WEBVTT - Episode 5: The Mastermind 0:00:15.411 --> 0:00:23.091 Pushkin previously on the Chinatown stand. 0:00:24.731 --> 0:00:27.691 First of all, you didn't think of nothing back then. 0:00:28.211 --> 0:00:31.290 You're just thinking, oh, seize it to make money. 0:00:31.811 --> 0:00:32.451 That was it. 0:00:33.731 --> 0:00:36.730 There were a lot of dangerous gangsters out there in 0:00:36.771 --> 0:00:39.291 the Asian on the world who made a name for themselves, 0:00:39.771 --> 0:00:43.131 and Onion Head wasn't one of them. 0:00:43.331 --> 0:00:46.131 This is therefore to command you, the said members of 0:00:46.171 --> 0:00:49.330 the Royal Hong Kong Police, to deliver the body of 0:00:49.371 --> 0:00:53.491 the said Johnny Ang known as Sweet Hung Eng Chung 0:00:53.611 --> 0:00:57.331 Tau and Onion Head, into the custody of the Commissioners 0:00:57.331 --> 0:01:00.491 of the Correctional Services and be there safely kept. 0:01:04.731 --> 0:01:08.291 After spending over two years fighting extradition from Hong Kong, 0:01:08.771 --> 0:01:10.970 Johnny Angle flown back to New York City in the 0:01:11.011 --> 0:01:16.731 company of US marshalls. It was November one, nineteen ninety one. 0:01:17.011 --> 0:01:20.170 They took him to the MCC that's the Imposing Jail, 0:01:20.291 --> 0:01:23.011 not too far from Chinatown. He would be held there 0:01:23.171 --> 0:01:26.371 while he awaited his trial. It had taken a lot 0:01:26.411 --> 0:01:28.691 of time and money to get Johnny Ng back to 0:01:28.691 --> 0:01:32.170 the States. It looked like a victory in the country's 0:01:32.211 --> 0:01:34.691 war on drugs, an effort that had been in the 0:01:34.731 --> 0:01:38.771 works for years. The week Johnny was flown back to 0:01:38.811 --> 0:01:43.451 the US, Congress held yet another hearing on Asian organized 0:01:43.491 --> 0:01:45.971 crime and noted Johnny's return. 0:01:47.091 --> 0:01:51.011 The hip Sing controls the Flying Dragons gang, located on 0:01:51.091 --> 0:01:56.371 Pell and Doyle Streets. Johnny Aang aka Onion Head was 0:01:56.371 --> 0:01:59.011 the main leader until two years ago when he fled 0:01:59.051 --> 0:02:01.851 to Hong Kong. As a result of federal narcotics charges, 0:02:02.531 --> 0:02:05.531 onion Head was extradited to the US. 0:02:06.451 --> 0:02:08.331 But the reason this hearing stood out to me is 0:02:08.370 --> 0:02:11.971 because of two wisinesses who testified at it. They both 0:02:12.011 --> 0:02:16.291 owned or ran small businesses in Manhattan's Chinatown. They're among 0:02:16.331 --> 0:02:18.211 the few figures I've been able to find from this 0:02:18.291 --> 0:02:21.651 time who dared to make any public statements against the gangs, 0:02:22.531 --> 0:02:25.411 and reading over their testimony, it doesn't seem like the 0:02:25.491 --> 0:02:28.691 arrests of people like Onionhead made them feel much safer. 0:02:30.131 --> 0:02:31.851 So this is from witness number one. 0:02:32.971 --> 0:02:35.771 I went over the transcripts of my co reporter Shi Yuang. 0:02:36.491 --> 0:02:39.931 This witness testified not only using a false name, but 0:02:39.931 --> 0:02:43.131 from behind a screen because he was so worried about retaliation. 0:02:44.291 --> 0:02:47.331 I am a Chinese businessman who has owned two businesses 0:02:47.371 --> 0:02:50.171 in New York city in a Chinatown area, I have 0:02:50.291 --> 0:02:53.571 had the experience of being victimized by more than one gang. 0:02:54.050 --> 0:02:57.451 I reported the incident to the police. Very few merchants 0:02:57.451 --> 0:03:00.891 in Chinatown ever do this because they fear retaliation against 0:03:00.931 --> 0:03:04.891 themselves and their families. Many also feared the police because 0:03:04.931 --> 0:03:08.051 they are in the country illegally and they're hesitant to 0:03:08.091 --> 0:03:11.651 have any contact with the author. The gang scared us, 0:03:12.050 --> 0:03:14.411 and we always pay because we know that they have 0:03:14.491 --> 0:03:18.210 the ability to ruin our businesses. I am testifying here 0:03:18.251 --> 0:03:21.451 today under a false name and behind a screen because 0:03:21.491 --> 0:03:24.210 I will likely be injured or killed if the gangs 0:03:24.251 --> 0:03:25.331 find out I am here. 0:03:26.091 --> 0:03:28.090 I was really shocked at the end when he said 0:03:28.131 --> 0:03:30.771 that he's testifying behind like not only is he's using 0:03:30.811 --> 0:03:33.930 a false name, he's also testifying behind a screen because 0:03:33.931 --> 0:03:35.491 he's so worried about retaliation. 