Freeway Rick Ross – The Richest Drug Dealer in the US

08-24-21

Episode Transcription

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Hey Man, what time, why did you do that? I was, you know, hey man, you know you seem like. You seem like you're standing outside of a seven eleven and I'm walking in to just pay for some gas and you're just standing out there. Just hate me, hey man, you want some ice and you want some is nice. So she, my eyebrows, are frozen. You have a TRESCO, you have a church goat, you open up and you're like you want to vice, but it's summer it's all melted us go so TRINCO, hey man! You want some ice at our shoe and you you go back over the house. She drop on. I freeze back up new bags, hey man, you want some ice, wait, don't want it that door, what don't get the door I got to get my eyes hold that door, Jim no hold in shut hold it shut. Do I? Why did you say? Is I'm so confused a man? You want some ice. Just look at what's outside gas station? Is Gas and ice e's offering you what's already there? That's a reo he's got enough o you want the other guys on DVD or Briht if there's a guy standing next to the red box. As like older films, yeah, like onbusiness looking for WHO's you're. Looking for the classic film look WHO's talking with John Dravot and a talking baby, I got a right. I got right here, even reound it for you rewound it. I even re wild re wound the drunks, as is force just like any other business, was just a legal. So what we do is we start elementary students on books, a high school. We get them cooked on cocaine, one option's illegal, but it's like I'll take my chances. Youve finished that I that I don't feel bad spoiling a has been out for ten years. I don't know what to tell you. I know about their ban contraband things. All Right, get episode. Have you heard of Rick Ross shut up Rick Ross ierous? I don't think you know what I'm talking about. Okay, his name is also also. He goes by Ricky Ross, which you culpably guess that, but also freeway or free Ray Rick, which is my favorite freeway Rick Yeah. Just I like free way, Rick, because I can't say it: Freeway Rick, that's a tough one, free way way a week. That is hard, so Rick Ross, you've probably heard the name recross Licas Wick Wick was you probably have heard of Rick Ross yeah tell me about it. Yeah His dad is Bob. Oh No! No. We had a whole episode about his dad, Yeah Bob's, actually shore for Rick it's. This is the same in these boers short for Ricks, four letters and one syllable, and they were like. We got to cut that down and I cut that down to Bob, not even close, you could just cut the chaff, it would still be rick. Telly Rick, you guy, we to leap, no one would know it's. I you're shortening it. What about Bob Bob, so Rick Ross? Also, you probably heard the name macross and you probably would associate if you don't know about the real recross. You probably associate the name Rick Ross to the rapper with that cross. Yeah, that's what I was thinking yeah, so he's named after the real recross Rick Free who he took. He took the name yeah and the role the rapper took, the name of Freeway Rick Yeah and the real recross is pretty upset about it, but we'll get to that in a minute: Oh, but the real recross. He was a drug trafficker and the mid S who established an empire in Los Angeles. That is estimated at the time to have been worth more than nine hundred million dollars, which adjusted for inflation. It's over two billion today es, and he was so he's, arguably the largest jug trafficker in American history, and this is his story and it was in the s that was in the s: Yeah, yeah, okay. So let's, let's tell the story rig Ross. Please do recross. He went to High School Susan Miller, Dorsey High School, in Los Angeles, which was more affluent high school. He got that on the team on the tennis team, because he, I know a little surprising. Okay. He joined the tennis team. He got recruited because sometime an goin o see his sicure Rick Ross Yeah. I swear if you pull up the wrapper. Okay, so sometimes got a head shot with a suit. Yeah Yep he's pretty pretty sharp. So sometime in this mill school career, he realized he's not going to go Prin basketball. He didn't have a shot at going front football sure, but he said I'm pretty decent at tennis. Maybe I got a shot at tennis, so you just started playing a lot of tennis getting better at it, and then he knew Dorsey was a popular tennis school yeah. So he would just go play tennis outside the High School until they got recruited, and so I got recruited to go to high school by the High School to play tennis for the school, and so he was playing on this high school team and he started getting to or drivers school. I don't think it's a private school, but I think they still recruited him to come across this jar and so on at illegal unethical, but whatever yeah yeah, whatever it's the EIS, no one cared no one cared, so he started getting recruited by a bunch of colleges and he was pretty close to getting full ride. College cases for tennis e was really good at the game. The issue was the colleges couldn't offer him a scholarship because he was a literate which apparently you can't go to school somewhere. If you don't know anything, apparently we how you not allowed to learn if you haven't learned a lot already, but how was he a literate were so he went. He grew up in that losine school system and before he was going the dorses he was. He was on the wrong side of the one on one which in La especially in that area, the one of one was like to the dividing line right and he was on the wrong side of it, and so he was in. He grew up in the heart of like cript territory in the school system, just failed them, and so he didn't never learn how to read got into high school, no idea how to read, but he was really good at tennis, so he got to go to the school, but still throughout going to the school. He never learned to read, and so colleges wouldn't take him, and so that was in the middle of the senior year he found out. He didn't have a shot at going to college because of that. So that's when he kind of just kind of slid out of his high school was like well, I'm not going to go. Hang out there, I'm not going to play tennis and invest all this. If I don't got to got shot of going to college for it and obviously gone pro, there's no point so he started hanging around back in his neighborhood, where he grew up with a bunch of street racers and he ended up winning a street race, getting a pretty nice car out of it and then slowly through that process. It was kind of like that kind of just slow fall where it's like. He got in from from street racing, then