The Connect- with Johnny Mitchell - How A Puerto Rican Preacher Became A Cocaine KINGPIN, Smuggled TONS For The Medellin Cartel

Episode Date: July 27, 2025

From slinging heroin in Puerto Rico to running massive cocaine shipments through Miami, Jaime Torres lived a life straight out of a crime novel. Shot six times, throat slashed, sentenced to life in federal prison — he should’ve been dead or buried in the system. But instead, he found God behind bars, refused to snitch, and against all odds, was released by the very judge who once said he'd never go free. In this jaw-dropping and deeply inspiring interview, Jaime sits down with Johnny Mitchell to talk about: -Growing up in the South Bronx and joining gangs at 13 -Working for — and eventually supplying — his own drug-dealer father -Running 500-kilo cocaine shipments from Colombia to the U.S. -His spiritual awakening inside prison -Beating a life sentence after 10 years -Now preaching hope and redemption in prisons nationwide Go Support Jaime! Book: https://a.co/d/gFezCtj Website: https://www.jaimetorresministries.com/ Contact: [phone] [e-mail] [e-mail] This Episode Is #Sponsored By The Following: HIMS! Start your free online visit or your personalized ED treatment options today at https://www.hims.com/connect AVA! Download the Ava app today, and when you join using my promo code CONNECT, you’ll get your first month FREE! This offer is only for MY listeners. MANDO! Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code MITCHELL at https://shopmando.com! #mandopod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavat Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. You survived the Miami weekend. Nailed the speech and maxed out your credit card in the name of friendship.

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I got shot six times in my chest. My guest today is Jaime Torres. Jaime was born in Puerto Rico and raised by a single mother in the slums of the South Bronx in the 1960s. He entered the drug trade when he was just a teenager, managing his father's heroin distribution operation back in Puerto Rico.

By the early 1980s, after a brief stint in the military, Jaime relocated to Miami where he began overseeing a cocaine smuggling network from Columbia to the Bahamas into South Florida. In 1990, he was convicted of conspiracy to import 500 kilos of cocaine and sentenced to life in prison. But while he was down, he got hit by the Holy Spirit and began preaching the Word of God and ministering to other inmates. This isn't just another phony religious story by a condemned criminal who found Jesus.

You want proof? Just 10 years after his mandatory life sentence, Jaime was brought back before the very judge who sentenced him and set free that day. That's the work of divine intervention, if you ask me. Today, Jaime lectures in prisons and jails throughout the country. You can get his book, You Can't Kill the Miracle, as well as contact him directly, even if you're in prison, at his website,

www.h.w.hame Torres Ministries.com. I myself am making a donation to his foundation, and I encourage you to do the same if you're able. This was one of the craziest, most inspiring, most entertaining interviews I've had the pleasure of doing. Jaime is a one-of-a-kind dude with a one-of-a-kind story that you can't hear anywhere else. The cocaine preacher Jaime Torres, right here on The Connect with Johnny Mitchell. What year were you born?

62. And you were born in Puerto Rico. I was born in Puerto Rico. Ponce. Puerto Rico. But I came to the state when I was nine months old. Wow. I've been here all my life in the Bronx and the buggy down.

Wow. And that was when it was all Ricans, man. You know what buggy down at? Of course. Of course. The South Bronx. What part of the South Bronx? 163rd prospect, home street, Boston Road.

I mean, it doesn't get more buggy down than that. No. And I mean, back in the 60s, what are your earliest memories of that neighborhood? It was the slums back then. Yeah, man. We used to play softball, man, in the back yard with concrete. And the ball used to hit rocks and hit them out. I was talking about.

We used to jump from condemned buildings. there was a lot of condemers. Right. Jumped through some old mattresses. We would jump. Right. I mean, it was, that's only, our pool was the fire hydrant. You feel me?

Everything you see in the movies, it was really like that. No, it was really like that. You rubble from abandoned buildings. That's what we play that. Well, that's what we love, man. You remember basketball with just the milk crates? The milk crates, man. We used to play Scalcies in the street, right?

Yeah. Carlton, you know, play Scalcies. You make tops. and I mean, you know, just, but we loved it, man. We loved it, man. What an adventure. It was the hood, man. I loved it, man, you know.

And your father, I believed he stayed behind in Puerto Rico. Is that correct? Well, no, he never was a part of me. Okay. He never was a part of my life. So it was just you and your mother. So my mama was heartbroken, and then my mama took me alone, and then came to New York, and then she got with my stepfather.

Did you have brothers or sisters? Yeah, I got brothers and sisters on my father's side. I got four brothers from my mama and my stepdad. I see. So you're the oldest of the people raised in New York? Yes. I see. I see.

Okay. And your stepfather, who was he? He was a hardworking man. He was an alcoholic, you know. Right. Yeah. But not, he wasn't in the game? No, no, none of that.

Okay. Okay. So you, you know, mature a little bit. You grow fast in the Bronx in the 60s and 70s. Well, you know, food stamps, man. Welfare. Yeah. You know.

Yellow cheese, pot of milk. That's it. Hate it's school. They bullied me. They had no money for school. So I had to hand me down for my cousin, you know. So I hated school, man. You know what I mean?

I'm fighting all the time. You feel me? Yeah. For survival. Yeah. And then I joined my first gang. You see what? How old were you?

I was about, about 13, 14 years old. 13. And these are like pre-drug gangs. These are like 70s. When you watch The Warriors movie, It's that kind of thing. Yeah, Savage Scores, the Ghetto Brothers. That was the name of your gang?

I was a young school, yeah, the young Ghetto Brothers. Did you see the 700 Club? Yeah. You know, Pat Robinson, he did my story. Right. Yeah. And so when he went back and done a study on the gangs that I was, and they were very prevalent, very mean.

But we loved them because what they did, they accepted the castaways. Right. And I was castaways. So I've done any. Anything that they asked me to do because they love me, I thought. What would they ask you to do? Oh, man, hit jokers in the head.

But back in the time, we used knives. Yeah. And the kind of guns we made, we made out of a tent of zip guns. Zip guns. Yes, sure. And see, so, I mean, because, man, for the first time, I felt a part of something. And they embraced me. I felt like I was part of something.

Yeah. Because, see, I'm dark-skinned. My mama's light skin, your color. Hmm. My stepdad, he's your color. So I got four brothers. If you go to Facebook, they don't look nothing like me than my. Light-skinned Puerto Ricans.

And I always felt like an outcast. That's a story that I really like. You got the Sammy Sosa look. I felt, you know, I experienced a lot of, I had an infection for many years. And there was no help. Yeah. that couldn't diagnose with that infection.

The only thing that was subside the pain a little bit was when I used to drink and do dope. And many, many, many years, it was eating me, it was killing me. Nobody can help me. And sitting in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, that's the mean one there. Yeah.

And I was in the hole. And God showed me what that infection was. It was the infection. of rejection. I wouldn't reject it on my line. So when I went to that gang, my first gang, they embraced me with everything in me. I never felt like that.

Like, all the father. So whatever they asked me to do. Right. Did you put in work with that knife? Knife? Yeah, man. Rob folk, you know. And, you know, beat down to a lot of rival.

Right. A lot of rival crews. The cruise teams, yes. Now, did you fall into, You said you did dope. Are you talking about heroin or just smoking like... No, no, cocaine. Yeah, I'd taste some heroin, but most of it was cocaine.

Then I tried crack. Uh-huh. When it came around. When it came around. But thank God I was able to beat that. And then that's when I went up in Miami. Right. Because now I was a supervisor and I had people under me.

Right. Everybody who worked with me couldn't smoke no dope. Okay, so let's get into that. So to backing up a little bit, what was your initial introduction to the drug game. My dad. In Puerto Rico, I was 15 years old and my mother, because of the gangs,

and she felt that I'm going to get killed. So she sent me to my grandmother, my mom, her mama in Puerto Rico. And my dad was over there. I didn't know anything. I never seen him in my life. And he got wind of it. Wow.

And he went and stashed me up. And then I went with him. And you'd never met him. No, never, man, my whole life. But he wanted, why did he come snatch you up? He wanted a relationship with you. came one time I heard when I was in the Bronx, but I was out somewhere. Yeah.

And that's when my mama slapped me in the face because my auntie was drunk. She said, your dad coming, I was confused because I thought that was my dad. So I went and asked my mom, and she went, psh. Yeah. And that's when I realized that I had another day. Right. Right. But then I was 15. Now, when I went over, 14, going to 15, when my mama sent me to my grandma to get me away from the gang.

And it turns out your father is... You were the biggest drug dealer in the south side. I didn't know. I knew one thing. He had a beautiful car. He ain't ever work. He woke up at 2 o'clock, 1 o'clock. But then he had a house, a wooden house in the back of his house.

And when I went down there to the backyard, I was intrigued about the house. It was just an old wooden house. And I went when I looked at the window. And there he was, him and the crew, bagging up, heroin. Uh-huh. Yeah, it was backing and making... Okay, so at this time in Puerto Rico in the 70s, the big thing was heroin?

Heroin. Okay, so were they, was that heroin that they were getting ready to export to the U.S.? Or were they keeping it and selling it in Puerto Rico? No, in Puerto Rico. Really? Yes. Oh.

Okay, what kind of heroin? Was that heroin coming from South America? No, sir. Chokofan, from China, from Vietnam. So it was the China White? Yeah, China White. That's what they had, yeah. Yeah, they had connections, man.

they were bringing it in. Yes, so. So your father presumptively had connections to Southeast Asia? Well, he had, I don't know if he had it directly, but I know one thing he was working for some people who had the connection. I had no idea that a place, because Puerto Rico was very poor back then. Well, but,

but they had money to buy China White. Yeah, because, you know, when, see, when you are a drug king, All he matters is can you pay for this package? Yeah. You understand? He creates a commercial place where, you know, and I'm going to tell you, you might not have food money to eat, but you're going to have money about some dope.

Of course. Of course. You ever seen a dope fiend? That's your proof. So, yeah, Puerto Rico always been booming with drugs, always. Okay, so you walked in on your father and his workers. I walked in, and, yeah, and then he couldn't hide it. I mean, and we just met, really.

