Honor Among Thieves | True Crime & Crime Stories

Red Pill Aries joins Nelson Rodriguez Jr. on the Honor Among Thieves Podcast to reveal how he went from selling drugs as a teenager to moving cocaine, making serious money and entering the circles of rappers including Lil Pump, Ski Mask the Slump God and Smokepurpp. By 19, Julian says he had become one of South Florida’s most connected young dealers—but the lifestyle was quickly closing in on him.

Julian recounts the police raid that ended his operation, the evidence investigators discovered and why he says he refused to cooperate against his supplier. After initially facing an eight-year prison offer, he ultimately received a three-year sentence and experienced the realities of Broward County jail and the Florida prison system.

Now known online as Red Pill Aries, Julian discusses sobriety, viral fame, toxic relationships, social media influence and rebuilding his life after prison. This is a raw conversation about the Miami rap scene, cocaine trafficking, incarceration, redemption and using painful experiences to help the next generation.

Topics covered:

Becoming a drug dealer as a teenager

Moving cocaine throughout South Florida

Lil Pump, Ski Mask the Slump God and Smokepurpp

Becoming connected to the Miami rap scene

The police raid that ended his operation

Why Julian says he refused to cooperate

Facing eight years before receiving three years

Broward County jail and Florida prison life

Getting sober and rebuilding after incarceration

Viral fame, social media and Red Pill Aries

Prison reform and helping at-risk youth

Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for more true-crime interviews, federal prison stories, organized crime history, drug-trafficking cases, and raw conversations about consequences and redemption.

This episode is presented for documentary, journalistic, and educational purposes. It does not promote or glorify illegal drug use, drug trafficking, identity fraud, or other criminal activity.

Chapters

00:00 Red Pill Aries Discusses His Recent Arrest

06:21 From Bogotá to South Florida: Julian’s Childhood

11:30 Early Hustles, Robberies and Selling Drugs at School

17:10 Bullying, Money and Escalating Drug Use

25:46 Becoming the Rappers’ Plug in South Florida

30:24 Xanax Blackouts and an Armed Robbery Gone Wrong

37:08 Trust, Family and the Mental Cost of Drug Dealing

42:24 Set Up by an Informant: The SWAT Raid and Arrest

50:25 Eight-Year Offer, Three-Year Sentence and Broward County Jail

57:11 High-Custody Florida Prison and Multiple Detainers

1:03:06 From Prison to a $100K Crypto Come-Up

1:07:49 How Red Pill Aries Built His Online Brand

1:12:46 Influencer Culture, Prison Reform and Helping Youth

1:16:18 Sobriety, Future Goals and Advice to His Younger Self

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🔗 Links

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https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/

📸 Red Pill Aries on Instagram

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Former LSD kingpin Seth Ferranti reveals the full story behind his alleged $500,000 LSD case, 100,000 doses of acid, staged death, two years as a fugitive, U.S. Marshals Top 15 Most Wanted status, and 25-year federal prison sentence.

In Episode 83 of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Nelson Rodriguez Jr. sits down with Seth Ferranti for an unfiltered conversation about drug trafficking, federal prison, survival, journalism, filmmaking, and redemption.

Ferranti explains how experimenting with marijuana and psychedelics as a teenager eventually developed into a multistate marijuana and LSD operation supplying college markets throughout Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. By the summer of 1991, authorities alleged that his federal case involved more than 100,000 doses of LSD with an estimated street value of approximately $500,000.

Facing decades in federal prison or pressure to cooperate, Ferranti staged his own death at Great Falls National Park and disappeared. He left behind his vehicle, identification, clothing, a note, and other evidence near the Potomac River—but his plan failed after investigators found no body. Ferranti spent approximately two years running under false identities before the U.S. Marshals captured him in 1993.

At only 22 years old, Ferranti received a combined sentence of 304 months—25 years and four months—and ultimately served 21 years in federal prison. He describes the culture shock of entering a federal prison system dominated by hardened drug traffickers, organized crime figures, gang members, and men serving enormous sentences.

Instead of allowing prison to completely destroy his future, Ferranti earned three college degrees, became one of VICE’s earliest prison correspondents, wrote books about federal prison and legendary underworld figures, and developed relationships with the Mafia members and street legends whose stories he would eventually document.

