WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:08.000 This podcast contains adult content. Some of the themes or 2 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:15.800 topics may include information on murder, kidnapping, torture, dismemberment, maybe 3 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:22.399 some demonic content with information on positions and paranormal activity. 4 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:29.359 This podcast will also include explicit, horrible, and foul, socially unacceptable, 5 00:00:29.800 --> 00:00:35.280 totally uninhibited adult themes language. So if you're easily offended, 6 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:41.159 if you're easily triggered, then I highly suggest you turn 7 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:45.560 this off now, and if not, just keep in mind 8 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:54.079 parental discretion is advised. John Willis claims to have been 9 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:58.520 the only white person within Chinese organized crime, and that 10 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:02.560 claim is backed by FBI agent Scott O'Donnell, who stated 11 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:07.280 he has never seen a case just like Willis. John 12 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:09.840 Willis would become a crime boss for a sect of 13 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.879 the Chinese mafia and ended up loyal to a group 14 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:16.159 of people way different from the Boston natives he grew 15 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.040 up with. From the mid nineteen eighties to the late nineties, 16 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:24.000 Willis's rank grew within one of Boston's larger mob groups, 17 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:27.599 starting as a loan collector and bodyguard before he became 18 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:32.760 the trafficker behind a multi million dollar oxycodone ring. They 19 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:37.799 called him back Guy whereas the FBI translated it, white Devil, 20 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:59.400 my name is Justin and you're listening to mysterious circumstances. 21 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.120 Willis Junior was born on May eleventh, nineteen seventy one. 22 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:08.479 His parents were Francine and John Senior. He grew up 23 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:13.039 in a triple decker in Dorchester. Dorchester was a scrappy 24 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:18.520 Boston suburb, and it's famous for producing the legendary and 25 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:24.680 infamous gangster Whitey Bulger and later the Wahlberg brothers. Willis 26 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:27.680 fit right in with all the other neighborhood kids growing up. 27 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:31.199 According to Willis, his father, John was a hard drinking 28 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:35.199 carpenter who collected money for the Irish mob When Willis 29 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:37.759 was about two or three, his dad broke the jaw 30 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:42.080 of another mobster, and after getting his life threatened for it, 31 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:44.599 he left the family and headed back to his home 32 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:49.680 state of North Carolina and just never came back. His mother, Francine, 33 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:52.400 she struggled to support the family by working in a 34 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:56.039 shoe store called Stride Right, and she would always tell him, 35 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.199 just don't be like your dad, and he promised her 36 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:03.840 that he wouldn't never be. John himself said, I just 37 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.039 knew that I didn't want to be like my father 38 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:08.080 because I didn't want to be a drunk and I 39 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.560 didn't want to be abusive towards women. Although John's older 40 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:16.520 half brother, Richie, and his half sisters they all went 41 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:22.159 into some hardcore drug abuse, Willis himself he never drank 42 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.240 or did drugs, but he definitely had his dad's temper, 43 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:29.800 and Willis channeled all of this anger into hockey. He 44 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.680 was playing goalie six hours a night, and he was 45 00:03:32.680 --> 00:03:35.199 trying to capitalize on his size because he was a 46 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.520 bigger kid than the rest of him. And one day, 47 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:42.879 while in middle school, a kid stole his shoes and 48 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.919 Willis beat him with a chair and ended up getting 49 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:50.199 sent to alternative school for kids with bad behavior. Now. 50 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.879 Within the next year, his mother had her legs amputated 51 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.919 because of diabetes, and because of that, she couldn't keep 52 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.080 her job at the shoe store, so John ended up 53 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:05.439 skipping school to wheel her around the house, help her out, 54 00:04:05.719 --> 00:04:09.719 bathe her pretty much anything she needed. Now. That next year, 55 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.199 shortly after he turned fifteen, while John was off with 56 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:17.040 his friends, his mother suddenly dies of a blockage to 57 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:21.079 her heart, and John absolutely broke down when he got 58 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:24.439 the news. Like she meant everything to him. She was 59 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.199 all he had left in the world, and now she 60 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:31.519 was gone. So then he really doesn't know what to 61 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.800 do with himself. He's kind of, you know, trying to 62 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.480 talk to his half siblings, and after one of his 63 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:41.079 niece's friends kicked him in the groin, he spit at 64 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:45.319 her and his older half brother, Richie, who was thirty 65 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:47.720 four at the time, he hit him and he knocked 66 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:52.160 him down the steps of their three decker home, and 67 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:55.279 Willis just yelled at him, I hope you die. And 68 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:58.560 two days later, Ritchie drops dead of a heart attack. 