0:03:36.411 --> 0:03:39.771 As a very small community rate like back then, Chinatown 0:03:39.851 --> 0:03:43.371 was only a few blocks, so by testifying, the business 0:03:43.371 --> 0:03:46.011 owners basically put themselves at hetre risk. 0:03:46.651 --> 0:03:50.331 Yeah. The second witness also testified behind a screen. He said, 0:03:50.811 --> 0:03:53.171 I'm a manager at a restaurant located at the heart 0:03:53.171 --> 0:03:56.651 of Chinatown, New York City. Because my business location is 0:03:56.691 --> 0:04:00.051 controlled by a gang named the Flying Dragons. I'm constantly 0:04:00.091 --> 0:04:03.451 threatened and intimidated by them. As a manager, I have 0:04:03.491 --> 0:04:06.531 to try to show them a very respectful manner, otherwise 0:04:06.611 --> 0:04:07.851 I put myself in danger. 0:04:08.291 --> 0:04:10.411 Yeah, the leak for people to really try to settle 0:04:10.451 --> 0:04:14.571 down and support your family, just to earn himself a life, 0:04:14.611 --> 0:04:18.251 like a safe life to live around the area. It's like, 0:04:18.291 --> 0:04:20.330 you don't know what will happen to you to your family, 0:04:20.371 --> 0:04:23.371 true business. You don't even know what mistake quote unquote 0:04:23.371 --> 0:04:26.450 mistake that you would make when you were interacting with 0:04:26.891 --> 0:04:27.771 these gang people. 0:04:28.011 --> 0:04:31.371 And that's why I think going to Washington and speaking 0:04:31.371 --> 0:04:34.331 out about what was going on was like a huge 0:04:34.411 --> 0:04:36.210 leap of faith, right right. 0:04:36.611 --> 0:04:38.971 But would that lead to real safety? They don't know, 0:04:39.011 --> 0:04:41.890 But they choose to take the step and just try 0:04:41.891 --> 0:04:46.051 to break the cycle that the gangs have created in Chinatown. 0:04:49.491 --> 0:04:51.771 Congress clearly wanted to put a stop to the gangs, 0:04:52.411 --> 0:04:55.451 and so did people like Beryl Howell, the prosecutor who 0:04:55.491 --> 0:04:58.411 had been working on the Johnny In case for four years, 0:04:58.931 --> 0:05:01.291 and when he finally came to the US to stand trial, 0:05:01.891 --> 0:05:05.811 the moment of truth had arrived. Beryl was now preparing 0:05:06.011 --> 0:05:08.931 to bring down Johnny the head of the powerful Flying 0:05:09.011 --> 0:05:17.171 Dragons Gang for good. I'm Litty Jane Cott, and this 0:05:17.251 --> 0:05:33.051 is the Chinatown Sting, Episode five, The Mastermind. As it happens, 0:05:33.411 --> 0:05:36.651 Beryl wasn't the only prosecutor trying to bring Johnny Yang 0:05:36.731 --> 0:05:40.171 to justice. The prosecutor in another part of the city 0:05:40.491 --> 0:05:44.251 had been doing the same thing. Her name is Karen Seymour. 0:05:45.131 --> 0:05:48.091 I had flown to Hong Kong for extradition hearings, and 0:05:48.171 --> 0:05:51.291 so this was the case I really really cared about, 0:05:51.331 --> 0:05:53.931 and I wasn't about to give it away for someone 0:05:53.931 --> 0:05:54.650 else to try. 0:05:55.451 --> 0:05:58.851 Karen had been pursuing a separate case against Johnny based 0:05:58.851 --> 0:06:01.291 on events that happened in the spring of nineteen eighty 0:06:01.371 --> 0:06:04.931 eight after federal authorities had disrupted the mail package scheme. 0:06:05.531 --> 0:06:11.010 Johnny did not lie low. Instead, he responded, allegedly by 0:06:11.051 --> 0:06:13.571 looking for new ways to bring drugs into the country. 