And so now he was semi-on-on-litt on Little Mission to take packages because I was new and I knew how to speak English. Right. I was bilingual. Right. Do you think that a company can benefit from a bilingual speaking? Of course they can. We're in the drug business too.

Right. Now, why was that a benefit in the drug, his business that you spoke English? Yeah, because there was a base, there's been army bases over there. Oh, and this is after Vietnam. So they got Fort Allen, Fort Buchanan. These are American bases. Right. You got Greengo there, and they pay for drugs.

Right. And they're all fucking putting it. They're shooting it up. They're shooting it up and everything like that. So we live close to Fort Island. So I used to go on that base with Greengoe. They have fun, you know. And so, you know, also African, African Americans?

Yeah. Black Americans? They're black Americans, yeah. So were you taking, were you selling the, bringing the dope directly to the users? Or were you bringing him to your dad's workers? No, I would take it to my dad's workers. Okay. Wow.

And who were some of his workers? Who's getting his packages? Those are local guys over there that, you know, some of them were fishermen. You know, anybody do anything to get extra dollar. These are family folk. Mm-hmm. But they had a chance to make an extra dollar. Right.

So they worked for my dad. You know, these are friends, godfather, compilitary like family for years, you know. Right. And they were very, that wasn't flamboyant. No. So you couldn't tell. Old school, man.

Old school. Old school, you couldn't tell. And they made a ton of money. Wow. And then, they used to go to the sea, you know. They used to fish, and they'd be bringing in stacks. We were big over. Oh, we're there. Oh, my God. Wow. Yeah, weed. Was your father into that too?

Yeah, he was into weed, heroin, then when cocaine came. Now, was the weed, was that the weed that was coming from Columbia? I don't know where that we were coming from, to be honest with you. Probably Jamaica or Columbia, if it's the 70s. 70s, yeah. Wow. So who were the customers buying up the heroin? It was the people at the base, the Americans. We got America. Then, then locally people. I mean, they get hooked up. And And then, you know, once they tasted, they love it. Wow. And what, you know, back in the 70s, a brick of China white in New York that's pure,

you could cut it 100 times. You could make $200,000, $300,000 off one brick. Was that similar in Puerto Rico? Same thing in Puerto Rico. Because they were using American dollars, right? Yeah, that's American dollars. Wow. So your dad was.

My dad used to. Rich. He would cut it. Money told, you know. Well, let me tell about my dad. As easy the money came, he made a ton, he spent it. Oh, yeah. You can't give a Puerto Rican, that kind of money.

You know, so. How many mistresses? Oh, man. You know, that's the thing about when you, when you don't have that kind of mind, that business mind. Knows how to handle that money. Yes. And, you know,

So, but he made a ton of money. He made a ton of enemies. I got stabbed over in Puerto Rico. That's what got me to come back to these states. Really? Yeah. What happened? Yeah.

I was at a club, man. I was DJing and drinking. And I had a, the mother of my child, my first woman, she started fighting and arguing. And so I was taking a home arguing and this dude that, didn't like my dad. He came from, we passed his house, going to the car, and we passed his house, and then he heard me.

That's what I heard. He heard. He heard my voice, and he ran, jumped the gate, and when I kept walking, he come up on me. And I was drunk as. And so he started talking when I went to hit, he stabbed me. Wow. Yeah. Almost, the doctor said almost half an inch more.

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Spirits not sold in Virginia and North Carolina. Drink responsibly must be 21. Almost a fatal shot, huh? Yeah, I'm telling you, man. And so, wow. Then I got revenge after that, beat them down, and after that I came back to New York.

Okay. Yeah, my mom, she sent me back. She sent me over there. To get away from the violence. And I'm moving that into more, more than ever. there. Because that's why I started really experiencing cocaine, sniffing heroin.

And drug money. And drug money. And just very foolish. My first, I was 15 years old, I had my first woman. I got a baby from another. Yeah, from 15. Yeah. So it just escalating, escalated.

But I did gain a lot of experience. Right. When I come, I thought, because then later on, I'm working for my dad. I used to sell him. Oh, you started supplying your father later on. And I would take it from Miami on the airport. Do you believe that?

Wow. Wow. Kitos on the... Right. Once the cocaine started hitting. Hey guys, this summer I will be on the road doing stand-up comedy plus a live episode of The Connect. On August 20th, I will be in San Diego, California. On August 21st, I will be in Chandler, Arizona, right outside of Phoenix.

And then on August 24th, I will be in Plano, Texas. That's the Dallas area. Again, doing stand-up comedy, plus some special guests doing a live episode of The Connect. Go to linktree.com slash Johnny Mitchell or go to micdropcomedy club.com and search my name. All three of those venues will be Mike Drop Comedy Club venues. Come out and see me, San Diego, Phoenix, Arizona, Dallas, Texas. We'll see you there. So you could actually make, you could actually set.

it for a higher price in Puerto Rico than you could in Miami? The cocaine? Yeah, Puerto Rico, yeah. Wow. But no, but my dad, no, but my dad was in Cal, no, he was already here. Oh, I see. He was in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Oh, I see.

Wild. I used to joke, get in a plane with a kilo. Wow. How did he end up in Pennsylvania coming from Monte Puerto Rico? Yeah, he been. He went to Connecticut and he started making a lot of money. Yeah. He opened dope houses, heroin in Connecticut, Williammatic.

And then from there, he went to Pennsylvania, Lancaster, Amish. Me and him did two years in the county jail over there in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was, myself was 621, his was 622. Wow. And he opened up a drug market in Lancaster? Yes, hell of God. I promise. Wow.

So your dad was this enterprising, old-school drug dealer. Like wherever you put him, he was going to find a market. He's going to find the market. How long were you in Puerto Rico when you were a teenager? About two years maybe. Okay, okay. So that was enough to have a baby. You started using drugs.

And then you got the worst than drugs, in my opinion, is the taste of drug money, the fast money. So you're kind of, you come back kind of a man at 17. Well, I come back, but I came back under one condition. I had to join the Army. Is that it? My mother wouldn't let me. Right. I was 17-year-old, so you need your parents to sign.

I joined the delay entry program in the Army. But listen to what happened. To get my mom off my back, I said, Mom, okay, I'll take, I'll join. And I woke up that morning, I said, well, I'm going to go with her to Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. Uh-huh. And I'll just take the test. But if I fail, if I fail, if I fail, she can't get mad, she can't put me out of the house. Right, right.

I was in my intention without to pass it. I ended up passing the test by one point. So now you have to go? I have to go. So you were in the Army? I was in the Army. This is like 1979. 78, 79, exactly.

So then how long were you in the Army? Where'd you go? 79. I went in 79 to 81. They sent me to prison. What I started doing, I was bringing dough from New York weed and purple micadas, acid. and send it to the soldiers.

You get the fuck out of here. So you're in uniform, on duty, you were bringing dope from New York to... I will bring and I would sell to the soldiers and also our loan shark. And see, they get paid twice a month. Right. The government, you know.

Right. And so when they didn't pay me, me and my team go and take their car, take the stereo that, a lot of them came from Germany. it were good. I remember when the Bowes, 901. Right.

Yeah, and so we, and that's what got me in trouble. Wow. So you had a crew, like you didn't even, you didn't even care that you were in the Army. You're like, no, no, no, I'm a gangster. I used to love the Army, but you got to understand. I come from that, like you said, I was exposed to Puerto Rico to money, quick money.

Yeah. And I was ignorant, don't have no direction. I would just, you know, and so I wanted to make much, I would do that. I would come. And so... So you caught a case? I caught a case.

Was it a drug case or the extortion? No, no extortion. So I took a man's car. I took a soldier's car and I busted it up. I ran into a fence or something. Anyway. And so do the military police arrest you? How does that happen when you're...

They arrest me, right? And then they sent me to Fort Gordon in Augusta, stockade. Yeah. Until you go to trial. Right. See, but I was... boxing in the army. What saved my behind, they're going to give me a whole bunch of years,

but they only gave me a couple, but because my full bird colonel, he spoke on my baby, he loved me. My full board colonel, he loved the world out of me. Wow. And so he helped me, but they still, they found me guilty and sent me the Leavenworth. Wow, for how long? Cancer two years. Wow.

What was Leavenworth? Was that the big joint? The U.S. The big joint? Yeah. Wow. The Army. The Army, the Army prison.

Yeah. Okay, gotcha, got you. Hard labor, confine me. Wow. That's like old school. That's old school, man. Hard labor. We're sentencing you to two years hard labor.

That's some anabellum slavery shit. When I came back out, I went back to the base, the only place I knew, Hinesville. Right. Fort Stewart. What does that mean? Fort Stewart. Yeah, that's the base. Okay.

When I was selling the... Right. See, that was my first station. And that's why I went to do my, my, when I joined the Army, my permanent station. Fort Stewart. Right. Heinzville, Georgia.

So when you got out. I went back there. To what? To sell it dope now? I have to. But you're kicked out of the Army, right? I'm kicked out of the Army, right? I'm kicked out of the Army.

So now I go back to my playground. I went back over there and I started climbing up. And that's why I got shot six times in my chest. Okay. Okay. So you go back. Back to Hinesville, Georgia, you're selling cocaine now? I'm selling weed.

I'm selling acid. Yeah. Not cocaine. Just weed and acid. Right. In Hinesville. I'm making a ton of money. I mean, are you not the craziest motherfucker?

And who, what happened? How did you get shot? I got ambush. See, when you do dirt, when you do, do bad things, evil stuff, especially my ex. I was dogging her. I used to stay out, and so she had it in for me, and I didn't know. And then?

Well, you know, she went and told her family, you know, her dad and them, and so they ambushed me. And I felt something that day. I was taking the shower, and I felt like I shouldn't go to this meeting. But I said, now I'm going. I'm good, you know, my image. I had to continue that ego. Yeah. Did you

have something on you? Did you carry a piece? No, they have nothing. I mean. Because these are people that trust. Trust and I've been there, you know. And so when I went in, there was a duplex. And so I went in and hey, hey, so let's go back here. So we

went to the back of the room. And then I seen the guy standing at the door. And when I look across, I got my man. And we're happened is the hammer got stuck to his pants. And he was trying to... Right.

