Honor Among Thieves | True Crime & Crime Stories

Retired undercover officer Lou Terminello takes us inside Miami’s nightlife during the 1980s, when cocaine, nightclubs, strip clubs, bars, and organized drug activity were deeply connected to the city’s entertainment scene.

In Episode 78 of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Lou explains how he worked undercover for the State of Florida’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, infiltrating nightlife businesses suspected of allowing or participating in illegal drug sales.

His job was not simply to arrest the dealer.

Lou had to enter bars, clubs, and adult-entertainment businesses under a false identity, gain the trust of employees and owners, document the drug activity, make arrests, and gather enough evidence for the state to suspend or revoke the establishment’s liquor license.

Lou reveals how these undercover sting operations worked, how officers built cases inside crowded Miami clubs, and what happened when business owners knowingly allowed cocaine and other illegal drugs to be sold on their property.

The conversation explores:

Undercover police work in 1980s Miami

Cocaine sales inside bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs

How undercover officers gained the trust of dealers

Drug stings targeting Miami nightlife businesses

Arresting employees, dealers, and business owners

Suspending liquor licenses after narcotics investigations

The dangers of carrying out undercover operations without being exposed

Miami’s cocaine-fueled nightlife during the Cocaine Cowboys era

Automatic weapons, violent traffickers, and unpredictable drug deals

How law enforcement investigated businesses connected to illegal drugs

The psychological pressure of living behind a false identity

Lou’s most dangerous and unforgettable undercover cases

Lou also explains the difference between targeting an individual drug dealer and building a case against an entire business. To shut a club down, investigators had to prove that management knew what was happening—or was directly involved.

This episode provides a rare firsthand look at the law-enforcement side of Miami’s criminal underworld during one of the most notorious periods in the city’s history.

Subscribe for more firsthand interviews about true crime, undercover police work, drug trafficking, organized crime, federal prison, Miami crime history, ex-cons, law enforcement, and redemption.

Chapters

00:00 Undercover Miami Cop’s Wildest Drug-Sting Stories

08:35 Becoming a Part-Time Police Officer in Massachusetts

15:42 Police Academy Training and Becoming a Miami Cop

21:07 What Miami’s Streets Looked Like Before the Cocaine Boom

26:18 Becoming a Florida Alcohol and Tobacco Special Agent

36:03 Infiltrating Nightclubs, Strip Clubs and Illegal Gambling Operations

41:33 The Mobar Investigation in Key West

47:16 Representing the Same Nightlife Industry He Once Investigated

51:35 Working Hundreds of Undercover Drug Cases

54:19 Lou’s Most Unbelievable Undercover Investigations

59:57 The Cafe Iguana Drug and Liquor-License Case

1:08:06 Lou Terminello’s Life and Legal Career Today

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Ken Behr says he moved 1,000- to 2,000-pound marijuana loads, trafficked more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine, and operated inside South Florida’s drug-smuggling world throughout the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

In Episode 77 of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Ken reveals how a teenage marijuana operation grew into a decades-long career involving offshore freighters, speedboats, private aircraft, millions of dollars in cash and connections to some of the biggest marijuana smugglers in American history.

Ken describes arriving in South Florida during the height of the marijuana-smuggling era, when nearly everyone seemed to be involved in the drug trade. He explains how smugglers moved massive shipments from offshore freighters using Cigarette boats and sportfishing vessels, then transported the marijuana across the country in rental cars loaded with hundreds of pounds at a time.

He also shares his firsthand memories of working around legendary smuggler Donnie Steinberg, whom Ken describes as one of the largest marijuana traffickers in U.S. history. According to Ken, Steinberg was connected to freighters carrying as much as 200,000 pounds of marijuana and once discussed multiple enormous shipments arriving in different parts of the country on the same day.

Ken takes us inside the transition from marijuana to cocaine as South Florida entered the Cocaine Cowboys era. He discusses the price of a kilo in the early 1970s, moving cocaine in bulk, transporting suitcases filled with millions of dollars and the culture surrounding Fort Lauderdale and Miami nightlife—including the Mutiny Club, which he says inspired the Babylon Club in Scarface.

The operation finally came crashing down after Ken’s second arrest in 1992, when prosecutors charged him under RICO and accused him of running an ongoing criminal enterprise.