0:06:14.611 --> 0:06:16.131 And this is where we need to take a side 0:06:16.171 --> 0:06:21.451 journey into the world of restaurant equipment. According to the government, 0:06:21.771 --> 0:06:24.411 Johnny had asked a friend of his, a guy nicknamed 0:06:24.451 --> 0:06:27.570 Fat Qualk, if he had any ideas for smuggling heroin, 0:06:28.411 --> 0:06:31.811 and Fat Quok did he had a cousin named six 0:06:31.851 --> 0:06:34.570 finger Loo, who had six fingers on one hand and 0:06:34.611 --> 0:06:38.131 a noodle shop in Boston. Six Fingerlo said he had 0:06:38.211 --> 0:06:41.291 ordered bean sprout washers from Hong Kong and the machines 0:06:41.331 --> 0:06:44.931 had arrived without being searched by customs, so why not 0:06:45.011 --> 0:06:46.330 just had heroin in one of those. 0:06:47.491 --> 0:06:51.171 And so that was what Johnny Ing was approached, and 0:06:51.171 --> 0:06:54.051 he said, okay, yeah, let's use it. Let's load up heroin. 0:06:55.331 --> 0:06:58.491 Courtdox would later say, Fat Quock and six finger Loo 0:06:58.811 --> 0:07:01.691 flew to Hong Kong. Once they got there, they procured 0:07:01.690 --> 0:07:04.931 a bean sprout washing machine. It's about the size of 0:07:04.971 --> 0:07:08.851 a large and narrow bathtub. Inside it has these spinning 0:07:08.851 --> 0:07:12.171 cylinders that moved the water around to remove the debris 0:07:12.171 --> 0:07:16.171 from the bean sprouts. Six Fingerloo spent all night welding 0:07:16.211 --> 0:07:19.011 these cylinders so he could hide one hundred and seventy 0:07:19.011 --> 0:07:21.131 pounds of heroin inside of them. 0:07:22.051 --> 0:07:25.331 So what Johnny Ing was able to do on like 0:07:25.411 --> 0:07:28.211 before where he was sending small packages, is do this 0:07:28.291 --> 0:07:33.891 sort of mother load shipment of this Southeast Asian heroin, 0:07:33.971 --> 0:07:35.491 which was very, very valuable. 0:07:36.691 --> 0:07:39.891 This shipment worth millions of dollars made it out of 0:07:39.891 --> 0:07:42.731 Hong Kong all the way to Logan Airport in Boston, 0:07:43.291 --> 0:07:43.851 but then. 0:07:44.491 --> 0:07:51.651 The DEA intercepts it. They replace the heroin with you know, 0:07:51.811 --> 0:07:55.571 a fake, and they deliver it. It goes to this guy, 0:07:55.731 --> 0:08:00.651 six finger Lou. He picks up the machine and they 0:08:01.011 --> 0:08:04.971 arrest him. But they didn't really want just to get 0:08:05.131 --> 0:08:08.211 six finger looed because they knew that he's the lowest 0:08:08.251 --> 0:08:11.291 to blow the real goals to get up the chain, 0:08:11.851 --> 0:08:15.451 and so they flipped him, so to speak. They basically 0:08:15.571 --> 0:08:17.811 cut a deal with him immediately. 0:08:18.971 --> 0:08:21.531 The plan had been for six Fingerloo to drive from 0:08:21.571 --> 0:08:24.451 Boston to Newark to deliver the bean sprout washing machine 0:08:24.571 --> 0:08:27.731 to his cousin fat Quock, and that trip went ahead, 0:08:28.131 --> 0:08:31.571 except now six Fingerloo was escorted on this drive by 0:08:31.691 --> 0:08:35.931 undercovered DEA agents. When Lou arrived in mid tam Manhattan, 0:08:36.290 --> 0:08:38.331 he met up with his cousin and this other guy 0:08:38.331 --> 0:08:41.931 who was also involved in the scheme. Six Fingerloo claimed 0:08:41.930 --> 0:08:44.450 he was too tired to take the bean sprout machine 0:08:44.450 --> 0:08:47.491 out of his car, so they did, or began to, 0:08:48.090 --> 0:08:50.251 because as soon as they touched the machine, they were 0:08:50.290 --> 0:08:52.891 ambushed by DEA agents. 0:08:52.810 --> 0:08:55.850 And then that led to the case against Johnny A. 0:08:57.930 --> 0:09:00.811 Karen was a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, 0:09:01.570 --> 0:09:05.050 a federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan. She was working on 0:09:05.090 --> 0:09:07.851 the sprout washer case because that's where the bust happened. 