The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell

161:52

How A Gang Leader Survived America's Worst Prison System

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/10/04

Diaz Aguilar went to prison at 23 years old and spent the next 22 years inside Mississippi’s notoriously violent prison system.In this episode, Diaz sits down to tell the unbelievable story of how he survived decades behind bars while navigating gang politics, corrupt prison staff, brutal violence, and a massive underground contraband economy. Diaz explains how inmates worked with guards to bring in marijuana, tobacco, liquor, smartphones, and other contraband worth enormous amounts of money

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170:24

How A Cocaine Trafficker Survived 10 Years As A...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/30

Scott Anthony had already lived a life most people wouldn't believe. He grew up in Chicago street gangs, robbed drug dealers, trafficked cocaine, fled the United States, lived under aliases, and eventually built a new life in Mexico. Then he discovered another business: Cuban cigars. While still on federal probation, Scott says he began traveling to Cuba, buying hundreds of boxes of cigars, moving them through Mexico, and smuggling them across the U.S. border. What started with 40 boxes

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139:59

Hells Angels Enforcer Reveals Life At War With The...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/27

Former Hells Angel Joby Walters sits down to tell the unbelievable story of how he entered the outlaw motorcycle world at nearly 50 years old, rose through the ranks, survived one of the most infamous biker wars in American history, and eventually walked away from it all.Joby recounts meeting legendary Hells Angel Sonny Barger, earning his patch, and becoming deeply involved in the Arizona club scene during escalating conflicts with the Mongols, Vagos, Bandidos, and other outlaw motorcycle

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188:18

Inside The Dark Web Credit Card Scam Making Millions...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/23

Matthew Handy lived through 20 years of addiction, crime, prison, paranoia, and survival before finally turning his life around. In this episode, Matt sits down to tell the wild story of how his life spiraled from early drug use in San Diego to heroin addiction, meth dealing, organized retail theft, credit card fraud, extortion, bank robbery, and cartel-adjacent chaos on both sides of the border. Matt opens up about childhood trauma, prison, the criminal mindset, life in San Bernardino, the

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149:13

Diddy’s Bad Boy Rapper Got Away With Murder For 17...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/20

Former Bad Boy rapper G. Dep sits down to tell one of the most unbelievable stories in hip-hop history.Growing up in Harlem during the height of the crack era, G. Dep went from hustling in the streets and battling drug addiction to landing a record deal with Bad Boy Entertainment and becoming one of the label’s rising stars. But behind the success, the music, and the fame was a secret that continued to haunt him. In 1993, at just 18 years old, G. Dep was involved in a fatal shooting in

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39:03

Baltimore’s Fentanyl Epidemic Is Worse Than You Think

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/16

Baltimore has always had a reputation as one of America’s toughest cities — a place shaped by poverty, violence, addiction, and survival. In this episode, Johnny travels through Baltimore to see how the city has changed since The Wire, how the drug trade has evolved from heroin to fentanyl, and why homicides have recently dropped despite open-air dealing still being visible across the city. With help from Baltimore Carl of Baltimore Recovery Alliance, we visit Lexington Market, South Baltimore,

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152:28

The White Crack Kingpin Who Ran An All-Black Drug Crew

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/13

Black Label has one of the wildest stories we’ve ever heard on The Connect.Growing up in extreme poverty in St. Petersburg, Florida, he was surrounded by crack, violence, and chaos from an early age. By 11 years old, he was already selling drugs. By his late teens, Black Label says he was helping run a multi-million-dollar drug operation, moving large quantities of crack and cocaine while leading a crew in one of the most dangerous environments imaginable. But the money came with

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119:25

Is Trump Covering Up Melania’s Connection To Jeffrey...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/09

Donald Trump once appeared unusually willing to confront the Jeffrey Epstein story. According to Julian Dorey, Trump reportedly cooperated with an attorney representing Epstein victims, publicly urged people to investigate Epstein and his powerful connections, and later campaigned alongside calls for greater transparency.So what changed? In this episode, Julian Dorey joins for a deep dive into Trump’s history with Epstein, the fight over the unreleased files, Elon Musk’s explosive claim that