This episode covers:

1,000- to 2,000-pound marijuana loads

More than 1,000 kilos of cocaine

South Florida drug smuggling in the 1970s and 1980s

Offshore freighters carrying massive marijuana shipments

Cigarette boats and high-speed smuggling operations

Donnie Steinberg and the underground marijuana empire

Flying millions of dollars to the Cayman Islands

The rise of cocaine trafficking in South Florida

The Mutiny Club and its connection to Scarface

Federal investigations, RICO charges and Ken’s 1992 arrest

The money, danger and consequences of becoming a major drug trafficker

Ken Behr’s story offers a firsthand look at the real South Florida smuggling era that existed before the movies, documentaries and legends.

Watch Episode 77 of Honor Among Thieves Podcast now.

Subscribe for more true crime interviews, drug-trafficking stories, federal prison experiences, organized crime history, ex-con redemption stories and firsthand accounts from people who lived through America’s criminal underworld.

Chapters

00:00 Ken Behr’s South Florida Drug-Smuggling Story

04:13 Moving to South Florida During the 1970s Drug Boom

14:02 Flying Drug Money to the Cayman Islands and Running Cigarette Boats

22:04 Moving 1,000-Pound Loads and Entering the Cocaine Trade

30:23 Smuggling His First 600-Pound Marijuana Load

36:03 Armed Dealers, Failed Drug Deals and the Dangers of Smuggling

42:43 Home Invasions, Hidden Cocaine and South Florida Drug Violence

55:07 Racing Cars and Planning High-Risk Drug-Smuggling Missions

60:15 The Plan to Fly 300 Kilos of Cocaine From Colombia

70:54 Building a Secret Runway for a Cocaine-Smuggling Plane

78:04 Landing the Plane and Escaping With the Cocaine

82:04 Smuggling 40,000 Pounds From Canada and Getting Arrested

90:27 The Prison Advice That Changed Ken’s Life

95:41 Redemption, Regret and Taking Responsibility

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🔗 Links

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📸 Ken on Instagram

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What was Pooh Shiesty really like inside federal prison?

In Episode 76 of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, former USP Victorville correctional officer Gio Martini returns to give a firsthand account of Pooh Shiesty’s time at one of the most dangerous federal prisons in California.

Gio says he was working at USP Victorville while Pooh Shiesty was housed there and witnessed how the rapper carried himself around staff and inmates. He describes Pooh as quiet when he first entered the penitentiary and explains how celebrity status, prison politics and personal reputation can quickly change once someone enters a high-security federal prison.

Gio also makes several explosive claims about Pooh Shiesty’s incarceration, including that he pushed a wheelchair for a known BMF associate, which Gio interprets as evidence that Pooh was paying for protection. He explains how protection arrangements operate inside prison, why inmates may align themselves with powerful figures and what it means when someone refuses to return to the general population.

The conversation also covers:

Pooh Shiesty’s arrival at USP Victorville

His alleged connection to a BMF associate

Claims that he was paying for prison protection

A failed drug test and time spent in the SHU

Protective custody and “checking in”

Prison gangs, racial politics and inmate reputation

Gio disputing Pooh Shiesty’s reported story about a deadly race riot

Gucci Mane, the alleged robbery controversy and Pooh’s decisions after release

What celebrity rappers face inside a maximum-security federal prison

The difference between a public image and surviving inside the penitentiary

Gio also explains why he believes Pooh’s alleged race-riot story does not match what actually happened at Victorville. According to Gio, an incident involving multiple deaths at such a notorious federal prison would have generated immediate media attention and institutional fallout.

This episode offers a rare perspective from someone who says he interacted with Pooh Shiesty inside the federal prison system and understood the politics surrounding his incarceration.

Was Pooh Shiesty protected inside USP Victorville? Did he voluntarily remain in protective custody? And how much of his public prison story matches what staff and inmates reportedly witnessed?

Subscribe for more firsthand stories about federal prison, organized crime, drug trafficking, prison gangs, celebrity inmates and redemption.

Chapters

00:00 Former USP Victorville Guard Reveals What Pooh Shiesty Was Really Like

05:20 Pooh Shiesty’s Alleged BMF Protection and Protective Custody

10:40 Pooh Shiesty on the Prison Yard, Basketball and Suicide Watch

16:00 Federal Gun Charges and Why Rappers Keep Returning to Prison

21:30 Gio Disputes Pooh Shiesty’s Alleged USP Victorville Race Riot Story

27:00 Could Diddy and R. Kelly Survive at USP Victorville?

32:30 Sex Offenders, Prison Paperwork and Inmate Politics

38:00 Why Pooh Shiesty Refused to Return to General Population

43:30 Rap Culture, Snitching and the Criminals Young People Idolize

49:10 Why Society Romanticizes Gangsters, Outlaws and Street Legends

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📸 Gio on Instagram

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Baltimore Carl grew up in East Baltimore’s Lafayette Projects, where violence, drug dealing and generational crime families were part of everyday life. Long before he understood the consequences, he was being exposed to the street economy—and he says his own great-grandmother became his first marijuana plug.

