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Hi listeners, it's Vanessa Richardson. Real quick, before today's episode, I want to tell you about another show from Crime House that I know you'll love. America's Most Infamous Crimes. Hosted by Katie Ring. Each week, Katie takes on one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history. Serial killers who terrorized cities, unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night, and investigations that change the way we think about justice. Listen to and follow America's Most infamous crimes Tuesday through Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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This is crime house.
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On a hot summer evening in 1983, a group of men huddled inside the palace of Wheels tire shop in South Central Los Angeles. They weren't really in the tire business. The shop was just where they counted their money. A 23 year old man with braids watched as the others tallied up the day's sales. He might have been young, but he was the undisputed boss of the operation. The three years earlier, he was a nobody. Now everybody in LA knew his name. Freeway Rick Ross. He single handedly commanded the city's crack cocaine business and it was booming. Freeway Rick listened in on one of his many police scanners just in case they were trying to make a move. But he wasn't really worried. He knew they couldn't touch him. Rick had dozens of military style weapons and protection that went all the way to the top. After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of the counting machines finally stopped. One of Rick's lieutenants came up to give him the final count. In just one day, they'd made $3 million. From UFO cults and mass suicides to secret CIA experiments, presidential assassinations and murderous doctors, these aren't just theories, they're real stories blur the line between fact and fiction. I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes. A Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I'll explore the real people at the center of the world's most shocking events and nefarious organizations. And remember those Monday episodes will also be on YouTube with full video. You can find them every Saturday. Just search for conspiracy theories, cults and crimes and be sure to like and subscribe. Don't to forget, these cases are wild and I want to hear what you think at the end of each episode. Please leave a comment wherever you listen. Be sure to rate, review and follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes to continue building this community together. And for ad free access to all three episodes, subscribe to Crime House plus, on Apple Podcasts today, we're talking about California's cocaine kingpin, Freeway Rick Ross. In the 1980s, he made hundreds of millions of dollars selling crack cocaine across America. Even as the war on drugs ramped up under Ronald Reagan, Rick seemed untouchable according to many people. That's because Rick and his partner had some guardian angels at the very top of the US Government and they needed his business to succeed because they were using his drug money to fund an overseas war. All that and more coming up. If you're an experienced pet owner, you already know that having a pet is 25% belly rubs, 25% yelling drop it. And 50% groaning at the bill from every pet visit. Which is why Lemonade Pet Insurance is tailor made for your pet and can save you up to 90% on vet bills. It can help cover checkups, emergencies, diagnostics, basically all the stuff that makes your bank account get nervous. Claims are filed super easily through the Lemonade app and half get settled instantly. Get a'@lemonade.com pet and they'll help cover the vet bill for whatever your pet swallowed after you yelled drop it girl. Winter is so last season and now spring's got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders that perfect hang on the patio sundress, those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope. It's time for a little in person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross Work in Magic. Although Rick Ross went on to make a name for himself in Southern California, he was born in the small city of troop, Texas on January 26, 1960. His dad wasn't in the picture and his mom, Annie May Malden, had come from a black sharecropper family in the shadow of the Jim Crow South. By the time Rick was born, she was eager for a fresh start. When he was three years old, they moved to South Central Los angeles near the 110 freeway, close to his uncle George. But things in LA weren't much better than Texas, especially in South Central. Decades of discriminatory housing and hiring practices had forced black families into poverty, job opportunities were limited and crime was common even within the home. By the time Rick was five years old, his Uncle George was regularly abusing Annie. One day, George went to the kitchen to get a knife to slash her. In response, she grabbed A pistol. Rick watched as his mom shot her brother, killing him instantly. That might have been the first murder Rick witnessed, but it definitely