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BMF: The Rise and Fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family
In the early 1990s, Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and his brother, Terry "Southwest T," rose up from the slums of Detroit to build one of the largest cocaine empires in American the Black Mafia Family. After a decade in the drug game, the Flenorys had it all—a fleet of Maybachs, Bentleys and Ferraris, a 500-man workforce operating in six states, and an estimated quarter of a billion in drug sales. They socialized with music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, did business with New York's king of bling Jacob "The Jeweler" Arabo, and built allegiances with rap superstars Young Jeezy and Fabolous. Yet even as BMF was attracting celebrity attention, its crew members created a cult of violence that struck fear in a city and threatened to spill beyond the boundaries of the drug underworld. Ruthlessness fueled BMF's rise to incredible power; greed and that same ruthlessness led to their downfall.
When the brothers began clashing in 2003, the flashy and beloved Big Meech risked it all on a shot at legitimacy in the music industry. At the same time, a team of investigators who had pursued BMF for years began to prey on the organization's weaknesses. Utilizing a high-stakes wiretap operation, the feds inched toward their goal of destroying the Flenory's empire and ending the reign of a crew suspected in the sale of thousands of kilos of cocaine — and a half-dozen unsolved murders.
When the brothers began clashing in 2003, the flashy and beloved Big Meech risked it all on a shot at legitimacy in the music industry. At the same time, a team of investigators who had pursued BMF for years began to prey on the organization's weaknesses. Utilizing a high-stakes wiretap operation, the feds inched toward their goal of destroying the Flenory's empire and ending the reign of a crew suspected in the sale of thousands of kilos of cocaine — and a half-dozen unsolved murders.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2010
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February 4, 2013
Interesting story about my childhood friends Meech and Terry Flenory of Southwest Detroit. I like the content of the book as well as the fact that I could identify with most of the Atlanta and Detroit places cited in the book. I also knew many of the characters. The biggest challenge of the book was the verbiage and flow of the inexperienced author.
Mara Shalhoup did a very poor job of allowing the story to flow. I found it challenging that she chose to reintroduce the characters many times over. I also found the chapters to be disjointed. If in fact this story is made into a movie, it is my hope that someone writes an original screenplay for this dynamic and largely appealing street story.
Mara Shalhoup did a very poor job of allowing the story to flow. I found it challenging that she chose to reintroduce the characters many times over. I also found the chapters to be disjointed. If in fact this story is made into a movie, it is my hope that someone writes an original screenplay for this dynamic and largely appealing street story.
August 4, 2016
This book was an incredible story how the family was so well organized for many years. I never heard about the Organization until I read the book. This is a perfect example how crime only lasts for a short time-before it all comes to an end.
July 25, 2010
the wikipedia article on BMF (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ma...) has
- better writing
- fewer typos & editing mistakes
- more pictures
- fewer words
- better writing
- fewer typos & editing mistakes
- more pictures
- fewer words
May 24, 2017
This book was well researched and had a lot of interesting information about Big Meech, his associates and the BMF. A lot of this information appears to come from police records and other public sources, perhaps because interviews were hard to arrange or didn’t bear much fruit. I suspect this was the case as the author does seem to have interviewed a lot of people, for example the family and friends of a man murdered in a club parking lot by a BMF associate, so it would be strange for her to simply not bother with the other more major players. Nonetheless, this information is well marshalled and presented in a coherent and understandable manner, which is no mean feat given the intricacy and secrecy of the network in question.
What the book lacked in personal information, for example interviews with family members or childhood friends and individual psychological analysis, it partially made up with coverage of the practical and operational aspects of the business. Deliveries, logistics, movement of cash, procurement of vehicles and property and ways to launder cash are all covered in detail. The quantities involved are large with couriers regularly getting busted with 10 keys and major stash houses often containing millions of dollars and 100s of keys when busted. As such, the crew must have been making serious money and I was amazed at how much of this could be used to buy cars and homes in the names of other people without much legitimate income of their own. This highlighted how, before the inauguration of the wiretaps that would incriminate most of the top level BMF members, building a case against a drug dealer as flashy and brazen as Big Meech is a much more difficult task than one might imagine. One has to suspect that, given the amounts of money involved, Meech and BMF were either paying off the police, using tactics of intimidation or both.
Another aspect I found interesting was the impermanence of drug money and the total lack of personal ownership that existed for the top management of BMF. Cars, houses and jewelry had to be put in the names of other people and, in some cases, paid for by them via laundered money. Given the huge quantities of money involved and the usual mentality of wanting to own things that’s attached to a desire for wealth, this attitude struck me as unusual. Meech’s own attitude to money, that you can’t take it with you so you have to spend as much of it as possible, is in stark contrast to the hoarding tendencies that can be observed in others motivated by money. Meech’s younger brother, Terry, appears to have been more concerned with owning assets, rather than spending wildly, but, counterintuitively, this would eventually land in him more trouble when the police were building a case against him whereas evidence of Meech’s assets was non-existent. Conversely, Terry worried that Meech’s excessive lifestyle and high profile appearances in rap videos and magazines would bring unwanted attention to the organisation. In the end, it was Terry talking on the phone and not Meech hiring out BMF billboards around Atlanta that proved to be far more damaging from a legal perspective.
