THE BLACK MAFIA FAMILY. Demetrius "BIG MEECH" Flenory is the last Black Man with enough brains to achieve such status, The new generation is just too stupid.

The World Is Ours: The Rise and Fall of the "Black Mafia Family"

10/28/2005

Demetrius "Meech" Flenory was charged with murder in 2003 in connection with the death of Sean "Diddy" Combs' bodyguard.

Over the past few years, billboards sitting high above the Atlanta skyline boldly proclaimed "The world is ours." These messages to the city came from the self-proclaimed "Black Mafia Family," or BMF, a hip-hop empire conceived and managed by Detroit-bred brothers Terry and Demetrius "Meech" Flenory. The brothers took their bold mantra from the popular gangster movie, "Scarface," starring Al Pacino as a Cuban refugee who rises to the top of the Miami cocaine empire during the 1980s. In some ways, the Flenory brothers' lives have imitated art, with their million-dollar parties, fleet of luxury cars, and ready access to drugs, jewelry, weapons and women. But, investigators know BMF is not an act and want the Flenory brothers to know that the world is not theirs for the taking.

The BMF was a sophisticated drug-smuggling and money-laundering organization operating in nearly a dozen states with direct links to Mexico-based drug trafficking organizations, says the DEA.

Rags To Riches: An Illegal "Empire"

Terry Flenory co-founded BMF with his brother Meech.

The Flenory brothers didn't always live a life of glitz and glamour. They grew up on the rough streets of Detroit during the 1980s, when kids would do just about anything to make a buck, and investigators say Terry and "Meech" were no different. The brothers started off small, selling small amounts of crack, but their business soon grew.

The DEA says the brothers began selling kilos in the early 1990s and by the mid-90s had expanded their business to other cities.  With their success, the Flenorys have been able to portray themselves as larger-than-life superstars by flaunting their money, jewelry, women and drugs.

Authorities say that in order to make their business dealings look legit, the Flenorys also manage a rap music label, BMF Entertainment. Investigators add that BMF Entertainment has worked because it's run as a "family" business that has grown into a profitable, corporation-like enterprise over the past 20 years. But underneath it all, the product has been drugs.

The Fall of BMF Entertainment

The DEA says this is one of the specialized compartments BMF used to conceal drugs, weapons and money in their luxury cars.

On October 28, 2005, the Department of Justice handed down an indictment, naming 30 BMF associates, including a luxury car dealer in Orlando. The DEA seized $3 million in currency and assets and 2.5 kilograms of cocaine. Charges include conspiracy, money laundering and drug possession with intent to deliver. Prior to this indictment, the DEA had arrested 17 BMF members, seized $11 million and more than 600 kilograms of cocaine.

Investigators say the BMF drug enterprise was able to run smoothly, in part because of the Flenorys' connection with Craig Petties, who is currently on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted list. Petties is a major drug dealer who authorities say has moved over a thousand kilos of cocaine in Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. Petties and his fellow Marshals Top 15 associate, David Warner, also smuggled large quantities of drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border in 18-wheeler trucks. Police nabbed Warner in July 2005, but Petties is still at large.

Authorities say that over the years, BMF made millions of dollars distributing thousands of kilos of cocaine. They also bought more than $1 million worth of winning Michigan State Lottery tickets in a money-laundering scheme. But the DEA is confident that the reign of BMF is coming to an end.

"For too many years, these drug dealers have poisoned our streets and cast shadows of fear across our communities. These arrests dismantle this drug mob and should significantly impact drug-related crime in the communities where the BMF operated," a DEA official said.

Nearly all of the defendents in the case have pleaded guilty. Many of them have been sentenced, including the Flenory brothers who were sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday, September 12, 2008.

In total, the government has seized more than $19 million in assets from members of the ring.