{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/68e5f8be496725079e7383b1/68f1a501f44ac08a8b3572a1?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"EP 2: The Men Behind the Crops","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/68e5f8be496725079e7383b1/1760666648744-27f08d89-f30a-46a4-817e-94acf98b05f4.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Griffith wasn’t just vineyards—it was an industrial drug economy hiding in plain sight. As Donald Mackay vanished, a syndicate led by <strong>Robert Trimbole</strong>—with names like <strong>Sergi</strong>, <strong>Barbaro</strong> and <strong>Tizzone</strong>—was cultivating cannabis on a massive scale, protected by silence and influence. Raids came and went. Files moved. People stopped asking questions.</p><p>By <strong>1977</strong>, law-enforcement estimates put the profits at <strong>$60–$80 million a year</strong>—<strong>nearly half a billion dollars in today’s terms</strong>—laundered through trucking firms, restaurants and real estate. This episode follows the money, the protection and the leaks that let the crops keep growing, and asks the question that still matters in 2025: when truth collides with power, who pays the price? For the <strong>Mackay</strong> family, the cost never ended.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Credits</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Written &amp; Produced by <strong>Stephen Johns</strong></p><p>Sound Design &amp; Editing by <strong>Stephen Johns</strong></p><p>Archival Research by <strong>Alex G</strong></p><p>Archival audio excerpts courtesy of <strong>ABC News</strong>.</p><p>Used under Australian fair dealing provisions for <strong>news, reporting, and public interest analysis</strong>.</p><p>© <strong>Compromised Podcast Series</strong>. All rights reserved.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Music licensed via Uppbeat:</strong></p><ul><li><em>Like a River</em> — Danijel Zambo</li><li>License: ZBUR1HQGWB9QNF8D</li><li><em>Blur</em> — Goods Cargo</li><li>License: QW3FGXP3VW0ZPYCW</li><li><em>Endless Puzzle</em> — AVBE</li><li>License: 6G9BN3TRTYTCDBRL</li><li><em>Spring Coming</em> — Enrique Molano</li><li>License: TMQZ5W2MAANQTUGE</li><li><em>A New Chapter</em> — Luminbird</li><li>License: IE7ZTC8BRCGTDDAF</li><li><em>Don’t Let Go</em> — Apex Music</li><li>License: CYOGRURAAB6M03TF</li><li><em>Intriguing Case</em> — Matt Stewart-Evans</li><li>License: HFKUUE2XUQGLQBFL</li><li><em>Underworld</em> — Revo</li><li>License: ZGYJAN3ID11LOG67</li><li><em>Maytan Risunchis</em> — Arnito</li><li>License: KRW17THKJYCGKOTT</li><li><em>Electromagnetic Interference</em> — Adi Goldstein</li><li>License: 9VP5CGTC8PWXRZFO</li><li><em>News You Can Trust</em> — Soundroll</li><li>License: MQ40T11AHMNQUXCW</li><li><em>The Heart of Silence</em> — Arnito</li><li>License: L3CQPJASUHTDSRKI</li><li><em>Two Worlds</em> — Tatami</li><li>License: IRYXNADNBHVFFQ8J</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Stephen Johns"}