The personality of Meech is intriguing but remains largely unexamined. He is described as more fraternal and caring than his brother Terry, who is described as manipulative and paranoid. Certainly Meech’s generosity towards his crew seems unrivalled but I was left wondering what his motivation was. Clearly not simply money for the sake of accumulation. For one thing, it struck me at several points throughout the book that Meech was fundamentally not that interested in hoarding or accumulating assets as he doesn’t seem to take much time or trouble to set up legitimate fronts through which to clean his money. Rather, he prefers to concentrate on balling in the club, buying fleets of luxury cars and lots of jewelry. This seems to be partially justified by the idea that these shows of flamboyance were the way to break into the rap game and start making legitimate money for BMF. It seems like it is the excitement of the lifestyle and his love of ‘the game’ and its organisation that really drives him. He love for cars and jewelry, shared by his brother, also seem to have been a serious motivating factor. However, at some level he’s also clearly an egotist, for example the rap video appearances and legendary birthday parties, and that this too is more important than money. It seems almost like a caricature of a black drug gang that BMF were trafficking drugs and money in private jets, limos and hummers; why on earth not use something a bit lower key!?! It’s exactly this kind of lifestyle that is glamorized in lots of trap and dirty south rap and, for this reason, Big Meech is a huge cultural figure for me. He was a man really living the alternative, black American dream and his lifestyle and image are ever present in late 90s and early 2000s southern gangster rap. All the rappers want to be like Meech but, at the same time, Meech wants to be like the rappers.
Given this status as a man who was really living what most other people just rapped about it’s strange that his own lavishly funded efforts in the music industry didn’t yield more commercial success. Undoubtedly a huge hip-hop head, Meech’s sole artist, Blue Da Vinci, never sold many records. Meech does seem to play an important role in Young Jeezy’s stellar rise during this period but never signed him to his label. As an aside, Jeezy gets some serious validation as a major cocaine trafficker by some of Meech’s associates in the book. At some points, it seems like Meech’s ultimate goal is recognition in the rap industry but, there again, given his huge success selling drugs why didn’t he make the transition earlier or in a more wholehearted way? In the end I was left confused about what actually motivated Meech to build this empire; perhaps a combination of the excitement of the lifestyle, his love of spending money and an enjoyment of seeing his own ideas and principles acted out to produce greater and greater success.
On a more negative note, the book's style was a little sensationalist and cliched for my tastes. Clearly, this is a matter of taste rather than subjective judgement but I found the prose to be at its best when describing some of the complex transactions and networks involved in the operation of the business rather than when describing, presumably imagined, scenes of lavish opulence.
Finally, I did like this book as the subject matter is fascinating to me. BMF were the epitome of a fast paced, lawless and intoxicating lifestyle that was synonymous with a style of Southern gangster rap that exploded into global significance around the same time the gang reached its zenith. In some ways, BMF is deeply impressive; building an extensive and profitable network while managing to contain the infighting and conflict that usually ruin such organisation. To be making millions of dollars a year from drugs and to be balling like Meech, to a level where he was a celebrity in his own right, is impressive for the sheer temerity of it. Meech himself says that his most cherished memories come from his experiences with Young Jeezy while he was blowing up. It is a fairytale lifestyle that most people can only dream about. On the other hand, the obsession with cars and jewelry seem needlessly risky and a bit childish as an ultimate motivation. Similarly, the lack of serious organisation of fronts to launder money diminishes my respect for BMF’s operations but, at the same time, shows a mindset that is engaging and appealing to me in its sheer difference from my own attitudes. I suppose it is perhaps possible that more elaborate fronts did exist but have managed to be sheltered from investigation. For me, this doesn’t really fit with the philosophy of BMF. It is also sad, but probably inevitable, that a crew whose motto was ‘Death Before Dishonour’ mainly ended up ratting on each other to get plea bargains. Lastly, selling coke and crack, and the murders and violence that go along with it, are a deeply sad and depressing industry that ruin lives and, because of this, there’s no way of seeing BMF as a group of principled, Robin Hood-esque outlaws. Rather, they were a remarkably successful group of audacious, flashy, rap and money loving egotists whose attitudes and exploits provided the blueprint for a generation of rappers whose idolisation was, intriguingly, reciprocated by the gangsters themselves.
