The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell

Jimmy “Easy” Saracco lived the kind of Mafia life most people only know from movies.

In this episode, the former DeCavalcante associate opens up about coming up in New York’s underworld, making serious money through bookmaking and loansharking, carrying out violent orders, and operating around the New Jersey crime family often associated with the real-life inspiration behind The Sopranos.

Jimmy also tells the story of his explosive feud with John Gotti Jr., including his claim that Gotti Jr. was involved in a plot to have him killed. After surviving a brutal attack that left him stabbed and in a coma, Jimmy says he wanted revenge—but Mafia politics made Gotti Jr. untouchable.

Years later, the world Jimmy had lived by began collapsing from the inside. Bosses, captains, and associates started cooperating with the federal government, leaving Jimmy facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

Eventually, he made the decision he once thought was unthinkable: he cooperated too.

Jimmy explains why he flipped, what it felt like walking out of his first proffer session, the murders and rackets he admitted involvement in, his time in witness protection, and why he says his life today is better than the one he left behind.

This is the story of money, murder, loyalty, betrayal, the real-life Mafia world behind The Sopranos—and what happens when the code everyone swore to live by finally falls apart.

Go Support Jimmy!

Book: https://a.co/d/0iR1D8xx

YouTube: @JIMMY_EASY_SARACCO

This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following:

Quince! Find your next fall favorites at Quince. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to https://quince.com/connect

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0:00 Jimmy Easy: Murder, Loansharking & the DeCavalcante Family

7:03 Becoming an Earner & Entering the Mob Life

14:29 Social Clubs, Rikers Island & Early Prison Time

20:12 Vigilante Street Justice & a Brutal Mob Story

22:59 This Episode Is Sponsored By Quince

24:52 Building His Crew & the Holmdel Robbery

35:09 Bookmaking, Loan Sharking & Mob Collections

41:07 This Episode Is Sponsored By Shopify

42:18 Vinny Palermo, Mob Hits & Disappearances

49:29 The 1997 Arrest, FBI Setup & Cooperators

56:17 Mob Territory, Kickbacks & Making Money

1:00:12 This Episode Is Sponsored By Quo

1:01:22 John Gotti's Influence & Sopranos Connections

1:10:34 Extortion, Tow Trucks & Illegal Businesses

1:15:34 This Episode Is Sponsored By Mood

1:16:54 Jewelry Heists, Fences & Whitey Bulger

1:22:18 Chop Shops, Stolen Cars & Insurance Fraud

1:28:08 Courtroom Corruption & Buying Your Way Out

1:33:33 The Night John Gotti Jr.'s Crew Tried to Kill Him

1:39:32 Inside the DeCavalcante Family Structure

1:45:24 Medical Fraud, Hospitals & Massive Kickbacks

1:51:05 The World Trade Center Robbery & Ralphie Flips

1:58:45 Insurance Money, Wiretaps & the Coming Indictment

2:05:03 The Feds Close In & the Murder Charges

2:13:23 Facing Life in Prison & Deciding to Cooperate

2:20:00 Sentencing Deals, Cooperators & Witness Protection

2:27:35 Leaving WitSec & Life After the Mafia

2:30:00 Hit Man Tells All, Jimmy's YouTube & Closing
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Could a U.S. military intervention in Mexico actually happen—and what would it look like if it did?

Ed Calderon joins the show and we break down the growing tension between the United States and Mexico, the strategic importance of northern Mexico’s manufacturing base, and why a future conflict could extend far beyond the fight against cartels and fentanyl. The conversation explores the potential consequences of military intervention, including mass migration, border shutdowns, trade disruptions, economic shortages, and the possibility of cartel groups transforming into organized guerrilla forces using drones, IEDs, precision weapons, and other modern battlefield tactics.

We also examine why Mexico could become an extremely difficult environment for a prolonged U.S. military campaign, how deeply interconnected Mexican and American communities are, and why recent operations against historically powerful cartel figures may signal a much larger geopolitical shift.

Go Support Ed!

Website: https://www.edsmanifesto.com/

Merch: https://sneakreaper-industries.com/

Podcast: @manifestoradionetwork3191

IG: https://www.instagram.com/manifestoradiopodcast/

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0:00 Could the U.S. Go to War With Mexico?

7:46 Michoacán, Cartels & Self-Defense Groups

14:50 U.S. Pressure on Mexico’s Politicians

22:02 CIA Operations, the DEA & Iran-Contra

28:36 Mayo Zambada, Sinaloa & Political Corruption

36:12 Why a U.S.–Mexico Military Clash Could Happen

42:22 The Economic Motive for Invading Mexico

49:54 What Would a U.S. Intervention Actually Look Like?

