logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
39m 50s

The Billion Dollar Dealer Who Linked Hel...

The Underworld Podcast
About this episode
Jimmy Cournoyer brought a billion dollars of weed into New York City and the east coast through an organization that brought together the Rizzuto and Bonnano Italian Mafia families, Native American Smugglers, Hell's Angels, and the Sinaloa Cartel into one massive money-laundering, weed-smuggling, cocaine-distributing organization. And he did it all before he ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
The Biggest Unknown Drug Dealer in US History
He might just be the biggest US drug smuggler you’ve never heard of. 1.3 billion in product moved. 16 different aliases. Bank accounts in 10 countries. A phantom, and a logistical genius. Stewart Newton quietly built what feds called the biggest ever drug smuggling operation in N ... Show More
1h 11m
Aug 25
Shafted: How Cartels are Killing for Rare-Earths
Bolivia's Cerro Rico has been spewing out tons of silver for centuries. It was the economic bellows of the Spanish Revolution, whose lust for the precious metal came at the price of some eight million slaves. Some of the empire's earliest gangs formed around the Cerro. They were ... Show More
44m 57s
Aug 18
The Heroin Warlord of Pakistan: Armed Tribesman, the CIA, & a Smuggling Empire
5000 armed tribesman at his beck and a call. A mountain compound in a lawless territory. A seat in Pakistan’s parliament bought and paid for. And a heroin and hash empire that stretched from the mountains of Afghanistan to million dollar mansions in Long Island. Ayub Afridi start ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
Episode 170: Gambino Family Scores Case
In this episode for the first 15 minutes or so we delve into the recent arrest of Sinaloa Cartel founder and kingpin El Mayo Zambada. After that I talked about Michael Blutrich who was the owner and founder of Scores Gentlemen's Club in Manhattan. In the early 90's he would open ... Show More
32m 50s
Sep 2020
Dirty Money
Champagne escapades, sexual favors and now the mob?? The Sopranos may have been a hit, but this is real life. Prosecutor Art Leach breaks down the charges against the Gold Club and explains how the club’s money was funneled up the ranks of none other than... the Italian mafia.  L ... Show More
32m 27s
Jul 2022
Fireside with the Underboss - “He Pulled Up In Front of John’s Club With Hookers and Cocaine”
Sammy crossed paths with a lot of Westies during his time as a made man. In this story, he tells us about a particular time when the Westies and Gambino's decided to join forces. 
26m 12s
Mar 2023
Episode 230: The Life and Death of Drew Thornton and Cocaine Bear - Part 1
A wealthy man of power. A tempting and valuable but highly illegal product. An insatiable lust for thrills, money, and power. Along with a crew of southern gentlemen, they used their connections and cash to run the largest guns for drugs ring in the United States’ history. What h ... Show More
1h 31m
Aug 2021
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Part One)
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami is a six-part documentary series on the South Florida traffickers indicted in one of the largest drug cases in U.S. history. Cuban exiles Augusto “Willy” Falcon and Salvador “Sal” Magluta were accused of smuggling over 75 tons of cocaine into t ... Show More
44m 36s
Sep 2022
Fireside With The Underboss - "Framed Us For Murder, Asked Permission To Kill Him"
Sammy introduces us to a couple of new, and super dangerous, mafiosos: Dominick “Mimi” Scialo and Vincent “Jimmy” Rotondo. These wise guys are all tied together in a slew of different crimes including the Dunn brother case. 
32m 45s
Mar 2023
A Smuggler’s Loyalty - B7
Bonus 7: In 1979, a joint DEA/FBI task force in Miami busted the Black Tuna Gang, a major marijuana smuggling ring responsible for bringing 500 tons of marijuana into the United States over a 16-month period. Black Tuna’s leader, Bobby Platshorn, shares the set-up that led to his ... Show More
5m 26s
Sep 2021
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (Part Two)
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami is a six-part documentary series on the South Florida traffickers indicted in one of the largest drug cases in U.S. history. Cuban exiles Augusto “Willy” Falcon and Salvador “Sal” Magluta were accused of smuggling over 75 tons of cocaine into t ... Show More
39m 24s
Feb 2019
“Cali Cartel” Pt. 2: The Rodríguez Orejuela Brothers
At the height of their power, Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela were bringing in one million dollars a week by smuggling cocaine into New York City. In the 1980s, a war broke out between the Cali Cartel and the Medellin Cartel. Officials struggled to track down the notorious ... Show More
42m 58s
Sep 2019
“Mr. Nice” Pt. 1: Howard Marks
During the 1970s, Howard Marks became one of the biggest cannabis smugglers in Europe. Through a series of networks, which included contacts in the IRA and the Mafia, he was able to bring in upwards of 30 tons of cannabis into the UK and the United States. But after years of anon ... Show More
50m 16s