Heroin King of Baltimore: Rise and Fall of Melvin Williams

This documentary (mainly narrated by Williams himself) chronicles the life of former drug trafficker Melvyn Williams, who amassed nearly half a billion dollars during the 70s and 80s. In the 60s he was a genius gambler who at age 12 played against gang members and crime bosses winning thousands of dollars. By age 15, Williams was a millionaire and had established himself as a figure on Pennsylvania Ave. For Melvin this marked the beginning of a long struggle that ultimately would end with him spending 26 years behind bars. After his release from prison he starred as The Deacon on HBO’s The Wire.

> Melvin starred in Season Three of HBO’s The Wire as ‘The Deacon’
> Baltimore was the setting for HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire
> Drug and Crime documentaries are the most watched on History and Biography Channels