What the book lacked in personal information, for example interviews with family members or childhood friends and individual psychological analysis, it partially made up with coverage of the practical and operational aspects of the business. Deliveries, logistics, movement of cash, procurement of vehicles and property and ways to launder cash are all covered in detail. The quantities involved are large with couriers regularly getting busted with 10 keys and major stash houses often containing millions of dollars and 100s of keys when busted. As such, the crew must have been making serious money and I was amazed at how much of this could be used to buy cars and homes in the names of other people without much legitimate income of their own. This highlighted how, before the inauguration of the wiretaps that would incriminate most of the top level BMF members, building a case against a drug dealer as flashy and brazen as Big Meech is a much more difficult task than one might imagine. One has to suspect that, given the amounts of money involved, Meech and BMF were either paying off the police, using tactics of intimidation or both.
Another aspect I found interesting was the impermanence of drug money and the total lack of personal ownership that existed for the top management of BMF. Cars, houses and jewelry had to be put in the names of other people and, in some cases, paid for by them via laundered money. Given the huge quantities of money involved and the usual mentality of wanting to own things that’s attached to a desire for wealth, this attitude struck me as unusual. Meech’s own attitude to money, that you can’t take it with you so you have to spend as much of it as possible, is in stark contrast to the hoarding tendencies that can be observed in others motivated by money. Meech’s younger brother, Terry, appears to have been more concerned with owning assets, rather than spending wildly, but, counterintuitively, this would eventually land in him more trouble when the police were building a case against him whereas evidence of Meech’s assets was non-existent. Conversely, Terry worried that Meech’s excessive lifestyle and high profile appearances in rap videos and magazines would bring unwanted attention to the organisation. In the end, it was Terry talking on the phone and not Meech hiring out BMF billboards around Atlanta that proved to be far more damaging from a legal perspective.
The personality of Meech is intriguing but remains largely unexamined. He is described as more fraternal and caring than his brother Terry, who is described as manipulative and paranoid. Certainly Meech’s generosity towards his crew seems unrivalled but I was left wondering what his motivation was. Clearly not simply money for the sake of accumulation. For one thing, it struck me at several points throughout the book that Meech was fundamentally not that interested in hoarding or accumulating assets as he doesn’t seem to take much time or trouble to set up legitimate fronts through which to clean his money. Rather, he prefers to concentrate on balling in the club, buying fleets of luxury cars and lots of jewelry. This seems to be partially justified by the idea that these shows of flamboyance were the way to break into the rap game and start making legitimate money for BMF. It seems like it is the excitement of the lifestyle and his love of ‘the game’ and its organisation that really drives him. He love for cars and jewelry, shared by his brother, also seem to have been a serious motivating factor. However, at some level he’s also clearly an egotist, for example the rap video appearances and legendary birthday parties, and that this too is more important than money. It seems almost like a caricature of a black drug gang that BMF were trafficking drugs and money in private jets, limos and hummers; why on earth not use something a bit lower key!?! It’s exactly this kind of lifestyle that is glamorized in lots of trap and dirty south rap and, for this reason, Big Meech is a huge cultural figure for me. He was a man really living the alternative, black American dream and his lifestyle and image are ever present in late 90s and early 2000s southern gangster rap. All the rappers want to be like Meech but, at the same time, Meech wants to be like the rappers.
Given this status as a man who was really living what most other people just rapped about it’s strange that his own lavishly funded efforts in the music industry didn’t yield more commercial success. Undoubtedly a huge hip-hop head, Meech’s sole artist, Blue Da Vinci, never sold many records. Meech does seem to play an important role in Young Jeezy’s stellar rise during this period but never signed him to his label. As an aside, Jeezy gets some serious validation as a major cocaine trafficker by some of Meech’s associates in the book. At some points, it seems like Meech’s ultimate goal is recognition in the rap industry but, there again, given his huge success selling drugs why didn’t he make the transition earlier or in a more wholehearted way? In the end I was left confused about what actually motivated Meech to build this empire; perhaps a combination of the excitement of the lifestyle, his love of spending money and an enjoyment of seeing his own ideas and principles acted out to produce greater and greater success.
On a more negative note, the book's style was a little sensationalist and cliched for my tastes. Clearly, this is a matter of taste rather than subjective judgement but I found the prose to be at its best when describing some of the complex transactions and networks involved in the operation of the business rather than when describing, presumably imagined, scenes of lavish opulence.