55:55 Cartel Fighters, Snipers & Guerrilla Warfare

1:03:12 Could Mexico Turn Into a Civil War?

1:10:07 Morena, Foreign Influence & Mexico’s Sovereignty

1:15:30 The Huachicol Fuel-Smuggling Empire

1:21:52 How U.S. Fuel Gets Smuggled Into Mexico

1:28:58 Sinaloa’s Future, CJNG & Cross-Border Drug Tunnels
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At just 18 years old, Jacob Diaz went from growing up in extreme poverty and foster care to helping manage a massive cocaine trafficking operation stretching from the Texas border to Florida.

In this episode, Jacob explains how he started as a driver and translator before eventually handling logistics, coordinating drivers, collecting money, managing stash houses, and helping oversee the U.S. side of an operation connected to the Beltrán Leyva organization.

At its peak, the network was moving dozens of kilos a week, with Jacob describing hundreds of kilos moving through individual customers and millions of dollars changing hands.

Jacob breaks down how the operation stayed under the radar, how cocaine moved across the country, what life was like around cartel figures in Mexico, and the mistake that eventually brought federal investigators to his door.

After being convicted on a federal cocaine conspiracy charge and serving more than seven years in prison, Jacob completely changed direction and built a legitimate business helping people repair their credit and access funding.

This is the story of how a teenager went from homelessness and foster care to the center of a multimillion-dollar cocaine operation—and how it all came crashing down.

Go Support Jacob!

Ig: https://www.instagram.com/mycreditbuilderpros/

This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following:

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0:00 Intro: From Foster Care to Cartel Logistics

6:11 Growing Up in Extreme Poverty in Ocala

11:50 Foster Care, Family Separation & His Mom Disappearing

17:15 Learning to Let Go and Move Forward

20:03 This Episode Is Sponsored By Hims

21:48 Selling to Eat While Homeless

29:00 Selling Out of the Foster Home

34:32 Meeting the Man Who Became His Father Figure

41:54 Getting Involved In The Beltran-Leyva Organization

43:21 This Episode Is Sponsored By NordVPN

44:42 Becoming the U.S. Logistics Manager

47:17 Collecting Cash, Translating & Learning the Business

55:07 Border Routes, Checkpoints & Moving Product

1:00:57 The 70-Year-Old Cartel Mule

1:06:00 Moving 20 Kilos a Week Through Ocala

1:12:36 The Dream of Retiring in Spain

1:22:02 Cartel Security & Acapulco Nightlife

1:27:05 Living on a $30K-a-Month Party Budget

1:32:38 Why They Used One Distributor at a Time

1:38:02 How His Boss Got Back Across the Border

1:44:49 Flying Cash to Mexico

1:50:44 The 2011 Federal Investigation Begins

1:56:31 The Federal Case & Recorded Evidence

2:01:33 Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

2:06:51 Building a Credit Business in Prison
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Former San Francisco undercover narcotics officer Britt Elmore exposes how the Tenderloin became one of America’s most notorious open-air drug markets — and how fentanyl, street dealers, weak prosecution, addiction, homelessness, and organized trafficking reshaped the city.

In this episode, Britt breaks down the San Francisco fentanyl crisis from the inside. After 25 years working narcotics, undercover buys, federal task force cases, wiretaps, gun deals, stolen car operations, cartel-linked investigations, and street-level drug markets, Britt explains how the fentanyl trade operates in the Bay Area and why San Francisco became a magnet for addiction, homelessness, and open-air drug dealing.

He discusses the Tenderloin drug market, Honduran street dealers, Mexican suppliers, fentanyl economics, undercover police work, drug trafficking routes, confidential informants, cartel connections, stolen property rings, car break-ins, retail theft, rehab fraud, Proposition 47, and why many officers believe the system has stopped holding repeat offenders accountable.

This conversation is a raw, unfiltered look at crime, addiction, policing, fentanyl, and the collapse of public order in one of America’s most iconic cities.

Topics covered:

-San Francisco fentanyl crisis

-Tenderloin open-air drug market

-SFPD undercover narcotics work

-Fentanyl trafficking in California

-Honduran drug dealers in San Francisco

-Mexican cartel supply chains

-Drug addiction and homelessness

-Proposition 47 and criminal justice reform

-Retail theft, bipping, and stolen property rings

-Confidential informants and federal wiretaps

-Undercover gun and drug buys

-How fentanyl changed the drug trade

Go Support Britt!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britt-elmore-5641a53a

This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following:

Mood! Head to https://mood.com, browse their amazing selection of functional gummies, and find the perfect gummy for whatever you're dealing with. Use promo code CONNECT at checkout to save 20% on your first order.