In this episode of Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Baltimore Carl reveals the real Baltimore streets behind HBO’s The Wire. He explains the differences between East and West Baltimore, how heroin was packaged and sold in gel caps, how project drug organizations operated, and how young men were pulled into the game before they were old enough to understand it.

Carl also discusses being mentored by Dante “Fat Tater” Barksdale, the nephew of the real-life Avon Barksdale, whose name and story helped inspire one of the most recognizable characters in The Wire. He breaks down Baltimore’s drug culture, the money generated from heroin, the rise of fentanyl, territorial conflicts, arrests, Baltimore Central Booking and the reality behind the television series.

But Carl’s story does not end in the streets. After surviving violence, incarceration and the consequences of the drug trade, he transformed his life and began helping others escape addiction, homelessness and the same criminal environment that shaped him.

This is the real-life story behind The Wire—told by someone who lived inside the world the show portrayed.

Subscribe to Honor Among Thieves Podcast for true crime interviews, federal prison stories, former drug dealers, organized crime, street legends, redemption stories and conversations with people who survived the criminal underworld.

Chapters

00:00 Baltimore Carl and the Real Streets Behind The Wire

09:16 The Toll of Addiction On The Inner Cities of Baltimore

18:43 His Great-Grandmother Became His First Drug Plug

28:23 How Baltimore Drugs Were Cut, Branded and Sold

36:52 Joining a Violent Drug Crew and Becoming a Boss

45:51 O’Donnell Heights, Crime Families and Street Power

56:27 Hiding Drugs From Police and Enforcing the Crew

01:05:13 Ten Years as a Lieutenant in Baltimore’s Drug Trade

01:15:02 The Real-Life Hamsterdam and Baltimore Police Corruption

01:24:28 Police Raids, Central Booking and Dealing From a Podcast Studio

01:33:40 His Biggest Plug and the Raid That Ended Everything

01:43:05 Facing 16 Years, Drug Court and Finding Redemption

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Andy Polo grew up surrounded by organized crime, cocaine trafficking, fraud, violence, and the influence of an Argentine gangster family. Years later, he survived an attack so severe that doctors initially questioned whether he would live.

In this episode of the Honor Among Thieves Podcast, Andy opens up about growing up in South Florida around relatives connected to criminal activity and the impact that environment had on his childhood, relationships, and understanding of loyalty.

But the most shocking chapter of Andy’s life came inside his own home.

Andy describes how an argument with his former girlfriend escalated into a brutal boiling-water attack that burned approximately 37% of his body. He recounts the immediate pain, the desperate attempt to get help, the hospital treatment that followed, and the long physical and emotional recovery he endured.

His former girlfriend was eventually convicted and sent to Florida State Prison for the attack.

Andy also discusses domestic violence against men, the stigma male victims often face, the warning signs he missed, and what it took to rebuild his life after nearly losing everything.

This is a raw true-crime story about family crime, domestic violence, survival, prison, accountability, and the lasting consequences of one violent decision.

Watch the full episode and subscribe to Honor Among Thieves for more true-crime interviews, organized crime stories, prison experiences, redemption, and life after the criminal lifestyle.

Chapters

00:00 Raised by an Argentine Gangster Family in South Florida

05:16 Fitness, Steroids and the Lifestyle That Changed Everything

10:00 Marriage Problems and Reconnecting With a Woman From His Past

15:12 His Father Was a Gangster: Cocaine Trafficking and Federal Racketeering Case

20:31 The Affair Begins and a Hidden Family Secret Is Exposed

25:03 Tracking Devices, Jealousy and an Obsessive Relationship

30:41 When His Girlfriend Attacked His Wife

35:02 Steroids, Bodybuilding and the Early Warning Signs

41:18 Family Conflict and the Final Red Flags Before the Attack

45:36 Boiling Water Attack Burns 37% of His Body

50:01 The 911 Call, Trauma Response and Fight to Survive

55:03 His Ex’s Arrest, False Story and Domestic Violence Case

01:00:46 Three-Year Court Battle and Delayed Justice

01:05:21 Rejecting $500,000 and Demanding Prison Time

01:10:03 Florida State Prison, Early Release and Double Standards

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

👉 https://www.honoramongthievespodcast.com/guest

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🔗 Links

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📸 Andy on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/stackdaddylifestyle/

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