Finally, I did like this book as the subject matter is fascinating to me. BMF were the epitome of a fast paced, lawless and intoxicating lifestyle that was synonymous with a style of Southern gangster rap that exploded into global significance around the same time the gang reached its zenith. In some ways, BMF is deeply impressive; building an extensive and profitable network while managing to contain the infighting and conflict that usually ruin such organisation. To be making millions of dollars a year from drugs and to be balling like Meech, to a level where he was a celebrity in his own right, is impressive for the sheer temerity of it. Meech himself says that his most cherished memories come from his experiences with Young Jeezy while he was blowing up. It is a fairytale lifestyle that most people can only dream about. On the other hand, the obsession with cars and jewelry seem needlessly risky and a bit childish as an ultimate motivation. Similarly, the lack of serious organisation of fronts to launder money diminishes my respect for BMF’s operations but, at the same time, shows a mindset that is engaging and appealing to me in its sheer difference from my own attitudes. I suppose it is perhaps possible that more elaborate fronts did exist but have managed to be sheltered from investigation. For me, this doesn’t really fit with the philosophy of BMF. It is also sad, but probably inevitable, that a crew whose motto was ‘Death Before Dishonour’ mainly ended up ratting on each other to get plea bargains. Lastly, selling coke and crack, and the murders and violence that go along with it, are a deeply sad and depressing industry that ruin lives and, because of this, there’s no way of seeing BMF as a group of principled, Robin Hood-esque outlaws. Rather, they were a remarkably successful group of audacious, flashy, rap and money loving egotists whose attitudes and exploits provided the blueprint for a generation of rappers whose idolisation was, intriguingly, reciprocated by the gangsters themselves.
April 10, 2023
I found this book via the Las Vegas Libby app. I love anything to do with Mafia just because it fascinates me. The lifestyle, how they became so big, the hardships they overcame, and how they got caught. It always seems to be over silly mistakes.
I had never heard of BMF, so I researched it in the middle of the book. It was informative, I found.
I think the author did a decent job bringing to light everything that the Meech brothers did, how their empire got so big, and how the two brothers were very different from one another.
The author explained many of the side characters, and I understood why she did because, without your side people, you can't run the game. Though I felt we could have gone in-depth with the Meech brothers.
Overall wasn't my favorite book, just one that I read to pass the time.
September 24, 2025
The book was well written and had great detail to lives of the men involved. I guess you can say any amount of pressure can bust pipes since almost everybody turned on each other. This was a good read.
March 23, 2025
I mean, i read this for a book club. I don't normally read books like this but it's well written. I'll give it that lol
January 26, 2014
Brothers Demetrius "Big Meech" and Terry "Southwest T" Flenory built one of America's largest drug empires: the Black Mafia Family (BMF). The brothers started in Detroit and expanded to distributors in Atlanta, California, New York, D.C., Missouri, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and the Carolinas. After nearly a decade, BMF had hundreds of crew members, a fleet of expensive cars and millions of dollars in drug sales. They associated with some of the biggest names in rap music and the celebrity world.
Author Mara Shalhoup painted a detailed picture of BMF and its leaders, the quiet Terry and his flashy brother Big Meech. The book is full of interesting information and name-dropping, though was sometimes repetitive in events. Like its title, it told the rise and fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family in a literary documentary style.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
Author Mara Shalhoup painted a detailed picture of BMF and its leaders, the quiet Terry and his flashy brother Big Meech. The book is full of interesting information and name-dropping, though was sometimes repetitive in events. Like its title, it told the rise and fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family in a literary documentary style.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
July 14, 2019
Big Meech, Larry Hoover
The book was action packed. You see a lot of faults both men made (Meech and T) You have to pay attention to detail to learn what was behind their demise. Synopsis of “middle men” taking over the black drug trade. Everything about what big Meech was became clear in one paragraph. The big players are the cartels, not BMF. Nevertheless, they catch one fish and the shark is still swimming. Is it really wrong that BMF took an opportunity to distribute to their people? I thought the government introduced crack cocaine into black communities in the 80’s? What’s wrong with assisting the government in their plan of deteriorating ghetto communities?
The book was action packed. You see a lot of faults both men made (Meech and T) You have to pay attention to detail to learn what was behind their demise. Synopsis of “middle men” taking over the black drug trade. Everything about what big Meech was became clear in one paragraph. The big players are the cartels, not BMF. Nevertheless, they catch one fish and the shark is still swimming. Is it really wrong that BMF took an opportunity to distribute to their people? I thought the government introduced crack cocaine into black communities in the 80’s? What’s wrong with assisting the government in their plan of deteriorating ghetto communities?