But by the time I realized he had got it out, he shot, the first bully hit me here on my side. And I went down on the ground. And there was a bed that separated us. So I felt like my idea was go under the bed, slide, and pull his feet. But when I went to slide under the bed, it was too low. And I got stuck. fuck and then he came around and then he he emptied the gun on me where it went through your back

here here i got a scar from here past my belly button did you think he was just going to execute you did you think you that was it for you it was it i was choking on my blood my my leg my right leg was shaking everything went in slow motion that's another thing you really i can't describe it it was like in slow motion, everything. And I heard screams and like, you know. And... Is this your girl's brother that did this? Her father.

Her father. And so there's a lot of commotion. And... What do you do when you think you're going to die? Well, for me, it was... What do you say to yourself? It was bad, man, because I, first of all, I never had a religion experience.

So I didn't know nothing about hell or heaven and none of that. You know, I was ignorant of that. Oh, I had on my mind with my mother. Yeah. And I said to myself, I would like to see my mother one more time. That's all. And then a helicopter, because one of my workers,

he was downstairs, thank God. He the one who called, 911, he heard. Right. And so a helicopter came and took me to Savannah, Memorial, Savannah, Georgia, Savannah Memorial Hospital. Wow. And the next thing I know, that's what it. When I woke up, I was in a coma for a month and a half.

And did it hit arteries? Did it hit organs? My spleen, bust my spleen, part of my lung. Yes, I should be dead, bro. You should be dead. I mean, you should have been dead from the knife shot, but now you got six in you in the abdomen. Yes, sir.

Wow. And, you know, I believe with everything in me. that God Almighty had his hand on me. At that time I did, I thought I was invincible because once I made it, I remember I had a lot of tubes. And when I woke up and I tried to get those tubes. And so the alarm went off in the hospital. I remember that and the nurses in their time into the bed.

And I was very angry, man. Very angry. I wanted revenge, you know. As a matter of fact, I escaped the hospital to get revenge and I caught pneumonia. Yeah. Yeah. So they put me back in the hospital. And then once I got my strength and everything, I never did tell them nobody.

Every day the police was there. Yeah. Every day the Pope was room full of them. Wow. And so you old school kept it solid? No. Yes, sir. And so when I got out, that's when I had the opportunity to move my operation.

Now, did you think about going back and killing your father-in-law? I told you, I escaped the hospital to kill all of them. Right. But they moved down. They were gone. Yeah, and I caught in the morning because I really was weak, you know. And so I was very vengeful. And most people at this stage, after surviving a knife attack, six shots of the abdomen,

that's usually when they would find religion. But you don't take the gangster out of the Puerto Rico very easily. so you felt even more invincible. Yes. Which I think is common, especially from dudes from the street. Like if you survive six shots, it's like,

well, you can't tell me shit now. Like, you know, I'm Scarface, but I lived at the end. Yeah, man,

this is the problem, I believe, for a lot of us, you know, hustlers, man, you know, we very,

we, our exterior looks like we, we can handle the but inside, we're very fragile. Ego. Yeah. Yeah.

We're very fragile, and we just want somebody who believe in us. Yeah. And once you find that person, I mean, he can practically get you to do whatever. Right. Because you long to be accepted. That's right. You understand? That's right.

Everybody longs to be accepted. Everybody. Drug kingpins are no exceptions. Yeah. And the thing about, and I want to dispel a lot of, you know, people, they want to glamorized drug dealing. But listen, the end result, either you die or you end up in prison. Yeah.

You were spared, though. Yeah. So where did you go? Yeah, where did you move after you got out of the hospital? I went to Florida. Okay. So now you're down in Miami? No.

I'm in Brooksville, Florida, Ocala, about about 40 minutes from Tampa. Sounds redneck as fuck. Am I wrong? A little town. a little time, man, my cousin really took me there to help me. You know, he said, come on, man, I'm going to church. Me and him grew up together. His mama and my mama were twin sisters.

So he really want to, you know, get me to go to church and then, but I wasn't, I wasn't ready and I wasn't having it. Right. So I lived in him for a little bit, and I knew that I couldn't do what I wanted to do with staying with him. So I got out got me a little place. and then I started going up buying dope and

turning it over. You know, I started with half an ounce and then I build myself up and now I'm making all this money. What year is this? This is after 80, I say 80 86? Okay. 85.

Okay, so you're, is this cocaine now or is you still flipping heroin? This is cocaine. Cocaine, heroin. Okay. Heroin? Yeah. In Florida. So you kept multiple different businesses. I could never do that. When I was in the game, I had to focus on just one market.

I'm either doing weed or I'm doing coke. But you were juggling both. Yeah, because you have two clientails, you know. So, you know, yeah, I did pretty good at it. Hymns. You guys know Daddy for quite a long time has been. unable to achieve a God-given peace. That's right. If you struggle with a little bit of erectile dysfunction like God intended, no shame, nothing wrong with it. Come out of the darkness into the light.

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You're bringing it down from New York? No, no, no. I find me a connection in Tampa, some Cubans. Right. And so they would, and at first they're front of me, you know, and that's what made it so enticing. Right. I had to put the money up front.

Right. But then I started buying it and making my own profit, you know, and things like that. So you're building and building and building. But at the same time, again, no restraint. No. You know? I mean, you live in La Vida Loca. You're partying.

Either party, clubs, clothing, girl, you know, and just doing the kinds of crazy stuff because you ain't have no restraint. So, yeah, I was making a lot of money all that. But again, one day I get my throat cut. This doesn't end with you. Jaime Cito? Yeah, got my whole throat.

Over 200 stitches left for dead. And where was this? How did this happen? I had a lot of money in the house and dope. When I got home, My woman, she greeted me at the door. I was gone for three days. Partying.

Party. I was coked up for other women, I'm sure. Oh, my God. I just came. I mean, three days. Respectfully, you look like you fuck well. I'm sorry. Go ahead.

But anyway. And so I come home. And she meet me at the door, and she hugged me and she kissed me. And the next thing, I know, I felt something cold. It's on my chest. Blood. So I run through the bathroom. My neck is split open.

She cut me with a razor blade, Gillette. Cut my hole through here like that. This is like a prison shanking. That's something that happens in the joint. Yeah. She split my hole. And so I ran to the bathroom. I looked.

And when I come back out, she's gone. And when I'm thinking, I'm not thinking about nothing. I'm thinking about the money I got and the dope I got a thousand. Because that was my identity. See, that's what I lived for. That's what made me somebody I thought at that time was money and drugs. Hang on, but you're leaking out of your neck. Leaking.

200 stitches? Yeah, but listen, I didn't go. I didn't go to help because I knew if I would go, they would give me check my blood and find probable cause to get, a warrant and come and take my stuff. So I put a towel around my neck, try to make a attorney. I tried.

And I went out. Again, one of my workers came looking for me. He saw my car. He now opened the door, so he started going to the windows, and he seen me in that king's side bitch, blood everywhere. And he called the 911. And so that doctor, I never forget him, man.

When I finally opened my eyes, he said, ain't nowhere in the world I'm supposed to. Three blood transfusion. Ain't the way and the world are supposed to be alive. I lost a lot of blood. 200 stitches in my neck, man. Yes, sir. Yes. I can still see it.

Yes, up. 40 years later. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. He cut my throat. And, man. Did you get the work out of the house, though?

You got the work and the money out of the house? Yeah. I went to the day and never took my blood. Right. You know? Right. Yeah. I didn't get no trouble.

But what happened, man, I just, I left because the thing got real hot, you know. Yeah. They got real hot. So I left there. And then from there. Hang on. I just want to, just a quick button to this story. Did you ever see your girl again?

Yeah, man. I seen it again. I mean. You got back with her, didn't you? I love them, man. You know, I mean, listen. It's like having a faithful dog. And you mistreat that dog.

That dog is faithful. It's like having a rabies. A dog with rabies that bites you. Yeah, man. You know, she was a good woman. I was the one. Sure. Sure.

When you get to a place in your life where you stop blaming folk and stop accepting responsibility for the actions of folk. I would call that radical accountability because you're a victim of crime in this instance. yeah I was cheating is not it's not an excuse for almost killing you with a razor but that's okay

yeah but I okay it's well you know it was abused I used to abuse right the whole situation is drug fueled it's toxic it's yeah it's just an insane lifestyle insane lifestyle

where did you but still you haven't had your come to Jesus moment. No, no, no, no. I went to Miami. See, this is just going to ramp up from here. So when when that happened, got my throat cutting everything, I had, you know, and then the police, they started getting, it's getting hot. So I had to stop, you know, and lay low. But the money go down, you know what I mean? So then I end up in West Palm Beach and I'm with some Spanish, got Mexicans, and the next thing I know, I jacked him up and take their car. And I ended up in Miami with an old Grand Prix or 70-something.

Stolen. Stolen in Miami. And so I got down on myself. I was living off that car in North Miami Beach, and then I thought hitting crack. And for about a month, I hit in that thing. And one day I went into this grocery store, Cuano, Cuba. and I put a bag of oil cookies in my pant. When I came out, they grabbed me.

And so they called the police in the two-minute-day County jail. I stood there for about two weeks and let me up. But when they let me out, I don't got no car. The tow truck took the car. And so I ran out the street, tried to commit suicide. What happened was I managed to give me one more piece of crack, and I made, got me a can of Coca-Cola,

and you make holes on it, you put ashes, and then when I were going to take my puff, a bus, a city bus came, and blew everything away. And I started punching myself, I grabbed my, and I closed my eyes, and I jetted across Biscayne Boulevard. Wow. And next thing I know, two police officers, they grabbed me, one on my left, one on my right,

One of the one who took me to jail, but the other one, he's saying, man, he helped. So they took me to a detox place. And then in there, I don't know what happened. I don't remember the days I was out, but when I came back up, they took me to my first N-A meeting. Wow. Or AA meeting. Yeah, did you do the program?