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157:46

Inside The New Jersey Mafia That Inspired The Sopranos

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/06

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

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102:10

Could A U.S. Intervention In Mexico Become America’s...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/09/02

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,

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138:40

How The Sinaloa Cartel Moves Cocaine Across America

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/30

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

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171:23

How San Francisco Became A Haven For The Fentanyl Trade

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/26

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

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102:51

How a Mormon Kid From Texas Became a Mexican Cartel...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/23

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

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78:05

The Sinaloa Cartel Is Losing Control Of It's Own...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/19

Katarina Szulc returns to The Connect after reporting on the ground in Sinaloa, where the cartel war has pushed Culiacán deeper into violence and uncertainty.In this episode, she breaks down what she witnessed firsthand, why the Chapitos are under enormous pressure, and how CJNG could emerge as one of the biggest winners if the Chapitos eventually collapse or surrender. With CJNG already providing manpower and resources to its Sinaloa allies, could the organization ultimately move in and absorb

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94:04

Baltimore Drug Kingpin Reveals Making Millions...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/16

Steven Dixon, a former Baltimore heroin kingpin, reveals how the city’s drug trade really worked during its most notorious era—from New York suppliers and mob connections to high-purity heroin, street corners generating staggering amounts of cash, and the operation that made him millions.He breaks down how heroin moved from New York to Baltimore, how dealers controlled territory across West Baltimore, why trusted connections mattered, and how the drug economy seen in The Wire compared to what

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89:58

Florida’s Next Governor Declares WAR On AIPAC, Mass...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/12

Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback joins The Connect to explain why he believes it’s time for a political revolution at the state level—and why Florida must stand up to Washington, Wall Street, foreign influence, and the growing surveillance state. In this wide-ranging conversation, Fishback lays out his plan to eliminate Flock license-plate cameras, oppose Palantir-style mass surveillance, protect First and Fourth Amendment rights, and repeal Florida laws he believes restrict

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124:50

How A Teenage Drug Kingpin Built A Meth Empire at 16

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/09

His mom was a queenpin. His dad was the muscle. By 16, he was selling meth and building his own operation in small-town Texas.In this episode, Cory Simek, a former teenage meth dealer reveals what it was like growing up inside the drug game—and how his family’s criminal lifestyle shaped the path he followed. After starting with marijuana, he quickly moved into meth, made serious money before he was old enough to sign a lease, and became the target of a six-month police investigation. He

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142:16

Ex-Cop Sentenced to 20 Years—Then Forced to Fight for...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/05

A former sheriff’s deputy says one split-second police shooting turned him from a respected officer into a convicted murderer—and sent him to Texas prison for 20 years. In this episode, Kent McGowen tells the full story of the night he served an arrest warrant on an armed woman, fired after she allegedly refused repeated commands to drop her weapon and later found himself charged with murder. Kent explains why he believes he was railroaded by corrupt officials, how his conviction survived

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87:58

The Real Marlo Stanfield From "The Wire" Breaks His...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/08/02

The real-life Marlo Stanfield sits down for his first podcast interview.In this exclusive episode, Marlo Bates — known across Baltimore as Marlo Stanfield — opens up about the story behind one of the most feared and iconic characters from HBO’s The Wire. From growing up in West Baltimore, building a powerful street organization with his twin brother Tamir, and surviving decades in prison, Marlo shares the truth behind the legend in his own words. He talks about Baltimore in the 1970s and

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115:23

How An Abuse Victim Took The Law Into His Own Hands...

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell ·

2026/07/29

Clark Frederick’s life changed forever after years of grooming and sexual abuse by Dennis Pegg, a Boy Scout leader and sheriff’s lieutenant trusted by his family and community. Decades later, after struggling with addiction, gambling, broken relationships, PTSD, and silence, Clark encountered his abuser with another young boy. The sight triggered a devastating spiral that ended with Clark confronting and killing the man who abused him. In this episode, Clark explains how he avoided a life

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