October 28, 2024
AN EXCELLENT AND DETAILED HISTORY OF THE COCAINE CREW
‘True Crime’ author Mara Shalhoup wrote in the Prologue to this 2010 book, “The most notorious inmate ever to set foot in the St. Clai County, Michigan, jail… [has] been locked up in this suburban facility … for three Michigan winters. That’s countless days stuck in a coop where you can’t be let outside, not even to exercise… unless the thermometer creeps above 40 degrees… Still, he’s not complaining. They’ve been good to him here. He’s polite and well-mannered, and that’s earned him certain privileges. When visitors come in from out of town---a guest list that he claims has included rap superstars Akon and Young Jeezy (Snoop Dogg tried to come, but got snowed out)---the deputies go out of their way to accommodate them. To the inmate, preferential treatment is nothing new. On the outside, he was used to getting what he wanted. Jail is no different.” (Pg. 1-2)
She continues, “In the end, he’s glad he did it the way he did, because at least he had some fun... He claims to have boosted the careers of T.I. and Jeezy in Atlanta and Fabulous in New York… Not that he’s looking for validation, exactly. Just the recognition that back in the beginning, when no one else was paying much attention, he was the one who helped float them… He was the one who helped create the fantasy that they’re still living.” (Pg. 4)
She describes him at his prime: “Among Meech’s distinguishing characteristics was his insistence that every guy in his crew be given his own bottle of Cristal of Perrier-Jouët at the club---even when the numbers grew to fifty or more. It was one of the obvious ways Meech bult alliances… People were drawn to him … because his aura of wealth, power, and generosity was impossible to resist. And once inside his circle, his followers rarely left… there was Big Meech… the one who let you drive the car your real father could never afford, the one who took you everywhere with him… This management style served Meech well. His crew’s loyalty was like armor. It very nearly made him invincible.” (Pg. 9)
The police investigated killings at the Chaos nightclub, but “What investigators didn’t find… was anything connecting Meech to the Chaos killings… The big-picture investigation, into the scope of Meech’s suspected drug organization, was taking off. But the murder investigation was sputtering…Two armed men… fired on Meech and his crew. Meech said he turned and ran---a fact substantiated by his own bullet wound to the derriere… To Big Meech and his crew… the Chaos investigation appeared to be a battle the police had lost. But… investigators were able to see that they were on to … something big… something organized. It was something called, formidably enough, the Black Mafia Family.” (Pg. 23-25)
She adds background, “Charles and Lucille [their parents] seemed especially supportive of their children. Poverty was a way of life in their neighborhood, but devoted parents were more of an anomaly… In fact, the only thing that appeared dubious about the Flenory clan was that the two sons… in the late ‘80s, began running a neighborhood cocaine ring out of their parents’ home. The brothers quickly graduated from slinging fifty-dollars bags of crack on the corner to moving as much as two kilos per week.” (Pg. 35)
She explains, “The brothers were born hustlers, and they each had a distinct style. Meech was restless. He wanted to leave Detroit as soon as he could… Terry… sat back and plotted his course. He had a slight advantage over his brother: money. In his younger years, a bullet grazed his eye and … he received a settlement as a result of the shooting… Terry used the settlement money to start a sedan service… And his experience in mapping out routes and directing the drivers came in handy for another, more profitable enterprise.” (Pg. 37) She continues, “[Terry’s] style was a drastic departure from his brother’s… Terry didn’t sugarcoat what he did for a living. He was completely up front … about being a drug trafficker.” (Pg. 42-43)
She outlines, “the rules were simple: Don’t speak of the organization to anyone outside the organization. If you get busted, take your own heat. Reckless violence is frowned upon, as it attracts too much of the wrong attention. Loyalty is prized above all else… The tattoo they bore … made the point succinct: the letters BMF were intertwined with the crew’s motto: ‘Death Before Dishonor.’” (Pg. 45) She continues, “To Meech, the ends justified the means. It was … a Robin Hood mentality tailored to the drug trade, a belief that if you worked hard and beat the system, then funneled some of your cash back into the community, at least some of the system’s casualties would benefit from your enterprise.” (Pg. 46-47)
She reports “the growing rift between the two brothers… Terry’s complaints about Meech offered insight into BMF… Within a month’s time, the chasm between brothers was all but complete. And BMF was starting to splinter.” (Pg. 59) She continues, “The growing divide … meant that Meech had to start operating on his own turf. Meech needed a network that aside from the connect, was independent of Terry’s… Meech … was advertising his presence in a way that got EVERYONE talking… the billboards that Meech placed around town declared, ‘THE WORLD IS BMF’s.’ … it was the news of the billboards that really got [the] Fulton County Assistant District Attorney ... worked up. By mid-2004… [he] was used to cops coming up to him with … stories about the Black Mafia Family. But a drug dealer advertising on a billboard?” (Pg. 70-71) She adds, “the billboards… were an attempt, however indirect, to restore his reputation… He put them up to make a point: I’m a businessman, with a legitimate product to promote---and I’m not going to back down.” (Pg. 162)
A jeweler named Jacob (who sold millions of dollars of jewelry to the outfit) was being investigated by the authorities: “Now, Jacob was presenting those checks to the agents—trying to pass them off as something they weren’t. Little did he know that, far from helping Terry, he was strengthening the federal investigation into Black Mafia Family.” (Pg. 212) She continues, “Meech knew that, for years, investigators had been following him… By the fall of 2005, the FBI and IRS had joined the DEA in its investigation into the Black Mafia Family… At that point, Meech knew he was putting on a show. He realized he was guilty of living too large. But … He still thought he was invincible.” (Pg. 214) She goes on, “Terry had been … the careful one, the one who admonished the other for his extravagance. But in the end, the feds’ case against Terry was far stronger than the one against Meech… prosecutors needed witnesses willing to take the stand against [Meech]…” (Pg. 220)
She points out, “In the end, the dismantling of the Black Mafia Family in Atlanta was merely the eradication of the middleman, an opportunity for Mexican cocaine importers to extend their ever-expanding reach.” (Pg. 266) She adds, “While the myth of BMF was still strong, the organization itself… had withered away… By the fall of 2007, nearly all the defendants … had pleaded guilty… Meech and Terry’s father … received less than three years in prison [for money-laundering]… Ultimately, a mere five of the forty-five defendants indicted with the Flenorys, including the brothers themselves, were still standing when the November 2007 trial date approached.” (Pg. 267)
She recounts, “For Meech, pleading guilty was easier… He’d known all along that none of it could last forever. The game, for him, had run its course. But for longer than most people could begin to imagine, the world had been his. And that was enough to make everything worth it.” (Pg. 270) She adds, “in the end, Terry stood his ground. For that, Meech remains grateful… ‘He was offered twenty years to snitch on me,’ Meech says. ‘He didn’t.’” (Pg. 271) She concludes, “Under current law, Meech will be at least sixty-one, and Terry fifty-nine, when they’re released from prison.” (Pg. 276)
This book will be of great interest to those interested in BMF (such as those who’ve watched the TV series, and need a ‘corrective’ of some facts).