kind of got into a little bit of like grand theft, auto and then like the game, and then he got a actual grant the dot up yeah. It's got to learn how to do it for yeah yeah, play the game and then play the game. You know play real life sports, it's in the game. So what? If that was like nick? You know how nickelodeon did the play. Sixty thing was like go outside and play for sixty minutes yeah. They would do like a national day where they would just make us sixty see a sixty minute timer on TV yeah. There are no play oft outside for Sixty Min Yer. I did what turn a cartoon network on Watch. Your dog clips, the tanks, a timer, I'm in th, Sixteen Watch, Dexter's laboratory. Sixty minutes. I can watch so much cartoons. Sixty minutes. I can watch an episode sixty minutes. Why would I want this sixty minute count down when I can watch sixteen minutes to show as a child? Sorry walking on your third grader watching sixty minutes, and it's just do you know about the conflict in Serbia. Sit there eating your lucky charms. You turn around to your mom and spill. It out your face. You like Hey, have you heard what's happening and I ran right now. Oh my gosh. Do you remember when Nick tried to do the Nick News thing? Oh yeah rst and it was so like dignified? Ah God, I watched a lot of was nick at night yeah because you felt adult yeah, but they weren't they weren't. They weren't at all, Butd you fit full House yeah and the nicked knight specials were great because they would do this like in between the Ol thing or, like you know, we're here in this town. You know where they came to. They came to a town, ten minutes away from US yeah, because Marian Ville Missouri has white squirrels resolute what they're famous for white interest her? Why are they pins but they're, just white? And I don't know the history why they ended up there yeah, but Marian Ville has white squirrels, but nick news talked about it. Nick at night came to Marionville to be like we're home of we're in Maryville, the home of the white squirrels. Apparently there's only one other city in the country that has white squirrels. So through this process he kind of just started falling into like the black market, like not anything super serious. Yet I mean I grant if Otto and yeah minor drug dealing, but nothing insane, and then he met. This is such a weird connection. He met in upholstery teacher at a local community college and they kind of hit it off, became friends and an upholstery future yeah, and this teacher, which can we talk for a second about Community College courses, yeah? Why? Right? No, I understand exactly what you're saying yeah yeah okay, so this is Parson grafting. You can take a business intercourse. Also at noon we've got sewing and at three o'clock you've got n medieval. Whatever it's literally like camp up other day I was driving in my apartment, complex. Well, I was coming home. I wasn't just driving around he taking a few whips, it's so you know just patrol in the property and now I'd watch. We, your sir, you need to stop. I never have I. I want to get the details on my car and everything. This is like the flashing yellow whites. Just like yeah, I know I'm the neighborhood watch, don't worry and then my car gets broken into anyway. So I was driving. I was driving home and I slammed my breaks because there was a medieval night in the building over there in the building be like in the barking lot like a a like a medieval like. He was larking then afternoon by himself. Well, he was you know getting out of his key fortunate. He left his Lark in full. Armor, yes, had a helps, druv down the high helmet, a shield that is pouring out of the trunk. You know I mean like I love it. I respect it man, where do you Lark in North Kansas City? I don't know some park somewhere. Okay, just find a park and find a bunch of other people who see. I just expect you to shame them with me and you just went to on like yeah. I know yeah, I think, like Tis, a fun I've. Never actually done it, I mean, I guess I kind of did when I did the military things with Patrick and cabins. I guess I kind of do yeah, yeah, okay, fine, sor anyway, I respect so. Did you have a military code class that Your Community College? Yes Great? So so he meets in upholstery teacher. He meets an a paltry teacher who also who tralineate sold cocaine on the side. Perfect, that's actually that's how community college courses work yeah. So here's a way to h and his guy. He said: Okay Class, here's how you open the Yongman to fill with cocaine. You walk into your sewing class and your teachers, this free Old Lady who was just like you know, lighted up just like this, and she just you know she comes over and helps you on your machine and you're like a line it up and she is hoisters on year. You want some ice. You look up just drenched pockets. If you like mem, that's okay, Miss Saggi pockets. Did you? Oh my God. Did you see miss castleberry pockets? Today, Oh dude yeah. Those were sure a those look like those were Pacific pockets right there I'll tell you what oh there's some Pacific pocket that I can tell. She wasn't perparation what? If that's, where you sweat what Feischer Pot? Twenty five? Oh Yeah! I know those are just my thighs. I just have sweaty thighs yeah yeah, it's a real problem. I got to see a dermatologist about yeah. That's why I'm going to my four o'clock dermatology class. He also sells cocaine, so the upholster teacher does sells him. COCAINE YEAH! So as a positae reveals to him that he deals cocaine and so he gave Ross a small amount to sell and Ross realized that you can make a lot more off cocaine than you could have the other street jugs that he was used to say upholstery off of the pastry. He was selling a post at that point. No, but he realized it was much more profitable and so he held on to his profits and began buying more from his upholstery teacher to sell more and more. He didn't do cocaine, no, no, he just so low, and so he eventually came back to his poultry teacher and was asking for more more cocaine than his teacher was willing to sell him. He was like I can't I'm not getting get to it that much. That's yeah dangerous! Now we're moving into a different kind of business set up here. Yes, yes, so then his teacher refers Ross to his supplier, which is a guy by the name of Ivan a Ruga Yas. I think, which course did he teach apotre to one the next on. I think you're ready to move up. If you keep this up, you might graduate Community College. We might have to give you an associates. You'RE gonna have to go on to a leadership college and associates the weak, and so he was able to get him much higher qualities of cocaine, a