0:09:09.450 --> 0:09:12.491 Howell was a prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, 0:09:13.170 --> 0:09:16.690 a federal prosecutor's office in Brooklyn. She was working on 0:09:16.731 --> 0:09:20.011 the mail package case because the successful bust by federal 0:09:20.050 --> 0:09:24.170 authorities on that scheme happened in Brooklyn. But now Judge 0:09:24.210 --> 0:09:27.371 hold both prosecutors that since these cases were against the 0:09:27.371 --> 0:09:31.850 same defendant, they should combine their efforts. All cases against 0:09:31.930 --> 0:09:35.290 Johnnyang would be tried together in the Eastern District of 0:09:35.330 --> 0:09:38.771 New York, which seems logical except for one thing. 0:09:40.251 --> 0:09:42.330 I mean, you know, because the Eastern and Southern District 0:09:42.410 --> 0:09:45.210 New Yorker were, you know, great rivals. 0:09:45.810 --> 0:09:49.011 The rivalry between the Eastern District and the Southern District 0:09:49.450 --> 0:09:53.571 is sometimes compared to another rivalry between the Mets and 0:09:53.611 --> 0:09:57.971 the Yankees. The Southern District in Manhattan is like the Yankees. 0:09:58.450 --> 0:10:03.410 It was created first under President George Washington. Many famous 0:10:03.450 --> 0:10:07.131 financial fraud cases are tried in the SDN Y The 0:10:07.170 --> 0:10:11.011 Eastern District in Brooklyn is like the It was founded 0:10:11.090 --> 0:10:15.811 later under President Lincoln's administration. To this day, the ED 0:10:15.930 --> 0:10:18.450 and Y is still perceived to be the scrappier office. 0:10:19.690 --> 0:10:22.570 Now the Yankees and Mets were being asked to play 0:10:22.731 --> 0:10:27.971 on the same team on the Mets home turf. Beryl 0:10:28.011 --> 0:10:30.731 remembers hearing that they're going to be working together, and 0:10:30.771 --> 0:10:33.331 she wondered how her rival prosecutor would take it. 0:10:34.210 --> 0:10:37.371 Probably a fight Ben and Karen's shoes. She probably wouldn't 0:10:37.371 --> 0:10:40.090 be a little bit nervous, you know, like trying. 0:10:39.771 --> 0:10:40.771 A case in photo Dutchess. 0:10:40.851 --> 0:10:42.611 She didn't know in a courthouse, she didn't know. 0:10:43.530 --> 0:10:46.811 Beryl had partnered with Kathy Palmer, another prosecutor in the 0:10:46.810 --> 0:10:49.731 Eastern District of New York, and Karen Seymour says she 0:10:49.810 --> 0:10:51.971 had no idea how this was going to work out. 0:10:52.611 --> 0:10:56.290 But they couldn't have been more fun and more lovely, 0:10:56.651 --> 0:11:00.971 and we all became very fast friends, and we together, 0:11:01.930 --> 0:11:05.450 you know, not knowing each other very well before, just 0:11:05.570 --> 0:11:10.131 joined forces. And it was three women against Johnny Ang. 0:11:11.210 --> 0:11:16.450 Johnny Yng's lead defense attorney was Gerald Chargell. Chargell was 0:11:16.491 --> 0:11:19.170 a big deal in New York City. He'd been the 0:11:19.251 --> 0:11:24.050 lawyer of Italian American mobster John Goudie, nicknamed the Teflon 0:11:24.170 --> 0:11:27.851 Dawn because no criminal charges ever seemed to stick to him, 0:11:28.491 --> 0:11:32.451 at least for a while. After multiple high profile trials, 0:11:32.810 --> 0:11:36.731 he did eventually get life in prison. Chargell has since died, 0:11:37.050 --> 0:11:41.210 but he's interviewed in the documentary America's Most Evil Machine Gun, Johnny. 0:11:42.290 --> 0:11:45.370 You're smart, privileged to represent Johnny Yng when you're fighting 0:11:45.410 --> 0:11:47.891 for someone's liberty or for someone's life. 0:11:48.011 --> 0:11:51.210 A very weighty and heavy responsibility, but one that I welcome. 