wasn't the last. Throughout the 1960s, the government, particularly the CIA, suppressed black power movements like the Black Panthers. In their place rose two major gangs who quickly became deadly rivals. The Bloods and the Crips. Rick didn't join either faction, even though he had a lot of friends who did. But he still wanted to find a way to take care of his mother and give her a better life. And by the time he got to high school, he thought he'd found what he was looking for. Rick was about 14 when he noticed that his friends were showing up to school with brand new sneakers and workout clothes, a rarity in their neighborhood. When Rick asked where they got their fancy outfits, they explained that they were ranked tennis players, so they got it all for free. They said Rick could do the same thing. He'd always been a good athlete, so he decided to give it a shot. Pretty soon, he made the tennis team at Susan Miller Dorsey High School. The Dorsey team was composed entirely of black players, which was extremely uncommon at the time and still is. They dominated competitions across Southern California, and Rick was the star. He spent every day at his local courts trying to get better and and find some solace from the troubles of his neighborhood. When Rick was a senior in high school, he got what he'd always dreamed of. A college scholarship to play tennis. But all this time, Rick had been hiding a secret. Even though he was enrolled in school, he couldn't read or write. When the college found out, they rescinded their offer. After that, Rick didn't see the point in continuing his education. So in May 1978, he dropped out of high school school just a few weeks before graduation. He was right back where he started, poor and without many job prospects. But that didn't stop him. It didn't take long before he found another way to make money. After dropping out of high school, Rick enrolled at a local community college to keep playing tennis and try to learn a trade. He started taking classes in furniture upholstery and became friendly with his professor. The professor ended up letting Rick in on a secret. Teaching Community college wasn't his only job. He showed Rick a small baggie of white powder and told him it was worth $50, about $250 today. That money could go a long way toward keeping Rick and his mother fed. He asked the teacher if he could help him sell the baggie. It turned out Rick had a knack for sales. Cocaine was still a reasonably expensive drug, so most people in his neighborhood couldn't afford it. But Rick knew how to product to the right buyers. Thanks to some neighborhood friends, Rick got in touch with the wealthiest members of the Bloods and the Crips, as well as several high level pimps. Eventually, he dropped out of school and was far outselling his former teacher, which meant he needed more product. That's when Rick's teacher introduced him to his supplier, a Nicaraguan man named Ivan Argellas. Argeas kept rick supplied with six to eight ounces a week, worth over $10,000. By 1982, when Rick was just 22 years old, he'd become one of South Central's most successful cocaine dealers. And pretty soon he took his operation to a whole new level. One day, Rick's suppliers showed him a tiny white rock which they said was worth as much as a gram of regular cocaine. They promised that if he started selling it, it would change his life. Crack cocaine was far more potent than powder cocaine since it could be smoked and would absorb into the bloodstream much more quickly. And a little went a long way, meaning dealers like Rick could make a lot more money. All they had to do was cook the powdered coke with baking soda and turn it into crack. Soon Rick added crack to his lineup and was buying even more product from Margayas. But just a few months after they started working together, Rick Argayas was shot in the spine. He spent months in the hospital and had to drop out of the drug game. At that point, Rick started dealing with Argayas brother in law who kept him supplied. Then one day, without warning, Argayas brother in law decided to quit the business. He left the country without saying a word to Rick for a moment. Rick was left in the lurch right when crack was taking off. But someone up the ladder had noticed Rick's ability to move their product and he wanted to build a partnership. Oscar Danilo Blandon grew up in Nicaragua under the reign of the Somosa family of dictators. Blandon built a strong career within the Somoza government managing food exportation. But in 1979, it all came crashing down. That year, Somosa's government was overthrown by communist revolutionaries known as the Sandinistas. The Blandon fled to the United States and used his trade management skills to import cocaine from Nicaragua. Nicaraguan exporters would drop kilos of the drugs from airplanes into the San Francisco Bay, where frog men in scuba suits would retrieve them and distribute the drugs around California. Blandon became the biggest supplier in Southern California, and sold his product to a number of dealers, including Argayas and his brother in law. And when they dropped out of the business, Blandon met with Rick directly. In