After his release, Ferranti transformed those experiences into a filmmaking career. He became the writer and producer behind “White Boy,” the documentary about White Boy Rick, and later created projects including “Dope Man,” “Night Life,” “Psychedelic Revolution,” “A Tortured Mind,” and “Tangled Roots.”

Seth also speaks candidly about relapse, returning to prison on another marijuana case, rebuilding his life again, and why he believes redemption is an ongoing process.

In this episode:

• How Seth Ferranti entered the marijuana and LSD trade

• The college drug network operating across multiple states

• The alleged 100,000 doses and $500,000 LSD case

• The incident that triggered the federal investigation

• Why Ferranti staged his own death

• Two years as a U.S. Marshals Most Wanted fugitive

• Receiving 25 years in federal prison at age 22

• Surviving federal prison alongside Mafia and gang figures

• Becoming a VICE prison correspondent and published author

• Creating the White Boy Rick documentary “White Boy”

• Turning 21 years in prison into a filmmaking career

• Relapse, returning to prison, and pursuing redemption again

Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for more true-crime interviews, federal prison stories, organized crime history, drug-trafficking cases, and raw conversations about consequences and redemption.

This episode is presented for documentary, journalistic, and educational purposes. It does not promote or glorify illegal drug use, drug trafficking, identity fraud, or other criminal activity.

Chapters

0:00 Intro

3:41 Growing Up in California and Entering the Drug Trade

8:10 Building a Multi-State College Drug Network

15:15 How the Federal LSD Investigation Began

21:23 Informants, Federal Charges and Faking His Own Death

28:38 Two Years on the Run Under False Identities

35:31 How the U.S. Marshals Captured Seth Ferranti

41:38 25-Year Sentence, Mafia Connections and Federal Prison Survival

51:35 Earning Three Degrees and Becoming a Prison Writer

58:24 Becoming VICE’s Prison Correspondent and Interviewing Street Legends

1:04:18 Creating the White Boy Rick Documentary and Finding Success

1:11:46 Tangled Roots, Relapse and the Ongoing Fight for Redemption

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🔗 Links

📸 Nelson on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/

📸 Seth on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/sethferranti?igsh=MWN5b29sNzFkODV0Mw==

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Freddy Dee grew up in Harlem, Florida, just outside Clewiston, surrounded by stories of street legends in his own family. His grandfather and uncle were known as hustlers and street guys, and Freddy says he grew up hearing stories about robberies, dice games, poker games—even armored trucks.

Before long, Freddy began following a similar path.

In this episode of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Freddy Dee tells the story of going from robberies to the Florida drug trade during the 2008 recession. His first opportunity came when he acted as a middleman in cocaine transactions, earning roughly $12,000 in his first month. When his plug realized Freddy already had the clientele, he encouraged him to start buying his own supply.

The timing changed everything.

Freddy says South Florida was experiencing a serious drug drought in 2008. Supply was limited, cocaine prices were extremely high, and anyone with access to quality product could command premium prices. What started as a middleman opportunity quickly became a lucrative hustle.

But the money came with consequences.

Freddy breaks down the robbery case that sent him to jail, selling fake product to a customer and believing his arrest was karma, and why he temporarily walked away from dealing.

That decision led him into an entirely different underground economy: high-stakes gambling.

Freddy describes private Florida card games filled with independent drug dealers carrying huge amounts of cash, poker games where egos could put more than $100,000 on the table, cheating accusations that could turn violent, guns being drawn, and a five-to-six-year stretch where Freddy says it felt like he simply couldn't lose.

Eventually, the winning stopped.

Freddy talks openly about becoming addicted to gambling, chasing losses, returning to the drug game, and eventually catching another serious case where authorities accused him of trafficking and a judge initially set his bond at $100,000.

Through an unexpected series of events, Freddy says he ultimately beat the case—and decided it was finally time to leave the streets behind.