much better price, onsite or qualities quantities. My tire quantities at a much better price yeah, so he'd make a bigger margin, yeah yeah. Unfortunately, how do you make cocaine? I don't know, I think it's just the tops of powder donuts. You just buy those powder. donuts you go home and just have shaken on many darness got to shake off all the powder. I don't know, I think it comes. I mean obviously comes from some kind of plant and then they refine it. Somehow I don't know exactly how it works. Maybe it comes from Coco. Okay, I don't know, I really don't I'm just shooting in the dark here, okay speaking to shooting in the dark about eight months after Ross's supplier, our Ross found this supplier Ivan, he was shot in the back and, worse them out of the cocaine business. But luckily his brother in law, Henry took over his business in Ryan, Ivan Yeah Yeah became Ross's number one supplier, okay, and so this became kind of his business for a little while he was doing the cocaine thing, but then he discovered a man by the name of Danillo Blanden. who was a Nicaraguan exile. I Hate Tho, you see names, Danillo, Blanden, rick, Ross, his brother in law, Henry Danilo. I just hate it. Just it's so trying to ans. You just go. If you PA, see the panic in your eyes and you sound it out, you sound it out exactly what you're doing and you pass it off as enunciation, but we all know what you're doing not that good get. Are you a bars Halass so Ross? He was able to go directly to blandon bland in the face us made, looks like you did: Go Game Er like Blandon Laindon. What was that so because he was going directly the bland in he didn't have this big distributor network, so he was able to undercut the price by thousands for cocaine, and so what was his Putt in this? The back of it like in the back of his trunk and Driving Home? I actually don't know like loaded up with cocaine den up of the cocaine yeah. He was. How are you moving there at the height in one thousand nine hundred and eighty two? He receives the name Freeway Ricky, because what he was doing now is. He was buying properties all on the one on one freeway and to operate his business out of, and so they named a free way because he was all on the freeway, and at this point he was reaching the height of his kind of busy empire yeah and the cave people who were like so he's hiring people obviously have you contract work out yeah, I mean it's just like the drug. This is worse just like any other business is just a legal, so he had a distribution line he had. Did you have a delite at teams? He had a patron. He sells his like, Hey make sure to support me on Patree me doing this out of this a yeah sport me on patron. You know I just want to reach more people with drugs. Your Monterone coke is your month of contribution. Helps me get this in the hands of more middle schoolers, and I just want to say thank you for that, so he claimed how many times are going to tea you up for stuff. I don't even know you team me up. What do you tea me up for? If you were like to support us on Patre, are you serious dude? I try to make this so smooth I've done in so much. I did a march one one time I do I I say you. I set you up for this stuff, an you just go. I don't even know what you're talking about. Do you know that we have a patron? No, let's explain this to me. Oh my explain this to me. I say: Let's explain his to metical US explain this to me. Okay, so listen! We have a Petrion that you can support us at. It helps us keep doing this show. Clearly, I need all the help I can get. This is what I work with. So we also have a dispoint. Was this given to us by someone the discord? This one was not you just found this on your own. I found this one on my own O, like the old days, okay, great so whatever anyway, we won't give kids drugs so supports on pain or on. If you don't, we might we haven't anything illegal, but if you don't support us on patron we're going to start, my manager doesn't watch this. We're fine, so text tell n to s s e t x, six, you gel ad free episodes, early excess behind the scene, stuff, a private discord channel and also you don't have to experience advertisements like this one. Okay, great you don't have to say, okay great you can just we can just leave a pause and then you can just keep going. Oh, my Gosh, I'm teaching you how a podcast over here, okay, whatever dude, so he's, got these houses along the free way, yeah yeah and so he's Duson, almost a anext. It's like a starbucks yeah actually and he's distributing directly. The bloods and the crips were in both side, yeah playing ball sides and he's selling significantly less than the average price at ten thousand dollars Park. So that are, they are the gangs. Then his distribution, like they sort O, be He's not he's, not they're, not selling, and coming back to him and Bein like here's, a cut of the prophets he's selling to the right were right there on sons, he's not he's at this point he's not selling directly to the consumer anymore. He is a big house district yeah who's. He buying it from still foring it from Blandon Blank Karagin, okay, okay, okay, okay yeah. Where is where is blendon getting from we'll get to that? Oh, so he fell into the budding cups at this time, he's severely undercutting the average street price, so he's selling it for ten thousand dollars per kilo, which is lower than normal. But at this point he's purchasing a thousand pounds of cocaine a week and so to give you a perspective, a kilo is about two pounds, okay, and so he is so he's doing like he claims that he claims that during this pine, a million dollars a week he's claiming during this period he was selling three million dollars a day of cocaine wow. So he was, he was moving and we're trying to get stuff on our podcast dude we're in the wrong business. We just started a media company, though we should be in the cocaine industry. So so he what made him so successful was the way he handled his money, and there was two reasons he did it one. He said I could go, take this money and buy jeans, or I could take this money and save it and buy more cocaine or property, and so what he was doing is he was buying the all this property along the one of one, is buying houses and businesses, and so he had he had an apartment complex at one point like he had legite had businesses that I mean I guess you got to wash that money, yeah yeah, but he said he said he was making. During the same time, he was making four hundred thousand dollars flipping houses every month, and so he's like I'm making is a o good money. Doing that he's like it was nothing compared to what he's making the drug game right and on