He said Red Shea had the most potent cocaine it was. Every two weeks, I was walking out with at least

100,000, 100,000, 200,000, 200,000. It doesn't matter what level you are. You actually and

the end become a pawn for rats and law enforcement. I would never, ever, ever, ever be

another stepping stone for them ever again.

John Shea, better known on the streets as Red, is an Irish-American gangster who rose to prominence in the 1980s in South Boston, alongside James Whitey Bulger, the most notorious Irish gangster in Mafia

history.

Unless you've been living under Iraq, you've heard of this guy.

He was Jack Nicholson's character in the movie The Departed. Whitey controlled South Boston with an iron fist for three

decades. And then in 1995, when the feds finally made their case against him, Whitey skipped

town and went on the lamb for 16 years before he was finally arrested in California in 2011.

This was John Shea's mentor and boss. At just 24 years old,

Red became the principal cocaine supplier for Whitey's crew, the Winter Hill Gang, and eventually

took over operations completely, overseeing all of the Coke distribution in the greater Boston area

for Whitey. In 1990, Red went down in a DEA sting and was sentenced to

14 years in prison. And it was during this time that he learned about his boss, Whitey's betrayal.

That's right. Whitey Bulger was an FBI informant since at least the late 1960s. That's the reason

he was able to stay free for so long. John lived through the most fascinating era in

American underworld history. It was truly an honor to have him on the show. He's got a New York

Times bestselling book called Rat Bastards, where he goes in depth about this time, his relationship

with Whitey Bulger, and how, in the midst of informants and rats, he stayed solid, kept his mouth shut, and did his time like a man.

And for a bonus episode with John, where he goes in on some of these mafia internet rats, head over to patreon.com slash the Connect show.

All right, without further ado, you're getting a piece of history today.

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