late 1982, Rick got his first kilo of cocaine from Blandon, worth about $60,000 on the street. But Blandon was selling it for $10,000 less than the regular rate he promised Rick. He could get him a lot more at that price. With a discount like that, Rick could afford to start buying the coke wholesale. He would cook up crack on a massive scale and distribute it to both the Bloods and the Crips and have them sell it on the street. The product was a deadly combination, both the cheapest and the best on the market. In the span of just a few short years, Rick went from selling $50 baggies to hundreds of kilos a week. But now he needed somewhere to hide all that money. Growing up, there had been a lot of Ricks in his neighborhood, so they all got nicknames. Since Rick lived right by the 110, they called him Freeway Rick. Once he started making money, that nickname gave him an idea. Investing in real estate all along the freeway. He bought up over a dozen motels as investment properties and ways to launder his cash. After that, the nickname took on a life of its own. Pretty soon, everybody knew him as the kingpin of LA's crack trade. But it didn't take long for the drug to have a devastating impact on Rick's community. Under Ronald Reagan, the government deregulated lots of industries, which led to even fewer jobs in low income black communities. For many people, drugs were the only way to escape the sting of poverty, either by getting high or getting rich. Dealers like Rick were selling the drug for as low as $5 a vial. From 1982 to 1986, the number of crack users in America rose by 1, 1.6 million people. That user base skyrocketed Freeway Rick's profits. But it also meant that kids as young as 10 years old were getting addicted to the drug. The government knew they had an epidemic on their hands. When Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981, the war on drugs was already in full swing. But Reagan made the effort a cornerstone of his administration. He increased the FBI's drug enforcement funding from $8 million a year, $95 million. And thanks to lobbying from Vice President George H.W. bush, the former director of the CIA, the agency started coordinating drug response efforts in 1986. The crack epidemic became the country's most talked about issue. After young basketball star Len Bias died of an overdose. His death directly led to the passing of the Anti Drug Abuse act, which created harsh penalties for possession and distribution of crack cocaine. But the new law disproportionately impacted the black community. It criminalized the possession of crack at a rate that was 100 times higher than that of powdered cocaine. It seemed intentional since powdered cocaine was more common among white users, even though it was just as deadly as crack cocaine. Adding fuel to the fire, the law also directed $1.7 billion to anti drug task forces in low income black communities. Areas like South Central were suddenly swarming with in addition to increased local police presence. By 1986, everybody in LA knew who Freeway Rick was, including the LAPD. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't seem to pin him down. That's because there were much bigger forces at play, and even Rick didn't know what he'd signed up for. What they did to your family. You're lucky to make it out alive. Streaming on Peacock. These men are going to come after me, taking them out. It's my only chance. Put a bullet in her head. From the co creator of Ozark. Looks like a family was running drugs execution style. Killing it's rare for the Keys. Any leads on who they might have been running for? The cartel killed my family. I'm gonna kill them. All of them. MIA Streaming now only on Peacock.
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I'm Carter Roy, host of Murder True Crime Stories. If you listen to true crime because you want more than just what happened, this show is for you. On Murder True Crime Stories, we take deep dives into history's most notorious murders. But we don't stop at the crime scene. We look beyond the headlines to understand the real story and the people who are impacted the most. Because these cases aren't just mysteries. They're lives. Families, communities that were changed forever. Whether a case is solved or unsolved, my goal is for you to walk away understanding why these stories still matter and why they deserve to be told with care. Each episode explores the darkest corners of true crime while keeping the focus where it belongs. On the human cost. New episodes drop every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Follow Murder True Crime Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.