No, no. I just went when I was in detail. Right. And I heard this drug deal, this dude that worked for big car dealership and Brayn and, Braynham, in Miami, he come and spoke. He had a Rolex and everything, but he was telling me that he was, he told the story he was addicted to heroin. I couldn't believe it.

He was clean, and I felt hope. I said, man. So when I got out at that place, I went to Bird Row in Miami, Burr Road to an AA room, and I started making coffee that accepted me. And I start sleeping in an old, a bandit Volkswagen. That was my outside and a lot. And then I would go and I would take a, I wait to the, the close the meeting, the last meeting, about 11.30 at night, 12 o'clock at night. I would take a shower with a little hose, had two pair of underwear.

And then this other duo from the AA room, he gave me a job. He was a painter. So I would work during the day, right? And that's why I met my other wife. And so I was... Your other wife? Yeah, I met Sony and my wife. Okay.

Now, we divorced now, but... And she was also in the program? She was getting clean. She was getting clean. Okay. And I met her at an in-A club dance. Wow. And then even though I was homeless, living in a car, she didn't care.

Then one day, I was walking with her to the movies, and the police stopped me. And I had a warrant. for a long time ago in Invenous. So it took me away. She waited for about two months from it. Me and this girl, never. And when I got, I went back to Miami. And then I started living with her.

And then I started working at Subways. And what happened in Subways? I meet the Connect. Oh. I'm trying to do right. Said nobody ever. You were working at Subway Sandwich? Sandwich.

And I meet the Connect. only in Miami. Do you meet to connect? Making a number four, Meatball sub. I'm telling you. Yo. Okay, okay.

So first of all, that's wild. But it sounds like you were committed to your sobriety at this time. Yeah, I was committed. I wanted to do right, man. That dude, man,

get me home. And how many, how long had you been sober when you met the connected subway? I don't know what. Maybe a year and a half, two years, maybe. But that's a long.

time. For me, it was, listen, man, I was, I was, I was trying to do right. I was, get a real job. I was, I was, well, it was so interesting. I've learned that a lot of these old school kingpins were junkies themselves before they blew up in the dope game. They actually got clean off dope. And that's the reason, part of the reason for their success is they respected drug addiction.

Yeah, I respect. They respect drugs, even though they sell them. That's awesome. And they have a compassion for users. Yeah. It's very ironic because they're also supplying the users with the thing that's destroying them. But so this is, in your case, it's kind of a similar situation. It's a similar situation.

I have a great, great respect for the addiction side. Yeah. Yes. Because you wanted to kill yourself. I mean, you were so down bad. You become held captive. You're becoming bondage to addicts. People don't understand the physical element of addiction.

What was worse to come off of crack or heroin? I think for me was crack, man. Because she was always chasing that first high and you can never be there. And you keep, I mean, it's just, it's madness. Yeah. It's madness. Yeah. That's wild.

You're chasing that 15 minute, maybe that 15 minute high. Maybe, maybe. As many times a day as you can. Truly, you're in prison. Yes, man. So did you work the steps? Were you doing the 12-step program? I was working the steps and everything like that.

But now I got a woman. Right. So, you know, once you have a woman, you need money. That's right. So I put that pressure on me. Now I'm working at subway. Right. And the Dominican come in and they realize I'm Puerto Ria.

And so we speak bad. Oh, yeah. Come, what do you want? How are, my, my. to the meal. And they will come on weekends. Right. And, you know, I would give them a little sandwiches.

Mm-hmm. But they were clean. I mean, you know. And so. Could they tell? There's something in you. You always talk, you've been talking about your workers. Like, clearly you have, you exude an energy of a hefe, a copo, a boss.

They must have seen that. It's like a scout, you know. How you go. Exactly. This guy's got a mean right hand. This guy's got a mean fastball. A mean, jump. Yeah, right, right.

People don't understand that the drug world is a business, and you got scouts. They go out there and they study you. I believe those people were coming to subway. They study me for a while because they came. Right. Because you're this tall, really confident, or Puerto Rican guy in the 80s.

It's like, what's this dude working at subway for? Let's put him on with a package. That's exactly what happened. So then they started. And so one day they said, man, we'll talk to you, man. You know? And so we, after subway, we sat down and,

and then they told me, he said, man, this is what we do. You going to make some bread? And, man, I thought there was an opportunity of a lifetime because now I'm clean. Right. And so that's, you know what I'm saying? I know right now that I'm going to go up the charts.

You're not going to fuck this one out. I'm not going to mess this thing up. Never in this lifetime. What were they offering you? No, they gave me a key. up front for 18,000 but guess how much

I could sell it for over there in Pennsylvania 32 almost and guess what my first customer is my dad goddamn and that is the tale

of the Puerto Rican immigrant my friends wow so you're almost doubling up literally just taking a key and dropping it off yeah now the only thing about it

I'm taking it on the airplane Right. But back in the day, it wasn't like... It was enough. No, I mean, there wasn't that much... Security. Security and knowledge. Would you...

So you just put a key in your check luggage? My check in the money. Right, yeah. Yeah. Wow. And we'll bring the money back. Same way. Yeah.

Cash money. And so I started doing that, and those people, that team, that crew, they love me. Right. Because when we go out, like, to the clubs in Miami, the, how about he had had a club with nights on the water. I wouldn't drink. So they were chicken. And they wanted me.

They were by, don't put me in your hands in the pain. And never, ever, ever. So you never, even when you blew up to be this major drug dealer, you never even went back to drinking. Wow. No, no. It hurt me. I learned so much from that pain.

Right. You know? Right. And so. And so they respected you. They respected me tremendously, man. And so, and I always pay on time. Right.

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Smell great doing it. Okay, so you start off with one key. You're instantly making $14,000 by bringing it to your father in Pennsylvania. How did you expand and find other customers? Oh, man, because remember the clubs in Miami? Yeah. See, and so you meet. You meet people.

Right. Right. And so little crew here, Cuban, I made this Cuban crew. Right. And they were in the business. So, you know, they can recognize. They, you know, we speak our lingo. Right.

And so you start making these connections. Connect, the connect. Right. The plug. See, I wanted to meet that plug. And at 18,000, was that considered, like, enough of a wholesale price to where you could then supply wholesale, like, give them a good price? Yes. Okay.

Oh, yes, yes. Okay. So you're hitting off these different crews. What can you turn a package around? You can't sell a key for 32 in Miami at that time. But where do you, what's like a normal distribution look like for you? Man, to me, it was Pennsylvania, New York, you know. It had to be out of town.

Right. Yeah, you know, out of where the prices are. Right. What are you selling? Boston. Boston. Yeah. Worcester, Providence, Rhode Island.

Right. You know, $33,000. And who were you selling to up there? Cruz, teens, Dominicans. Right. Dominicans. I have a lot of friends, Dominicans. Wow.

They're strong up there up to the road. For sure. Yeah. Dominicans. Some Puerto Ricans, my dad and them, not a lot. But. Yeah, the Puerto Ricans seem to be into heroin always and not so much cocaine. Yeah.

They made a lot of money in heroin. Interesting. And I could never figure out why. Well, you know, well, I'm going to tell you why, because cocaine is more, it's more commercial, and, you know, clubs and girls. Right. So you'll consume more. Right.

Do you understand, if you put heroin here and cocaine, what's more attractive? Cocaine, obviously. Obviously, man. You know what I mean? You know, so when you dealing with that, cocaine, boy, you got more chance to. arrive and to get more, you know. I also think Puerto Ricans, they made some connection with

Southeast Asia earlier, and they were earlier immigrants to the U.S. and heroin came first. and so therefore they were just at that time and place in the market. Yes. So you're, it's very kind of unusual. Was it kind of unusual to be a Puerto Rican cocaine

kingpin the way you were? Like, did you know any other Ricans like doing it? On your level? Not a whole bunch, but I don't consider me a big kingpin. I just consider myself, you know, made a lot of money, but a supervisor. Right. Okay.

So you're essentially logistics, moving the kilos? I got you. I got you. There you go. So how did this thing scale up? How many keys were you moving at a time? I got arrested. my charge was,

where they found three kilos in the trunk of the car, but 500 was coming. I was going to the Bahamas and supervising. Okay, yeah, go into that a little bit, please. Yeah, we used to go, so by that time I finished with the Dominican because I found me a stronger crew.

Okay. These were Cubans in Miami. I see. And they were real strong. Right. And the Cubans were the ones getting it straight off the... Yeah, and they had a land. already established from Columbia to Bahamas.

We had radios and everything. Wow. And from the Bahamas, speedboats to come bring in here in the Miami. Right. And what was your function? My function was go to the Bahamas and supervise. When they dump, make sure that the natives, the Bahamians, supervised them and bringing into the bush to the woods until the boats came.

I see. So the Bahamians were they the ones driving the speedboats? Into Florida with the Coke? No. No, they would come from here. Okay. The team, the Cubans, they were here. And then they would drive the boats.

My thing was, you see, you've got to understand, how in the world are you going to supervise? I'm not from the Bahamas. I don't have no gun on nothing. Right. The natives, they can easily chop me up and take the dough. Mm-hmm. Why didn't they?

Too much money. they respected that team. Right. And plus, you can't, when you're working like that, you got to be ruthless, man. You know what I mean? Yeah. And so what I'm saying is,

I was that guy that will go over there and supervise. Right. Until the speedboats come from Miami and get the, I see. So you were just basically guarding the work, making sure the Bahamians didn't steal it. Yeah, steal none. That's exactly.

Wow. And one of the behemians, the young man that I was telling you, he worked with us, even though he was a native. So we knew where his mama lived at. We knew everything about him. He was the point guy. So when I go, he didn't want to pick me up, and I stayed with him. And when the police arrested me, see, they knew already. See, they're vultures.

Of course. They don't care. they just want money. Right. And so they arrested me when I was with my man and they beat me down and then they won seven grand.

So call, back home, Miami. They got the seven grand. But then instead of they letting me go, they gave me to immigration. Now, they won the little cut. So that's what I got arrested for. You know,

possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to import five hundred. that was that charged. So you were charged in the Bahamas? No, here in the middle. Oh, so they turned you over to immigration. No, no, no.

