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Fred Carrasco Comes Home, Episode 1
01/15/2026
Fred Carrasco Comes Home, Episode 1
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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