‘True Crime’ author Mara Shalhoup wrote in the Prologue to this 2010 book, “The most notorious inmate ever to set foot in the St. Clai County, Michigan, jail… [has] been locked up in this suburban facility … for three Michigan winters. That’s countless days stuck in a coop where you can’t be let outside, not even to exercise… unless the thermometer creeps above 40 degrees… Still, he’s not complaining. They’ve been good to him here. He’s polite and well-mannered, and that’s earned him certain privileges. When visitors come in from out of town---a guest list that he claims has included rap superstars Akon and Young Jeezy (Snoop Dogg tried to come, but got snowed out)---the deputies go out of their way to accommodate them. To the inmate, preferential treatment is nothing new. On the outside, he was used to getting what he wanted. Jail is no different.” (Pg. 1-2)
She continues, “In the end, he’s glad he did it the way he did, because at least he had some fun... He claims to have boosted the careers of T.I. and Jeezy in Atlanta and Fabulous in New York… Not that he’s looking for validation, exactly. Just the recognition that back in the beginning, when no one else was paying much attention, he was the one who helped float them… He was the one who helped create the fantasy that they’re still living.” (Pg. 4)
She describes him at his prime: “Among Meech’s distinguishing characteristics was his insistence that every guy in his crew be given his own bottle of Cristal of Perrier-Jouët at the club---even when the numbers grew to fifty or more. It was one of the obvious ways Meech bult alliances… People were drawn to him … because his aura of wealth, power, and generosity was impossible to resist. And once inside his circle, his followers rarely left… there was Big Meech… the one who let you drive the car your real father could never afford, the one who took you everywhere with him… This management style served Meech well. His crew’s loyalty was like armor. It very nearly made him invincible.” (Pg. 9)
The police investigated killings at the Chaos nightclub, but “What investigators didn’t find… was anything connecting Meech to the Chaos killings… The big-picture investigation, into the scope of Meech’s suspected drug organization, was taking off. But the murder investigation was sputtering…Two armed men… fired on Meech and his crew. Meech said he turned and ran---a fact substantiated by his own bullet wound to the derriere… To Big Meech and his crew… the Chaos investigation appeared to be a battle the police had lost. But… investigators were able to see that they were on to … something big… something organized. It was something called, formidably enough, the Black Mafia Family.” (Pg. 23-25)
She adds background, “Charles and Lucille [their parents] seemed especially supportive of their children. Poverty was a way of life in their neighborhood, but devoted parents were more of an anomaly… In fact, the only thing that appeared dubious about the Flenory clan was that the two sons… in the late ‘80s, began running a neighborhood cocaine ring out of their parents’ home. The brothers quickly graduated from slinging fifty-dollars bags of crack on the corner to moving as much as two kilos per week.” (Pg. 35)
She explains, “The brothers were born hustlers, and they each had a distinct style. Meech was restless. He wanted to leave Detroit as soon as he could… Terry… sat back and plotted his course. He had a slight advantage over his brother: money. In his younger years, a bullet grazed his eye and … he received a settlement as a result of the shooting… Terry used the settlement money to start a sedan service… And his experience in mapping out routes and directing the drivers came in handy for another, more profitable enterprise.” (Pg. 37) She continues, “[Terry’s] style was a drastic departure from his brother’s… Terry didn’t sugarcoat what he did for a living. He was completely up front … about being a drug trafficker.” (Pg. 42-43)
She outlines, “the rules were simple: Don’t speak of the organization to anyone outside the organization. If you get busted, take your own heat. Reckless violence is frowned upon, as it attracts too much of the wrong attention. Loyalty is prized above all else… The tattoo they bore … made the point succinct: the letters BMF were intertwined with the crew’s motto: ‘Death Before Dishonor.’” (Pg. 45) She continues, “To Meech, the ends justified the means. It was … a Robin Hood mentality tailored to the drug trade, a belief that if you worked hard and beat the system, then funneled some of your cash back into the community, at least some of the system’s casualties would benefit from your enterprise.” (Pg. 46-47)
