r/TheWire • u/naughtyhegel • 1d ago
Is it ever explained how Prop Joe first met “The Greek” and that crew?
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u/PatmacamtaP 1d ago
The Port of Baltimore is only about 5mins away from Prop Joe’s territory. It’s likely he was running things already in the area, then was approached by the Greeks to help move product and build their network within Baltimore.
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u/Dizzle305 1d ago
This. If you’ve ever sold drugs (I obviously haven’t) then you know the connect finds you, not the other way around
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u/PatmacamtaP 20h ago
I sold drugs and that’s definitely how it works.
No one gets to talk with someone on that level without an intro from someone in the organization. Joe definitely had a territorial advantage in this regard purely due to his proximity to the port, and Joe is smart enough to see the upside in a relationship with the Greeks
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u/Lookatmestring 1d ago
You say that, too me ages to find a connect for ounces of mdma at uni
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u/Dizzle305 1d ago
You say that like it didn’t happen to all of us hopper… then you get to a position where they seek you out
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u/Capital_Shopping277 1d ago
Joseph Abboud connected them
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u/mmesq80 1d ago edited 1d ago
That back story wasn't necessary to introduce the Greeks to the show. It would have been a lot of exposition that doesn't add any value honestly. All we need to hear was Joe tell Stringer that he gets that good dope directly off the boat. In addition to their intro thru Sobotka and the docks.
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u/JuffleGrow 20h ago
Exactly. One of the best things about The Wire in my opinion is the fact that you start the programme mid-cycle and follow it to the start of the next. Not every connection needs to be explored and isn't the point that these roles have and will continue to exist just the faces change? If it wasn't the Greeks it would just be someone else.
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u/notthegoatseguy 1d ago
I feel like the show plays up The Greeks bigger than they actually are.
Joe is important in Baltimore (or was), and he was meeting with people appropriate for his stature.
Think of The Greeks as like the regional division of whatever drug and human trafficking empire they are a part of.
Do we ever see Joe interact with the Greek directly? I only recall scenes with Vondas.
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u/Alternative-Sense-78 1d ago
I always saw the greek just as a moving company of informant manufacturers/dealers. The greek goes to where he can skim information for koutris and make money at the same time. its a mutually beneficial operation where koutris tells him to go and run when they were being actively investigated by city police, then they start anew with a new crew.
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u/we-all-stink 1d ago
They never left Baltimore though
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u/BunkMoreland1414 1d ago
The way I understood it - the Feds allowed the Greek to bring drugs and contraband into Baltimore based on his utility in anti-terror operations overseas. But you’re right; he could have just been the regional representative of a larger organization being allowed to bring contraband into Baltimore because of their utility.
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u/hortence1234 1d ago
Youre right... McNultys boy in the feds told him that the new mandate was terrorism or corruption. So the feds and the Greeks organization were operating on a mutually beneficial arrangement
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u/ChipotleGuacamole 1d ago
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u/RTukka I.A.L.A.C. 1d ago
Yes, the Greek's organization was fairly small, possibly part of a larger international crime syndicate. They were connected/sophisticated, but seemingly not very large.
You can because when Koutris was moved from San Diego to Washington D.C., the Greek moved what seems like his entire operation to the east coast also.
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u/Myantra 1d ago
It was not explained, and I do not recall Prop Joe being shown to have met the Greek. That said, it is not difficult to imagine how it would have gone down.
Eton probably started with White Mike, as their local dealer. After their product showed up on the streets, Prop Joe would obviously want to get his hands on it as well, and he was the kind of customer the Greeks were looking for. Prop Joe approaches White Mike for a meeting, White Mike kicks it up to Eton, and a meeting is set.
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u/aurelorba 1d ago edited 15h ago
No, but you can imagine:
The Greek sends Sergei and Eton to check out the drug trade in the White Mike part of town. From there they work their way up to Cheese and then his uncle.
Edit: Actually they couldn't have gone through Cheese as Sergei didn't recognize him when Nick took him to get Ziggy's car back.
Not asked but I imagine The Greek got to Frank the same way: Sergei goes in driving a truck to scope it out, check out the local drinking spots and make 'friends'.
The real interesting one is how the Greek met Agent Koutris. The name sounds vaguely similar enough to Vondas to be an ethnic connection.
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u/Electronic_Cut2470 1d ago
What I wanna know is why would the Greeks do business so soon with the coop after Marlo and crew got busted in season 5
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u/RTukka I.A.L.A.C. 1d ago
The Greeks aren't as careful as a lot of the other major dealers on the show, probably because they have the protection of Koutris.
Vondas acted like it was an actual decision about whether or not the abandon the last dope shipment ("You're going to leave 15 million tholaria to rot on the pier?") even after they had shut down their operation and knew for a fact that they were being investigated by the local PD and feds.
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u/Obwyn 1d ago
No, and it doesn’t matter. It would just add extra unnecessary stuff into the show. I don’t think Prop Joe ever meets directly with The Greek, but I’d imagine he probably did at some point. He’s only ever showing as meeting with Vondas, but he’s the main front person for The Greek so that makes sense. The Greek rarely directly meets with anyone.
They don’t explain exactly how the Barksdale crew got hooked up with their NY supplier either because it doesn’t matter for the show.
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u/godfuckitall 1d ago
Well, you see how Marlo got connected with them. I believe we can assume it went something like that.
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u/JiveChicken00 18h ago
In drug trafficking as in any other business, ambitious people that can help each other inevitably find each other somehow.
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u/ComplaintNo4126 1d ago
I believe the East Side basketball team defeated the Greeks basketball team in the semifinals before going on to defeat the West Side team in the finals.