top of that he was selling essential oils in the side. You know I and he was a diamond level, so it's pretty crazy yeah. He quick question on a Milam's because I saw one happen at starbucks yesterday. Tell me that. Do you think the churches are just in Millis and hear me out right because you got your like because you're like okay there's all these promises. I E, if you just stick with this long enough, you'll become a diamond level person right yeah. Let's call that a lead, pastor, you're with me. You you immediately are with me right. You know and then, like you, got your like medallion level right, that's a youth pastor, associate pastor executive pastor, whatever, but above the diamond right at the end of the day, the denomination still run the stuff they still in the show right, yeah right so I mean who wants a nomination, there's t and there's the whole thing of like hey. You know this is your own business kind of thing. If you work at this long enough, then you can go start your own, your own denomination. Well, that's also true. You could do that. I think I honestly I've thought about this before. I genuinely think that multi level marketing systems were built off the evangelism off of the disciple ship, Mardel yeah, I think o. How are they doing disciple ship better than we are? It's crazy? I don't know if you could say they are well because they wether, though they're making more money off of it or there making more money, but I mean like the the way that they are like they have coaches. You know, and it's like this person has for people that they are intentionally spending time with as a PORTA goal. I suppose that's it now. They're discipling them now not in a biblical sense, but they are discipling them in the way of doing life and quote unquote business. So in a way they there they're contributing to their formation yeah, which so maybe you call it. Maybe we need a reverse dip. Now they dipped on evangelism. Maybe the Church needs to dip on their disciple they've been trying to, but they've been taking the wrong sides of it. That's e way. I think I know I know sorry, I kind of slipped into a serious mode of yeah, but look at the disciple hit Monelia very you know very passionate about it, so yeah I saw that I saw if you're. If you're I didn't catch her name, I want to say it's like it seemed like their names were Abigail and Isabel. Maybe just thing that you said that, because we're supposed to shout our patron abigail joy, a elda wonder if it's the same one hold on you're bringing up patron right now. We already did this five minutes ago. Well, I just did because you brought it up. Okay, Abigail thanks for supporting our patron. Also thank you for buying our merchandise, see. How do you see now? I feel like I got to be over obvious about this stuff. I I put a little golf ball on the tea for you. You want to go ahead and smack that on out there like we're at a we're, got a podcast driving range right now, Abigail Bout, some merchandise, we have merchin Nice Tim. Won't you tell about it. You can take tell into six at six six we got t shirts, we got hats, hoodies, mugs, stickers, the whole nine and you'll be supporting the show, when you do that, so you Textorix, oh, my gosh, so rick Ross, making a ton of money off of his off of his cocaine, business yeah, but also beginning to estable industry. If you will Okan Yeah beginning to establish some pretty legitimate businesses ye on the side, because I mean do you think the goal was to eventually get out of the cocaine stuff I mean, I think so. Eventually you want to go legit right. That way, you can't go to jail, yeah yeah and your two options and he was not planning on spending any money lavage on himself. In said, he was spinning on the businesses and on buying more cocaine, and he said that's what he attributed to his success. He said a lot. He said he saw a lot of other dealers at the low level he was at going out, and I mean they're making lots of money off cocaine right, because the street pice was over ten thousand dollars a kilo, so they're making lots of money, so they would just blow them all on cars and clothes and whatever he said. I just bought more cocaine and sold more cocaine, and he said so. I just kept doing that. Eventually, I was making millions doing this and he said that's why so many of them stay at that lower level. He said I just saved my money and spend it on more drugs, but the reason is reasoning he gave, which is what I was, what Dave rames. He wants you to do by the way. Save your money spend it on our Jim. It's live like no one else, so that you can do drugs like no one else. It's actually the FIN HP sober it's. You know rice and beans, rice and beans, and in one day it's rice and coke, nice, Coke Yeah. So the reason he gave for not spitting Lage lavishly on himself, though he later told an interview and an interview, he said quote: We were hiding money from our mothers and she said he didn't want his mom know that he was had this drug empire. The reason I didn't spend money is that I was trying to buy stuff online, but I didn't know how to read so. Never could find that by now button, because I'm a literal gusting, oh my gosh, so he expanded his Jung, drug empire outside of La and he ended up getting across the country. He was in cities, including St Louis New Orleans, Kansas City, real FA, Cincinnati, since in Cincinnati a Nadia Baltimore Cleveland Seattle he's pretty much cassie said his his beleving Mira. He was in North Carolina and North Carolina. Man Did you like that Milwaukee I threw it Chickamauga, leveland professional, so speaking of Cleveland, he said, Ohio was his best selling state. He loved Ohio because I apparently they love cocaine. You know they call a cocaine. Cant I'll, tell you. What do you know? I sat all the major cities START WITH SEA Cincinnati Columbus Cleveland Can Caledo, you know, there's a reason, there's a racoon, so he ended up getting his distribution line into forty two cities across America. Well and his now is that he's just selling it and they're moving it or is he like hey go to that city? Is he directing that? I think he was directly like he had people selling to like gangs in those cities, so he had a distribution line that was distributing to a gang in that city and again he still this whole time getting it from Brandon Yeah in Nicarao. Bland is providing six million dollars worth of coke each week, yeah yeah pretty much where's blanden getting it from well get to that. I feel like I know the answer, but I want to get there Bokri get to that. So questions began to rerise at how Rick Ross is able to be this successful. He has over nine