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This episode is brought to you by Prime Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off Campus L every year after the Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point and more. Slow Burns Second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. By the time he was 23 years old, freeway Rick Ross had become the king of the Los Angeles crack trade. He made hundreds of millions of dollars a year during the 1980s. He didn't get into the weeds when it came to his work, though. He got his drugs from his supplier, Oscar Danilo Blandon. Beyond that, he didn't know or care where the crack came from. The only thing that mattered was that the money kept flowing. The problem was Rick wasn't the only one pocketing that cash. Remember, Blandon fled Nicaragua in 191879 after the communist Sandinistas overthrew the country's dictator. Soon after settling down in la, Blandon got into the drug trade. But it wasn't entirely for his own benefit. His suppliers were the Nicaraguan counter revolutionary fighters, known as Contras, who were using the cocaine business to fund their fight against the Sandinistas. The fight between the Contras and the Sandinistas got a lot of international attention, especially from the United States. With Cold War tensions at a high, Ronald Reagan's government was horrified by the idea of another communist government in Latin America. So they backed the Contras. Throughout the early 1980s, even though they knew the Contras were secretly smuggling drugs into the U.S. the CIA sent millions of dollars to the group for weapons, landmines and training. Ronald Reagan publicly backed the group, even calling himself a Contra. That would soon prove to be a mistake. The press began to uncover the Contra's connection to the drug trade in 1984. Reporters also learned that the group was committing war crimes, including the sexual assault, torture and murder of civilians. At that point, Congress banned the government from sending the Contras anyway any more money. Ronald Reagan didn't want to give up the fight. But if he and his administration wanted to keep funding the group, they needed to break a few rules, including working with one of America's most hated enemies. In 1979, Iran's U. S backed leader was overthrown in a religious revolution and protesters stormed the American embassy, taking dozens of Americans hostage. For more than a year, the Carter administration imposed an embargo but failed to secure the hostage's Release. Then in 1980, Ronald Reagan won the election. The hostages were released on the day he took office. And despite the embargo, Reagan's administration continued to secretly sell weapons to Iran during his presidency and used the profits to fund the Contras in Nicaragua in 1986, committing both these acts without Congress's Approval was highly illegal. By some measures, the acts constituted treason. But Reagan's administration was dead set on winning in Nicaragua at any cost. If that meant they had to undermine the war on drugs by profiting off the crack trade, they were willing to do it. And they knew the perfect middleman by 1986, Oscar Danilo Blandon had been using drug smuggling to fund the Contras for almost seven years. He'd built a small empire in California, importing over a half ton of cocaine weekly and distributing it through Freeway Rick Ross. But Blandon wasn't just supplying Rick with drugs. He was also able to get him high grade military weapons and even offered Rick a grenade launcher at one point. Allegedly, these weapons came from the CIA, which was helping to facilitate the containers. Continued sale of cocaine to keep the Contras funded. And Blandon's special relationship with the CIA seemed to be on full display in 1982. That year, the frogmen who dove into the San Francisco Bay to receive the cocaine shipments were arrested by the FBI in one of the biggest drug busts in US history. Despite their clear ties to Oscar Danilo Blandon, he was never arrested and continued selling in Southern California. Four years later, in 1986, the LAPD raided Blandon's house hoping to catch a large shipment of drugs. But somebody tipped him off. And when they arrived, they were only able to find a single gram of crack in his house. Still, it was enough to arrest Blandon and seize hundreds of guns from him. Oddly enough, just a few days later, the guns were taken in by the federal government and the charges against Blandon were dropped. That seemed suspicious to the lapd, but there was nothing they could do about it. The decision was made over their heads. So they decided to go after the next best thing. Freeway Rick Ross. The LA Sheriff's Department Anti Drug Task Force had struggled to pin Rick down for a long time. For years, they weren't even sure what he looked like. He used different techniques to fly under the radar. Fake IDs, voice scramblers, and was constantly on the move. By 1986, seven years into Rick's dealing career, his operation had reached new heights. He'd flooded the streets with hundreds of tons of cocaine. He was expanding his drug operation from coast to coast. He owned massive properties, took skiing vacations to Aspen, and drove the most expensive cars he could find. With that kind of visibility, Rick couldn't exactly hide. Finally, the police knew exactly who he was. They constantly surveilled him. And after Blandon was released, they were ready to make a move. They followed Rick and a friend of his from the palace of Wheels, a tire shop that doubled as their operation base. When Rick realized they were on his tail, he hit the gas. He led the cops on a high speed chase through the neighborhood. After a