Épisodes

  • The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 3 - Rise and Fall

    The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 3 - Rise and Fall
    Feb 8 2026
    Fred Gomez Carrasco builds a heroin pipeline that extends from central Mexico to San Antonio. His business empire has made him a very wealthy man, but his wealth is tainted with blood. Carrasco's success is short-lived, however. By the Fall of 1972, Fred is in prison in Mexico. Within days of his arrest, Carrasco gets a suspicious visit from his nemesis, Det. Sergeant William "Big Bill" Weilbacher. Within weeks, Carrasco escapes prison and heads back home. The stage is set for a confrontation in San Antonio.
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    20 min
  • The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 2 - Intersecting Lives

    The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 2 - Intersecting Lives
    Jan 24 2026

    Fred Gomez Carrasco, an international heroin entrepreneur, and San Antonio Detective William "Big Bill" Weilbacher, given their line of work, are bound to cross paths.

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    25 min
  • The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 1 - Fred Comes Home

    The Return of Fred Carrasco, Episode 1 - Fred Comes Home
    Jan 15 2026
    In 1972, Fred Carrasco, an international heroin merchant and a known killer, escapes from a Mexican prison and comes home to San Antonio. The cops can't seem to catch him, people turn up dead, and the local press runs with the story. Carrasco's return plunges the city into turmoil, and it captures the imagination of a generation of Mexican Americans—including me. My name is Joseph Tovares. Waiting for Fred is San Antonio detective William "Big Bill" Weilbacher, a cop feared on the streets as well as in the halls of police headquarters. Big Bill Weilbacher makes it his job to bring Carrasco in. He eventually corners Fred Carrasco and arrests him, but their battle is far from over. It continues until the very end of Carrasco's final act, a bloody 11-day prison siege. In conversation with journalists during the takeover, Carrasco accuses the detective of murder—and some believe him. More than 50 years later, questions remain unanswered.

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    22 min
  • The Return of Fred Carrasco, Preview Episode

    The Return of Fred Carrasco, Preview Episode
    Dec 12 2025

    In 1972 award-winning documentary producer Joseph Tovares is a 17-year-old high school senior in San Antonio. That fall, the international heroin merchant Fred Carrasco escapes prison in Mexico and returns home to San Antonio. His return upends the city, but it captures the imagination of a generation of young Mexican Americans...including Joseph.

    Joseph spends most of the next fifty years on the east coast but returns to San Antonio. He speaks to former cops, criminal defense attorneys, reporters, everyday folks, and recovering heroin addicts, as well associates and relatives of Carrasco. Scholars provide context to better understand the story. With the help of a San Antonio-based journalist and a talented private investigator he uncovers a story that is a snapshot of San Antonio in the late 1960's and early 1970s.

    The Team:

    Joseph Tovares - Producer/Host

    Lesley Norman - Executive

    Noi Mahoney – Journalist and Consultant

    Michelle Mondo –Private Investigator and Researcher
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    6 min