New Day Co-Op - History

History

Believing that the police would pay less attention to the drug trade if violence were kept to a minimum, "Proposition Joe" Stewart and Stringer Bell reached out to all the major drug dealers in Baltimore, with a proposition: Joe would provide the members with high quality heroin, shipped directly by The Greek's organization; in return co-op members agree to settle their differences peacefully. They run their organization by Robert's Rules of Order. When Bell's business partner Avon Barksdale gets involved in a war with Marlo Stanfield in season three, the Co-Op votes to deny Bell the high quality heroin until the violence stops. Ultimately, the Barksdale Organization dissolves, and with the death of Bell, total control of the Co-Op cedes to Stewart.

In the fourth season, the Co-Op faces two main problems – an incursion of New York drug dealers into Eastern Baltimore and continued violence linked to the Stanfield Organization on the West side. They decide that their primary concern is the New York drug dealers and to try to convince Stanfield to join the Co-Op to help to drive them off. Stanfield is initially reluctant but is convinced by two factors. First, Stewart engineers a conflict between Stanfield and Omar Little. Secondly, Stanfield faces an ongoing police investigation. Stewart convinces Stanfield that the Co-Op has inside information on police activity as well as stick-up crews. Stanfield makes an attempt on Omar's life, which fails.

Omar gets revenge on Stanfield and Stewart by stealing the entire heroin shipment that Stewart's men are receiving from the Greeks. The other Co-Op members form a quorum and decide that Stewart should be responsible for replacing the lost heroin. Stewart threatens to cut them all off from the supply, since he is the only one with contact with The Greek, confirming his power over the group. The quorum reluctantly agrees. Stanfield demands to meet Spiros Vondas, the second-in-command to the Greek to confirm Stewart's story about the robbery. Stewart is forced to agree as his nephew Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff faces reprisal from Stanfield unless he can be exonerated. After this meeting, Stanfield begins investigating the Greeks' role in importing the heroin into Baltimore.

Over a year later the Co-Op faces loss of territory in Eastern Baltimore due to redevelopment of the city. They decide to pursue territory in Baltimore County and Stanfield is annoyed when they rule to give East side kingpins first refusal on the new opportunities. Stanfield creates dissent in Stewart's organization by suggesting that his lieutenants be allowed to develop the new territory themselves. Stanfield also establishes communication with Vondas without Stewart's knowledge via incarcerated former Greek soldier Sergei Malatov. Stanfield makes repeated monetary offerings to The Greeks while using Stewart to train him to launder money. The Greeks are eventually convinced to accept Stanfield's offer to act as their insurance policy against anything preventing Stewart from continuing to handle their supply because of Stanfield's tenacity and Stewart's perceived failure with the robbery. Stanfield plans to subvert the loyalty of Cheese, first by offering a bounty on the now retired Omar. Stewart is reluctant to enrage the dangerous stick-up artist and withholds information about Omar's connection to mutual friend Butchie. Cheese reveals Butchie's connection to Stanfield without Stewart's knowledge and Stanfield rewards him with the bounty and has Butchie tortured and killed. Cheese is embarrassed at a Co-Op meeting by complaints from charter member Hungry Man that he has been ignoring the agreed divisions of County territory. Stanfield capitalizes on this by kidnapping Hungry Man and delivering him to Cheese. Cheese responds in kind by giving away Stewart's whereabouts at a vulnerable time and Stanfield has Stewart murdered. After the murder, Stanfield establishes an exclusive connection to the Greek's supply. At the following co-op meeting he announces that there will be no more meetings, that anyone wanting a re-up will have to go through Monk or Cheese, and that the price is going up.

Shortly thereafter, Marlo's first re-supply with the Greeks is busted due to information gleaned by the Major Crimes Unit from an illegal wiretap on Marlo's phones. Following the bust, Marlo, Monk, Cheese and Chris are arrested for conspiracy charges, and held without bail. Marlo is offered a deal by the State's Attorney's office to step down, while Chris will go down for the vacant murders while Cheese and Monk will each do twenty years for their part in the conspiracy. Marlo acquiesces and offers to sell the connect to the Greeks to whoever can pay him ten million dollars. Slim, Fat Face Rick and Cheese, among the remaining co-op dealers, band together and pool their monies in order to pay Stanfield—although Cheese is executed by Slim Charles shortly before the deal goes down—so Fat Face Rick and Slim Charles assume control of the reconstituted co-op and begin dealing with the Greeks.