She reports “the growing rift between the two brothers… Terry’s complaints about Meech offered insight into BMF… Within a month’s time, the chasm between brothers was all but complete. And BMF was starting to splinter.” (Pg. 59) She continues, “The growing divide … meant that Meech had to start operating on his own turf. Meech needed a network that aside from the connect, was independent of Terry’s… Meech … was advertising his presence in a way that got EVERYONE talking… the billboards that Meech placed around town declared, ‘THE WORLD IS BMF’s.’ … it was the news of the billboards that really got [the] Fulton County Assistant District Attorney ... worked up. By mid-2004… [he] was used to cops coming up to him with … stories about the Black Mafia Family. But a drug dealer advertising on a billboard?” (Pg. 70-71) She adds, “the billboards… were an attempt, however indirect, to restore his reputation… He put them up to make a point: I’m a businessman, with a legitimate product to promote---and I’m not going to back down.” (Pg. 162)
A jeweler named Jacob (who sold millions of dollars of jewelry to the outfit) was being investigated by the authorities: “Now, Jacob was presenting those checks to the agents—trying to pass them off as something they weren’t. Little did he know that, far from helping Terry, he was strengthening the federal investigation into Black Mafia Family.” (Pg. 212) She continues, “Meech knew that, for years, investigators had been following him… By the fall of 2005, the FBI and IRS had joined the DEA in its investigation into the Black Mafia Family… At that point, Meech knew he was putting on a show. He realized he was guilty of living too large. But … He still thought he was invincible.” (Pg. 214) She goes on, “Terry had been … the careful one, the one who admonished the other for his extravagance. But in the end, the feds’ case against Terry was far stronger than the one against Meech… prosecutors needed witnesses willing to take the stand against [Meech]…” (Pg. 220)
She points out, “In the end, the dismantling of the Black Mafia Family in Atlanta was merely the eradication of the middleman, an opportunity for Mexican cocaine importers to extend their ever-expanding reach.” (Pg. 266) She adds, “While the myth of BMF was still strong, the organization itself… had withered away… By the fall of 2007, nearly all the defendants … had pleaded guilty… Meech and Terry’s father … received less than three years in prison [for money-laundering]… Ultimately, a mere five of the forty-five defendants indicted with the Flenorys, including the brothers themselves, were still standing when the November 2007 trial date approached.” (Pg. 267)
She recounts, “For Meech, pleading guilty was easier… He’d known all along that none of it could last forever. The game, for him, had run its course. But for longer than most people could begin to imagine, the world had been his. And that was enough to make everything worth it.” (Pg. 270) She adds, “in the end, Terry stood his ground. For that, Meech remains grateful… ‘He was offered twenty years to snitch on me,’ Meech says. ‘He didn’t.’” (Pg. 271) She concludes, “Under current law, Meech will be at least sixty-one, and Terry fifty-nine, when they’re released from prison.” (Pg. 276)
This book will be of great interest to those interested in BMF (such as those who’ve watched the TV series, and need a ‘corrective’ of some facts).
March 13, 2017
Big Meech: Are you kidding?
This was an excellent read. The work by the various law enforcement agencies was thorough and complete. It's amazing to me how these guys think that their over-the-top ostentaciousness, the expensive jewelry, large houses, excess partying, and top of the line cars etc., all purchased with unverifiable incomes would remain under the law enforcement radar forever. The wiretappings of the kingpins voices as well as the number of bodies attached to members of this crew were sure signs of pending disaster. This saga reminds me of HBO's "The Wire" except on a larger scale. Because of the number of characters and the depths of the events, this work must be made into a TV series or a 3-part movie at least to capture the totality of BMF. Overall, I give this an A+.
This was an excellent read. The work by the various law enforcement agencies was thorough and complete. It's amazing to me how these guys think that their over-the-top ostentaciousness, the expensive jewelry, large houses, excess partying, and top of the line cars etc., all purchased with unverifiable incomes would remain under the law enforcement radar forever. The wiretappings of the kingpins voices as well as the number of bodies attached to members of this crew were sure signs of pending disaster. This saga reminds me of HBO's "The Wire" except on a larger scale. Because of the number of characters and the depths of the events, this work must be made into a TV series or a 3-part movie at least to capture the totality of BMF. Overall, I give this an A+.
December 28, 2021
I started listening to this audiobook after finishing watching the first season of BMF on Starz. I was looking to find more information on the Black Mafia Family but to my disappointment this book didn’t give me that.