This episode covers:
• Growing up in Harlem and Clewiston, Florida
• Family stories of robberies, hustlers and armored trucks
• Freddy's early robberies
• Making $12,000 his first month middle manning cocaine
• The 2008 recession and Florida drug drought
• Cocaine prices, supply and demand in South Florida
• Selling fake drugs and the consequences that followed
• A North Florida robbery case
• Underground Florida poker and dice games
• Drug dealers gambling six figures in cash
• Guns, cheating and dangerous card-room politics
• Freddy's five-year gambling winning streak
• Gambling addiction and chasing losses
• Returning to the drug trade
• The case that resulted in a $100,000 bond
• Beating the case and finally leaving the street life

Subscribe for real conversations about organized crime, drug trafficking, prison, street culture, gambling, redemption and life after the streets.

Chapters
00:00 Freddy Dee: Drug Money, Robberies & $100K Card Games05:03 Family of Street Legends: Robberies, Armored Trucks & Hustlers14:45 Making $12K His First Month in the Cocaine Game20:58 The 2008 Drug Drought: Cocaine Prices Explode in Florida24:12 Selling Fake Drugs and the Robbery Case That Sent Him to Jail34:40 Freddy Dee’s Five-Year Gambling Winning Streak43:18 Inside Florida’s Dangerous Underground Card Games47:36 $100,000 Cash Games With Florida Drug Dealers50:28 The Federal Drug Sweep That Changed Clewiston’s Street Economy56:35 Six-Figure Gambling Wins Turn Into a Losing Streak01:03:14 Returning to the Drug Game After Nearly a Decade01:13:45 Cocaine Trafficking Charge and a $100,000 Bond01:17:24 Beating the Case, Probation Violation & Seven Months in Jail01:22:36 Leaving the Drug Game and Becoming a Civilian

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🔗 Links
📸 Nelson on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/

📸 Freddy on Instagram
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Anthony “Tone Legacy” Baptiste was portrayed as a New York drug kingpin responsible for helping move heroin into Suffolk County, Long Island. His case resulted in a $5 million cash bail, a $10 million bond, and eventually a sentence of 51 years to life in New York State prison.

But roughly 10 years later, Tone walked out of prison.

In this episode of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Tone Legacy sits down with Nelson Rodriguez Jr. to tell the full story of how a kid from Far Rockaway and Long Island went from selling marijuana as a teenager to entering the New York drug trade, facing a major drug trafficking prosecution, and ultimately receiving what looked like a sentence that would keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Tone explains how investigators and prosecutors portrayed him as a major heroin trafficker operating an East Coast pipeline into Suffolk County. He also gives his side of the story, arguing that the public image created around his case was far bigger than the level of drug dealing he says he was actually involved in.

After being convicted on 14 of 16 charges, Tone says his original sentence was calculated at 46 years to life before being corrected to an astonishing 51 years to life.

His appeal did not overturn his conviction, but his sentence was eventually reduced to 25 years to life in the interest of justice.

That still wasn’t enough.

Inside prison, Tone turned the law library into what he describes as his office. After studying his case for years, he wrote his own legal motion and identified what he believed was a sentencing error involving his major drug trafficking conviction and a separate drug sale used to support that same conviction.

According to Tone, prosecutors eventually conceded the sentencing issue.

That legal fight ultimately changed the course of his life.

After becoming eligible for merit parole and work release, Tone was released from New York State prison on February 18, 2026, after serving approximately 10 years.

In this conversation, Tone also discusses life inside maximum-security prisons including Clinton Correctional Facility and Green Haven, New York prison politics, the criminal justice system, appealing a life sentence, representing himself legally, institutionalization, faith, redemption, and rebuilding his identity after a decade behind bars.

Today, Tone is a certified personal trainer and works with A Second U Foundation, an organization focused on helping formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives through fitness, employment, and reentry opportunities.

This is the story of how Anthony “Tone Legacy” Baptiste went from being labeled a New York drug kingpin and facing 51 years to life to walking out of prison roughly a decade later.

In this episode:

How he entered the New York drug trade

The drug trade in Suffolk County and Long Island

The investigation that changed his life

Facing major drug trafficking charges

His $5 million cash bail and $10 million bond

Why authorities portrayed him as a New York kingpin

Going to trial instead of accepting his situation

Receiving a 51-years-to-life prison sentence

Life inside Clinton and Green Haven Correctional Facilities

Becoming eligible for merit parole

Walking out of prison after approximately 10 years

Life parole, reentry and rebuilding after prison

Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for true stories about organized crime, drug trafficking, prison, street life, the criminal justice system, survival, redemption, and life after incarceration.

