The Return of Fred Carrasco

Fred Gomez Carrasco buys his way out of prison in Mexico. Like a homing pigeon, Fred Gomez Carrasco comes home. In San Antonio, Fred is a wanted man. Det. Sergeant Bill Weilbacher hunts for him. A new character emerges,  Det. Lieutenant Dave Flores. The Mexican-American cop also looks for Fred. Described as an "honest cop," Flores casts a wide net in his search for Carrasco. What he learns puts him on a collision course with Weilbacher.   Carrasco becomes a local legend that spring and summer.  I, and many others, admire the man who seems to be able to stay one step ahead of the cops. We conveniently ignore the toll on our community from the heroin he imports.   The tension peaks in July when the three men, Carrasco, Weilbacher, and Flores, all meet in a spectacular shootout at the El Tejas Motel in San Antonio.   Three weeks later, I leave San Antonio for my first year of college, convinced that the Fred Gomez Carrasco story is over. I underestimate Fred Carrasco.

Fred Gomez Carrasco builds a heroin pipeline that extends from central Mexico to San Antonio. His business empire has made him a very wealthy man, but his wealth is tainted with blood. Carrasco's success is short-lived, however. By the Fall of 1972, Fred is in prison in Mexico. Within days of his arrest, Carrasco gets a suspicious visit from his nemesis, Det. Sergeant William "Big Bill" Weilbacher.  Within weeks, Carrasco escapes prison and heads back home. The stage is set for a confrontation in San Antonio.

Fred Gomez Carrasco, an international heroin entrepreneur,  and San Antonio Detective William "Big Bill" Weilbacher, given their line of work, are bound to cross paths. 

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.  

In 1972 award-winning documentary producer Joseph Tovares is a 17-year-old high school senior in San Antonio. That fall, the international heroin merchant Fred Carrasco escapes prison in Mexico and returns home to San Antonio. His return upends the city, but it captures the imagination of a generation of young Mexican Americans...including Joseph.   Joseph spends most of the next fifty years on the east coast but returns to San Antonio. He speaks to former cops, criminal defense attorneys, reporters, everyday folks, and recovering heroin addicts, as well associates and relatives of Carrasco. Scholars provide context to better understand the story. With the help of a San Antonio-based journalist and a talented private investigator he uncovers a story that is a snapshot of San Antonio in the late 1960's and early 1970s.   The Team: Joseph Tovares - Producer/Host Lesley Norman - Executive Noi Mahoney – Journalist and Consultant Michelle Mondo –Private Investigator and Researcher