69 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.560 Richie died. The death did affect John Willis quite a 70 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:08.680 bit traumatized him because he was young, he was vulnerable, 71 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:12.040 and he blamed himself for cursing him, you know, saying 72 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.639 I hope you die. And John Willis, looking back now 73 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.199 thinks that the heart attack was just his older brother 74 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:22.399 on a coke binge and he ended up just not 75 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:26.439 being able to take anymore. So after his brother dies, 76 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:31.600 the house is still in Richie's name, so John could 77 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:35.000 remain there, but he had no clue how to provide 78 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:38.800 for himself, and as far as like Social service Is knew, 79 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:41.839 he was being taken care of by his half sisters, 80 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:46.560 but they were all living elsewhere, addicted to hardcore drugs, 81 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.279 and they were just not around. And he did have 82 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:52.680 some other relatives around town, but they refused to take 83 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:57.160 him in. So now John Willis is roughly sixteen years 84 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:02.439 old and he's an orphan. And John said it was tough. 85 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:05.040 I ain't gonna lie. You grow up. You become a 86 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:10.279 man in an hour. Because of his circumstances and his 87 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:14.279 already bad temper, he starts getting into more trouble. He's 88 00:06:14.360 --> 00:06:18.600 just super angry all the time. John Willis was still 89 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.920 trying to go to school, you know. Afterward he came 90 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:24.879 home to an empty house and he's struggling to survive. 91 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:28.560 And in the winter of nineteen eighty five, he had 92 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:32.560 no money, no heat, no one that even really cared 93 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.399 about him, and he slept under blankets in a chair 94 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:38.639 in the kitchen and he was warming himself up by 95 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:43.360 an open oven. Even though he was scared and alone, 96 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:48.120 he absolutely refused to take handouts from people. He didn't 97 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.680 want any help from anybody, and he made sure that 98 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:54.920 nobody would fuck with him either. He threw himself into 99 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:58.399 weightlifting hardcore that was one of the only things that 100 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:02.639 he did. And he also started using some steroids. His 101 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.439 childhood friend Sean said, he went from a chubby kid 102 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:10.120 to an absolute monster. And he fit right in with 103 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:13.800 this boyhood crew around his neighborhood and with his size. 104 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.240 Another old friend said, he was a regular neighborhood kid. 105 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:19.399 We all used to run around in the streets getting 106 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:23.800 into trouble. Now John would eat some meals at friends' homes, 107 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.319 but he was too stubborn and proud to take that 108 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:31.160 many handouts. He would rather go hungry than beg And 109 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:36.360 at this point there's a lot of unforeseen circumstances and 110 00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:40.920 events that happened. So when John Willis is sixteen, one 111 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:43.360 of his friends helped him make the most of his 112 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:46.160 size by getting him a job as a bouncer at 113 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:50.319 a club near Fenway Park, and he lied and said 114 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:52.879 he was eighteen so that he could work there. Now. 115 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:55.879 He was already into steroids and bodybuilding at this time, 116 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:59.360 so he was a big kid. He was breaking up 117 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:02.800 bar fi and it was actually a good way for 118 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:06.279 him to get his aggression out too. And his cousin 119 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:10.199 Deborah said, Johnny has a lot of rage. He's never 120 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.920 dealt with his mother's death, never dealt with the fact 121 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:16.720 that his father left. So you know, this bar that 122 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.240 he got a job as a bouncer at just happened 123 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:21.600 to be where a lot of Asians would show up 124 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:26.680 and hang out. Sundays were always Asian knights at the bar, 125 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.480 and Willis was impressed by all the sharp dressed younger guys. 126 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.320 I mean they had the spiky hair, they had these 127 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:37.159 big brick cell phones, they had all these super high girlfriends. 128 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.279 And his boss at the bar warned him, said, they're gangsters. 129 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:44.840 Whatever happens, stay out of their business. But one night 130 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.759 Willis saw a guy who he says, looked like a 131 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:52.240 Chinese Rod Stewart get maced by a big Korean guy. 132 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:57.360 So John punched the attacker, pulled the victim away, and 133 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.360 rushed him back to the bathroom and started flushing out 134 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:04.120 his eyes. And when John turned around, there were four 135 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:08.679 of this guy's friends staring him down like crazy. For 136 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:11.879 all they knew John was the one that was attacking 137 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:15.200 their buddy. But just as they were about to retaliate 138 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.600 against John, the man yelled at them in Chinese, and 139 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.279 then on his way out, the young gangster whose name 140 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:25.000 was Vipaying Joe. They called him John Joe for short. 141 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:29.440 He handed Willis a card and he said, here's my number. 142 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:34.519 If you ever need anything, call me. A few days later, 143 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:38.679 John is down to his last seventy six cents to 144 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:42.360 his name. He had to spend what little money he 145 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:46.320 did make on food. So he goes walking through the 146 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.440 snow to the home of his half sister. But she 147 00:09:49.639 --> 00:09:52.519 refused to answer the door and slipped a piece of 148 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:55.919 paper under the door, telling him to go away. And 149 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.879 John said, I didn't understand it at the time. I 150 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.399 was a kid. She probably getting high though. So he's 151 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:07.360 too broke to afford any kind of cab home, and 152 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.000 he walks to a phone booth and called the one 153 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.519 person he could think of who had a car, and 154 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:17.399 that was John Joe. So John Joe answers, says, hey, 155 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:20.960 white boy. When Willis told him that he needed help, 156 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:24.600 John Joe didn't even hesitate. He says, Okay, where are you. 157 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:30.080 Five minutes later, two BMW's pulled up with seven Asian 158 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:34.720 guys in these fancy ass suits, nice haircuts. One of 159 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:39.200 them asks are you John Willis? He said, yeah, said okay, 160 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:43.799 come with us. So Willis checked for a familiar face 161 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.480 in the car, and he says, where's John Joe. The 162 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.559 guy says, don't worry, We're gonna go see him. And 163 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:52.759 at this point Willis has nothing left to lose, so 164 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:54.679 he got inside the car and they took him to 165 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:59.320 this big ass house in South Boston. There's so many 166 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:04.000 rooms in this house and they're just overflowed with they. 167 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.919 He said it was like an Asian gangster frat house 168 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:11.399 full of just young tough dudes and their girlfriends. And 169 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:15.080 Willis said, I could see all these guys with different tattoos, 170 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:20.000 crazy haircuts, guns, all kinds of shit. Willis later said, 171 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:24.360 I see all these guys with different tattoos, crazy haircuts, guns, 172 00:11:24.440 --> 00:11:26.720 all kinds of shit, and I'm like, what the fuck 173 00:11:26.759 --> 00:11:30.639 am I doing? But John Joe sees them and welcomes 174 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.799 them right in the house. And the house is just 175 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:38.519 filled with Chinese people and that includes mothers, children, other 176 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:42.200 guys in the gang. And this gang at the time 177 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:46.639 was called Pingon, and this group controlled a large sector 178 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:51.279 of Boston's illegal gambling dens, massage parlors. And this is 179 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:54.919 from the nineteen seventies to the mid eightieses right, around 180 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:58.080 the time they met John Willis. So that night he 181 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.360 had dinner with them, and the next day they took 182 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:03.279 him shopping for clothes and started showing him the ropes 183 00:12:03.320 --> 00:12:06.879 and essentially just welcomed him into their group. And it 184 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:11.840 sounds simple, but Willis couldn't find any crazy explanation for 185 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.159 being accepted into the gang except that he showed them 186 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:20.679 respect and they showed him respect in return. So over 187 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.519 time there's this bond that is formed. He was basically 188 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:29.080 trained up in the gang and initiated into gang life 189 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:34.000 in Boston. Willis was eventually sent to New York to 190 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.600 act as a bodyguard, loan collector, and bagman for a 191 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:41.000 Chinese gangster in the city. When he was in New York, 192 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.679 the gang used to go out to Chinese places and 193 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:47.159 try to pick up girls and there were mostly Asians there, 194 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:49.559 and one of his good friends that he was training 195 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:51.639 with in the gang told him he needed to learn 196 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:55.519 Chinese if he wanted to pick up women. So while 197 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:00.120 he's in New York, Willis began to learn Chinese, the 198 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:04.799 Cantonese and Toysonese dialects as a way to pick up 199 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:10.200 Asian women, and he eventually became fluent. Willis eventually also 200 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.240 learned Vietnamese and became fluent in that as well. His 201 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:18.399 language skills were crucial to his rise within the Chinese 202 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:22.759 organized crime That was very important. As he moved along 203 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.519 with the gang, he had to deal with a lot 204 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:28.159 of first generation Chinese that didn't really speak much English, 205 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:32.200 if any at all, and he learned these languages by 206 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:36.480 paying attention during group conversations as well as watching Chinese 207 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:42.039 movies and listening to Chinese music. He became really fluent, 208 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:47.679 including correct grammar and the spot on accent. He would 209 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:50.200 semi brag that he was the only white guy in 210 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.519 a Chinese gang. Even the FBI said his position was 211 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:59.320 extremely rare. The Chinese were very insulated. They did not 212 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:03.360 trust out siders. They still don't. John was about as 213 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.639 far outside as you can get. Some people think that 214 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:09.080 it was the way he was brought in as a kid, 215 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.360 and just kind of being different led him to get 216 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:16.240 ingrained over like a long period of time. He also 217 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:19.159 became a talking point because his boss thought it was 218 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:23.879 interesting that this white kid could speak Chinese. Most important, though, 219 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.159 he was willing to do whatever it took, and he 220 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:31.159 did whatever was asked of him, and he succeeded in everything. 221 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:36.919 He was also extremely trustworthy and very very loyal. So 222 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:39.639 if he was let's say, introduced to the gang as 223 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:41.759 like a twenty eight year old or thirty eight year 224 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.159 old guy, most people don't think that it would have 225 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.240 gone as smoothly. But he was like a sixteen year 226 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.600 old kid. That pretty much helped him a lot. And 227 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:56.039 he was not a trailblazer because there weren't any white 228 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:59.159 guys who followed him into this mob group. He was 229 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:04.039 legitimately the only one. So after training in New York 230 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:06.759 in the early nineties, he was shipped back to Boston 231 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:10.360 to work for a man named by Ming. This guy 232 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.080 was not that high up on the list of gangsters 233 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:17.279 in Boston's Chinatown at that time. He was probably sixth 234 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:21.320 or seventh in rankings, which was still fairly high. But 235 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.519 soon enough the gang leaders in Boston Chinatown were taken 236 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:28.000 out of the picture one by one because a turf 237 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.440 war broke out, one escaped back to China, a couple 238 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:35.440 of them killed each other, and suddenly by Meing was 239 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.600 the one who was left standing. He was the number 240 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:42.919 one guy now and most important gangster in Boston's Chinatown, 241 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:47.159 and John Willis was his right hand man, and because 242 00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:50.639 of that his status in Chinese organized crime went through 243 00:15:50.679 --> 00:15:53.519 the roof. He was one of the top guys. He 244 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:58.679 was literally number two. He was by Ming's bodyguard. He 245 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:00.519 was a guy who checked the car in the morning 246 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:04.080 for bombs, the guy who took him safely into restaurants 247 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:07.519 public places, plus the guy who collected money from the 248 00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:11.120 gambling dens for him. He was the second in command 249 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:14.159 of the Chinatown gangs because he was the assistant to 250 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:16.919 the leader. When he went to New York and learned 251 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:19.320 how to speak Chinese. He rose in the ranks because 252 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:22.600 he could communicate, but also because he was bigger and 253 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:26.679 stronger than everybody else, and he was willing to do 254 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:30.759 whatever dirty work was required. He did whatever was asked 255 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:35.639 of him. So during this early nineties period, obviously he's 256 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:39.559 still fairly young and his boss by Ming ran mostly 257 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:43.919 gambling dens and some prostitution rings, but was not really 258 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.840 into drug dealing. Now. John went to jail at one 259 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:49.320 point and came out with a few connections that got 260 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:54.120 him involved in selling marijuana. Soon it became large quantities 261 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.159 of marijuana, and then it became cocaine, and John's boss 262 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.440 told him not to do it, but he did it 263 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.759 on his own outside his crew and started making a 264 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:07.000 lot of money doing that. For a while, he kind 265 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:10.519 of drifted away from strictly working for the Chinese gang, 266 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:15.160 but he still maintained his strong connection there. He started 267 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:20.359 trafficking all this ship from Florida to Massachusetts and selling 268 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:23.279 in Cape cod in the Boston area, and there was 269 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:26.599 a year long investigation that started in Chinatown with a 270 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:30.559 couple of other targets that Willis had got associated with, 271 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.599 which led to him ultimately getting busted here in the future. 272 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.720 So in the late nineties, Willis was convicted and jailed 273 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.799 for extortion, and then in two thousand he received a 274 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:46.640 five year sentence for dealing heroin. While in prison, Willis 275 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:50.559 met some connections and organized an oxy cotton trafficking ring 276 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:55.279 from Florida to Massachusetts. And when he gets released from prison, 277 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.119 he became heavily involved in drug dealing and money laundering 278 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:05.359 against the wishes of his Chinese organized crime leaders, mainly 279 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:09.200 by me and probably a few others as well. In 280 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:13.279 less than two years, John Willis trafficked over two hundred 281 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:17.599 and sixty thousand pills up from Florida to the northeast 282 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:23.799 for profits of more than four million dollars. John Willis said, realistically, 283 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:28.240 the numbers are ten times that. And like everybody who 284 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:33.759 sells drugs in you know, the movies, whatever else. Uh, 285 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:37.359 he blew his cash on ocean front homes in South Florida, 286 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:42.240 sports cars, strip clubs, speed boats. He was at this 287 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:46.559 point in time a very dangerous and violent man. So 288 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:50.359 we fast forward a little bit to twenty ten. A 289 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:54.279 wire tapped phone call recorded Willis talking to a brothel 290 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:59.119 operator who wanted to avenge an injured employee. He knew 291 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:02.279 he was being filed and that the FBI was on 292 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.680 to him. He had five burner cell phones going at 293 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:10.039 once and was definitely working, you know, covertly or the 294 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:12.839 best that he could. But he got stopped for speeding 295 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:15.160 at one point in North Carolina, and they took about 296 00:19:15.240 --> 00:19:19.160 eighty thousand dollars cash from him because he couldn't account 297 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:23.519 for it. You know, they pulled him over there like, hey, uh, 298 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.200 why the fuck do you have eighty thousand dollars cash 299 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:29.759 on you. He's just like, I don't know, you know, 300 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.079 just basically kept his mouth shut. So of course they 301 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.640 took it. You know, that makes sense. I'm not even 302 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.880 surprised at that. So in twenty eleven, early one morning 303 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:45.839 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Willis at this point is a big, 304 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:50.519 thirty nine year old with close cropped gray hair, bright 305 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.519 blue eyes, and he had been away in Florida and 306 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:57.759 came back to celebrate his girlfriend's daughter's ninth birthday that weekend. 307 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:03.960 His Vietnamese a Ma American girlfriend on guy In suggested 308 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.519 that they bring my Linn to bed with them so 309 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:09.079 she could wake up and see his face first thing. 310 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.680 Shortly after putting her to bed, there was a pounding 311 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:17.960 downstairs at the front door. Willis told Guyan and her 312 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:21.039 daughter stay in the room, stay upstairs. I love you, 313 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:25.240 it's okay, don't come out, shuts the door behind him. 314 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:28.720 He ran down the steps and he finds dozens of 315 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:33.880 armed cops with helmets and bulletproof vests. And the wild 316 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.440 thing is they never caught him with one pill. They 317 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.200 never found any drugs on him or in the house, 318 00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:45.119 but they connected him to a different investigation in court. 319 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.079 At the sentencing hearing, Willis looked very much like an 320 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:53.480 effective enforcer. At this point. He's forty two years old. 321 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:58.680 He's baby faced, but he's just super muscular. He's got 322 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.759 a tattoo on his left arm Chinese characters for strength 323 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:07.039 and righteousness. And he was upset that somebody turned on him, 324 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.279 and he was upset that he got his girlfriend involved too. 325 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.000 The thing was is they got her for witness tampering, 326 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.160 and in order to keep her out of jail, he 327 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:21.319 had to take the plea deal no matter what, even 328 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.119 though they'd found no drugs on him at all. And 329 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.319 to be honest with you, they can throw a witness 330 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:32.279 tampering charge on a loved one or whoever pretty fucking easily. 331 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:37.799 So you know, criminals do a little dirty. Sometimes the 332 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.839 cops gotta be a little dirty to get an arrest. 333 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:45.160 I get that. I'm not justifying any drug dealing or 334 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.000 anything like that, but the fact that he was caught 335 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.519 with absolutely no drugs and he was tied into a 336 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:55.720 different investigation got his girlfriend for witness tampering, and basically said, okay, 337 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:57.880 if you want to keep her out of jail, you're 338 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:02.720 gonna take the plea deal. So on August fifteenth, twenty thirteen, 339 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:07.079 Willis was convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering for 340 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.640 his role in the four million dollar oxy cotton drug ring. 341 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:15.519 He received a twenty year prison sentence, and Willis is 342 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:20.319 currently serving his sentence at Cannon USP. I don't know 343 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:25.880 if that's pronounced right, cnain whatever, and his projected release 344 00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:31.200 date is June tenth of twenty twenty eight. Scott O'Donnell, 345 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:35.240 the FBI agent whose task force eventually caught the White Devil, 346 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:38.480 was quoted as saying he had never seen a criminal 347 00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:42.119 quite like Willis due to his high status within the 348 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:47.200 Chinese mafia underground. Now, Willis ended up agreeing to the 349 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:50.519 twenty year plea deal even though they didn't really have 350 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:53.799 any evidence other than wire taps when he was talking about, 351 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.519 you know, few random things. It was not the strongest case, 352 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:00.400 but he did accept the twenty years to keep his 353 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:04.680 girlfriend out of jail. Let's be honest, he was doing 354 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.960 this shit. Just because it wasn't the strongest case doesn't 355 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:13.160 mean he wasn't guilty. Assistant US Attorney Tim Moran has 356 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:16.599 a binder of court documents with a label that says 357 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:22.720 White Devil. That was Willis's Cantonese nickname. Back Guy. John 358 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:27.960 Moran said Willis's ability to straddle different worlds is unusual 359 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.119 in a criminal. A criminal who has this sort of 360 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:35.519 ability and these connections to other areas of crime is 361 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:39.279 more dangerous. That's what we mean by organized crime. It's 362 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:43.119 the associations that make these types of criminals more dangerous. 363 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:48.039 Now the Pingong Gang is no longer active, and this 364 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.119 is what prosecutors have said, although John Willis has maintained 365 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:57.000 connections in the Asian crime world. Now, I know this 366 00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:01.079 seems like, you know, super short episode. Whatever they're legitimately 367 00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:05.359 is not that much information on John Willis or the 368 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:10.480 cases for that matter, or his Chinese underground partners or 369 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.039 people involved. Like when they say, you know, people kept 370 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:16.880 their mouth shut. People kept their mouths shut. But I 371 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:20.920 will say this is from the US Attorney's Office District 372 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:25.960 of Massachusetts on August fifteenth, twenty thirteen. This was from 373 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:29.640 a newspaper article. It says the leader of an organized 374 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:32.319 crime group was sentenced to twenty years in federal prison 375 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:36.119 for drug trafficking and money laundering after a multi year 376 00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:41.599 FBI Task Force investigation into illegal activity in Boston's Chinatown. 377 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:46.000 John Willis, forty two, of Dorchester, also known by his 378 00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:49.920 Chinese nickname back Guy John, which means white Devil John, 379 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:54.519 was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Joseph Toro. 380 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:58.720 He pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to distribute oxy 381 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:03.640 codone and money laundry conspiracy. Judge Toro also imposed a 382 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.880 criminal forfeiture money judgment of two million dollars. Willis, along 383 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:12.160 with twelve others, was first charged in twenty eleven for 384 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:17.680 leading an organization which spanned Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, 385 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:23.160 South Carolina, and elsewhere. The organization trafficked hundreds of thousands 386 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:27.799 of oxycodone pills and generated over four million dollars in proceeds. 387 00:25:28.680 --> 00:25:32.200 The FBI's Organized Crime Task Force led a long term 388 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:37.759 investigation into drug trafficking, illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution, and other 389 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:43.160 criminal activity in Boston's Chinatown and elsewhere. The investigation included 390 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:47.359 a seven month court authorized wire surveillance of cell phones, 391 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:50.559 including the phones of five of the defendants associated with 392 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:54.880 the conspiracy. The investigation has resulted in the seizure of 393 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.559 over four hundred and eighty thousand dollars in cash, a 394 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:03.720 thirty eight foot speed by numerous luxury vehicles, thirteen firearms 395 00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:10.440 and approximately twelve thousand oxycodone pills. Investigators also uncovered extensive 396 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:13.920 evidence of illegal gambling and prostitution, as well as the 397 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:19.119 use of extortionate threats to collect loans to gamblers and others. 398 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.400 US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, twenty years in federal prison 399 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:28.079 is well deserved for mister Willis, a career criminal and 400 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:32.599 the mastermind behind this organization. Not only did this investigation 401 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:37.000