New Day Co-Op
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On the fictional HBO drama The Wire, the New Day Co-Op is an alliance of drug dealers which began in the third season. Believing that the police would pay less attention to the drug trade if violence were kept to a minimum, Proposition Joe and Stringer Bell reached out to all the major drug kingpins in Baltimore, with an offer. Joe will provide them with his heroin, which is directly shipped by The Greek's organization and superior to any other because it is "fresh off the boat" and, thus, more pure; in return, they will all agree to settle their differences peacefully. They run their organization by Robert's Rules of Order. They initially come together in the episode "Straight and True".
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[edit] History
When Avon Barksdale gets involved in a war with Marlo Stanfield in season three, the Co-Op votes to deny Stringer the high quality heroin until the violence stops. Ultimately, the Barksdale Organization dissolves. In the fourth season, Marlo joins the Co-Op. When Omar steals the shipment that Joe's men are receiving, the Co-Op decides that Joe should be responsible for replacing the lost heroin. Joe threatens to cut them all off, since he is the only one with contact with the Greek, confirming his power over the rest of them. They reluctantly agree, but Marlo makes a point of meeting Spiros Vondas, the second-in-command to the Greek.
There seem to be at least a dozen members of the Co-Op, many of whom have not been named on screen. Marlo has never been shown attending a Co-Op meeting, though he is part of the quorum confronting Joe.
[edit] Members
[edit] Proposition Joe (and his crew)
"Proposition" Joe Stewart is an Eastside drug kingpin who supplies much of Baltimore through his international connections and involvement in the new day co-op organization.
[edit] Slim Charles
- Played by: Anwan Glover
- Appears in
- Season three: "Time After Time"; "All Due Respect"; "Dead Soldiers"; "Amsterdam"; "Straight and True"; "Homecoming"; "Back Burners"; "Moral Midgetry"; "Slapstick"; "Reformation"; "Middle Ground" and "Mission Accomplished".
- Season four: "Boys of Summer"; "Home Room"; "Alliances"; "Unto Others" (uncredited); "Misgivings;" "A New Day;" "That's Got His Own".
Slim Charles became the Barksdale organization's chief enforcer while Stringer Bell ran things with Avon Barksdale in prison. He objects to Stringer putting product before territory after the loss of the high rise projects. When Avon is released, Slim Charles becomes his chief enforcer in the war with Marlo Stanfield. Although Charles proves himself a capable soldier on many occasions, the support he gathered around himself was not up to the task.
Charles was pleased to work with "Cutty" Wise as he remembered his reputation as a soldier to be feared. The two gelled well together, co-ordinating assaults on Stanfield territory, but they were let down by their driver Tater, who failed to follow their instructions. Several of Barksdale's crew were killed and Slim was forced to retreat. Slim and Cutty attacked one of Marlo's crews alone; Slim killed a young drug dealer, but Cutty allowed the crew chief, Fruit, to escape. Initially Slim Charles thought that he had ruined Cutty's shot, but Cutty admitted to him and Avon that he had been unable to take the shot and was retiring from his role. Charles and Avon agreed that Cutty was leaving "the game" with his reputation intact.
Slim Charles and Avon oversaw an operation to assassinate Marlo. They tried to ensnare him using a girl, Devonne, as bait. Stanfield realized that it was a trap, and had his soldier Chris attack Avon and Slim Charles while they waited. Avon was wounded and another soldier was killed, though Charles escaped unharmed.
Slim Charles was responsible for consoling Avon after the death of Stringer Bell. When Avon told Charles that he had lost heart for the war and that Stanfield was not responsible for Bell's death, Charles, now the second-in-command, reminded him that they were in a war with no way to back down, and they must blame Stanfield in order to rally their troops.
Slim Charles saw another opportunity to kill Stanfield when he found him at Vinson's rimshop with little for protection. He phoned Avon, who went to get weapons from a stash house, and was promptly arrested along with most of his men in a police raid. Slim Charles escaped arrest and prosecution because he was waiting outside the rimshop rather than the weapons stash house.
As Season four commenced, Slim was now working for Proposition Joe, supplying the remains of the Barksdale drug dealers with narcotics. With their product as a firm foundation, Bodie Broadus built a successful operation, until Marlo tried to take over his corner. Bodie came to Slim Charles, who advised him not to stand up to Stanfield. Charles raised the problem at the next meeting of the Co-Op but they decided to negotiate with Stanfield and focus on problems with an incursion of New York dealers on the East side. Charles was doubtful that Stanfield would talk to them based on the Barksdales' experience. During the meeting Charles explained to the Co-Op how Stanfield has been hiding corpses in vacant row houses. When Joe's first meeting failed to convince Marlo he has Charles approach Partlow to arrange a second sit down, which Charles also attended.[1]
Anwan Glover is a real-life member of the Washington D.C. Go-go band, The Backyard Band.