while, he jumped out of the car while it was still moving and took off running. The police shot at him as he ran, but didn't catch him. Still, the incident was enough for them to get a warrant. Especially after they planted a brick of cocaine that they claimed Rick had thrown away. They arrested Rick a few days later in October 1986 on drug charges. When they brought him into the station, the police finally thought they had their man. But like Blandon, Rick had friends in high places. Rick ended up getting hit with both federal and state drug trafficking charges. His federal charges were filed after a drug dealer in St. Louis claimed he got his product from Rick. The police made it clear how they felt about what Freeway Rick did. They berated him, called him slurs and promised to put him in prison for the rest of his life. The only problem was they were being recorded. When that tape made its way to the judge. Rick's state drug charges were dropped for discrimination. And just a few days later, the federal charges got dropped too over a lack of evidence. Rick wasn't going to wait around for the cops to try to get him again. He left town for Cincinnati, Ohio, where his operation was the most profitable. And now that he knew someone in the government was looking out for him, Rick was able to run his business without worrying about being caught. Using Blandon's network of traffickers, Freeway Rick expanded his business to as many as 12 US states. But the CIA was about to be exposed in a major way. And it would be the beginning of the end of Freeway rick's career. In November 1986, just a few weeks after Blandon and Rick slipped through the fingers of the justice system, the press caught wind of an even bigger scandal. A Lebanese newspaper published a bombshell article about the US government selling missiles to the Iranians and using the money to fund the Contras. It didn't take long for the story to spread across the world. The American press began investigating the issue for themselves and soon enough Congress took notice. The story was first discovered after an American plane which was full of weapons going to the Contras was shot down by the Nicaraguan government. It turned out the passengers worked for the CIA. This clearly showed that the US government was violating both its own and international laws in funding the Contras. This tangled web of international intrigue had one person directly at its center, President Ronald Reagan. The Iran Contra affair, as it was now being called, threatened, threatened to undo his entire presidency. Once the scandal became public, Col. Oliver north, who had collaborated with Reagan on the Iran Contra plan, went directly to the Pentagon. He and his secretary started shredding documents that exposed what the President had done. Public opinion about the scandal was mixed. Many Americans supported the anti communist Contras despite their human rights abuses and connections to the drug trade. They believed the president when he went on TV and said, quote, a few months ago, I told the American people I did not trade arms with Iran. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true. But the facts and the evidence tell me it is not. End quote. In the end, Reagan's excuses worked and both he and north received zero punishment. Things might have gone differently if the government's direct role in the crack trade had been exposed. But after Iran Contra came and went, someone started to connect the dots between the CIA, the Contras, and Freeway Rick Ross. And he wanted the whole world to know the truth. With Plan B, emergency contraception, we're in control of our future. It's backup birth control. You take after unprotected sex that helps prevent pregnancy before it starts. It works by temporarily delaying ovulation and it won't impact your future fertility. Plan B is available in all 50 US states at all major retailers near you, with no ID, prescription or age requirement needed. Together we've got this. Follow Plan B on Insta at Plan B, one step to learn more. Use as directed. You tell yourself no one wants your college era band tees, but on Depop, they people are searching for exactly what you've got. You once paid a small fortune for them at merch stands. Now a teenager who calls them vintage will offer that same small fortune back. Sell them easily on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. Who knew your questionable music taste would be a money making machine? Your style can make you cash. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. Hi listeners, it's Vanessa Richardson. I wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about another show from Crime House that I know you'll love. America's Most Infamous Crimes. Hosted by Katie Ring. Each week Katie takes on a notorious crime, whether unfolding now or etched into American history. Revealing not just what happened, but how it forever changed our society. Serial killers who terrorized cities. Unsolved mysteries that keep detectives up at night. And investigations that change the way we think about justice. Each case unfolds across multiple Episodes released every Tuesday through Thursday, from the first sign that something was wrong to the moment the truth came out or didn't. These are the stories behind the headlines. Listen to and follow America's most infamous crimes Tuesday through Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts. The Iran Contra affair exposed the Reagan administration and their willingness to lie to the public. But few people understood how deep their hypocrisy was. Especially Freeway Rick Ross. He certainly didn't think he was being backed by the federal government, especially because they were breathing down his neck. By the end of 1987, the 27 year old was at a crossroads. He was tired of running. He'd made hundreds of millions of dollars and was considering going straight and making money off his motel properties. But then Rick got a call from Oscar Danilo Blandon, who now operated out of Miami. He had created an even more efficient pipeline to smuggle in drugs and and he wanted to know if Rick was in. Rick told him he was back in the game. Soon Rick was moving even more product than before and paying thousands of employees nationwide. He shuffled around the country for another year, avoiding the police. But finally, in 1988, he was homesick enough to return to California. The LA Sheriff's Department was ecstatic to hear the news. Their Freeway Rick task force had waited patiently to get another shot at arresting him. But the FBI got to him first. In September 1988, police in Carlsbad, New Mexico discovered a suitcase filled with cocaine on a bus headed from Los Angeles to Cincinnati. When federal officials investigated, the trail led them directly back to Freeway Rick Ross. The CIA Blandon connection could only protect Rick so much, especially with a case that was so high profile. Rick was indicted to Cincinnati the following June along with nine of his deputies. But now they needed to find him. Rick had gotten pretty good at flying under the radar and managed to duck the FBI for months. But the Freeway Rick task force was still looking for him. One day they spotted him on a street corner in la. Rick. Rick followed his first instinct. Run. This time he couldn't outrun the cops. He got arrested and slapped with a bogus charge for assaulting a police officer. The Sheriff's department had him in their grasp again, but just like before, they had to give him up. Rick was shipped off to Cincinnati to face his federal charges. The Feds didn't have enough evidence to expose Rick's entire trafficking operation, but they had enough to put him in jail for a long time. The FBI offered Rick a deal, though they were willing to reduce his sentence if he helped them take down the Freeway Rick task force. The LA Sheriff's Department had a reputation for planting evidence and arresting people on false charges as they had done to Rick. The FBI had evidence that they'd stolen drug money and lied under oath and. But they needed a key witness to solidify the case. That's where Rick came in. He accepted the deal and helped bring down the entire task force. In exchange for his testimony, his sentence was reduced to 10 years in federal prison. Rick used that time to turn over a new leaf. In all his years commanding a nearly billion dollar drug empire, Freeway Rick faced the same problem that killed his tennis dreams. And he still didn't know how to read and write. When he entered Federal Prison in February 1991, 31 year old Rick decided to change that. Rick eventually got out early in September 1994, serving about three and a half years of his 10 year sentence. But now that he was free, he had another problem. All of his assets had been seized by the federal government, including including the various motels he'd hoped would allow him to live a fairly normal life. Which meant he was totally broke. Rick made a vow to never go back to the crack trade. But the longer he was out, the harder it was to survive. So eventually he picked up his old lifestyle just to make ends meet. That didn't work out so well. In early 1996, he bought more than 100 kilos of cocaine from someone he thought was a trusted supplier. In reality, Rick had been set up by Oscar Danilo Blandon. Blandon had been arrested again and cut a deal with the Feds. They agreed to reduce his sentence if he helped them nab Rick in a sting operation. The supplier Rick met with was actually an undercover agent. Rick was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. This time without the possibility of parole. Thanks to the three strikes rule, Rick's conviction seemed like another win for the government in the war on drugs. But a few years later, someone figured out that their victory wasn't exactly what it seemed. Gary Webb, who we covered earlier this week, wasn't exactly a household name at the time. But his investigative journalism work for the San Jose Mercury News in California was second to none in 1990. He'd even won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting about the Loma Prieta earthquake. Gary had been suspicious of the connection between the Contras and the crack trade since 1986. After the charges were dropped against Oscar Danilo Blandon, Gary became even more interested. After Blandon was arrested by the DEA in 