There wasn't a bitterness towards sister Ping or anyone in her operation particularly no on the contrary she was really celebrated in the neighborhood. She became this um this kind of revered figure both as a as an immigrant success story herself and somebody who you could turn to if you needed help. "She realized that there were all of these customers of hers who would arrive in the US pay off their debts and then immediately start making money"
Investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe joins us on the podcast to tell the story of an unlikely criminal mastermind, Sister Ping - a middle-aged, hardworking woman who is highly respected among her community. Originally from Fujian province, China, for years she runs an incredibly lucrative people smuggling business from New York's Chinatown until she comes into trouble with violent gangsters and then later the FBI. In conversation with our host Poppy Damon, they discuss immigration, the dark underbelly of the American Dream, and the questions of who gets to stay. They also speak about Patrick's involvement in the Oscar-nominated documentary starring Nan Goldin and directed by Laura Poitras, All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.
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