Teenage Crack-Cocaine Mogul Reveals How He Built A Multi-Million Dollar Crack EMPIRE In New York City

The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell

Johnny Mitchell

True Crime

4.3 • 563 Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2024

⏱️ 157 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Titone Rosavelli, also known as "Tito," shares the untold story of how he co-founded New York City's infamous "Yellow Top Crew," one of the most powerful and violent crack cocaine organizations of the 1980s. Tito opens up about his journey from a teenager hustling on the streets to leading a crew that controlled the Upper West Side with an iron fist, managing a network of over 40 workers, and amassing fortunes that were beyond his wildest dreams. From organizing street-level crack sales to evading specialized police task forces, Tito dives deep into the high-stakes world of his teenage years. He reveals how he and his partner, Chango, expanded their empire by setting up operations in abandoned buildings, negotiating with dangerous suppliers, and outsmarting rivals with strategies that made them untouchable on their block. In a world marked by deadly competition, 20+ homicides, and relentless violence, Tito offers a firsthand account of life inside a drug empire, the rise of the crack epidemic, and the challenges of evading law enforcement. Tune in for an unfiltered look at the dangerous dynamics of New York City's drug trade, the rise and fall of a teenage kingpin, and the life-altering consequences of fast money and power. Go Support Tito! Shop: https://www.instagram.com/west.side.boutique_/ This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following: PrizePicks! Download the app today and use code CONNECT to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup! Rocket Money! Stop wasting money on things you don’t use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to https://RocketMoney.com/connect Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you can sell a half a key in three days, I'll give you half a key.
0:02.2	If you can sell 100 grand, if you can sell 10 grand, just make sure you calculate and let me know what you can do in three days. Because in three days, I want my money. And you got 20 bricks in a suitcase. You buy them for seven in Puerto Rico. They're 18 over here. And I turn that 18 into 40. If you don't give me my drug, I'm going to shoot you. we're going to push the button on this situation.
0:20.5	It was memorable.
0:21.3	We was making money that we never imagined.
0:23.8	Titone Roosevelt. me my drug, I'm going to shoot you. We're going to push the button on this situation. It was memorable. We was making money that we never imagined.
0:23.8	Titone Roosevelt, Rocevelli, aka Tito, is the co-founder of the Yellowtop crew, one of New York
0:29.1	City's largest and most violent crack cocaine organizations. At the young age of 15, he and his
0:35.1	partner, Chango, led a crew of 40 workers selling tens of thousands
0:39.6	of crack files daily on the Upper West Side. Their operations were linked to over 20 homicides and
0:45.2	numerous shootings. They were so violent that a special task force from the New York City
0:49.6	prosecutor's office was set up for the sole purpose of taking them down. After going back and
0:55.3	forth to prison, Tito is finally free and running a legal business on the same street where his
1:00.9	crew used to hustle. If you're in New York City, make sure to check out his shop, Westside
1:05.2	boutique. For more of his insights and a walking tour of his old neighborhood, visit patreon.com slash the Connect show.
1:12.9	It was an honor to speak with this man, a true OG. Tito, right here on the Connect with
1:18.2	Johnny Mitchell.
1:18.9	We got bad work, police on the block, and an active war that's going on.
1:24.7	I can't wait to get upset to handle something that I need to handle.
1:28.3	You understand what I'm saying?
1:29.3	So we introduce the level of violence that people hear about.
1:34.3	Right before I got locked up, I was going to get like seven people hit for a brick.
1:37.3	They put out of hit on me, I got a shot.
	...

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