0:11:55.170 --> 0:12:00.011 While Chargell welcomed his new client, three women prosecutors prepared 0:12:00.011 --> 0:12:06.891 their case. They'd surmounted international boarders, institutional rivalries, and reluctant 0:12:06.930 --> 0:12:10.611 witnesses to build an argument that Johnny was a major 0:12:10.611 --> 0:12:16.370 heroin smuggler and a mastermind. Still, the prosecutors knew their 0:12:16.371 --> 0:12:19.251 case had one major weakness and it was going to 0:12:19.251 --> 0:12:37.491 be the hardest obstacle of all to overcome. Before in 0:12:37.491 --> 0:12:40.850 a trial, there are pre trial motions. In Johnnyng's case, 0:12:41.170 --> 0:12:45.730 the pre trial phase dragged on and on. I was 0:12:45.771 --> 0:12:48.611 able to reach two defense lawyers on Johnny's team about 0:12:48.611 --> 0:12:51.490 what it was like to work for him. One didn't 0:12:51.491 --> 0:12:52.931 want to talk to me on the phone, but she 0:12:52.970 --> 0:12:56.690 sent me an email saying, quote, he was a nice guy. 0:12:57.210 --> 0:12:59.691 Something I remember because I'm a dog person, is that 0:12:59.731 --> 0:13:02.211 he trained his two Kane Corso dogs to meet his 0:13:02.330 --> 0:13:04.891 kids at the school bus stop and accompany them home. 0:13:06.491 --> 0:13:08.930 Johnny's other attorneys said she didn't want to be recorded 0:13:08.930 --> 0:13:11.731 because she like how defense lawyers are usually represented in 0:13:11.731 --> 0:13:14.451 the media. But she told me that Johnny paid for 0:13:14.491 --> 0:13:17.331 his defense team in cash. He told her that the 0:13:17.330 --> 0:13:20.530 money came directly from gatherings in Chinatown to support his defense. 0:13:21.330 --> 0:13:24.131 It was in small, crumpled bills. She had to spend 0:13:24.170 --> 0:13:28.851 hours counting them. He was either very loved or very feared. 0:13:29.050 --> 0:13:32.610 She said. I told Beryl about that. 0:13:33.410 --> 0:13:36.290 Was it in five tens and twenties? Yeah, And he 0:13:36.491 --> 0:13:39.170 told them that it was not drug proceed money, but 0:13:39.251 --> 0:13:42.530 it was instead five tens in twenties that he'd collected 0:13:42.530 --> 0:13:45.131 at parties from friends who believed in him. 0:13:46.330 --> 0:13:47.811 And that's what she told you. 0:13:49.090 --> 0:13:52.811 Beryl looked at me skeptically, her eyebrows raised, and I 0:13:52.851 --> 0:13:55.251 got a sense of how intense this pre trial back 0:13:55.251 --> 0:13:58.450 and forth might have been between the prosecution and the defense. 0:14:00.810 --> 0:14:03.930 Beryl thinks that at one court appearance or another, Johnny 0:14:03.970 --> 0:14:07.131 may have noticed something about her she was pregnant. 0:14:07.731 --> 0:14:12.891 It just seemed like he was, you know, seeing my 0:14:13.050 --> 0:14:17.050 shape change as time went on and thinking, hmmm, yes, 0:14:17.050 --> 0:14:20.451 this might be very helpful if the prosecutor who'd been 0:14:20.451 --> 0:14:22.691 living with this case for a number of years wasn't 0:14:22.891 --> 0:14:24.370 able to try this case. 0:14:25.571 --> 0:14:28.131 Beryl thought Johnny and his team might be creating delays 0:14:28.131 --> 0:14:32.091 on purpose. All told, Johnny spent almost a year in 0:14:32.171 --> 0:14:36.251 pre trial attention. His trial was finally scheduled to begin 0:14:36.731 --> 0:14:41.330 on November sixteenth, nineteen ninety two, and for Beryl. 0:14:41.931 --> 0:14:44.210 It was sort of a race against time. 0:14:45.851 --> 0:14:48.251 This was going to be a big trial. It was 0:14:48.291 --> 0:14:51.971 expected to last a few weeks, and Beryl's baby was 0:14:52.011 --> 0:14:58.251 expected in a few weeks as well. Have you been 0:14:58.251 --> 0:14:59.210 to the crehouse in Brooklyn? 0:14:59.371 --> 0:15:01.331 Yeah, I made super close to office. 0:15:01.531 --> 0:15:04.851 My impression was like wood everywhere, like it had like yeah, 0:15:04.851 --> 0:15:09.291 like wood paneled ceilings and like a wood floor, and 0:15:09.411 --> 0:15:10.970 and then you know there was like also. 0:15:10.691 --> 0:15:13.211 Fully, you're doing a trial within the cabinet. 0:15:14.330 --> 0:15:17.691 Yeah, it was like within a small cabinet, Like there's 0:15:17.731 --> 0:15:21.811 not even that many seats for people to watch the trial. 