Honor Among Thieves | True Crime & Crime Stories

Marijuana smuggling pioneer Clifton Middleton joins the Honor Among Thieves Podcast to reveal how a rebellious Iowa farm kid became an international marijuana smuggler. Clifton explains how he traveled to Mexico at 16 searching for Acapulco Gold, began moving marijuana across borders and eventually followed the trade through Morocco, Jamaica and Miami during the height of the hippie counterculture.

Clifton breaks down the psychology of carrying contraband through international customs, the network surrounding the marijuana trade and the wealth that helped transform South Florida. He also recalls buying a home on Miami’s Star Island and creating the River City Free Trade Zone—a massive counterculture marketplace filled with head shops, music, food and businesses he says were supported by marijuana dealers.

His story eventually catches up with him at Miami International Airport, where he was arrested arriving from Jamaica with approximately 3.5 pounds of marijuana strapped to his body. After bonding out, Clifton says authorities did not see him again for eight years. From reform school and a college scholarship to international smuggling, arrest and regret, this episode explores the risks, consequences and mindset behind an extraordinary life.

Topics Covered:

Growing up on an Iowa farm and running away at 13

Reform school, intelligence testing and a college scholarship

Searching for Acapulco Gold in Mexico at 16

Smuggling marijuana through Mexico, Morocco, Jamaica and Miami

Carrying contraband through international customs

The River City Free Trade Zone and hippie counterculture

Marijuana money, South Florida and Star Island

His arrest at Miami International Airport

Disappearing from authorities for eight years

Regrets, consequences and Ganja Warrior Priest

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 Clifton Middleton: The Original Marijuana Smuggler

03:37 Growing Up on an Iowa Farm

11:05 Running Away at 13 and Being Sent to Reform School

17:00 From Reform School to a College Scholarship

23:34 His First Marijuana Experience and the 1960s Hippie Era

28:24 Acapulco Gold and International Marijuana Smuggling

35:26 Building the River City Free Trade Zone

41:45 How Marijuana Smuggling Helped Transform Miami

43:43 Caught at Miami Airport—Then Gone for Eight Years

45:02 Regrets, Ganja Warrior Priest and Hard Seed

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In this episode of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Nelson Rodriguez Jr. sits down with attorney and author Adrian Enrique Alvarez to uncover how the Mafia in Cuba transformed 1950s Havana into a gambling empire. They trace the rise of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante as organized crime developed powerful ties to Fulgencio Batista and Havana’s casinos.

Adrian explains how mob-backed casinos helped make Havana a tropical rival to Las Vegas, what the major Mafia figures controlled and how the Cuban Revolution brought their empire crashing down. The conversation follows Fidel Castro’s takeover, the seizure of Mafia properties and Santo Trafficante’s efforts to reclaim what organized crime had lost.

The episode also examines reported CIA-Mafia plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, the roles of Johnny Roselli, Frank Sturgis and Rolando Cubela, and their alleged connections to JFK and Watergate. Adrian also reveals the history behind his book, Cubela Libre: Road to Revolution, and why this chapter of Cuban and Mafia history still matters today.

Topics covered:

How the American Mafia established itself in Cuba

Lucky Luciano’s vision for a Mafia-controlled Havana

Meyer Lansky’s Cuban casino empire

Santo Trafficante and organized crime in Florida and Cuba

Fulgencio Batista’s relationship with the Mafia

Why Havana became a rival to Las Vegas

How Fidel Castro’s revolution dismantled the Mafia empire

The CIA and Mafia plots to assassinate Fidel Castro

Rolando Cubela, Johnny Roselli and Frank Sturgis

The history behind Cubela Libre: Road to Revolution

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 How the Mafia Built Its Havana Empire

11:11 How the American Mafia Took Control of Cuba

19:40 Fulgencio Batista Hires Meyer Lansky to Run Gambling

30:08 Lucky Luciano’s Plan for a Mafia Narco-State

40:10 The Mafia Tries to Work With Fidel Castro

48:10 CIA-Mafia Plots to Assassinate Fidel Castro

54:50 Cocaine, Meyer Lansky and the Mob After Cuba

1:00:34 Santo Trafficante, Marita Lorenz and the JFK Connection

1:10:00 How Havana’s Casino Legacy Reached Las Vegas

1:16:24 How the Cuban Revolution Reshaped Miami

1:19:53 Cubela Libre, Redemption and the Criminal Mindset

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🔗 Links

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📸 Adrian on Instagram

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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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📸 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

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📸 Seth on Instagram

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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
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📸 Freddy on Instagram
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