American Gangster

Before he became one of America's most famous death row inmates, Stanley "Tookie" Williams' was best known as the co-founder of the Crips, a notorious Los Angeles gang that has terrorized the streets of South Central for more than 30 years. Williams initially despised gangs, but was determined to defend his turf during the late '60s. Intent on establishing himself as a leader, Williams dabbled in drugs, burglary and street fights and was constantly in and out of juvenile detention centers. At 17 he determined he wanted to be the leader of the biggest gang in the world and hooked up with another misguided teen, Raymond Washington, to form the Crips. The Crips' crimes were well documented, including the alleged quadruple murder that sent Williams to jail for the rest of his life. In this episode you'll see the two sides of this very complex man - the body-building youth counselor and the cold-blooded killer, and explore Williams' involvement in the Crips, their continuous battles with rival gang the Bloods, and the history of gangs in L.A. from WWII to the present.

Illiterate, but athletically inclined, “Freeway” Ricky Ross went from being potentially a star athlete to the crack king of Los Angeles in the 70s and 80s when drugs were turning the City of the Angels into the ‘Hood’ from hell. At the height of his reign Ross was pulling in $2-3 million daily and had close ties to some of the most notorious international drug smugglers on the scene. But his world began to crumble in the latter part of the ‘80s with a series of arrests and mishaps in his substantial empire. Although Ross had revolutionized narcotics distribution and had acquired several properties throughout South Central to house his operations, things began to go downhill in 1996. Set up by two business associates working undercover for the DEA, Ross was busted and then sentenced to life in prison without parole. This episode will chronicle Ross’ rise and fall in narcotics distribution as well as his connection to the government Contras Scandal.

Leroy “Nicky” Barnes was not your typical drug dealer. He was a drug addict turn business man. Like many drug dealers, Barnes was dapper and smooth, but unlike his contemporaries he became addicted to the merchandise. After a series of arrests and convictions, Barnes was forced to call it a career in 1978 when he was sentenced to life for drug trafficking. His sentence was reduced, however, to 35 years when he ratted on 109 other dealers. His snitching just added to his legend and begs the question—is Barnes a savior or simply a man who did what he had to do to survive? This compelling episode will examine what led the man they called “Mr. Untouchable” to become one of the most infamous heroin pushers in Harlem during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

In the wee hours of the morning on April 6, 2003, four men drilled a hole through the wall of a vacant restaurant in San Francisco's Union Square district that would eventually gain them entry into Lang Estate Jewelers. They spent the night there and when the store?s employees arrived for work that morning they were greeted by the robbers. The four men terrorized the employees at gunpoint and then forced the store's manager to open the safe. They escaped with an estimated $6 million in jewels - the largest haul in San Francisco history. Among the four pulling off this successful heist were brothers Troy and Dino Smith. They were fairly well known to police, and were thought to be suspects in a slew of robberies during the '80s. When they stole, they stole everything. They never played it safe. They even robbed drug dealers. It was all good for a very long time. But their luck ran out shortly after the Lang job.

Some may refer to Billy Joe, Willie, Larry and Otis Chambers as the First Family of Crime. These four brothers who hailed from Arkansas grew up to be some of the most notorious drug lords in America, with profits that exceeded $50 million a year. They had become so popular that even former President Bill Clinton mentioned them during a speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Crack made them all very wealthy men, but it also made them cocky and careless. Although they are now behind bars, their impact lingers on. At the time of their sentencing in 1988, the Detroit-based Chambers Brothers had more than 400 people on their team. The sons of sharecroppers, this fascinating episode will fully detail each brother's path to crime and the one incident that eventually brought them down.

Lorenzo "Fat Cat" Nichols, a Queens, NY native, got involved with the Seven Crowns gang as a young teen and served five years in prison for armed robbery by the time he started dealing drugs at 22. Although Nichols didn't pull the trigger that killed NYPD officer Edward Byrne in 1988, his organization was held accountable. Those gunshots were heard around the world and the ensuing backlash would ultimately affect drug trafficking nationwide.