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Max Marshall tells a wild tale of a fraternity drug ring in 'Among the Bros'

We think of massive drug rings as being run by street gangs, or maybe the mob. But in 2015, police announced the arrests of eight young men, none older than 25, on charges related to a multistate drug-selling operation centered on fraternities at the College of Charleston.

Photo by Ryan Kim
Max Marshall

Police seized five pounds of pot, a pound and a half of cocaine, guns, a grenade launcher and what turned out to be more than 3 million Xanax pills.

Xanax was the drug of choice among thousands of college students, and it made millions of dollars for the dealers — until a dead body turned up in the middle of all the action.

This is the true-crime story Max Marshall tells in his new book “Among the Bros,” which reads like a movie waiting to happen. Marshall is a writer from Dallas who pursued the story after seeing friends fall victim to Xanax. You’ll find it amazing how many people in this story were willing to talk to him.

Max is also also a gifted musician who, through a lucky break, befriended rock star Steve Miller, and has played with him on stage. He tells us that story, too.

Other music in this episode:
HoliznaCC0, "Sad Boi" and "No One is Perfect"

Tommy Tomlinson has hosted the podcast SouthBound for WFAE since 2017. He also does a commentary, On My Mind, which airs every Monday.