Ali Siddiq is a famous standup comedian that headlines and sells out comedy clubs and theaters around the world. But his path to success in comedy is not a common one. He grew up in Houston's Third Ward surrounded by drug use and crime. At a young age he began selling drugs and quickly built an illegal empire, reaching kingpin status. He was busted by law enforcement and served time in some of the worst prisons in Texas. It was in these prisons that he discovered his talent for speaking and...

Chris George ran one of the most successful and notorious "pill mill" pharmacies in Florida at the height of the oxycontin opioid epidemic in the late 2000s. He began his criminal career as a teenager buying a selling illegal steroids and eventually ran it through a business front with his brother. In his late 20s he entered the burgeoning pain management industry and quickly Chris and his brother were running the largest pain pill mill company in the state; South Florida Pain Clinic. His...

Chris Curtis grew up in Orange County, California in area rife with addiction and crime. As a child he was not protected from this reality and in fact was encouraged to be a part of it. Struggling with addiction and turning to a life of crime, Chris ended up getting sentenced to life in prison as a result of California's Three Strikes law. There he found himself in some of the most dangerous institutions in the state. He's on the show to talk about how he ended up getting out of prison with a...

Barry Minkow is one of the most infamous financial scam artists in American History. By the age of 21 he was running a ponzi scheme worth a billion dollars. He made history by being the youngest person to take a company public with his carpet cleaning business. But what people didn't know was that Barry was using money from the mafia to help fund this business. He ran bank and wire fraud, embezzled money from investors, and much more. Barry was so committed to running scams that he's been...

Oscar Castro grew up in New Jersey to a loving family. When he dropped out of high school he immediately got a job and met someone that talked him into being a drug mule for a Colombian organization. As law enforcement began cracking down in Colombia the operations moved to Ecuador. One on pickup Oscar was arrested in Ecuador by Interpol and the DEA. From there he spent 7 years in some of the most horrific jails and prisons in Ecuador where death, drugs, and riots lasting for weeks were...

Dominick Cicale grew up in the Bronx burrow of New York City. Surrounded by criminal activity he quickly started associating with mafia and eventually became a "Made Man" with the Bonanno Crime Family. Before long he was made a captain and had over 20 soldiers working for him. He was involved in racketeering, illegal gambling, and even murder. After a particular hit went down he ended up cooperating with the Federal Government to help take down other associates, served time in federal prison,...

Garet McLendon shares his story of going from addiction and prison gangs to sobriety and recovery. Step into Summer fun activities with Vessi. Visit vessi.com/connect for an automatic 15% off your first purchase at checkout! Garet grew up in Palmdale CA. At a young age he was exposed to the drugs that were rampant in his community. He quickly found himself not only addicted to drugs, but selling them to support his habit. This life led him to spending time in and out of some of America's...

Myron Gaines is the well known and very controversial host of the Fresh And Fit Podcast. What a lot of people don’t know is before he became a famous podcaster and fitness coach, he was a special agent with Homeland Security. After attending Northwestern University, Myron started working with HSI in Loredo, Texas. He was involved with Mexican Cartel stings, wiretaps, undercover operations, and immigration. He joins the show today to tell all about his time as a federal agent, how that field...

Steve James learned the power of money at a young age. In rural Georgia during the 1950s he discovered the basics of business by watching his grandfather hustle ranchers for cattle. He took these lessons and applied them to crime. By the age of 13 he was smuggling in pot from Panama and became the main distributer in his town. He continued scaling his business which eventually led to him trafficking seeds from Afghanistan and starting the first indica grows on the island of Jamaica. He's here...

Matthew Cox shares the details that led to him becoming one of the most wanted men in America by the FBI and the Secret Service. He started as an honest insurance salesman and quickly found himself committing fraud as a mortgage lender. It wasn't long before he found himself creating and stealing identities, forging real estate documents, opening credit lines, faking deaths and borrowing more than 11 million dollars from banks all across the country. Go Support Matt! IG:...

Understanding multi-layered news like government corruption is easier with Ground News. Go to https://ground.news/theconnect to get 30% off their unlimited access Vantage plan. Jeff Turner is a brilliantly talented designer and printer. Little did he know that those skills would help feed a drug addiction by printing some of the most realistic counterfeit bills that the Secret Service has ever seen. He has been described as the Picasso of counterfeit money. Jeff joins the show to detail how...

Matty Boy hails from California’s Bay Area. As a young kid he was exposed to the criminal life by his parents who were both affiliated with the Hell’s Angels and CA prison gangs. It wasn’t long before he joined the life and started selling huge amounts of meth. In this time he started a street gang called FAIM- Family Affiliated Irish Mafia. This path sent him straight to federal court where he was looking at potentially life in prison. He’s here to talk about his life in the criminal world,...