1992. Despite being one of the most prominent traffickers in the U.S. blandon only received a a four year sentence after he became a witness in other drug cases. In 1995, Gary started following his suspicions and started gathering evidence that Blandon had coordinated with the CIA. Then he traced Blandon's connections to Freeway Rick and the LA based Bloods and Crips. After over a year of work, Gary published a series of articles called dark alliance in August 1996. At first the articles didn't get much traction. But after the black community in South Central LA took notice, the story picked up steam. Soon enough, Gary's work triggered multiple investigations into the CIA, the FBI and the LA Sheriff's Department. People across the country couldn't believe that the same government waging the war on drugs had flooded the streets with with crack. But no one was more shocked about this than Freeway Rick Ross. For all his work with Oscar Danilo Blandon, Rick had no clue that he'd been making money for the CIA. He was understandably upset, especially since he was now sitting in a federal prison. So Rick decided to do something about it. He started spending his time in the prison library studying the law as closely as he could. And soon enough, Rick found what he was looking for. He realized that the three strikes rule had been incorrectly applied to him. Since his first federal charges had been dropped due to lack of evidence. Rick was able to use that to get himself a new trial. In September 1998 he was re sentenced to just 20 years in prison. Rick got out of prison in 2009 and moved back in with his mother, who'd been able to hold onto their house in South Central. But money was tight again, especially during the recession. By then, the world had completely changed. The drug trade had been completely upended by the rise of prescription opioids. There were only about half a million crack users in the country, down from several million in the late 1980s. And Rick had changed too. He wasn't interested in getting back into drugs. He wanted to help people learn from his mistakes. Over the last 17 years, Rick has become a prominent speaker and author, traveling around the country and speaking about the impact of his actions in the drug trade. But he's also spoken out against the government's hypocrisy. Black people make up just 13% of the US population, but constitute 40% of the nationwide prison population. On drug offenses, the use of restrictive drug laws sent many black men away for life, while the CIA reportedly profited off their business. To date, the agency has repeatedly denied any involvement with the crack trade. As for Oscar Danilo Blandon, he went into hiding after he got out of federal prison. Little information existed about where he ended up, but lots of people think he went into witness protection. I'd love to get your thoughts. What do you think happened to Oscar Danilo Blandon? Should the CIA have faced more consequences? And what's your take on Freeway Rick Ross's drug empire? Tell us in the comments. We would love to hear. Since his release, Rick has had a few run ins with the law. But like the task force that tried to nab him all those years ago, these officers didn't actually have evidence against him. During a traffic stop in 2010, Rick was arrested because he had $100,000 in cash on him. The officers thought the money had to do with the drug trade. In reality, these were Rick's profits from his speaking tour and he was on his way to buy a house. Rick has also repeatedly sued the rapper Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts ii. The rapper has received criticism for appropriating the name of a major drug kingpin for street cred, especially since he used to be a correctional officer. Still, in 2013, Freeway Rick's case was thrown out on First Amendment grounds. Recently, Rick revealed he'd gotten back into selling drugs, albeit in a totally different, more legal form. In 2022, he opened a marijuana dispensary in Sun Valley, California. It seems like he did turn over a new leaf after. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes. Come back next time. We'll decode the episode together and hear another story about the real people at the center of the world's most notorious cults, conspiracies and criminal acts. Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media, Rimehouse on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review and follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes Wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly makes a difference and to enhance your Conspiracy Theories, Cults and crimes listening experience, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad free. Will be back on Monday. Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Conspiracy Theories, Cults and Crimes team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertzovsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Camp, Jake Natureman, Leah Roche, Alyssa Fox, Kaylee Pine, and Michael Langsner. Thank you for listening. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying Big Wireless way too much. 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