Then let me go. Okay. This is, no, over there, I just paid the only. Hold on. I don't want to bury the lead yet. Yeah. So how did it work? They brought over, they would bring over,

what was a normal load coming from Columbia landing in the Bahamas? A normal size load. $500. And was this the era of Carlos Lader? Carlos Lader. I didn't know him. Yeah.

It was his era. Yeah. Okay. He ran, you know, he lived in the Bahamas. He had a... I know. He had his own airport, right. Yeah.

Norman's K or something. And so do you think that was cocaine coming straight from the Medellijian cartel? I believe that was everything in me. Wow. And so he would probably land it there and then the boats would drop it off on the mainland, the main island in the Bahamas. How were you paid? What was your like, yeah, how did you get paid from that? Man, every time.

time that supervisor low, I would get 60, 70, 80, 80, when depending. Right. Up to $100, $125,000. Wow. Man, for me, that was. So you weren't even distributing it anymore in the United States, or were you? No, I still got my other, then I kept a couple of bricks from myself.

Right. So you were adding extras. Yeah, but now we'll do it in half an ounces, ounces. Right. Just breaking it down, so you're making the most money. Wow. Wow. Did you, did the loads, did the speedboats ever get stopped or interdicted on their way to Florida? I know that I never.

Wow. Just wide open back then. Back then was going crazy. How much were the joints, how much were bricks going for into the Cubans when they landed in the Bahamas? In the Bahamas, they were given between 12,000, 13,000. We're talking about 500. Right. 400 key.

Right. And how would the money come back? Would you supervise the money as well? No, no. They had other people working for that. Okay. Yes. Okay. Yes.

So it was about 12 grand when it got to the Bahamas, 18 in Miami wholesale, and then just works its way up. It gets to Worcester, Massachusetts. It could be 35 grand. Wow. And that's wholesale. That's when you're buying. That's when you got the plug. Wow.

So did you save any money? Did you have plans to? to, because you're making a fortune. I'm making money, but I'm not saving nothing. Okay. So you hadn't, you got off drugs, but you hadn't thought about investments. No, sir.

I was just living reckless, you know. Right. Very reckless. How so? Well, you know, you out all night, every night, you know, you have a crew. You know, it's about 10, 15 folk just leaching. Right.

You know, and they patch you in the back, and it makes you feel good. That's a drug within itself. when people look up to you. Validation. Who was your crew? Oh, man. In Miami, I had six guys.

And unfortunately, when I went to trial, they all turned on me. All right, everyone. Welcome to Arco Rewards Orientation. I'm Hannah. Whoa. Is everything okay? That's a code green. Someone just earned at least five cents a gallon in rewards.

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Wow. Okay, so tell us about how long were you running like this before you caught your case? About three years. Okay. What year did you? you got arrested? 90. 1990. Okay. How did that go down?

They raided my home, and I was living in Hiaiaia, Drive. Had a home there in early in the morning, December, about two weeks before Christmas. I heard, boom, and I looked at the window, see some tall guys. There were federal agents, FBI, and they came in and just arrested me. I thought I was going to get out. It was a Friday. I said I'd be out Monday. Right.

And I go see the magistrate. And so I had it all planned out. But when I went, when the FBI, I didn't know for that. For three years, they had pictures of me. They had film. Wow. Yeah. They were following you.

Yeah. But what happened was one of the big guys that I worked with for, one of the Cubans. He, remember those Motorola phone? Of course. Well, his phone started acting up, and he took it to a shop, and that shop was FBI. That's how they got me. Wow. So they had you on wiretaps.

Yeah. They had everything. Everything. And so... By the way, were you working with any of, like, the famous cocaine cowboys, the Falcons, Jorge, who's, who ended up being your cellmates? No, no, no. No, no.

I met him in prison. Okay. Spent ten years. That's Jorge Valdez. George Valdes. I want him by the day. What a day. Wow.

That's remarkable. Okay. So did you have a bail opportunity or? No, they didn't give me no bail. That's what I'm saying. That means they want you. Yeah. And so they, well, they wanted me really to flip.

They wanted you to give up your, the Cubans. That's why they gave me all that time, to be honest with you. Okay. That's why, but I wouldn't do it. And you were charged with, did you say they found anything at the house? Any work? Yeah, they found three kilos. And they found it in a chunk of a car, which the car wasn't in my name.

It was one of my workers. Right. But he flipped. He flipped. And then you were charged with conspiracy to import 500 kilos, yes. Wow. So that's, you know, easily a 30-year shot. Could be a life sentence.

They gave me a life sentence. You were sentenced to them? Yeah, because I've been, I had priors. That's my third time. Right. And you'd also, I think, had the federal, when you got caught with the military. That's a federal bid. Yes.

They used my prior also against me. What was your prior? My prior rest. Right. Yeah. When you were with the military. Yeah, that one. And then before I was in, I was jail in Rockers Island, you know.

Okay. I mean, just. All the way back to when you were a young man. They could use all that? Oh, yes. Even back then. Yes. Wow.

How long were you fighting your case for in jail? About a year. Yeah. And I went to trial. I was the only one that went to trial. Out of all my co-defendants, about eight of us, I'm the only one that went to trial. Why did you choose to take it to trial with all bad evidence they had on you?

Well, at this time, I met the Lord. Okay. And in my heart, I felt like what there was offering me was almost 30 years, I said, please. And the reason they were doing that was because I wouldn't cooperate. So I wouldn't take my chance with a jury of 12. Right. And now, were they coming around to yourself?

You had DEA there, the U.S. attorney offering you. No, no, not them. My lawyer would come. Okay. And what were they offering to, what were they going to give you if you cooperated? About four or five years. Oh, man. Did any part of you say, oh, that sounds nice?

No, no. Never. Never. God is my witness. You'd rather do life. I'd rather die, man. And now that I met the Lord Jesus, you know, I just, I just, I couldn't. How I'm going to serve a God that on the expense of somebody else's paying?

Come on, man. They didn't get caught. I got caught. Right? I mean, to break families. Right. So that I can get an easy, a lighter sentence. And then I want to go around there and tell people.

about love and over. Right. I'm a coward. There is something very wicked about that. Jesus was told on. Jesus was handed over by, you know, informants, Judas. Yeah, there's, yeah. That was my conviction.

You know, my conviction was, you know, it was totally conviction now. Yeah. You know. When you say you met Jesus, like, what was that moment? Man, I'll tell you. Do you remember the moment? I would never, listen.

And so when I went in, man, you know, I had a reputation, you know, people. And so I had to live with, I wanted to don't lose that image because you got to survive in prison. You got to survive. And so, you know, I wouldn't go to church and none like that. I just, I was just angry and want to run the phones in the microwave. Yeah. And so there was a young black man. Man, every time if I go to the microwave oven

or if I walked over here to the phone, if I look up, we'll lock eyes. He'll look at me, and then he'll smile. And I said, this guy's trying to make a hit on me. What would he smile? I don't even know this dude. And he did it. So I got paranoid.

So a friend of Cuban, a friend of my, Lazaro came, he gave me a piece of leg like this. And every day I went to the yard, I made me a shank. Yeah. And I dream in picture that I was going to hit this guy, stab him up. This guy, he was a black dude. So one day my other friend came to me and said, yo, man, what's up with you?

Why are you so angry, man, told me. And I pointed to that black dude. I said, man, I'm going to hit this guy. I'm going to get the... He said, who him? I said, man, he's funny, man. Look at the way he's looking. He'd be smiling at me all the time in prison.

He said, nah, he ain't like that, man. I said, what do you mean? He said, I go to visits, and he'd be in visit. I know him. He comes from a good family. He has a beautiful fiancé. And it shook me. I said, it can't be, what would make a man happy in prison?

I taught him. He said, and this first time I hear this phrase, he said, man, he's a Christian, and I thought it was a gang. He said, nah, he said he's religious. He ain't going to have a religious, dude, man. And so I thought to myself, but he's too happy. And I said, well, I know why probably. He's going to go home soon.

Right. And my man told me, no, he'd been sentenced to 25 years already. And that really shook me. Because I studied this guy. He was consistent. I thought really he was selling dope. because I've seen a lot of people go in and out of itself. Right.

You feel me? Right. I'm thinking he's the huzzler or something freaky about to do. So you were really plotting to hit this dude. Oh, go on everything I love. Wow. Yeah. I even seen it in my bed how I was going to do it.

I had to lay down and everything. Wow. So you were going to hit him so we can get away with it hopefully. Wow. And come to find out, he was a man that slowly when he told me he had sent him. he had sentenced 25 years, I allowed him to come in my space, and he would start telling me about the Bible, about a man named Jesus.

And at first, man, I'm going to tell you, man, I thought, nah, man, this dude, there's an angle here. He's selling something. Yeah, he's an angle, right? And so I really tried him. I mistreated him a lot of times. And, you know, he would leave and come back a couple hours and bring some soup.

And the more kindy, well, the more angry I got, Because I, anybody who's been real nice to me, wanted something. Mm-hmm. You understand? And so I thought this guy had an angle. He would come and he would tell me stories about the Bible. And then his roommate left and then they moved me in his cell. And he would, I didn't know how to read.

See, I didn't know how to read. And so. You were illiterate this whole time. All the time. 28 years old. Yeah. No, in prison, I got my GED. Okay.

Wow. In prison, I got my master's in theology. In prison. Wow. So this guy would read to me at night when they closed the lights, at 11 o'clock, there's a little light would come through a bean. He would be standing there. He would read about Daniel and the line there.

And I don't know, slowly, man. I just wanted hope, man. I was scared. I knew that these folk was trying to bury me in prison. You know, so, but that ceased to soothe me, man, and red and peace. And one day, he invited me. I never want to go to Bible study to the church,

but one day I ended up going. And when I went there, I sat in the back. And they had a man from the outside speaking. I got paranoid because of what he was saying. I was living. I said, do they got a thing in my cell? So I ran out of the chapel. I ran.

know that? Wow. Yeah. And when I went to my cell, I put some toilet tissue on my window, make the officer think I'm using the commo, and I started crying. I haven't cried a long time. I cried so hard. It was a different kind of cry. I felt like a little tickling inside.