0:15:22.491 --> 0:15:25.571 But I talked to this one reporter, Gerald Posner, who 0:15:25.611 --> 0:15:26.370 was there at the time. 0:15:27.131 --> 0:15:30.171 I was only there for like three probably three days, 0:15:30.171 --> 0:15:32.571 but it was packed. It was a great New York 0:15:32.571 --> 0:15:33.171 City trial. 0:15:33.851 --> 0:15:37.291 He had written a book about the international heroin trade, 0:15:37.891 --> 0:15:40.211 so that's why he was at this trial. And he 0:15:40.291 --> 0:15:43.651 was particularly interested in what Johnny looked like because he 0:15:43.651 --> 0:15:45.811 could see Johnny sitting at the defense table. 0:15:46.611 --> 0:15:49.051 One of the things that was so amazing to me 0:15:49.171 --> 0:15:54.211 about Johnny, and he looks so young. You know, we've 0:15:54.251 --> 0:15:57.131 seen pictures of him and everything else, but until you 0:15:57.171 --> 0:16:00.891 seem in person, you forget what a baby faced gangster 0:16:01.491 --> 0:16:04.051 could look like. I expect him to come back from 0:16:04.090 --> 0:16:06.451 this extradition battle of three years. 0:16:06.210 --> 0:16:07.211 And having run. 0:16:09.131 --> 0:16:11.371 This is one of the largest hair when rings around 0:16:11.411 --> 0:16:13.531 and becoming a leader of the Fine Dragons and everything 0:16:13.531 --> 0:16:15.250 else is going to prematurely age him. 0:16:15.291 --> 0:16:16.171 But it didn't. 0:16:17.210 --> 0:16:21.291 So Yeah, So Johnny was thirty six years old, very young. Oo, 0:16:21.411 --> 0:16:23.291 he was actually young at the time of the trial. 0:16:23.731 --> 0:16:26.571 And I have a photo of him from the time. 0:16:26.891 --> 0:16:31.011 Okay, his mugshot. Yeah, like people could mistaken him as 0:16:31.051 --> 0:16:34.371 like a like a late twenty year old in this photo. 0:16:34.811 --> 0:16:37.291 Yeah, he has like a little mustache and a goateee. 0:16:37.531 --> 0:16:42.171 He's wearing these big, like gold rimmed aviator glasses. And 0:16:42.851 --> 0:16:44.411 what stood out to me is he does have a 0:16:44.451 --> 0:16:47.691 little puff of hair. He's just looking straight ahead. It's 0:16:47.731 --> 0:16:50.691 kind of like driver's licensed photo vibes. But that was 0:16:50.731 --> 0:16:54.051 not his vibe in court during the trial. He didn't 0:16:54.090 --> 0:16:56.931 take the stand. It's usually not smart to do that 0:16:57.051 --> 0:16:59.171 as a defendant, and Johnny seems like he was a 0:16:59.210 --> 0:17:02.491 pretty smart guy. But he was apparently pretty expressive during 0:17:02.491 --> 0:17:04.811 the trial. Yeah, I heard that, you know, according to 0:17:05.011 --> 0:17:08.011 newspaper articles and stuff at the time, he was smiling 0:17:08.051 --> 0:17:12.130 all throughout. Johnny's actually known for always smiling. But his 0:17:12.211 --> 0:17:14.571 smile it's kind of hard to tell whether it's like 0:17:14.651 --> 0:17:18.171 a friendly smile or like the passive aggressive smile, like 0:17:18.211 --> 0:17:19.011 a threatening smile. 0:17:19.571 --> 0:17:22.691 Yeah, so we're in a trial. What was the opening statement? Like, 0:17:22.731 --> 0:17:24.051 how did they start the case? 0:17:24.531 --> 0:17:28.090 Like the mail package trial, Beryl started this one, and 0:17:28.131 --> 0:17:32.171 she began by talking about these mail packages that had 0:17:32.251 --> 0:17:36.611 tea and stuffed animals and also heroin. Then she described 0:17:36.651 --> 0:17:39.411 how the bean sprout washing machine was intercepted by a 0:17:39.451 --> 0:17:43.291 customs agent in Boston, and then this is what she 0:17:43.331 --> 0:17:44.090 said to the jury. 0:17:45.771 --> 0:17:50.291 Now, these two huge shipments of heroin were discovered months apart, 0:17:50.971 --> 0:17:54.891 opposite ends of the country by two different customs inspectors. 