Join The Patreon For Bonus Content!

https://www.patreon.com/theconnectshow

00:00 San Francisco’s fentanyl crisis

01:33 Arrests, treatment, and the debate over addiction policy

03:04 Drugs inside jails, rehabs, and nonprofit systems

07:16 San Francisco’s tech wealth and drug culture

11:16 Honduran dealers and the Tenderloin street market

13:57 How Tenderloin dealers make money and avoid arrest

15:18 Heroin, fentanyl, and changing opioid markets

17:28 The economics of fentanyl

20:16 Britt Elmore’s undercover narcotics career

24:34 How Honduran dealers arrive, live, and operate in the Bay Area

28:35 Working wires from street dealers to Mexico

30:01 This Episode Is Sponsored By Mood

31:37 Meth, heroin, Sinaloa links, and border corruption

41:24 The undercover warehouse fencing operation

49:20 Reactive policing, low-level crime, and Proposition 47

55:01 “Bipping,” retail theft, and stolen goods networks

1:02:13 Drug transport routes through California, Oregon, and Washington

1:04:18 How federal wiretaps work

1:10:45 Major seizures and hidden stash houses

1:12:18 Prescription pills, addiction, and fentanyl recovery

1:23:03 Narcan, overdoses, and fentanyl contamination myths

1:29:39 Mexican trafficking groups, meth, and Hell’s Angels case

1:32:12 Informants, federal pressure, and who flips

1:51:42 Guns, switches, Dracos, and ATF cases

2:00:51 Cannabis eradication and drug money in the mail

2:18:28 Life undercover, adrenaline, and retirement
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From a strict Mormon upbringing in Texas to the violent world of cartel-connected crime, Tyler’s story is one of the wildest we’ve heard.

In this episode, Tyler explains how he went from being a high school kid making money transporting drugs to working around human-smuggling networks along the Texas–Mexico border. He describes witnessing extreme cartel violence at a young age, moving migrants through border towns, becoming involved in violent contract work in Mexico, and later building a large drug business back home.

Tyler also opens up about the side of that lifestyle people rarely talk about—the paranoia, emotional numbness, PTSD, memory problems, prison, and the difficulty of returning to a normal life after years surrounded by violence.

We discuss:

• Growing up in a strict Mormon household

• Getting recruited into drug transportation as a teenager

• Witnessing cartel violence for the first time

• How human-smuggling networks operate along the border

• Coyotes, safe houses, spotters, burner phones, and cartel organization

• His descent into increasingly violent criminal work

• Building a drug business through Snapchat

• His 2019 arrest and prison sentence

• The lasting psychological effects of the lifestyle

• Therapy, family, faith, and trying to rebuild his life

This conversation contains descriptions of violence, drug trafficking, and other criminal activity. It is presented for documentary, educational, and entertainment purposes and is not intended to promote or encourage illegal behavior.

This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following:

BetterHelp! See the reviews, see what stands out, and see if BetterHelp is right for you. Visit https://betterhelp.com/connect

Mood! Head to https://mood.com, browse their amazing selection of functional gummies, and find the perfect gummy for whatever you're dealing with. Use promo code CONNECT at checkout to save 20% on your first order.

Join The Patreon For Bonus Content!

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00:00 Intro: Mormon Kid to Cartel Hitman

01:27 Growing Up in a Strict Mormon Household

03:13 Rebelling Against Church Rules

04:16 First Adventure: Driving Heroin

06:40 Close Call: Witnessing a Chainsaw Murder

09:07 The Psychological Aftermath

12:32 Understanding the Cartel's Organization

15:10 Mental Health Struggles and Trauma

20:35 This Episode Is Sponsored By BetterHelp

21:55 Getting Back into Smuggling

23:23 Human Smuggling Operations and Safe Houses

27:18 Evolution into a Hitman

29:04 Cartel's Control and Police Corruption

31:52 The Job: Contract, Payment, and Preparation

36:27 The First Hit and Moral Numbing

40:33 This Episode Is Sponsored By Mood

42:33 Avoiding Addiction and the Double Life

45:08 The Worst Thing Seen: Four Days of Torture

52:00 The Drug Business and Burner Phones

01:10:11 Getting Busted and Going to Prison

01:17:00 Building the Snapchat Drug Empire

01:22:26 Why Keep Doing Hits?

01:24:07 The Last Job and Quitting

01:27:01 Arrest and Prison Sentence

01:30:09 Life After Prison and Redemption
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