Like I thought I was, and then I went to sleep. When I woke up, I woke up with that dude in my mind. His name is Gene, the black dude. And so I went out. It was time to eat dinner. He was in a child line. I went to him. I said, man, I'm looking for you.

I told him what happened. He's the first man ever cried. Tears came down. No man ever showed me no affection. Cryed. He said, you want to feel this piece, man? You want to have this piece for real? I said, yes, sir.

And right there, we prayed. and I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior right there. Wow. That was... Because, you know, a lot of people read the Bible when they're facing life in prison and when they're sitting in jail, you know, sitting in MCC.

But you really felt it. It's not an act. This is... Well, I just finished 25 years. I've been out of prison. I'm going to tell how I got out of prison. Okay, yeah. So, wow.

That's powerful. So, yes. explain your sentence. So you refuse. They keep trying to get you to flip. You refuse. So you took it to trial. I took it to trial.

They found me guilty quick. Two days. Yeah. Yeah. They had a lot of evidence. Yeah. Yeah. I was cooked.

You were cooked. I was cooked. Okay. And from so from life sentence first, then they brought it down to 25 years. Okay. How long did it take? So you get sentenced to life without parole? Yeah, without parole.

Okay. And do you think at that moment, you're like, okay, this is, I'm going to die in prison? Were you prepared for that? Or did you have hope that you were going to... No, I tell people I was confused and angry. When I got on the bus, I was shackled because I thought that he knew that I was sincere. Right. So why is he doing this?

Why is he doing it? So I was confused. And then a little... And my heart says, I got you. Don't receive this sentence in your spirit. And I was confused. Don't receive the sentence in my spirit. They just said.

He said, don't receive it in your spirit. I have the last word. And that gave me courage. You know, do you know there's a lot of people right now running eight, nine miles? And they have cancer, but they don't know they have cancer. But once they go to the doctor and get diagnosed, what happens? They receive that in their spirit. Right.

That news. And they stop running. They feel sick. They receive it. They embrace that. Right. They take ownership of the cancer. Right.

And now, that's right. See, he taught me a lesson that day, man. He taught me a tremendous lesson. God did. He said, bro, don't receive that in your spirit, man. I know intellect. I know what you heard.

But don't receive it in your inner, man. In your inner, in your spirit, man. Don't do that. Rejected. You know? So when I went back to jail, my home boy, they were waiting for my crew. They loved me.

They thought I went crazy because they were, you know, they were sad. I'm sorry, man. I heard about the lights. And I was like, huh? Fuck all that. Yeah, I was looking about that. What you're talking about?

I said, uh-huh. I said, uh-huh. That's what they said. Yeah. Papa got the last one. So they thought I were going cuckoo. Wow. But to be honest, that was what kept me

all those years in prison. If that would have never happened, I would have become a statistic. I would have become a, a freaking prison, man. You don't want to take man's hope, man, right? A young man, 28, never going to get out of prison? How would you feel?

Yeah. I would, yeah, I'd fold. I mean, look, this is one of these walk-by-faith, not-by-sight situations. What you're saying is what white girls on Venice Beach do in the morning before and after yoga, they manifest. It's the same thing. It all comes back to the Bible.

Do not accept, deny your, deny the objective reality and listen to the energy. Listen to what's inside. That's what. And it's all comes from the Bible. It comes from Jesus. That's right. And they spin it in different ways now. And then less religious ways, which is okay.

It's however people want to say it. But it comes back to the Bible and what you're saying, which is. My personal experience. I'm a different kind of preacher in which I don't go try to make people Christians. I don't do. That's not my job. I'm just a messenger. That's the problem that we have with church folk.

You know, they have an experience. And then they try to batch people and they want to preach. You know, bro, I don't have to be preaching, bro. When I go to Walmart, man, you know what I'm saying? I just meet people where they have. What's up, man? You hi. Good.

You Gucci? Hug for it. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Just me, people, I'm not trying to make your Christian. I don't have no power to do that, bro. All I can do is share with you this experience what we're doing here at the Connect. I'm just sharing an experience, bro.

You do what you want to with it, right? Yeah. I'm telling you my experience, right? My experience is that I was on my way to hell, man. I was already living in hell, but I'm going to literally place in hell in prison. man, you know, and God Almighty, in the form of Jesus, Jesus came and touched me. He reached out to me and I surrendered to him, man. And then, in prison, right there in that place, a place that's meant to lose your freedom.

You feel me? I thank God for the federal penitentiary. I thank God that's the belly of the beast. That's where Jonah ended up in. And God prepared a big fish for me because how many times? I didn't tell you about I got shot in my leg, blow my leg up here. Oh, my God, when was that?

This is in the Bronx. This is in the Bronx helping, defending my cousin Millie, and the man put the gun in my face like that. And I don't know, nothing about no religious. I wasn't raised in a home with religious. Nothing. I never seen the Bible in my life,

so don't talk to me about no Jesus. As a matter of fact, I believe I would got money. And so this guy's trying to hurt my cousin, and I punched him in the head he'd come out with a gun it was winter he took the gun put it in my face

and this is the first time I felt something says don't argue with him don't open your mouth and then he started cursing he got bold when he saw me the moral client

I key I know everybody afraid of you he kept telling me I don't get no about you muu I key and I wanted to say something but this thing kept me

if I would have said something would have shot me and my phrase and make a name for himself he shot me in the land They had me on traction. Took me to a Lincoln hospital. Listen what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is all these times that I miss death, it's a purpose behind it. Nothing can stop me from coming here to the connect. And I want to thank my son, Richard. He reached out to you. He's in the Air Force. He's in California.

Hopefully not selling drugs. drugs like you did in the military. Just kidding. He's not feel like that. Yeah. He's a good boy. Okay. So where did you ever falter as you, before you got resentenced, did you ever feel

yourself slipping back into that hopelessness and depression that people get when they think they're never going to get out? Did you ever have to reorient yourself back to the Lord? Let me say this. We get depressed. So don't let people fool you. Mm-hmm. Just because you got the Lord, man, you're in prison,

you see people leaving out every day. They call their names. Back up, you're... Right. Come on, man. It's going to affect you, brother. Yeah. But that's good.

It's good that we experienced those moments of vulnerability. I felt like dying as a Christian. Yeah. I felt in there. I felt weed. But when I felt weak, that's when I became strong because something made me want to cry out more to him. Right.

You understand what I'm saying? That's as good. So you just kept turning back to the Lord. Yes. And that's the test you have to go through. It shouldn't be a perfect. No, it's not a... Stairway to heaven.

Come on. That doesn't exist. Yeah, we don't know why we're playing them games, man. We need to be real with ourselves, man. Even King David, brother. King David, he had to get real one day. You know, he messed up. And he had to understand.

And God says, I understand, Lord. He said, you desire's truth in the inward part. You know one of the biggest problems we have as men, we're not honest with ourselves, man. We suppress pain and we suppress disappointments, you know? We suppress it down there. But if we don't deal with that, sooner or later, it's going to come out.

It's going to bite you in the rear end. We've got to get to a place to be honest, you know. So just the fact that because you're Christian, when it rains, just when it rain, let me ask you a question, when they rain, just the people that are not religious get wet or do everybody get wet? Everybody get wet. All right then.

Everybody get wet, man. You know, everybody go moments up and down. The only difference is he walks with me. And I can turn it to him. So where did they shoot you to first? What's the first prison you went to? Oh, man. They gave me desuit therapy.

What does that mean? When you don't cooperate with them, they're moving from prison and prison, prison. and it's hard for your family to get in touch with to the right letter. They send them back. See, my judge called me a rebel. He's right. Yeah, he called me a rebel because I wouldn't go with the system.

Wow. And the system is vengeful like that. People think it's just laws cut and dry. No, they don't like you. When you refuse to play fetch, when you refuse to get on your knees. There's something so sick about, I've talked about this before,

but there's something so sick about them saying, yes, fall to your knees and save me. There's a real, like, the system has a real God complex like that. It's so evil. Yeah, it's evil. So evil. So evil, man. So they're bouncing you from prison to prison, putting you on the gray goose or on the,

the con air. Yeah, exactly. And then finally, they gave me, they tell me the Jessup, Georgia. Jessup, Georgia. Yeah. Where you end up meeting. Jorge Valdez. Jorge Valdez.

Former past guest on the show. and Miami Cubano Kingpin Jorge Valdez He's the real kingpin Yeah he was a boss He was like the boss

You know And he's very dear to me I'm great guy One of the best people I've ever met I love him more than you can understand He's He's Was he your first cellmate

When you got there Listen man I was I was with him man Yeah man Listen this man He lived like a king in prison Man

Tell us, tell us. Like a king. Because he'll never, he'll never brag about it. So you have to brag for it. Like a king, he lived. Man, listen. So he had money in there. Yes.

He didn't, he didn't eat like with the child haul. Nah, man. The people worked in the kitchen, bought him state. He cooked. We cooked in a cell on the five gallon paint bucket. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm talking about. Oh, so he lived like Pauley and Goodfellas.

Yeah, man, I'm telling you. Hey, that guard, he's really fucking a pain in my ass as he brings out champagne. man he lived like seafood and i like a kid because i was he really lived like yeah man yeah he downplays it but he was a boss yeah he and i don't think he had because he basically turned himself in he never got caught for any you know life ending amounts of works i think he had an out date yes and you as a lifer um did people treat you differently because you had life but you're not like a typical lifer in that you're you've got a different attitude and you've got Jesus now like how did that that that that really played a great impact the fact that I surrender to

Jesus people looked at me with a different light okay I didn't feel like I they felt intimidated right you know they saw me probably like a ah a little you lamb right he went from a wild wolf right you lamb did you lose respect from gangsters you used to know no you gain respect This is what I tell people, but I go to prisons now. If you play both sides of the fence, that's when you're going to get your head bust up in prison. Because even the worst criminal, whether you know or not, they have a respect for God.