0:17:55.451 --> 0:17:57.491 But you were going to learn during the trial that 0:17:57.611 --> 0:18:02.291 these schemes had one thing in common. The mastermind behind 0:18:02.371 --> 0:18:06.211 both of these heroin shipments was one man, the defendant, 0:18:06.411 --> 0:18:09.251 Johnny Yang, the man sitting at the defense table. 0:18:11.171 --> 0:18:13.731 I have Beryl's notes from the trial and on one 0:18:13.771 --> 0:18:16.931 page she has the word mastermind. It's written in all caps. 0:18:17.571 --> 0:18:21.811 She wanted to prove that Johnny was the quote principal, administrator, 0:18:22.211 --> 0:18:26.090 organizer or leader of the enterprise, right right. This was 0:18:26.131 --> 0:18:28.051 the first charge against him, and it was also the 0:18:28.091 --> 0:18:31.771 most serious charge because you know, if Johnny was found 0:18:31.771 --> 0:18:34.411 guilty of this, he was facing a lifetime in prison 0:18:34.851 --> 0:18:35.571 without parole. 0:18:35.891 --> 0:18:39.651 I mean, she spent years obviously investigating and collecting evidence 0:18:39.691 --> 0:18:43.691 and information, talking to witnesses, trying to get them to 0:18:43.731 --> 0:18:45.411 turn their back against Johnny. 0:18:45.611 --> 0:18:48.131 Well, the truth is, the case was going to be 0:18:48.171 --> 0:18:52.411 tough because Johnny was so good at insulating himself from 0:18:52.411 --> 0:18:56.411 both of these schemes. So there's very little material evidence. 0:18:56.731 --> 0:18:58.931 They had some and some of it they were saving 0:18:59.051 --> 0:19:01.611 till the end of the trial. But really the whole 0:19:01.651 --> 0:19:04.890 trial depended on the testimony of these cooperating witnesses, right. 0:19:05.251 --> 0:19:07.491 And one of the prosecutors, the one from the Southern 0:19:07.531 --> 0:19:09.971 District of New York, Karen Seymour, she talked to me 0:19:10.011 --> 0:19:10.451 about this. 0:19:11.251 --> 0:19:14.531 It was so cooperat or dependent. This is a case 0:19:14.571 --> 0:19:17.811 where there was very clear evidence about the drug deals, 0:19:18.131 --> 0:19:23.131 but it wasn't so clearly linked to Johnny Ing, And 0:19:23.211 --> 0:19:26.571 so it was a case that truly if you didn't 0:19:26.611 --> 0:19:30.171 believe the cooperators, you didn't have enough evidence to convict 0:19:30.171 --> 0:19:30.851 the defendants. 0:19:31.571 --> 0:19:34.531 Tina Wong wasn't testifying at this trial right after she 0:19:34.611 --> 0:19:36.931 was shot. Beryl felt like she was hiding something and 0:19:36.971 --> 0:19:38.811 she didn't trust her enough to put her on the stand. 0:19:39.251 --> 0:19:43.211 So Beryl had two main cooperating witnesses, Waw and Michael 0:19:43.331 --> 0:19:46.971 u are Fox. They had been in jail for years now, 0:19:47.171 --> 0:19:51.131 waiting for their own trial, waiting for Johnny's extradition, and 0:19:51.171 --> 0:19:55.011 then waiting for Johnny's trial to start. They really didn't 0:19:55.051 --> 0:19:58.531 want to testify against him, but doing so was their 0:19:58.571 --> 0:19:59.211 only way out. 0:19:59.531 --> 0:20:00.011 True. 0:20:00.251 --> 0:20:03.330 Remember, Waugh told us that even now she's still worried 0:20:03.411 --> 0:20:04.811 about being viewed as a snitch. 0:20:05.811 --> 0:20:08.051 I will you come out to the street. People know 0:20:08.211 --> 0:20:11.571 you Smith, you know you talked about you gave him mouth. 0:20:11.931 --> 0:20:13.171 Uh huh, would be bad. 0:20:13.771 --> 0:20:17.451 It's like you're gonna have people that don't like you, 0:20:17.451 --> 0:20:19.211 you know what I'm saying, And you don't want that. 0:20:19.931 --> 0:20:23.491 So that's what I'm saying, in fact, is something would honor. Okay, 0:20:23.531 --> 0:20:25.171 come on, come on interview with me. 0:20:25.411 --> 0:20:28.931 That it sounds like a very difficult decision to make 0:20:28.971 --> 0:20:31.091 in face of something that's so huge that's going to 0:20:31.171 --> 0:20:33.611 change your life. Where do you choose to protect yourself 0:20:34.251 --> 0:20:38.291 or to honor something that you hold high values of, 0:20:38.691 --> 0:20:40.890 like your friendship, like your connection with other people. 