hundred million dollars in cocaine revenue, which is two billion dollars today. How is he able to move this much cocaine he's the Jeff bezos of cocaine. Yes, yes and some people like how's, he able to move this much cocaine and not get one caught by the police on to not get taken out by other drug dealers, and so in recent interviews. He's talked about both of these things. One he said he's like. I just didn't make enemies, he said, and this is literally what he says he said I just treated people the way I wanted to be treated, and he said nobody had a problem with me. I just followed the golden rule now, but literally I mean sure I was getting communities hooked on addictive drives and decoring lives forever. But honestly I just traded people the way that I'm one, you know sure he's the thing with that ye thing with that he said he's like he's, like I made sure he's like. I was never someone. He said. There's some drug dealers out there who out there finding people who's never done coke, they be like. I then find someone who was addicted to weed and get them on coke. He said I never did that. He said all I ever did it he's like. If someone was already hooked, he said I would sell them, so I was never. I was never a first time seller and so he said these were people who were already addicts and he said I was just providing their addiction to continue. He said the reality of it is they were going to get it somewhere and he's like. So it doesn't matter. If it was me or somebody else, these are addicts are going to get it and that's their own personal choice. Yeah is actually a youth past or in Ohio use that excuse to provide. I mean, and you know it's kind of like it's kind of like parents who let their kids drink. You know and it's like if they're going to drink they're going to drink anyway, you know they're going to go out on front and drink. You know I would rather them get drunk at the House on. You know the cheap wine that we bought from Walmart Yeah. I'm not saying it was moral, I'm just saying it was his morals. So He's like look I you know. I bottom houses on the freeway. I knew all their MOMS yeah he's like, but and he was so, he was very careful he's like he's like I just didn't make enemies. He said he's like the way I was able to sell the both the crops in the bloods. As he said. I I made sure they liked me, and he said so. I was just friendly with them and I treated them well and they covered my back and he said so. I never had to worry about that and he sold it pretty cheap though he did so pretty chicly pretty. He did so pretty cheap, so he was just fair with stuff, but then, as far as the police is concerned, the La Sheriff during the height of this said that he has better technology than we do. The other Sheriff said that about Rick Cross yeah he's got better technology because he he had all these police scanners, so he wouldn't know where the police was at all times, and he he's got one of those blackberries. I don't know how we're going to keep up. You know I mean the criminals are out here with yeah he's kind of stylist whatever. That is what I thought. That was a person who would dress you. You know I had that's what that was. I was informed, as I imagine police officers I was in, for I was informed that that is not in fact what it is. That's a different thing. It's a different thing, so we in here in La County, a Gonta, do two things. You know: wornt, stop the spread of drugs, we're in a mask up all right, mask gosh, he's ahead of his time, but a way out of his time everyone's like. What's he talking about so I accidentally breathing cocaine, so they and he also had these voice scramblers. So whenever he was doing deals, he would scramble their voices, so they couldn't hear what they were talking about or what they were saying. So they couldn't get any evidence on him, even if they could get him. So he had a very, very clean system set up. He was really good at the money laundering system. He just he had his ducks in a row. It's the La Yeah County. Could you get anything in them and even if they could they couldn't find him because he knew where they were at all times, and so he was just away from him. Nice, but eventually can't quit you in that. But thank you. It's like it's straight up in the microphone and it's just but and it's kind of man. Thank you so al we had to bleep it when you say I say Tochi instead, Tushin Day everything kind of collapse. I it's Toshitsune, you er heard of killing podcast merch. That's right! We've got a full march store of tilling branded, teas mugs stickers, hoodies a lot more and we put out new designs with every episode, but those are only available for a limited time. So you got to get those while they're hot text, tillandsia eight six, six to get access to our exclusive merchandise go et. Yeah, so ended up getting arrested the caught em yeah. I had a really good system ducks on a row. I mean like there was nothing they got on and to the God of. He ended up getting arrested tips. They got em pushy, they got so what happened? What happened was the you know that Guy Blandino Blandon? Yes, okay, he's going Bondeno Yeah? Where did that come from what I think I don't know, dude boy and yeah planted so plant blandon was a long time associate of right. Yes right, they I know who he worked, for, who the government sort of so blanden had ties ye to the Nicaraguan Contra L. Do you know? Have you you probably heard of the Iran Contra scandal? Have you heard of that? This could be a whole. nother episode really really fast run down of the Iran Contra scandal in the s there is this group in Nicaragua called the Contra and they were a rebel group trying to overthrow a conduis guy. I know about their band contraband, they go good. I heard they got the music, so good they're not allowed in prisons or you. I honestly wonder if that's where that term came from, I'm not going to lie, no actually doesn't anyways, so we contra, so yes, the Contra I they were trying to overthrow the government because it was a communist regime. Reagan, loved them and he was like they they are. They resemble our forefathers. Yes, there trying over the yes, they supported the contract big time. The problem with that is the Contra, where the biggest cocaine supplier in the world yeah that's where they got their money from yes, and so that's Landin Blane was part of the Contra. Blanden was part of the contract, that's where he as getting out the cocaine and he as a plain bus. They were letting recross away with it so that he could essentially fund the Contra so that they could overthrow SORTA. So the Iran Contra scandal hit this fever pitch. When the