Right. I promise you. No, I believe you. I'm telling you, man, I've seen it, bro. I'm telling you. The hardened criminal, the most crazy murder free, he has a respectful God. And when they see you with a Bible and playing them games,

they're going to bust you in their head. Right. But when you keep it 100, a buck, the sincerity, not that you're perfect, but did they see the sincerity? May they respect you, man. They respect the hell out of that. They respect the world out of me. Yeah.

I never had no problem. So are you in there? Are you appealing your case? Are you working on your case? You're fighting your case? What's going on? Wow. Yeah, I did put my opinion, but what happened was after the Lord Jesus challenged me,

because I used to tell him, when I get out, Lord, I know you, I'm going to be. gonna do this for you. And I went off about, I don't know, many months. And one day he confronted me, said, you ain't going to do nothing. Who confronted you? God, the Lord. You ain't going to do nothing. And he shook nothing.

I said, what do you mean, look? And he said, you're going to serve me here. And I said, ain't nobody going to listen to an inmate. That's what I told him. Look, I got. And that two, three days later, I was, see, the inmates stay up all night. They stay up all night. They're convinced that if they can sleep all day, that time will go fast.

Right. I was happy they can stay all night. You know why? And they sleep in the morning all day? Because I can have the TV to myself. That's right. And I will watch the 700 Club. And one day, I felt in my heart, say, get your Bible.

So I turned to my bunk, got my Bible, and my cell cracked. You know, that open. I went downstairs to the party. And I sat down a round table in my part, and I started reading. And about 10 minutes later, and the corner of my I see this dude coming. And when you get close to me,

he said, man, what's up, man? He said, what are you reading? I'm thinking he being sarcastic. So I get, I say, what do you think I'm reading? Don't you see it, the Bible? He said, no, man, what you're reading? The content, and I felt bad. So I really feel bad, man.

And so he sat down and I started just reading a little bit. Just reading. No breathing. I don't know. Reading. And a little tears coming down in his eyes. Just reading. Wow.

God was showing me a lesson. And he gave his life to the Lord. He surrendered at that time. And the Lord told me. He said, just do what I tell you. You know? And so I said, okay, Lord. So I started my first prayer.

service like quarter to 11 before it turned the lights up, I was standing and said, prayer of time, prayer of time. I would holler. And for about two months, nobody came. Only that one dude. And guess what? Then they started to come. Not long after that, about a year and a half,

three Jewish lawyers out of Brickle Avenue, Miami. Are there any other kind? Sorry. Jane Moskowitz, Jeannie Baker, Amanda Burr and Women, three. They multi-million rich, filthy race. Every year, they do a pro bono. They look to help people.

And out of thousands of cases, they pick mine. How? How did, how, do you ever figure out why? They just picked it. I don't know how they, I don't know what formula they have. I'm so glad that formula. And for seven years, they fought at the 11th, took a quarter of appeals for me.

These, when I used to call it, they treat me like I was paying no money. Yes, sir. Mr. Torre? Wow. I promise, man. Wow. That's beautiful. And for seven years, they fought for me.

And they never explained to you why out of all those cases they could have picked to work. They never. Never. And they treated me with dignity and with love, we respect, boy. And what? They're fighting to get you resentenced? Resentenced. Okay.

What was the basis of that? Because. I fired when I got, when I went to get, you know, I got found guilty. And then you go to a couple of months, then you go get sent. They do a pre-sentencing. Pre-sentencing. Pre-sentencing investigation. Well, that lawyer, the one I had, all they wanted me was to flip, man.

They all worked together, man. Of course. So I filed. Yeah. And I told the judge I were going to represent myself, but I was in a quick, represent my mother, but he let me. Right. Okay.

At sentencing. I see. So that was the incorrect. They argued that that. So they argued that, they argued that, hey, man, how in the world? Man, this guy's seventh grade education, man, with the world. Right. Come on, man.

You couldn't read. And you're there going up against the United States. The United States of America, Jimmy Torres. You know, and the fact, you know, and I don't say this, but, you know, I'd be very hesitant about people, man, because I got molested when I was about six years old. So when did that? Where was that? It's in the Bronx,

and New York, man. Well, I'm so sorry you hear that by who? Yeah, it was a friend of the family. Oh, yeah. Awful. So, but every time people were good to me, you know what I'm saying? You got scared. Yeah, I'm saying it was anger.

I got parents, you know, and got, you know. And so these lawyers, man, I thought it was, I don't know. One time it was too good to be true, man. Yeah. But they fought for me. They fought for me. Did they use your trauma from childhood as part of that leniency? I don't know what.

See, they got to make argument. They're right, you know. Yeah. So I don't, but I did. I know they talked about that. And anyway, I get a letter in 1999. You've been in prison now about eight, nine years? About their nine years.

10 years. And, yeah, because I went in 2000, nine years. Yeah. And it says, I'll open it. Your case been vacated.

Your sentence has been vacated and remand it back to the district court. So they vacate my sentence, but they remand them and I got to go back to Miami. Right. Now what is vacated?

What does that mean in legal speak? I mean, they take the sentence and they, I don't got no sense. Not a guy to give me news. Right. You're convicted, but your sentence is wiped out.

You need to be resentenced. Yeah. Vacated and remanded. I'm going back to the district court. Right. So the shack of me took me to Miami. Guess who was my judge over there? James Lawrence King.

Remember his name. James Lawrence King. He was the same judge that 10 years earlier told me I'm never going to get out of prison. Wow. But isn't it supposed to, But isn't that legally, don't they have to send you back to the same judge? No, that's a, but this is appeal. He's, he was an appeal judge now.

He's an appellate judge. Oh, fuck. You can't even script that, bro. That's crazy. When I seen him, I thought I wasn't cooked. Listen what I'm trying to tell you. You're like, fuck, Lord. Listen, man, I thought I was cooked, brother.

I thought I was cooked. He made it all that way and now you got to get. All the way, look at who there. That's crazy. Did he recognize you? Did he remember you? Oh, no. I don't think so.

Chief, he was a Chief Justice. Right in Miami. Chief Justice. How in the world he made it to do the appeal? That's what I'm saying. But boy, we had his little bitty glasses. When he's looking at my jacket, he asked the marshals. And the marshes said, you're about the wrong guy here.

And the marchion said, no, this is Jamie Raphael Torres. Jaime Raphael Torres. And the prison number. 42, 381 dashed 004. He kept looking. No, sir, that's him. See, my jacket, I've been in and out of prison, a lot of violence. And now he saw where I got my GED, got my master's.

Wow. He saw the progress with his fate. I had letters of commanding. So you didn't believe it was. No, he didn't believe it. I'm serious. And he told me to stand up. He said, you made tremendous drive young man.

I was shaking, man. And he said, I'm going to release you. Time service. July the 7th of 2000, he released me. The same judge that sentenced me. That's the kind of God that I serve, Jesus. I'm speechless. I'm speechless.

I mean, that must have been more than even your lawyers could have hoped for, right? Listen, man, they didn't even know. Like, I'd be happy with, if he said, you know what, you're, you only have 25 now, I'd be jumping for joy. Did you have any idea? No, I don't have no idea. No idea. I knew deep down that I was going to, that God eventually were going to take me out of prison. That I knew, but the way it happened, if, it just, you can't even script that.

I don't even know how you describe how that feels. Because you believe you're going to get out someday. day, but part of you is still, not all of you can believe that. Part of you is still got to be like, oh, this is too good to be true. Like, how do you just describe that? It was so real, man. Listen, man, I don't know, man. I was so much, my emotions when there was, you know, I cry, laugh.

You know what I mean? Yeah. It just, it reminds me like it just happened yesterday. I've been out 25 years. Yeah. You feel me? I know is that I have made my commitment. I know, sir, and again, I'm not trying to make people Christians.

I'm just sharing my experience for me, for Jamie Torres. I know there was the Lord Jesus that came through for me. I know that in the supernatural, there's a supernatural element that we, unfortunately, a lot of people don't believe, man, but I know that what happened to me came straight from him. He orchestrated all of that. And to be honest, if I would have got out earlier, I wouldn't be sitting here in this podcast.

No, sir, I thought I was ready. You might be in the dirt. I'll be in the dirt. I know I'm going to go back to the game, bro. That's who I knew. So I'm saying. So there is a process. Yeah.

Johnny, boy. There is a process, you know. And people, they avoid the process or try to cheat the process. But if you cheat your process, you're cheating yourself, man. Because in the process, that's a development. There's a preparation. And it's going to cause you tears. It's going to be very uncomfortable.

But we have to trust the process. That's very important to me. Well, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And when you're ready, the Lord, you have to be ready to receive the Lord too. You got to remember that. Receive wealth, whatever it is, your happiness, your spouse, you have to be ready. And you put in work, getting sober. And then when you caught your case, you know, transforming yourself to becoming this new man of God. Yes. And I don't know what else you think. I mean, how could you look at this and not say there wasn't divine intervention?

It was divine intervention, man. To me, you know, let's keep it on it. Man, the system is meant. to crush you, man. You can't. This system, man, you know. And so, and just in the, escaping the death aspects, all the things that I, that I escape before even

going to prison. Oh my God. You should have been dead. You should have died in 1978. Yeah, I should have been dead a long time ago, man. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I was thinking about, I would think about you this morning,

about the connect, you know, about purpose, you know, about purpose. man, you know. Listen, the ear cannot talk. It's created with a specific purpose to hear, you know, right? And so I believe with all my heart that problems is the catalyst for creation. A thousand percent. When you face a problem, it is the catalyst for you to create.

And that's what you have. at today, man. You're impacting lives, man. You're impacting lives. You're getting a message out there. And for whatever reason, that's your business, your intention. That's between you and pop-ups stairs, but you're impacting lives. You know, you're not here by chance or, but there's a reason, purpose. And there's people who need you. You know, I'll tell my man the other day, you go to your car, try to turn the car on, the battery there. What do you need? A battery.

You long for a battery. So you go to Walmart. Battery mine isn't business. They don't know you're going to, but here you go, okay? So you are needed. There's somebody need you today somewhere at any time, right? And you are a reward to somebody. The children of Israel, they needed somebody to deliver them.