This book was brief on both Big Meech and Big T whilst focusing on the organization and the members alleged crimes. I felt that it was too much side character description for my liking.
Nonetheless the narrator was great and engaging.
In the end, I wish there was more on Big Meech and Big T’s background and activities but I guess they’ll have to write a biography for me to get that.
This book was brief on both Big Meech and Big T whilst focusing on the organization and the members alleged crimes. I felt that it was too much side character description for my liking.
Nonetheless the narrator was great and engaging.
In the end, I wish there was more on Big Meech and Big T’s background and activities but I guess they’ll have to write a biography for me to get that.
September 7, 2021
This was a well interpreted retelling of a complex and complicated story and set of trials. In the early part of the story you wonder just how and why there is so much information about the process of BMF and everything that Meech and Southwest T did. By the time it gets around to the end you can see where it came from and that this was just an effort to compile and piece so much together into a coherent narrative. There aren't many spoilers here but it is just another tale of the streets that wouldn't have been believed if we didn't have so much evidence and proof that it existed.
November 20, 2024
What an eye-opening read this was!!!
I am a Michigan born native and in fact, I live half-hour away from Detroit, and I am embarrassed 😳 to say that I had no idea 🙅♀️ about the "Black Mafia Family." And I probably still would be clueless if this book had not come across my KU recommendations feed. This book was really eye-opening and insightful. I think that Mara Shaloup did such a phenomenal job bringing to life The BMF and Big Meech real life story.
I absolutely recommend this book!!!
I am a Michigan born native and in fact, I live half-hour away from Detroit, and I am embarrassed 😳 to say that I had no idea 🙅♀️ about the "Black Mafia Family." And I probably still would be clueless if this book had not come across my KU recommendations feed. This book was really eye-opening and insightful. I think that Mara Shaloup did such a phenomenal job bringing to life The BMF and Big Meech real life story.
I absolutely recommend this book!!!
December 7, 2017
Quite a story of the ways in which a large-scale cocaine trafficking network operated and how the bosses of the BMF empire--Terry Flenory and his notorious brother Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory--had vastly different management styles. Also gets into the interaction between BMF's illicit drug enterprise and its forays into the world of commercial rap music, largely but not entirely as a means of washing BMF's cocaine cash.
January 30, 2023
The Rise of Big Meech is not really covered. This is a well written and well paced tale of BMF’s nationwide misdeeds, but very little of their rise from Detroit dealers is covered. The book starts in and around the shooting of Wolf in ATL. Incidents before that are few and only offered as asides in the backstory.
February 6, 2024
Though I found the story interesting, it was way too complex of a case to follow. There were so many other deals and killings going on that didn't directly involve the principals (the BMF brothers, Big Meech, and Southwest T), which only added to the confusion. Still, the book is a compelling story.
Read
August 24, 2025These two brothers wear murders and thief's and dope dealers and they made a movie out of what they did,i know personally some of the people they killed and they are also snitches,the lord will catch up to them,especially one of the murders so call big meech he did himself,there are still people who not forgotten,that are still around.
July 12, 2020
If you listened to Southern Hip Hop during the 2000s then Big Meech impacted your listening experience. This book brings the behind the scenes drama to the foreground in an exciting and well researched read.
April 2, 2023
great read
I love how everything was put together without the judgement of crimes. I wish more authors would write about the real lives of people so we can get a better understanding of the facts
I love how everything was put together without the judgement of crimes. I wish more authors would write about the real lives of people so we can get a better understanding of the facts
June 29, 2023
Gave up at 27%. I didn't care about any of the characters, couldn't remember 90% of their names, and found the writing to be lacking flow.
The topic still interests me, so I'll probably watch a documentary instead.
The topic still interests me, so I'll probably watch a documentary instead.
July 12, 2024
This book didn't cover much about the rise of the organization. The author covered the events from 2001-05 with far greater detail than anything else.
The author reintroduced events and people in every chapter, which almost felt like filler to meet a page count quota.
The author reintroduced events and people in every chapter, which almost felt like filler to meet a page count quota.
May 17, 2017
Very interesting. I plan on doing a little more research into the story. I enjoyed this book.
January 11, 2021
Fascinating read!!
October 27, 2021
This was poorly written, surprisingly had errors & didn't flow. Like, it was just a list of events that jumbled around.
December 19, 2021
This book was so good . Very interesting. I loved it.
January 2, 2022
Ayyy!!! 🎥😎
October 12, 2022
Awesome read! Scary to think that you could be living next to the underworld, and not know it.
December 22, 2022
Very Interesting Read!
After watching several documentaries about the Flemish brothers, I wanted to read the book to learn more. This book is very informative, and I enjoyed it.
After watching several documentaries about the Flemish brothers, I wanted to read the book to learn more. This book is very informative, and I enjoyed it.
March 29, 2023
The Big Meech - a tale of urban crime , drug running and hip-hop. Detroit meets Atlanta. I enjoyed this true crime book.
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