Iran hostage crisis happened right. Where Reagan was like, we will do anything we can to get these people home and the government said anything okay, and so the military basically gave thirty million dollars and weapons to Iran to let the these people go yes, but under the table they distributed some of that money. I don't know exactly how much I want to say three million, but I don't know exactly how much, but they fundo some of that money to the Contra yeah, which helped them make a lot of our money and make Oro in Nicaragua Yeah and help them make a lot more okay, cocaine and distribute a lot more cocaine. Yes, so recross was in this train of really government funded cocaine, and so I think there is a level to they didn't want that to get out. So anybody along that line, kind of Goblin gotta, be us well. After some things came to lie about the Iron Contra scandal and it was hitting the news and there was Reagan, was standing trial for it. This Bland Din Landon was recruited by the CIA to do sting operations and they were basically like we'll give you a nest if you help us catch everybody and so blandon. At this time, Rick was like yeah, I'm done with the drug game. I'm ready to get out. I've missed do in apartments now billions of dollars, yeah, I'm just going to sell apart our build apartments and lease him out and so he's ready to completely ready to get out. It's been about a month. She sold any drugs. Blanden is all over him he's hit in his pager and he's like Bro, come down to San Diego and he's like no, my God anymore, because the government knew that Rick Ross was selling the stuff they had this. Couldn't they just couldn't aim down yeah so they're trying to hook him back in which I feel like okay go ahead, yeah, so they're trying to get him back in and essentially what Blanden was trying to do was saying hey. I need you to connect me with somebody, not sell drugs he's. I need to connect me, so I can continue to do business and so finally, Rick Ross was like final come down there I'll help you make that connection Busie, but I'm not in the in the drug game anymore. So I'm not going to do anything like that yeah. But apparently that was enough for the the CIA to book him and they ended up arresting him and they started charging him on. Like forty seven state accounts, oh my Gosh drug dealing at like insane quantities because that's what he was doing yeah, and so they got him on the three strike rule saying you far exceeded three strikes, because you did this in, like forty seven cities yeah, we let you off the hook for three of them that still forty four yeah, and so they tried them for, like literally the rest of his life like he was. He had an insane amount of years of prison where it was like he was to have to live seven times over. You know to pay rins, so he's never getting out while when he gets into prison he his cellmate teaches him to read, and so he starts reading the newspaper and reading small books until eventually he works his way up and starts reading law and just learns the whole lot and then he learns. He said Hey, I was mis tried. He said they couldn't book me on all this with the three strike role, and so he ends up being able to contact a lawyer. How was he misread, though? So? Basically it's a loophole in that legal system. I don't know the specifics of it, but long story short is under that three strike rule you couldn't consecutively, try all of those cases. It had to be three separate strikes, but they counted all of these those one strike M, and so he was able to go, get a lawyer and get his sentence reduced down to twenty years. So in two thousand and nine he was released from prison because he learned to read wow, which is one of them, is the message yeah so read: Yeah we have a tilling book club and we just really so what we do is we start elementary students on books and then in middle school we get them hooked on Phonics Yep in high school. We get them hooked on cocaine, so Figyah, no, no ten college. We get them hooked on the loss o yeah get out of it. Our headquarters is in Milwaukee and you know so in Cincinnati a yeah, so so he got himself out of prison and then he wrote a book which is er a girl that lives in Cincinnati. That's named Natalie and her instagram handle is since an Adali. This is uor question. I think we got a google. I think you got to go to instagram right now. It's one of those things. You know when sometimes o something POPs in your head and you're like that's it going away. You know it's like a like a sneeze where, like I got to know right now, because there's a girl who's is you know I don't want to give away or instagram a a never mind, but since an Atali give away, because I don't know if it's a real person yet hold on since an she's got to be a city, blogger yep, it's a Natali Mc. We have to bleed her last name. I should a follower. Oh, is it oh, no appropriate account. Now I tally fine and you on. I, your Lauben, my laptop, Oh okay. I was a hundred and I was like what I seasons an Adalieta. Oh okay, so is she a city blogger? No, she her accounts, private, Oh okay. She just had a good good idea for her name, San topped it hey saintete. If you're watching this, we will buy your user name, that's not an offer that I was going to make. I were ever to offend or were going to buy a spend our march money on we're going to buy your user name for how much tim? How much are you offering, since in anole right now, the value of Cincinnati O as at least hold on the value of Cincinnati like the city, yeah, okay, which is at least ten dollars at most ten we'll die it for ten dols. I dated a girl from Cincinnati once yeah yeah cos it an Adali yeah. That's why I brought this up Yaci innate. That's what I call her Naddy. If you see this it's not over, you know everyone go follow her. She does as she's, so inactive on is green. All this sudden she gets a to new flowers. Just like me, I just kind like Cincin Adali, we're CINCINNAT, we're inviting you on this show were in Wiyo years, but you'll be our first you'll be or first in years yeah since an Atali anyways. So he got out. He wrote a book kind of telling his story and then he sued the rapper Rick Ross and lost. You can't use my name yeah literally he a Rick Ross is like this is my name. What is Rick Cross is actual God. Crass's actual name is William Letter Roberts, the second Oh yeah. We Bow. You can't wrap that yeah and Rick Ross. Apparently early in his career was like yeah, I'm new deffer, Rick, freeway, Ross and recross was like no you're. Not You can't and honestly there's some pictures where it kind of looks like he's, trying to look like Rick Ross Free