Kingpins

One of the most powerful men in Chicago, Big Jim’s businesses ranged from brothels and opium dens to upscale dining. His political influence in the early 1900s helped shape the way American organized crime operated for decades to come. Nobody could take down Big Jim… but that doesn’t mean they didn’t try.  Parcasters - Take a trip from Chicago to New Hampshire and learn about the alien abduction of Barney and Betty Hill on our new show Extraterrestrial. Listen at parcast.com/extraterrestrial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We hope you are excited as we are for this sneak peek episode of our new podcast, Extraterrestrial where we try to answer the question: are we really alone?If you enjoyed this preview and want to listen to the second half of the episode, search and subscribe to EXTRATERRESTRIAL wherever you listen to podcasts now to continue listening! 

He had come from nothing, and yet had risen to become Chicago’s most feared and respected crime lord. Everybody knew Diamond Jim, and not just for his jewelry and that flashy three-piece suit he always wore. By 1914, Jim Colosimo controlled more than a 100 businesses in Chicago’s Red Light District.  Parcasters - Once you’re finished with “Diamond Jim” you’ll want to learn about fate of Chicago native Alan Berg on this week’s episode of Assassinations. Listen now at parcast.com/assassinations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imprisoned in 1973 for drug crimes, he continued to oversee Chicago’s Gangster Disciples from his prison cell. Hoover used his time in prison to educate himself on politics and history. The Pontiac Prison Library provided a place for him to formulate a new plan: take the Gangster Disciples from street gang to political powerhouse. Parcasters - Hear Hercules as you’ve never heard him before on this week’s episode of Mythology! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The leader of one of Chicago's most dangerous gangs in the 1970s, Larry Hoover was only 23 when he was sent to a maximum-security prison. The police thought they’d taken one of Chicago’s most dangerous gang leaders out of the game, but they’d only given him a new territory to reign, and 3,200 new inmates to recruit. Parcast News - Be sure to check out Parcast’s first fictional crime show MIND’S EYE at Parcast.com/MindsEye! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This powerful Kingpin was responsible for the drug epidemic that gave D.C. the reputation as the “murder capital” of the U.S. Edmond’s infamous trial in 1989, required the jury to sit behind bulletproof glass for their protection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was the youngest drug lord in D.C. history and began selling drugs at the ripe old age of 9-years-old. By the mid-1980s,  Rayful Edmond III controlled 60 percent of the drugs that came into the city and was making $300 million annually. But this would only be the beginning of his legendary reign.   Sponsors! Audible -  Listen to “Evil Has A Name” only on Audible. Listen now at Audible.com/EvilKingpins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We have a holiday gift for you… Parcast’s first fictional crime show AD-FREE! In Mind’s Eye, a serial killer is back and homicide detective Kate McClay fights against psychology, unsolved crimes, and even her own family... The scariest monsters are those hiding inside our own minds. Continue the story of Mind’s Eye NOW by listening to the next episode - “Lost Forever.” Search and subscribe to MIND’S EYE anywhere you listen to podcasts, or at Parcast.com/mindseye.

After her husband's murder in 1986, Thelma stepped in and took over a nationwide drug operation, moving cocaine and heroin from LA to Philadelphia. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Wright enjoyed the lavish lifestyle the drug trade afforded, but would soon learn the consequences of engaging with the criminal underworld. Parcast Network - Check out our new show Mythology at https://www.parcast.com/mythology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, this queenpin watched from the shadows while her husband built a drug empire. After tragedy struck in 1986, Thelma was thrust into the center of the action navigating a bi-coastal drug trade between Philadelphia and Los Angeles.  Parcast - Check out our brand new podcast Mythology at https://www.parcast.com/mythology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He rose from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama throughout the 1980s. However, it turns out he had a great deal of help from the American CIA. Sponsors! Audible - Get 3 months of Audible for just $6.95 a month by going to Audible.com/KINGPINS or text KINGPINS to 500 500. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did Manuel Noriega rise from nothing to become the drug-smuggling, secret-selling, military dictator of Panama? He had a great deal of help from the American CIA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the death of his boss, Bumpy Johnson in 1968, Frank Lucas is ready to capitalize on the open market. Originally a small-time dealer on the streets of Harlem, he becomes one of the most successful heroin dealers of all time. Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review and subscribe to our new show Assassinations which premieres November 19th! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Moving from North Carolina to New York City, Frank Lucas engaged in petty crime and pool hustling before he began smuggling drugs using coffins of dead American servicemen in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He cut out the middleman and bought heroin directly from the source.  Sponsors! Parcast - Rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This vicious leader had very little regard for human life as if it stood in the way of his business. Pablo Acosta Villarreal commanded a 500 person operation on both sides of the border before his downfall and death in 1987.  Sponsors! Parcast - Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to our new podcast Hostage! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices