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The Black Mafia: How One Man Turned Religion Into Philadelphia's Deadliest Weapon (1968-1992)
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Jun 20, 2025
Dive into the dark world of the **philly black mob**, a ruthless brotherhood that rose when the system failed. Sam Christian built an **empire** of fear, while civil rights leaders marched for change. This **true crime documentary** explores the **Hidden History** of this group. The untold story of Sam Christian and the Philadelphia Black Mafia - where organized crime met religious extremism in a deadly dance of power. From street enforcer to criminal mastermind, witness how one man built an empire that held America's fifth-largest city hostage through fear, faith, and bloodshed. In this chilling documentary, we uncover: • How the Nation of Islam became an unexpected shield for organized crime • The brutal Kalis Family Massacre that shocked the nation • The mysterious execution of Major Coxson • The rise and fall of the original Black Mafia • The emergence of the Junior Black Mafia in the 1980s From extortion and drug trafficking to calculated assassinations, discover how this shadowy organization rewrote the rules of organized crime, leaving a legacy that still echoes through Philadelphia's streets today. Warning: This video contains descriptions of real violence and criminal activities. Viewer discretion is advised. #Mafia #OrganizedCrime #Philadelphia #TrueCrime #CriminalHistory #Documentary #DarkHistory #AmericanHistory #TrueCrimeDocumentary #CriminalEmpire --~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Like and subscribe will be greatly appreciated! 🙏 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Grow Your YouTube Channel Faster with vidIQ!
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0:00
in the city of brotherly love blood ran
0:02
cold when the system failed its people a
0:06
shadow brotherhood rose ruthless devout
0:09
untouchable they were known by one name
0:12
the Black Mafia while civil rights
0:15
leaders marched for change Sam Christian
0:18
built an empire in the shadows an empire
0:21
of fear blood and absolute control
0:25
this isn't just a gangster story this is
0:28
the hidden history of Samuel Christian
0:31
an unrelenting enforcer a religious
0:34
convert and the mastermind behind one of
0:37
the most feared criminal syndicates in
0:39
modern American history the Philadelphia
0:42
Black Mafia what began as street level
0:45
intimidation
0:47
soon evolved into contract killings
0:50
political corruption and mass murder all
0:53
cloaked under the veil of religion this
0:56
is the chilling journey of how one man
0:59
weaponized faith loyalty and fear to
1:04
hold a city hostage chapter 1 the making
1:08
of a monster 1945 to 1968
1:12
to understand the rise of Sam Christian
1:16
we must begin in postwar Philadelphia a
1:20
city shaped by migration industry and
1:24
growing inequality in the aftermath of
1:27
World War II Philadelphia saw an influx
1:30
of African-Amean families from the South
1:33
part of the Great Migration they came in
1:36
search of factory jobs safer
1:38
neighborhoods and a better future but
1:41
what they found was something far less
1:43
hopeful by the 1950s factory closures
1:47
and de-industrialization
1:49
swept through northern cities jobs
1:52
disappeared especially for black men
1:55
housing segregation pushed entire
1:58
communities into poorly maintained urban
2:00
zones the promise of the north dissolved
2:03
into resentment and struggle young Sam
2:06
Christian born into this environment
2:09
learned early that survival meant
2:12
strength his first arrest came at 14 in
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1959
2:17
for armed robbery he wasn't alone he was
2:21
caught with a group of teens already
2:23
acting with the kind of reckless
2:25
confidence that would define his adult
2:28
life by the time he was 20 Sam had a
2:32
wrap sheet thick with violence robbery
2:36
assault gun possession but Sam wasn't
2:40
just a street thug he was observant
2:43
calculating he saw what fear could
2:46
accomplish and he learned that in a city
2:49
where the police didn't care and the
2:51
system failed the poor he could carve
2:53
out his own rule book police officers
2:57
knew him by name his presence was
2:59
legendary his intimidation near
3:02
mythological as one veteran detective
3:05
put it "If Sam's out there and you're
3:08
planning to arrest him you better shoot
3:10
first." Chapter 2 birth of the Black
3:14
Mafia 1968 to 1969 1968 was a year of
3:20
fire riots across America assassinations
3:24
and the splintering of black unity into
3:26
competing ideologies but while movements
3:29
like the Panthers focused on revolution
3:32
Sam focused on empire that fall Sam
3:36
Christian quietly assembled a cadre of
3:39
trusted men
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14 in total all under 30 all hardened by
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poverty and prison time their mission
3:50
was simple control the streets by any
3:53
means necessary they called themselves
3:57
the Black Mafia though the name wouldn't
3:59
be made public until much later
4:02
internally they viewed themselves as
4:05
more than criminals they were enforcers
4:08
of a new order their first major action
4:11
came on April 19th 1969
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nathaniel Rock and Roll Williams one of
4:18
the original members organized a dice
4:20
game but the game was a setup later that
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night armed men burst in robbed the
4:28
players and fled rumors flew williams
4:32
was the inside man sam didn't hesitate
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within hours Williams was abducted from
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a bar his body bearing four close-range
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bullet wounds was found in the suburbs
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it wasn't just punishment it was a
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statement witnesses refused to talk
4:53
investigators hit walls fear had done
4:56
its job and the Black Mafia had declared
5:00
their arrival chapter 3 the Religion
5:03
Shield 1969 to 1970 by the early 1970s
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Sam Christian realized brute force had
5:12
its limits to survive long-term he
5:15
needed cover ideological cultural and
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spiritual the answer came from the
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Nation of Islam the Nation of Islam
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founded in 1930 in Detroit blended
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Islamic theology with black nationalist
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thought by the 1960s under Elijah
5:35
Muhammad it had half a million followers
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and in Philadelphia temple number 12 led
5:42
by the charismatic Jeremiah Shabbaz was
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a powerhouse sam already impressed by
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NOE teachings converted in the mid60s by
5:53
1970 many black mafia members had joined
5:56
as well then came the pivotal move a
6:00
full alliance between the mafia and the
6:03
mosque the partnership was perfect the
6:07
mafia got sanctuary mosques became
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untouchable hideouts recruiting grounds
6:14
and money laundering hubs in return the
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nation got cash and street protection
6:20
law enforcement backed off testimonies
6:24
dried up even when crimes were committed
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in broad daylight no one dared speak out
6:30
against the brothers more than a gang
6:33
the Black Mafia became a political and
6:36
religious machine shielded by faith
6:39
armed with fear chapter 4 establishing
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fear 1970 to 1971
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fear was the product and business was
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booming in late 1970 bar owners who
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refused to pay extortion were targeted
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windows were shattered by shotgun blasts
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some were burned down on September 21st
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a bartender was gunned down midshift
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patrons witnessed it no one testified on
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January the 4th 1971
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Nudy Mims led a raid on a local
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furniture store despite zero resistance
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from staff or customers 20 people were
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savagely beaten two were shot their
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bodies were dowsted in gasoline and set
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ablaze the loot just $3,000 but that
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wasn't the point the point was terror
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weeks later two bank robberies netted
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over $122,000
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the gang's method stripping employees
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naked beating them tying them up was
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theatrical it sent a message even your
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banks can't protect you the press took
7:59
notice but the police still powerless
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chapter 5 heroin wars and the murder of
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Tyrone Palmer 1971
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to 1972
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as the 1970s began Philadelphia's drug
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scene was in flux heroin was flooding
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the streets cheap potent and deadly the
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real power however lay not in the users
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but in the hands of the distributors and
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at the top of this ladder stood Frank
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Matthews matthews known as the Black
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Caesar ran a coast to coast heroine
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empire worth millions his distributors
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included men like Tyrone Palmer who
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managed Philadelphia's heroin flow on
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Matthew's behalf but that territory rich
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in addicts dealers and profits was
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exactly what Sam Christian wanted by
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early 1972
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tensions between the Black Mafia and
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Palmer's crew escalated
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sam Christian knew that direct
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confrontation with Matthews could lead
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to a war he wasn't ready to fight unless
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he sent a loud message on the night of
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April 2nd 1972
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that message was delivered in blood at
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the Harlem nightclub in Atlantic City
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Palmer and his entourage were ambushed
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by black mafia gunmen the attack was
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chaotic and brutal palmer was shot
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multiple times in front of a crowd his
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bodyguard was gunned down three women
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caught in the crossfire were killed
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instantly over 20 civilians were injured
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in the panic despite the massacre Sam
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Christian slipped away within hours the
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streets were buzzing the Black Mafia had
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declared war and won matthews got the
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message he eventually agreed to pay
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Christian 10% of his heroine earnings in
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Philadelphia
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the price of peace was steep but the
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alternative was worse with Palmer dead
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and Matthews subdued the black mafia's
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grip on the city tightened for the first
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time they weren't just extorting drug
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dealers they were becoming the drug
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lords themselves but controlling the
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heroin trade meant new enemies and new
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blood would soon be spilled chapter 6
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the House of Death the Callis family
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massacre january 17th 1973
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in the winter of 1973
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a chilling act of violence shocked the
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nation a massacre that wasn't just
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another gangland hit but a calculated
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message the target Hamas Abdul Kalis
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formerly known as Ernest Timothy McGee
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kalis had once been a rising star in the
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Nation of Islam known for his powerful
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oretry and deep charisma but ideological
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clashes with Elijah Muhammad led him to
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break away he converted to Sunni Islam
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and founded the Hanfi movement
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attracting over a thousand followers but
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more than breaking away Khaliss made a
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fatal mistake he publicly denounced
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Elijah Muhammad as a false prophet he
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mailed letters of condemnation to 57
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mosques across America including Temple
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Number 12 in Philadelphia the very heart
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of Sam Christian's religious political
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alliance what followed wasn't just
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retribution it was execution
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on the morning of January 17th 1973
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seven members of the Black Mafia
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traveled to Washington DC under the
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leadership of hitman John Clark they had
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one mission to eliminate Kalis and
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everyone close to him disguised and
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well-dressed two of them arrived at the
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Kali's residence under the pretense of
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purchasing religious pamphlets amina
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Kalis's 22year-old daughter greeted them
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moments later guns were drawn the family
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was herded into the basement tied up and
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interrogated when no money or safe was
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found the killings began callus's son Da
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was taken to the prayer room forced to
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kneel and executed with three shots to
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the head amina herself was shot four
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times in the head but miraculously
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survived her testimony later revealed
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unimaginable horror children were
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murdered family friend Abdul N who
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arrived to return a wallet was killed on
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site in total seven people were killed
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the home was turned into a slaughter
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house the attackers fled but left behind
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critical evidence a suitcase with a 38
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handgun stolen credit cards and personal
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IDs tied to known black mafia members
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even so arrests were difficult fear
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ruled witnesses vanished only James
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Price agreed to cooperate his detailed
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45page confession led to indictments but
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he paid with his life found murdered in
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prison later that year this wasn't just
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murder it was terrorism cloaked in
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religion the Ki's massacre forced
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America to confront a disturbing
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question what happens when faith is used
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as a weapon by men with no mercy chapter
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7 the price of loyalty the execution of
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Major Coxen june 8th 1973
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benjamin Peroxen was no ordinary
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associate he wasn't a street level
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player he was polished connected and
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respected a businessman civil rights
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advocate and nightclub owner with ties
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to both legitimate leaders and the
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criminal underworld he had ambitions
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even running for mayor of Camden New
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Jersey in 1972
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though unsuccessful his campaign earned
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him credibility and public admiration
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behind closed doors however Coxen was
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much more he was a fixer a connector and
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a crucial bridge between the black mafia
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and highlevel drug suppliers it was
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Coxen who introduced Sam Christian
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syndicate to New York traffickers some
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rumored to be linked to the Gambino
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crime family it was Coxen who arranged
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shipments laundered money through shell
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companies like Pyramid Enterprises Inc
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and taught Christian how to defraud
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financial institutions without drawing
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blood but all alliances have limits in
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early 1973
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a major heroine shipment intended for
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the Black Mafia was hijacked by two
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small-time Philly crooks
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hilton Stout and Walter Tilman the
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Italians wanted their product back they
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contacted Cox who promised to resolve
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the issue coxen turned to the Black
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Mafia in exchange for locating and
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eliminating the thieves the Italians
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agreed to pay $300,000
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coxen offered Sam and his men $200,000
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of that total it should have been a
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win-win on May the 1st 1973
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Stow and Tilman were found dead shot
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execution style but no heroine was
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recovered the Italians furious that the
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only lead to their product had been
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silenced refused to pay now Coxen was
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caught between two dangerous forces
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he owed money to killers with no
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patience and no forgiveness for weeks
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Coxin scrambled he borrowed he begged
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but it wasn't enough then on the early
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morning of June 8th 1973
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the doorbell rang it was Sam Christian
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he wasn't alone ron Harvey Christian's
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cold-blooded left tenant stood beside
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him along with two more gunmen they were
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welcomed in coxson trusted them that
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trust cost him his life inside the
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living room the group turned on their
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host they tied up Coxson's common law
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wife his stepson Lex and other family
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members lex just 13 years old was bound
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and gagged in his bed when the killers
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moved to the back of the house Lex
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wriggled free with his hands still tied
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he climbed out of a window ran barefoot
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through the street and banged his head
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on a neighbor's door until someone
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answered the police arrived too late
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coxen and three others were dead his
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wife survived but was blinded by the
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gunfire
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neighbors gave vague descriptions of a
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black Cadillac and four dark-skinned men
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but one critical clue came from Coxson's
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own lips his wife recalled the last
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thing he said before opening the door
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hey Sam come on in the message was clear
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no one not even allies not even friends
18:02
was safe from betrayal coxin's death
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sent shock waves through the city he had
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been the most legitimate face the black
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mafia ever aligned with and now even he
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had been deemed disposable chapter 8
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collapse begins arrests trials and the
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death of Ron Harvey 1973 to 1977
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after the assassination of Major Coxen
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the Philadelphia Black Mafia had reached
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its peak in power and its tipping point
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the massacre at the Kali's residence in
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January followed by the calculated hit
18:42
on Coxen in June had drawn national
18:45
attention the FBI DEA and local law
18:49
enforcement once cautious in pursuing
18:52
the gang due to their religious cover
18:55
now ramped up efforts with renewed
18:57
urgency by July 3rd 1973
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key suspect Ron Harvey was arrested he
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had ignored a subpoena to testify about
19:09
the Ki's killings and was subsequently
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charged not only for contempt but also
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for 11 counts related to the Coxen
19:17
murders his bail a staggering $5.5
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million a record setting figure at the
19:24
time it was a clear message harvey
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wasn't just another thug he was the
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enforcer of a terror machine but the
19:34
real crack in the black mafia's armor
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came not from force but from within
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james Price one of the men involved in
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the Cari's massacre had already
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confessed in July his 45page statement
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laid out the black mafia's hierarchy
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their methods their religious front and
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most damning of all names in August 1973
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formal indictments were handed down
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against multiple members but cooperation
20:07
came at a cost despite protection Price
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was murdered in prison later that year a
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clear warning to anyone else considering
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flipping meanwhile Sam Christian
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disappeared from Philadelphia he was
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tracked down to a mosque in Detroit and
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arrested on December 11th 1973
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though prosecutors struggled to tie him
20:32
to the coxin or callous murders directly
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due to witness fear and lack of physical
20:38
evidence he was convicted for a 1971
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robbery of a Harlem liquor store during
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which a police officer was killed he
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received a 20-year sentence christian's
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absence left a leadership vacuum ron
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Harvey already awaiting trial became the
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face of the collapsing empire in
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November 1974
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he was convicted for his role in the
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Ki's killings and sentenced to life in
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prison 3 years later in 1977 Harvey
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stood trial once more this time for the
21:14
Coxen family murders he received a
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second life sentence but justice would
21:21
be short-lived
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that same year Harvey died of heart
21:25
failure inside the prison hospital in
21:28
Springfield Missouri he was in his early
21:30
40s by then the Black Mafia was bleeding
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from every artery the arrests had
21:37
crippled its leadership the mosques were
21:40
no longer offering safe haven the
21:43
government had finally recognized the
21:45
organization not as a gang but as a
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domestic terror threat the era of
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untouchability was over the collapse had
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begun chapter 9 the fall disintegration
22:00
of the Black Mafia 1977
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to 1985 by the late 1970s the Black
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Mafia was no longer the shadow
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government of Philadelphia's streets it
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was a crumbling skeleton hollowed out
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from within with Sam Christian
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imprisoned Ron Harvey dead and many of
22:22
the original enforcers either killed or
22:24
locked away for life the organization's
22:27
top command was effectively decapitated
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but what made the fall even more
22:33
dramatic was the vacuum of power that
22:35
followed in 1975
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internal rivalries turned bloody jerome
22:42
Barnes one of Christian's original
22:44
partners and the acting leader was
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gunned down in broad daylight on June
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15th just months later another founding
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member Hershel Williams was murdered
22:55
over what authorities claimed was a mere
22:58
$2,000 drug debt but insiders suspected
23:02
it was about territory rumors swirled
23:05
that members Roy Hoskins and Lonnie
23:07
Dawson orchestrated Williams's death to
23:10
seize control of his heroine operation
23:13
they were arrested tried and ultimately
23:16
sentenced to life in prison meanwhile
23:19
the new leadership structure never
23:21
materialized
23:23
the Nation of Islam under Wallace D
23:25
muhammad's reforms following Elijah
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Muhammad's death in 1975
23:30
distanced itself from criminal elements
23:34
jeremiah Shabbaz once the spiritual
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shield of the black mafia was quietly
23:39
reassigned to another region without
23:42
mosque protection remaining members were
23:46
exposed
23:47
in a desperate attempt to regain
23:49
influence Russell Barnes a former mafia
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hitman was released from prison in 1985
23:57
he quickly allied with a rising youth
23:59
gang and began extorting heroin dealers
24:03
but the streets had changed 6 months
24:06
later Barnes was shot dead by the mid
24:10
1980s the original Philadelphia Black
24:13
Mafia had disintegrated
24:15
its leaders were either buried or behind
24:18
bars the aura of invincibility had faded
24:23
but the legacy remained fear still
24:26
lingered in the neighborhoods they once
24:28
ruled and whispers of a junior black
24:31
mafia a younger flashier generation were
24:34
beginning to rise chapter 10 the legacy
24:38
lives on rise of the Junior Black Mafia
24:42
1986 to 1992
24:46
as the original Black Mafia
24:47
disintegrated its legacy did not vanish
24:51
it transformed by the late 1980s
24:54
a new name began circulating in
24:57
Philadelphia's Criminal Underground the
25:00
Junior Black Mafia or JBM founded by
25:04
three ambitious young men Aaron Jones
25:07
Mark Casey and Leonard Patterson this
25:11
new group didn't hide in shadows they
25:14
wore designer suits drove luxury cars
25:17
and projected an image of power rooted
25:19
in street credibility and ruthless
25:22
control unlike their predecessors the
25:25
JBM wasn't born from ideology or
25:29
religious affiliation it was built
25:31
strictly on business drug business from
25:35
its earliest days the JBM modeled itself
25:38
on the old black mafia borrowing not
25:41
only the name but also their tactics of
25:44
fear intimidation and extortion
25:47
however where Sam Christian's crew used
25:50
faith and secrecy the JBM used scale and
25:54
spectacle their rise was meteoric
25:59
within just three years of formation by
26:01
1990
26:03
law enforcement estimated the group had
26:06
over 100 members and a network of 300
26:10
plus street level dealers their
26:13
specialty high-grade cocaine and heroin
26:17
they enforced discipline with brutal
26:20
precision those who defied JBM orders
26:24
were often found dead witnesses as with
26:27
the original Black Mafia disappeared or
26:31
stayed silent but the JBM lacked the
26:34
ideological shield their forebears had
26:38
and they made enemies faster than they
26:41
built alliances by 1992
26:44
federal prosecutors brought down a
26:46
sweeping RICO case against JBM leaders
26:50
aaron Jones and other top members were
26:53
sentenced to life without parole
26:56
the JBM was over but in many ways they
27:00
were never truly separate they were the
27:03
spiritual heirs to Sam Christian's dark
27:06
empire they didn't build it but they
27:09
inherited the ashes and tried to light
27:11
it again and in doing so they ensured
27:15
the name Black Mafia would never fully
27:18
disappear from Philadelphia's streets
27:21
sam Christian didn't just lead a gang he
27:25
crafted an empire one built not merely
27:28
on drugs or guns but on ideology fear
27:32
and the silence of entire neighborhoods
27:35
he blurred the lines between faith and
27:38
violence business and brutality to some
27:42
he was a protector to others a prophet
27:45
but to most he was a ghost in the dark
27:49
whose name alone sent chills the
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Philadelphia Black Mafia didn't just
27:55
disrupt law enforcement they reshaped
27:58
how we understand organized crime they
28:01
wore suits instead of colors they prayed
28:04
before killings and they buried truth
28:07
beneath sermons and silence and even
28:10
after their fall their story didn't end
28:14
it was echoed in the rise of the Junior
28:16
Black Mafia and it lingers today in the
28:20
whispered legends of Philadelphia's
28:22
streets if this deep dive into one of
28:25
America's most secretive and brutal
28:27
syndicates gripped you don't forget to
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28:33
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it resurrects them stay tuned
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