[edit] Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff
- Played by: Method Man
- Appears in:
- Season two: "Undertow" and "Storm Warnings".
- Season three: "Time After Time" and "All Due Respect".
- Season four: "A New Day;" "That's Got His Own;" and "Final Grades."
Cheese is the favorite nephew of Proposition Joe and a crew chief in his Eastside drug crew. He supplied Ziggy Sobotka with a narcotics package and, when he could not return its value, torched his car and threatened to kill him. Nick Sobotka and La La intervened on Ziggy's behalf but could only convince Cheese to give Ziggy more time. Cheese was forced to back down when Nick involved The Greek (Proposition Joe's suppliers). Cheese subsequently moved into Barksdale territory following an agreement with Stringer Bell, starting a rivalry with Bodie Broadus. Avon Barksdale was unaware of the agreement, and hired Brother Mouzone, who promptly shot Cheese.
In Season three, Cheese was one of the major case unit's first targets as a possible route to Proposition Joe himself. Cheese avoided their surveillance efforts through disciplined use of his subordinates to make phone calls and only discussing business face to face, and was quickly promoted to supplying other dealers.
Cheese kept a pet dog and participated in underground dog fights. When his dog lost a fight, Cheese shot it rather than seek treatment for its injuries. Cheese's soldier Triage suggested that Dazz, his opponent, may have cheated with another dealer, Jelly. Triage killed Jelly which triggered two further deaths and a short war between the rival crews. The major case unit arrested Jelly and Triage in the process of preparing for yet another skirmish. The unit mistakenly presumed Cheese was using code words to discuss a murder when they overheard him on a tapped phone describing how he shot his dog. After arresting Cheese, the unit interrogators revealed their faulty wiretap evidence to him in an effort to force his confession. Once the unit realized Cheese had been talking literally about killing an animal, he was released and promptly relayed his newfound knowledge of a wiretap program to his uncle, who alerted the gang to change their communications strategies to thwart further investigation.
In Season four, Cheese remained a trusted member of Proposition Joe's inner circle. He acted as the go-between, supplying Joe's drugs to the various other Baltimore dealers in the Co-op, including Marlo Stanfield, and also picked up the drug deliveries from agents of The Greek. Omar Little tracked Cheese from Proposition Joe's office to one of these delivery sites during a major drop and stole the entire Baltimore heroin supply. When Omar sold the drugs back to Joe, Cheese seemed more angry than Joe himself. Season four also introduces a character named Randy Wagstaff. It is suspected by some that Cheese is Randy's biological father, since they both share the unusual last name Wagstaff, but this relationship has yet to be formally confirmed.[2]
[edit] Fat-Face Rick
- Played by: Troj Marquis Strickland
- Appears in:
- Season three: "Straight and True" (uncredited); "Slapstick"; "Reformation"
- Season four: "Home Rooms" (uncredited); "Final Grades"
Fat-Face Rick is a drug kingpin from Baltimore's Veronica Avenue, on the East Side, always seen smoking (sometimes a cigar, sometimes a cigarette), who is among the first to join the Co-Op. He is the loudest voice yelling at Stringer Bell when Avon is warring with Marlo, and he and Phil-Boy assist Proposition Joe when he gives Stringer Bell the ultimatum, to either end the war with Stanfield or lose access to the high-quality heroin.. Later, he is the first to bring up the idea that West Sider Marlo Stanfield should work with the Co-Op against the encroachment from New York dealers. Later, he leads the quorum confronting Joe, after Omar has robbed the package.
[edit] Kintell Williamson
- Played by: unknown
- Appears in:
- Season three: "Straight and True" (uncredited); "Slapstick" (uncredited)
- Season four: "Home Rooms" (uncredited)
Kintell "Prince K" Williamson is a Jamaican drug kingpin from Baltimore's Park Heights, on the Northwest Side, recognizable by his long dreadlocks (he has a beard as well). In the third season, the Major Case Unit briefly targets Williamson because they can easily connect him to murders, and Police Commissioner Burrell and Lieutenant Daniels want the stats for political reasons. McNulty intervenes and gets the Unit to re-focus on Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale. Williamson stops killing people after joining the New Day Co-Op. When Avon continues warring with Marlo, the police arrest several of Williamson's dealers as a general crackdown on drugs, leading him to push Joe to confront Stringer and Avon.
[edit] Phil-Boy
- Played by: Sho 'Swordsman' Brown
- Appears in:
- Season three: "Slapstick" (uncredited); "Reformation"
- Season four: "Final Grades"
Another portly East Side kingpin who joins the Co-Op, though he does not attend the initial formation meeting. He is noticeably younger than his colleagues, and he can be recognized by the do-rag he always wears. He and Fat-Face Rick assist Proposition Joe when he gives Stringer Bell the ultimatum, to either end the war with Stanfield or lose access to the high-quality heroin.
[edit] References
- ^ Character profile - Slim Charles. HBO (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-15.
- ^ Character profile - Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-09-13.