Criminal Defense Lawyer, Nicholas Rosenberg, has defended some of the most dangerous people in the criminal world of Los Angeles. He walks us through the unconventional road he took to criminal law. He goes into detail about how the criminal justice system works, the corruption, and the tips he has for anyone that gets caught up in the law. Plus a discussion about a current case he’s working that is on the path to become an historical case in the state of California! Go Support...

JD Delay spent much of his life in and out of prison. So much so, that he eventually found himself as the shot caller for the Irish Pride prison gang in Oregon’s maximum security prison. He explains how he climbed the ranks, the politics on the inside, the horrors he witnessed and the ones he partook in. He also describes the moment he chose to turn his life around, get sober, and help others in recovery when he got out to make sure no one goes down the same path he did. It’s a must...

Use CONNECT to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird https://sbird.co/3S97oZX This month I received... Sugar Leather by Une Nuit Nomade https://sbird.co/47N4JLh French Defense by Mind Games https://sbird.co/3SsriAC Cross River Gorilla by Sanctuary https://sbird.co/3u6mIyA Vidal Guzman was a troublemaker as a young kid in Harlem. His knack for stick-ups and robberies landed him in Rikers Island at the age of 16. When he went back at the age of 19 he was a member of the Bloods Gang. While...

Gene Borrello was part of the last generation of NYC’s wild wise guys. He joined the Bonnano Crime Family at a young age and quickly got close with the family’s boss. His reputation of violence and brutality made him a name that everyone in the city feared. After being indicted on RICO charges he eventually flipped on his former crime associates and entered witness protection. He’s here to tell us all about the final days of the mob as the world knew it! Go Follow Gene! IG:...

Ray Trapani is one of the minds behind Centra Tech; a cryptocurrency company that defrauded HALF A BILLION DOLLARS from investors. He and two friends created the business selling the idea of a new tech that didn't actually exist yet. His story has trauma, wild parties, addiction, an imaginary CEO, faked deaths, Floyd Mayweather and so much more! Go Follow Ray! IG: https://www.instagram.com/raytrapani/ Join The Patreon For Bonus Content! https://www.patreon.com/theconnectshow Learn more...

Anthony Ruggiano was quite literally BORN into the mafia. His father was Fat Andy Runggiano, one of the most notorious capos for the Gambino Crime Family. It didn’t take long for Anthony to follow his father’s footsteps and start earning for the mob. He came up with John Gotti and the two became close friends and associates. Living a life of extortion, burglary, murder, and drug addiction took its toll on Anthony landing him in and out of prison. Then one he was picked up by the FBI in a RICO...

Freeway Ricky Ross has one of the most infamous drug dealer stories in the world. He is undoubtedly a part of American history and by far one of the most requested guests on The Connect. Rick joins the show to discuss his time as one of the lynchpins of the crack epidemic in the 1980s, his regrets and lessons learned, finding out he was a pawn in an illegal CIA operation and how he got out from under a life sentence in prison. He also discusses his new life after prison, how he’s helping...

Tegan Broadwater joins the show to explain exactly how he, a touring musician, became a cop in Fort Worth, Texas and ended up going undercover and infiltrating one of the most notorious Crip gang sets in all of Texas. He gives details of how he climbed the ranks, was almost found several times, had close encounters with death, and eventually took the set down in a 51 man roundup. Go Support Tegan! Life In The Fish Bowl Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578661624 YouTube: @UncommonSouls ...

Rich Laferrere was a simple dispatcher and driver for a transportation company in a small Connecticut town. Before too long he found himself putting those skills to use smuggling pot all across the eastern seaboard. This new found business eventually scaled to the point of having connects across the country and eventually landing him in the spot as the top logistics person in the US for the most notorious crime family in Canada. He was making millions, powerful and respected...until one day...

This week we bring you a completely exclusive interview with a migrant smuggler who has asked to remain anonymous. He spoke with us at the El Paso/Juarez border. He goes into detail about how he got involved in helping migrants cross the border, the organizations and cartels that run the operation, how and why migrants are coming over, as well as insight into the treatment of these on both sides of the border and the direction he believes this is all headed. It’s a one of a kind, fascinating...

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Mikki Mase went from being homeless and addicted to drugs to a sober life running several small businesses. Within a couple years he found himself making big money at the tables in Vegas and quickly became one of the cities’ most notorious high rollers. He joins the show to discuss how he discovered the casino industry cheats its customers, how he flipped the tables on the house, and the work he’s doing now to help people recover from gambling addictions! Go Support Mikki! The Innocence...