Way. Ross yeah, like the rapper, a Rick Ross, has got to be out here, like you know, I'm actually named after Bob Ross's son, the ASI that way well, whatever Ye ye YEP, so they yeah, they got the law suit and it was yeah Rick Ross lost because he's like. I mean it's a Rick Ross, it's not the super, it's not like it's! You D, have a trade mark, it's rick and it s. The name is really cross. It's a pretty common name, so he lost that lost. Sat, it's not sins, an Adali! Okay! It's not like enough! Think you are who do you think you are but yeah so now he wrought the book and he's trying to get into the legal marijuana business because he's like, I know a lot about of it about it about of it. I got you and he's trying to build a decent life for himself post prison. What happens all your properties if you get arrested for twenty years? You know what I actually don't know. I would assume the bank would foreclose on him. You think so. Well I mean, if you had a mortgage, if you didn't have their parents, you know I don't know you're doing three million dollars a day. You think you're not paying off those houses. That's a good point. What happens to your property? I don't know so Rick Ross today. Here's a here's, a thing! That's interesting about him! I honestly believe two things about this guy and by two things I mean one thing: If you watch him in his interviews today, yeah he's clearly very intelligent. He didn't know how to read, but that's not a fault of his own. It's a fault, the school system he was brought up in. But if you, if you listen to the way he communicates and the way he forms ideas. Yes, he sold drugs for most of his life and made a lot of money off of it a but, and so that is like. So you are Ros stand, there's some moral questions there where you're like, but honestly, I believe had the Los Angeles school system, not failed him and he was able to learn to read and we would have known him for other things. I think yeah. I think he would have been a very, very successful entrepreneur. He made two billion dollars off cocaine. I mean, I think we would have known him for something else and he would have made a positive impact, but instead a lot of people attribute the cocaine issue. They say he's the distributor of the cocaine problem in the s. A lot of people are like Reagan started it because the Iran Contra thing, obviously, but he was really the largest distributor in the country of cocaine yeah in the in the s and that's when cocaine became the biggest problem that that it was, and so the question is that a really my point is the La School system caused the cocaine epidemic and robbed us no great thing that recross could have done in sad now. Cocaine is not as much as a street level stuff right I mean, like I associate cocaine with, like a certain amount of the I mean, there's the two kinds of cocaine: There's like the white car, cocaine, that's the the powder, cocaine and then there's crack cocaine, that's kind of the street cocaine, okay, okay, okay, and so the crack cocaine is what was cracked down on, which was pretty clearly racially yes, motivated where powder cocaine was very much like your white collar, like your CEOS, were doing cocaine at the office right right right. So that was the difference there. If that's the point, you're making I', not sure what you're yeah yeah I was just, I was wondering: What's the: What are they fighting that I mean I guess the Opio Crisis Yeah the Midwest Anyway Yeah. I think I think, there's not as much of a actually. My buddy is a standard comedian. WHO's now clean and sober went to a facility in Ohio, and he said that because he would, he was doing meth yeah here in Missouri Yeah, and he said then in Ohio. It was weird that he was a methodist because everyone there was doing heroine interesting. So it's all just it's regional, I guess so interesting. I mean that makes sense yeah. So my thing is- and I think this is probably true of a lot of people- is- he didn't- have the opportunities yeah because he didn't have a good education, and so he took the opportunity he had and he made something pretty amazing out of it, even though it was black market and ultimately hard a lot of people's lives. I think I think, there's a lot more stories like this, where you have kids coming up in neighborhoods, where they don't have good opportunities, and so they have a choice at. Do you work at McDonald's for a few bucks an hour or do you make yeah? Do you sell cocaine for millions yea like it's kind of a clear, it's like yeah that one option's illegal, but it's like I'll, take my chances, but it's like do. I have lung cancer. You know, and this this teaching job I have is not going to pay the bills. So it's either. You know key teaching and tried and leave my family it a bunch of debt or or make you know very good, crystal math yeah yeah right under the nose of my brother in law, dea agent, with a former junkie from high school yeah. You know and make it the Lieta by dying at Blue Right. That way. I know that if someone else is dealing the recipe, then you know, then you know it's mine. Yes, Ye know take out. The King Pin become the next K, Yeah Yeah Shad. Obviously I thought that was there were way past that you got a shave, your head before you pay the king pen and the end just let it all crumble in but die with the satisfaction that you did something. If you tell me he died, bro He's dead. He died at the end for sure I haven't finished that yet you've finished. That is that I don't feel bad spoiling that it's been out for ten years. I don't know what to tell you. Well, I guess the finale came out two thousand a D and twelve: Did it really yeah, I'm Oh ten years dude, I'm not an idiot yeah yeah. Then I don't feel bad spoils on his bed. It's been ten years dude. Do you know how the titanic ends? No does it seek? Do you know how home lone ends? Yeah they get them. I just watched the first twenty minutes or something- and I just guess on the end, I'm like yeah, that's probably as and oh I got it yeah man, man that disappoint yeah. You know how fight club INS yeah, they get another fight all right. Well, I mean this. Has Been Rick Ross, I brought to you by Bab. Ras Fiddle of things are done. That night is a production of space. Tim Media produced by Christian Taylor, audio by Ous, Garnett video by conner bets are graphics and our logo by Caleb Goldberg and our social media is run by Kelaba. Our host or JERN myres and Tim Stone falls on your favorite social media platform at Tillin. PODCAST is till and podcast remember to tell all your friends about us and we'll see you next Tuesday for another episode of things I on last night I


