When Nino is sentenced to only one year in jail, Scotty is outraged. Nick talks Scotty out of killing Nino, who is taken into custody amid threats of retaliation.Īt his trial, Nino pleads guilty to a lesser charge, claims to have been forced to help the gang due to threats, and identifies Kareem as the leader. Scotty and Nick assault the complex, and Scotty brutally beats Nino, revealing that it was his mother that Nino killed in his gang initiation. After the gang's collapse, Nino holes up in an apartment and continues his criminal empire solo. That night, Nino confronts Gee Money, who accuses Nino of egotism, and Nino regretfully kills him. Peretti saves Appleton by killing the Duh Duh Duh Man, and Nino escapes. Kareem, who knows that Appleton and Pookie were connected, blows Appleton's cover, and a shootout ensues. Stone, Appleton and Peretti arrange a sting operation to nab Nino. Nino later kills Don Armeteo and his crew from a speeding motorcycle in retaliation for the wedding shootout. Later, Selina condemns Nino for his murderous activities, and Nino throws her out. Keisha is gunned down as she sprays bullets into the hitmen's van as they escape. When Nino uses a child as a shield, Appleton attempts to shoot Nino behind his back. While Nino, Appleton, and the CMB attend a wedding, Peretti sneaks into Nino's mansion to collect evidence.ĭon Armeteo sends hitmen to assassinate Nino, and a massive shootout erupts between the CMB and his hitmen.
After relating an anecdote about his own violent initiation into a gang, Nino warns that he will kill both Appleton and Gee Money if there are any problems.Īppleton gains Nino's trust when he reveals information about Gee Money's side deal and saves Nino from a gun-toting old man who had earlier appealed to police for help against Nino. Though Nino distrusts them, he agrees to do business. After bribing Frankie Needles, Appleton infiltrates the CMB, due in part to Gee Money's increasing ambition and drug use. Angry, Nino warns Gee Money not to make such a costly mistake again.Īfter Pookie's funeral and no longer needed by Stone, Appleton and Peretti go undercover as drug dealers. The cops find Pookie's bloody corpse, but it is booby-trapped Peretti defuses the explosives seconds before it explodes. When Pookie relapses, Gee Money realizes that he is wired, and he orders the Carter destroyed. Against his better judgment and the disapproval of Stone and Peretti, Appleton recruits Pookie as an informant in the Carter. Later Pookie offers to help bring down Nino. Instead of arresting him, Appleton gets Pookie into rehab.
While Appleton and Peretti spy on Nino and his gang as they hand out Thanksgiving turkeys to the poor, Appleton spots Pookie, now a crack addict, as the man beats his junkie girlfriend. Elsewhere, mobster Frankie Needles attempts to collect taxes from Nino, who refuses to pay. Stone comes under pressure, Appleton volunteers to infiltrate Nino's gang and is partnered with loose-cannon Nick Peretti. Nino's gang successfully run the streets of Harlem over the next three years.
Appleton chases Pookie and shoots him in the leg, but the police let him go. Meanwhile, undercover detective Scotty Appleton attempts to make a deal with stick-up kid Pookie, but Pookie runs off with the money. Gee Money and Keisha kill rival Fat Smitty, the CMB throws out the tenants, and Nino forces the landlord out onto the streets naked. Nino converts the Carter apartment complex into a crack house. His gang consists of his best friend, Gee Money enforcer Duh Duh Duh Man gun moll Keisha Nino's girlfriend, Selina and her tech-savvy cousin, Kareem.
The story begins in Harlem 1986, and Nino Brown and his gang, the Cash Money Brothers (CMB), become the dominant drug ring in New York City once crack cocaine is introduced to the streets.