Moses. Moses, Brian, Moses, even from his mother's room, the devil put a hit on him to kill him, kill all the male boys. Right. Right. See? And so you've been through a lot, man, you know? So don't take this for granted, man. You don't know who you impact.

You're walking in your God-given purpose. Thank you. You hear that, guys? I won't quit for another couple of months. Just kidding. No, I really appreciate it. My show is humbly only as I'm only as impactful as the stories that I'm able to tell from individuals like you.

It's just it's what keeps me doing this. I just, it's changed my life because of the people that I've gotten to speak to. So, man, tell us, first of all, before we plug your book and what you do now, after you got, after you got sprung after the after the judge cut you loose you never saw Horace after that

until he got out I assume no he got out before me okay so he was already out he been out okay did they even shoot you back to Jessup or did you walk free that day from the Miami district court from the Miami

wow so they took you back they uncuffed you they gave you street clothes and then they just said go and when I went in there was no Walmart and when I went out When I got, first thing I was just sharing this other day, when I first got out in front of the MCC building, downtown Miami. My church member, the inmates that I was pasturing and, you know, having,

there were there with the T-shirts in the window going like this. Wow. Yeah, saying by to me. They were so happy for you. Yeah, they were happy. And I fell to my ground, to the ground, and prayed for them. I never forget that long as I lived. Wow.

Yeah, my wife was there, the mother of my children. And then we went to Walmart. And when we went, the bell was, did, did, did, did. And I threw my hands. And I thought I was a pirate man. Yeah, for me. For sure. I never forget that.

Yeah, but then we took a train and went back to Jessup. Because that's where my ex-wife, the mother, my kids were living. Oh, right. Moved. To be close to you. Wow. What a blessing that is. Yeah.

And so we went to Jessup. And then they gave me 10 years. supervised release. That's a different kind of parole. Sure. What is the difference between parole and supervised release? They can come to your job at any time. Yeah. And you have to urinate. They're going to go to your house,

two, three, four o'clock in the morning. They're different. It's all for, you know, drug dealers, you know. Right, right. They intensify. Right. So they gave me this man, Hank Bowen, man, he was a racist. He was mad. That Miami

transferred me to Georgia. He was in Georgia. He said, I don't like likes like. you. And he made me look. So one of the stipulations, you've got to get a job in two months. He had me going looking for jobs on Sundays. Man, I pray, I say, God, man, please get this man. Man, I mean, man, I'm telling him he was putting that pressure on me, man. See, get out of prison.

I don't have no ID. No, I don't have no security. I don't know. You bounce around. You ain't got no paperwork. You got to get a job. And you've never worked a slave. Remember Malcolm X before he was Malcolm X?

Before he was Malcolm X, he was Malcolm Little. They called it a slave. Those old school brothers called a job a slave. Man, I got the cracker got me. I'd be having a slave. You know, man. And so, but I found me a job. Where?

Felton Burke Automotive. Okay. Chevrolet. At a little town like this, Alma, Georgia, he had a Sherylade store. Wow. And he gave me a job. Guess what? Doing what?

Ask me. Doing what? cleaning doodle no shit you had already done that when you got sober like that's the interesting part about your story is like you had humbled yourself once before right

now sure you didn't have all that drug money to remember when you got sober now you're cleaning up the toilets and I mean I did the show room did the windows and that man beautiful man I love him like a father to me man yeah this is a redneck back of the woods

Yeah. And a Puerto Rican, and man, I'm telling you, and he just passed away. God bless him and his family. But after he sold out his business, I worked from 2003. Wow. And then I opened up my own business, my own huge car lot, in Georgia and Jessup. Wow. And I had a painting coming, doing real good until 2008 when the economy went down.

Right. And I sat there and saw the banks take my inventory, took everything from me, and then I went to a terrible divorce. Oh, no. And then when, I mean, I've been through. Did you ever consider getting back in the game, like at your lowest 2008? I felt like dying. That's what I wanted to do, man.

I wanted to die. As a Christian, as a preacher, I wanted to die. Right. But before that, the one who really took me under his wing, with George Vodda. Wow, he's back. God, what an angel like that guy is. He looked for me, and he found me,

and he took me with him to go do youth rallies at different conventions, Minnesota, Savannah, everywhere. I used to be with him, and we slung some hope to people. That's what got me started here. And you must have loved it, right?

I loved it. I'm doing it not to, that's been 25. Wow. Yeah. And so that, like, saved you again. That saved me again. That saved me again. That saved me again.

See, it's like you kept doing the right thing. Even though it was not even, even after you escaped a life sentence, you went through just hardship and pain. But you stayed righteous. And so you always came back. God, I love that. Yeah, the Lord kept me, man. I wanted to leave. But like I said, he's a keeper of you.

So you put your trust in him. He'll look out for you. And he's done that more than that to me. He's my rock and my everything. but that's... Wow, and so you've been doing that since 2009, 2010? Well, since I come out, 2000, because I got involved in the church when I got out. My wife, you know, we had a little church, little Hispanic church.

Yeah. So, you know, I've been in the ministry all since I got out, since I got on 2000. Well, you're very charismatic. So, yeah, tell us now. This is a great opportunity to promote the book, promote the foundation, which I'm making a donation to immediately. Yeah, tell us about it and tell us where the people can get your book and make a donation and maybe even see you live. Tell us. Yeah, you can go to, yeah, let me.

I got it right here. Yeah, sure. You can't kill the miracle. I didn't know him, but he knew me by Jaime Torres. He didn't know. Look at that. Look at that. You look like Luis Guzman, the actor.

Remember that guy? You know Louis Guzman? Yeah, exactly. There you go. You guys all look alike. I'm kidding, of course. that's uh wow i can't wait to read this so where first of all where can people get the book you go to james ministry dot com to my web page and they can you can order the book through

right can you get on amazon too just in case people yeah you can get a amazon okay awesome yes and um and just get in contact with me when you go through there and yeah and reach out my my number is there and if you need me to oh you give your phone number out yeah Wow, okay. Yeah. And then tell us about the, you go back to prisons. You're all, you got, you and George are back in prisons all the time speaking. Yes, that's what I do.

We go to about 20-some prisons. As a matter of fact, when I get back now, I'm going to a prison in Albemar. I had a lady call me this morning. Her son is in Butner. And so that's what I do, man. Do we go back to sling some hope from slinging dope to slinging hope? Yeah. You know, we go prison, juvenile detain.

Tentions, drug rehabs. And then we do a lot of outreach, support outreach in the streets. We go out, man, in the hood, man. There's a drug out there's killing a lot of folk fit and all. Yeah. You know, and so, man, people need, they need to see the real thing. And people need to be loved, man, not judge, not condemn. You know.

You're seeing an impact. Yes, man. I mean, God is really doing some great things in the lives of many people, man. That's a hunger. you know it's a lot of things happening in the mist you know that oh my god we live at a time it's a crux in history we live in uh we're we're turning we're making a turn in history and uh i think it's for the better but it's going to be rocky while we get there um and so yeah a lot of people are feel like they need some meaning which is why religion is coming back why god is coming back

he's coming back man but boy i'm happy you say that he's coming back he totally is And I meant, I didn't mean in the religious way. I meant in the way that people are, people believe in God is coming back to people. I am one of those examples. You know, I was raised a Catholic and I was, I forgot about God for a good 20 years. And, you know, God is back in my life and I've never, I've never been happier, to be honest with you. And things have never worked out as well. I love it.

Since, until I took God back. You know, you said something so powerful a little while ago. man, you don't even realize what you say. Because you said that God is coming back, not religion. See, I hate religion. I'm not a religious guy. I despise religion, brother. It's about relationship.

And I love what you just said, man. You know what I mean? That's why yours guys are so impactful, though, because people feel like that. They don't want organized religion that's there to just take money. They want that relationship. Yes, sir. They want that relationship, brother.

and I'm glad that you, I'm excited for you, Johnny Boy. We had a great talk. Go ahead, go ahead. But you can write to Jamie Torres Ministries also, P-O-Box 2762, Morganton, North Carolina, 28, 680. Okay, let me read that one more time.

Yeah. Because we got a lot of people locked up to listen to this show that are probably not supposed to have smartphones. But anyways, once again, that's his number. Do you mind if I read it? Yes.

Jaime, Jamie's number is 912, 294-4187. His email is Jaime Torres Ministries at gmail.com. His email is J-T-Love-777 at Ymail.com. Yes. Never heard of that. That's old school. And then, of course, you can once again write his PO box. If you're in the Bing, write to Jamie, J-A-I-M-E-T-O-R-E-S.

Ministries, P-O-box number 2762, Morganton, that's M-O-R-G-A-N-T-O-N, North Carolina, zip code 28680. And all those links are going to be in the description for the book, for all your website, your Facebook. Look, guys, reach out to him, seriously. Or if you have people in prison, have them reach out, have them right. You respond. We respond. Yeah.

That you can take to the bank. Yeah, you can take that to the bank. And then your foundation is called what? Jamie Torres Ministries. Okay. So if you're a baller like me, go ahead and make a donation. Okay. That's what, that's, you know, that's the way that you could help when, when you're busy

and you don't have a lot of time to, you know, go out and do the legwork. Throw some bands at you, baby. That always helps, you know. And that's what I'm, that's what I'm going to do. So we're going to switch over to the Patreon now. We're going to have a bonus chat. I had so much fun doing this interview. I had so much fun.

Did you have fun? I loved it, man. Because it's raw. You know, it's raw. We want the real deal, man. All that, you know what I mean? Tip it, touring around, man. Just keep it a hundred, man.

That's what people are looking for the real. Be real. Be real with yourself. Well, there's one thing for sure. You're a gangster. I mean, that was some gangster shit. And it was just, there's not too many people out there like you. So thank you for everything that you do.

And thank you for coming all this way to Texas to be with us today. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you, Johnny Boy. All right, you guys. We'll see you over at the Patreon. Patreon.com slash The EConnect Show, the one and only, Jaime Torres. Go out and get his book. And we'll see you guys later.

Take care. Bye-bye.