And a gangster Nutt was, but he was also an innovator and he revolutionized the drug game by taking Nicky Barnes use of kids to another level. Nutt used teenagers who, unlike the kids used by Barnes, were wise to the drug game and were dedicated to their jobs. Further, to make their jobs work more efficiently Nutt bought mopeds

for all his young workers to get back and forth from the stash to customers. The mopeds gave the youngsters mobility, agility and speed in transporting the merchandise to their customers. Teens in Russell brand sweatpants, Coach shorts and bedroom slippers,

the style Nutt made popular, became a common sight in Baltimore inner city streets.
He had kids between 15 and 18 about 30 or 40 of them on mopeds selling heroin, the Holbrook dude says. This was one of his strategic moves because it sped up his deliveries with the transfer between money and drugs. The lore with the kids was that if you worked for Peanut King you got a moped, so all the kids wanted to work for Peanut. He always had hundreds of kids who wanted to work for him. This was his stroke of genius. The use of teenagers by Nutt caused a new law to go on the books in Maryland though.

It became a requirement for anyone driving a moped to have a valid drivers license. That gave the beat police a reason to stop the kids on mopeds and also took a lot of Nutts kids off their bikes.
Nutt was big from the early to late 70s into the eighties. He was always present. The young hustler says. In 1980, a key cost like $130,000. It was part of that French Connection/ Nicky Barnes hookup. And if you werent hustling for Nutt it was dangerous to hustle. You couldnt sell nothing. The young hustler remembers. If you were a hopper you knew where it ended up. Nutt wasnt having it. It was about them putting their hands on you.


It was just Nutt. You respected him. And Nutt was instrumental in the youth basketball leagues also sponsoring teams and tournaments.
They were real avid basketball dudes. They ran the dope leagues. The young hustler says and he remembers the times at ODells where Nutts crew

styled and profiled. ODells was like Studio 54- the hood version. It was over on North Avenue between St. Pauls and Charles Street. The line would go around the block. It kicked like that from 75 to 85. They had a million dollar sound system. Thursday nights were the nights, it was rumored Nutt owned the club. The hustlers would be lined up in their furs and jewels, pimped out. It was a beautiful time. But Nutts crew, you would have thought they were business men. Peanut always had a reserved table and women all around him. His crew was deep up in ODells. ODells had a radio commercial that said, The under ground is open. Youll know if you belong. And Nutt and his crew definitely belonged.

They were like royalty up in that joint. Police would be up in there dancing and everything. It was crazy. And the photo booth captured the moments even the moments with Nutt.