Chapters

00:00 51 Years to Life: Anthony “Tone Legacy” Baptiste’s Story

04:00 Growing Up in Far Rockaway and Long Island

13:29 Building a Party Promotion Business While Living a Double Life

22:04 Cocaine, Fast Money and the Pull of the Streets

30:35 How the Recession Changed New York’s Drug Game

35:17 How Tone Legacy Started Selling H

41:42 The Investigation and the Night Everything Fell Apart

49:03 Police Interrogation, Refusing to Talk and a $5 Million Bail

55:21 Facing Life in Prison and Refusing the Plea Deal

01:02:26 Studying Law and the Fake Jury Selection

01:11:40 Taking the H Trafficking Case to Trial

01:21:26 Sentenced to 51 Years to Life—and Fighting It From Prison

01:28:00 Asset Forfeiture, $700,000 and 4,000 Pages of Records

01:32:31 Life After Prison, Redemption and Building a New Legacy

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🔗 Links

📸 Nelson on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/

📸 Tone on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/tonelegacy?igsh=MWJrdGNwMGh2OGo5bQ==

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At just 19 years old, Chris Willars faced six potential life sentences after being charged with six robberies, six gun offenses, and six conspiracies. When the judge announced a total sentence of 144 years, Chris believed his life was over—but all except 19 years were suspended. He ultimately served 16 years and 11 months in Virginia state prison.

In this episode of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Chris tells Nelson Rodriguez Jr. how a former Air Force member became involved in a robbery case, turned down an opportunity to cooperate against his codefendants, and entered Virginia’s violent level-four prison system.

Chris describes his first days inside, including being handed a prison knife by his cellmate, walking through the prison while armed guards watched from above, spending years in solitary confinement, and learning how to survive some of Virginia’s most dangerous prison yards.

He also explains how becoming a Five Percenter in prison gave him structure, discipline, knowledge of self, and a community during the darkest period of his life. Chris is no longer a Five Percenter, but he credits those teachings with helping redirect the path he was on.

After nearly 17 years behind bars, Chris walked out of prison in January 2020 and began rebuilding his life. Today, he is a husband, father, motivational speaker, and founder of The Life Unit, a nonprofit organization focused on youth intervention, recovery, outreach, gang prevention, and keeping young people from entering the criminal justice system.

This is a powerful conversation about prison survival, loyalty, consequences, personal transformation, redemption, and what it takes to rebuild a life after losing nearly two decades to incarceration.

In this episode:

Chris Willars’ robbery case and arrest

Facing six potential life sentences at 19

Why detectives offered to let him go home

Turning down an opportunity to cooperate

The judge announcing a 144-year sentence

Serving nearly 17 years in Virginia prison

Life inside a level-four maximum-security prison

Being handed a knife on his first day

Spending more than three years in solitary confinement

Becoming a Five Percenter in prison

Prison politics, violence, survival, and institutionalization

Reentering society after nearly two decades

Marriage, fatherhood, faith, redemption, and The Life Unit

Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for true stories about crime, prison, survival, redemption, organized crime, and life after incarceration.

Chapters

00:00 Chris Willars Faces 6 Life Sentences

04:00 What Is a Five Percenter?

17:16 Joining the Air Force and Losing His Military Career

26:00 How a Robbery Plan Began

31:40 The Night of the Armed Robbery

39:30 Turning Himself In at 19 Years Old

45:33 Solitary Confinement and the “Yellow Brick Road”

52:30 The Judge Announces a 144-Year Sentence

59:03 First Day at Sussex II State Prison

1:03:26 His Cellmate Hands Him a Prison Knife

1:14:49 Becoming a Five Percenter Behind Bars

1:22:30 Betrayal, Solitary Confinement and Returning to Level 4

1:27:00 Violence and Predators Inside Virginia Prison

1:32:40 Serving Nearly 17 Years and Coming Home

1:36:00 Walking Out of Prison Mentally Changed

1:43:50 Redemption, Faith and Life After Prison

📌 Have an unbelievable story? Apply to be a guest:

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🔗 Links

📸 Nelson on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/montanatheprophet/

📸 Chris on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/christopher_life_willars?igsh=MWRyaDE3eWpmemd0bw==

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