Freeway Rick Ross built an empire of drug dealing and real estate in the mid-’80s. His reputation was stout, but he knew what he was doing and evaded legal trouble for years. His ability to stay one step ahead of law enforcement put him in a position to amass an estimated $900 million, all while hiding his nefarious activities from his mother. Unfortunately for Ross, one misstep cost him everything. This is the story of Freeway Rick Ross, and no, he’s not the rapper.

Freeway Rick Ross - the richest drug dealer ever
Freeway Rick Ross
Photo By Patrick Bastien Photography
Young Freeway Rick Ross

Rick Ross attended a private school in high school with hopes of earning a tennis scholarship. Unfortunately, he was brought up in much lower-quality schools in Los Angeles, where he never learned to read. His illiteracy barred him from being able to attend college no matter how good he was at tennis. When he learned that college would never be an option, he abandoned school and tennis altogether. Instead, Ross chose to associate with local gang members and eventually began selling street drugs.

Cocaine Sales

It didn’t take long for Rick to stumble upon cocaine. He had met an upholstery teacher at Los Angeles Community College who revealed that he also sells cocaine. After some coercion, the teacher agreed to sell small amounts of cocaine to Rick to resell. Unfortunately, young Rick Ross was so skilled at selling the drug that he began asking for higher and higher quantities until the upholstery teacher could no longer supply him.

Rick Ross’s drug empire quickly outgrew him forcing him to hire thousands of employees. At the height of his empire, he had a whole network of salespeople, distributors, drug runners, and manufacturers. He even expanded outside of LA and into major cities across the US, including St Louis, New Orleans, Seatle, and Cinncinatti, among many others.

Why Do They Call Him Freeway?

Freeway Rick Ross’s profits reached levels that would land him on a Forbes list if it weren’t an illegal market. In 1980 he had amassed $300 million in profits, the equivalent of $940 million today. However, Ross had one major problem; he didn’t want his mom to know what he did for a living. So instead of spending all of his money on a lavish lifestyle, he chose to live modestly and instead invested his earning back into his empire or real estate. Most of the property he purchased was along the 101 freeway, hence the name freeway.

The End of an Era

Freeway began to realize that he owned enough property to make an honest living outside of the black market. Then, just when he was about to throw in the towel, an old friend reached out to him to ask him to make a connection. There was no plan for a sale or any moving of drugs, just a connection. The meeting was all a setup, and it led to the arrest of Rick Ross. He was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was reduced when he won an appeal and was released in 2009.

Conclusion

Freeway Rick Ross built what was arguably the largest individually run drug empire the world has ever seen. He avoided legal problems because his wealth afforded him equipment that the LAPD couldn’t even acquire. In addition, his intelligence allowed him to stay one step ahead of the police and scale his operation to incredible proportions. Ironically, he got into the drug trade because he couldn’t get into college, and he earned his own exoneration from prison by studying legal textbooks while behind bars. Find out more about the wildlife of Freeway Rick Ross, including his lawsuit with rapper Rick Ross, in this episode of Things I Learned Last Night.

Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!

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Sources

Freeway Rick Ross – Wikipedia


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