0:20:41.371 --> 0:20:45.251 Yeah, and Foxbolt the same way. He wrote a letter 0:20:45.291 --> 0:20:48.211 to Beryl, literally begging not to have to take the stand. 0:20:48.931 --> 0:20:51.811 I asked Beryl to read a little bit of what 0:20:51.811 --> 0:20:52.491 that letter said. 0:20:54.331 --> 0:20:57.491 I'm writing to you because I started having panic and 0:20:57.571 --> 0:21:01.531 feel the pressure is coming from both inside and outside. 0:21:01.691 --> 0:21:05.691 So if it's possible, please exclude me from testifying at 0:21:05.731 --> 0:21:09.610 Johnny Ng's trial because I'm just a small figure in 0:21:09.651 --> 0:21:15.131 his case was the one. I'm only her puppet from 0:21:15.131 --> 0:21:18.451 the beginning to the end. I have to run and 0:21:18.651 --> 0:21:22.090 hide from place to place, just like a wreck to 0:21:22.171 --> 0:21:26.211 stay alive. So please do a little consideration for me. 0:21:27.891 --> 0:21:30.891 So, yeah, this whole case, it basically rested on these 0:21:30.931 --> 0:21:34.571 witnesses who really did not want to be testifying, and 0:21:34.611 --> 0:21:37.411 you know, they'd also been convicted of crimes. And so 0:21:37.451 --> 0:21:41.011 that meant that Johnny's lawyer, Gerald Chargell, he only had 0:21:41.011 --> 0:21:43.171 to do one thing. He had one simple task. 0:21:43.451 --> 0:21:46.771 To attack the testimonies, like their credibility. 0:21:46.291 --> 0:21:49.531 Exactly, because all you need is reasonable doubt, right. 0:21:49.811 --> 0:21:54.051 Yeah, I mean that's true, because jury they're all humans. 0:21:54.331 --> 0:21:56.531 Yeah, and I feel like people love to think they're 0:21:56.611 --> 0:21:58.931 very good at like catching liars. 0:21:58.891 --> 0:22:01.091 Yeah, being like a true detective. 0:22:02.651 --> 0:22:05.090 So one of the first witnesses to take the stand 0:22:05.291 --> 0:22:07.971 was one of the women who received the heroine packages 0:22:07.971 --> 0:22:10.971 for Johnny, So some one pretty low down in the scheme. 0:22:11.811 --> 0:22:17.091 I think those women largely who testified who received packages 0:22:18.011 --> 0:22:20.611 didn't really most of them have that much to say 0:22:20.651 --> 0:22:23.411 about Johnny ing. But they set the stage really well 0:22:23.571 --> 0:22:25.811 and I thought they had a lot of credibility. 0:22:27.051 --> 0:22:28.291 And then who came next. 0:22:28.651 --> 0:22:32.890 Waw, she took the stand and on direct you know, 0:22:32.931 --> 0:22:36.811 Beryl asked her questions and she said that she gave 0:22:36.891 --> 0:22:40.651 these women's addresses to Johnny, and she did the scene 0:22:40.691 --> 0:22:43.610 in Johnny's direction, and john even was pressuring her to 0:22:43.931 --> 0:22:47.251 get him more and more addresses. And he was the 0:22:47.331 --> 0:22:50.251 quote boss of this heroin ring. And I spoke to 0:22:50.291 --> 0:22:52.331 another reporter who was there at the trial. His name 0:22:52.371 --> 0:22:55.291 is Frederick Dannon, and he was writing for the New Yorker. 0:22:55.771 --> 0:22:58.771 He actually still remembers law's cross examination. 0:22:59.411 --> 0:23:02.610 The moment cross would begin, Chargao would start projecting his 0:23:02.771 --> 0:23:05.291 question before he even left the defense table. And he 0:23:05.531 --> 0:23:07.971 used the tall guy and he used his body. It 0:23:08.011 --> 0:23:11.291 was almost like a charging line. It's like a boxer 0:23:11.451 --> 0:23:15.691 coming out of ringsight, like the round begins and he's 0:23:15.731 --> 0:23:17.931 already on his feet. He wants to get into the fight. 0:23:19.091 --> 0:23:22.451 Here is a little segment of how it went. Do 0:23:22.491 --> 0:23:25.251 you want to play sharkeel because you're a. 0:23:25.291 --> 0:23:28.091 Lawyer, Sure, I will try to be as intimidating as poise. 0:23:28.171 --> 0:23:30.291