Kingpins

With a violent childhood and mantra of “smuggling, bribery and murder,” witness the beginnings of Pablo Escobar’s cocaine empire in Medellín in the 1970s, and how he expanded it exponentially by joining forces with other Colombian drug traffickers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this day in 1974, 19-year-old newlywed Arlis Kay Perry was murdered inside Stanford Memorial Church.

Before becoming “El Patron” and trafficking 80% of the world’s cocaine market, Pablo Escobar was nothing more than a petty criminal on the streets of Medellin.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 2013, the DEA, FBI, DOJ, and Homeland Security were all after Ross Ulbricht, aka "The Dread Pirate Roberts." His drug website, The Silk Road, trafficked millions worth of drugs every week. So far, Ulbricht remained anonymous, thanks to Tor and the cloak of the Dark Web. Little did he know, the users he thought were his friends were federal agents in disguise.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2011, Ross Ulbricht created The Silk Road, aka "The Amazon of Drugs." Hosted on the dark web and financed by Bitcoin, it was an anonymous marketplace where anyone could buy or sell anything without leaving a trace. Drugs, guns, hacking software, human organs -- the free market utopia quickly made Ulbricht a millionaire. And made him a top target for the DEA. Sponsors! Bombas - Get 20% off your first purchase at Bombas.com/KINGPINS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thank you for being a loyal listener! We’re excited to announce all Parcast Network episodes older than 6 months are now available for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After being able to hide on the lam for years, Howard Marks was finally caught and forced to answer for his crimes. However, a convincing lie about his supposed involvement with MI6 ensured Marks’ release and allowed him to continue smuggling cannabis well into the 1980s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our new show SPORTS CRIMINALS, we break down the crimes and careers of the most controversial sports figures in history. From kidnapping and murder to widespread corruption scandals, we give you the play by play of what lurks in the shadows of the sports world. New episodes come out every Thursday!  In this clip we introduce the incredible rise and precipitous fall of Oscar Pistorius, who captured the attention of the world by participating in the 2012 Olympic games as a double-leg amputee. To finish this episode, subscribe to SPORTS CRIMINALS on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts!

During the 1970s, Howard Marks became one of the biggest cannabis smugglers in Europe. Through a series of networks, which included contacts in the IRA and the Mafia, he was able to bring in upwards of 30 tons of cannabis into the UK and the United States. But after years of anonymity, a single bust in Las Vegas would put him on the DEA’s radar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mafia life came with plenty of rules, and Anthony Casso loved that. He was a criminal, but an honorable criminal, and his dedication to the Mafia lifestyle took him to the top of the Lucchese family hierarchy. In the mid 1990s, as he faced threats from inside and outside the family, the pressure got to him, and he started to make mistakes. He was taking his violence too far.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthony Casso was born in Mafia territory in South Brooklyn, and the money-making, wily intelligence, and violence that the "the life" demanded came naturally to him. It was no surprise that he started to climb the ranks of the Lucchese Family as they hit the height of their power in the 1980s.  Parcasters - Watergate forever changed the way Americans look at the presidency, but could there be more to the story? Find out today on Conspiracy Theories! Subscribe to Conspiracy Theories on Spotify to listen now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the 1970s, the Black Tuna Gang, led by Robert Platshorn, was running the marijuana game out of Miami. But, as internal strife grew out of control and the feds closed in around them, Platshorn's life was headed for a downfall.  Sponsors! Bombas - Visit Bombas.com/KINGPINS and get 20% off your first purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Crime never takes a day off, and neither do we. In our new podcast, TODAY IN TRUE CRIME, every day, we flip back the calendar and examine a true crime event from the same date years ago.In this clip, we look back at August 19th, 1970, when John Norman Collins was convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Karen Sue Beineman. Subscribe to TODAY IN TRUE CRIME for a new story every day!

In the late 1960s, Robert Platshorn was one of the most successful independent salespeople in the country. When a colleague offers to bring him into the marijuana business, Bobby just couldn't resist. Soon, he's off to Columbia to start his own smuggling outfit - which would become known to the FBI as "The Black Tuna gang." Parcasters - When Darwin published his thesis on human evolution, it was highly contentious. When John Scopes introduced the theory into his lesson plan, criminal charges were brought against him. Learn about this historic trial on our other podcast NOT GUILTY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1984, Queenpin Jemeker Thompson lost her husband Daff, when he was shot to death while playing dice. She would successfully run her empire without him, but it would all come crashing down, thanks in part, to her own son. Sponsors! Native - For $20 off a suitcase, visit AwayTravel.com/KING and use promo code KING during checkout! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices