this war was raging,
394
00:23:12,892 --> 00:23:17,563
and so it was critical
for New York City Police Department
395
00:23:17,647 --> 00:23:22,986
to show that they could get things done
by taking on these guys.
396
00:23:23,653 --> 00:23:25,446
[narrator] Frank used
a multipronged approach
397
00:23:25,530 --> 00:23:26,781
to address this problem.
398
00:23:27,574 --> 00:23:29,742
Starting with a PR campaign.
399
00:23:29,826 --> 00:23:32,578
He thought doing things for the community
400
00:23:32,662 --> 00:23:37,083
would be an effective way
of protecting himself and his enterprise.
401
00:23:37,167 --> 00:23:38,542
Loaning money to people.
402
00:23:38,626 --> 00:23:40,544
Not worrying about
if you got it paid back.
403
00:23:40,628 --> 00:23:42,463
Taking care of people.
404
00:23:42,547 --> 00:23:46,759
So he kept a community on his side.
405
00:23:47,510 --> 00:23:51,389
[narrator] He also made sure to take care
of an even more important demographic.
406
00:23:53,099 --> 00:23:53,975
Cops.
407
00:23:54,517 --> 00:23:57,854
Frank spent a lot of money
paying off police.
408
00:23:58,813 --> 00:24:01,023
Having the police on the take means
409
00:24:01,107 --> 00:24:05,069
being able to walk down the street
and not worry about being locked up.
410
00:24:05,153 --> 00:24:10,783
It means knowing that you're gonna have
a supply of drugs coming in safely
411
00:24:10,867 --> 00:24:13,620
without being interdicted by the police.
412
00:24:14,996 --> 00:24:17,164
[narrator] But as many
mob bosses discover,
413
00:24:17,248 --> 00:24:21,377
acts of generosity
can leave some men in blue wanting more.
414
00:24:23,838 --> 00:24:25,131
By the early '70s,
415
00:24:25,215 --> 00:24:28,801
Frank Lucas has moved his family
to a quiet house in the suburbs.
416
00:24:29,302 --> 00:24:34,098
But when you inhabit the criminal life,
business has a way of following you home.
417
00:24:34,182 --> 00:24:35,391
[horn honks]
418
00:24:36,142 --> 00:24:38,436
Today, Frank is met
by an unwanted visitor,
419
00:24:39,229 --> 00:24:43,399
a corrupt NYPD detective
he comes to call Babyface.
420
00:24:44,859 --> 00:24:47,529
He orders Frank to pay him
10,000 cash a month.
421
00:24:49,030 --> 00:24:51,699
Or he'll shut down
Frank's operation for good.
422
00:24:56,496 --> 00:24:58,706
Frank doesn't see any real options.
423
00:24:59,874 --> 00:25:01,000
So he pays up.
424
00:25:03,378 --> 00:25:06,756
But while Frank scrambles
to keep Babyface off his back,
425
00:25:07,257 --> 00:25:12,011
an even greater threat is amassing
against him from the DEA.
426
00:25:13,513 --> 00:25:17,850
Agents have been working around the clock
to gather intel on Frank's operation.
427
00:25:19,227 --> 00:25:21,563
And when a mob informant steps forward...
428
00:25:22,063 --> 00:25:23,898
[siren wailing]
429
00:25:23,982 --> 00:25:25,567
...they hit hard.
430
00:25:28,528 --> 00:25:29,820
[Lewis] I can tell you
431
00:25:29,904 --> 00:25:32,740
when the agents and the police officers
came to arrest him,
432
00:25:32,824 --> 00:25:37,703
his wife threw several gym bags
out of the window.
433
00:25:37,787 --> 00:25:42,541
And there was over $500,000
in cash, small bills.
434
00:25:42,625 --> 00:25:45,127
And this was money that he was collecting
435
00:25:45,211 --> 00:25:48,131
to go to Thailand
to buy 100 kilos of heroin.
436
00:25:51,134 --> 00:25:53,720
[narrator] Sadly,
he'd never make that trip.
437
00:25:56,681 --> 00:26:00,602
Frank goes to trial on both federal
and state drug trafficking charges.
438
00:26:01,102 --> 00:26:04,981
He's found guilty
and sentenced to 70 years in prison.
439
00:26:06,149 --> 00:26:10,903
But then Harlem's top drug boss
makes one last transaction.
440
00:26:12,238 --> 00:26:15,783
[Lewis] Frank joined America's team
and made a business decision
441
00:26:16,367 --> 00:26:18,577
to cooperate to reduce that jail time.
442
00:26:18,661 --> 00:26:22,122
As a businessperson
looking out for himself,
443
00:26:22,206 --> 00:26:24,792
he made the right decision for himself.
444
00:26:26,002 --> 00:26:28,713
[narrator] Even if it meant
turning on his own brother.
445
00:26:30,256 --> 00:26:31,382
You never tell.
446
00:26:31,966 --> 00:26:32,884
And he flipped!
447
00:26:33,885 --> 00:26:37,763
That type of betrayal is...
it's hard to deal with sometimes.
448
00:26:37,847 --> 00:26:39,766
It is. You know, somebody else,
449
00:26:40,266 --> 00:26:44,103
you can deal with a little better,
but your brother, your own family members?
450
00:26:45,104 --> 00:26:46,356
Cuts you to the core.
451
00:26:47,732 --> 00:26:49,692
Still hurts to today. Still hurts.
452
00:26:50,276 --> 00:26:52,945
[narrator] What can I say?
It's just business.
453
00:26:54,489 --> 00:26:58,242
Frank Lucas's profit-maximizing genius
earned him millions,
454
00:26:58,326 --> 00:27:01,454
but his time on top
lasted just seven years.
455
00:27:02,747 --> 00:27:06,458
If you want your flame
to burn both bright and long,
456
00:27:06,542 --> 00:27:09,003
you need to dig deeper into the playbook
457
00:27:09,087 --> 00:27:11,464
and follow our next criminal titan,
458
00:27:12,215 --> 00:27:16,969
Sicilian boss of bosses,
Salvatore "The Beast" Riina.
459
00:27:17,887 --> 00:27:21,641
The secret to his legendary run
of underworld domination,
460
00:27:22,975 --> 00:27:25,353
total disregard for human life.
461
00:27:26,145 --> 00:27:29,399
Are you ready
to unleash the beast inside of you?
462
00:27:30,441 --> 00:27:32,402
[theme music playing]