(Trinidad Guardian) In the underground world of narcotics he was called “Total” because anything he did, he did to the maximum. “I did hire work for drugs men. If somebody was owing the boss, I would get the money for them. I would give them some licks or get serious with them,” Ricardo “Ricky” Sorzano, 41, and now reformed, recalled.
Sorzano, who once drove flashy cars, had loads of money and “ran the route” in the drugs world, now operates a gospel CD and handbags booth in Sangre Grande with his wife, Crystal. He also does construction work. Now he focuses on bringing up in the right way his six children with Crystal, as well as three others he had when he was “out there.”
Sorzano said in his former life he was the first man in T&T to come out with a street CD business and was so successful he had people working for him all over the country. Today, he is totally positive.
From his humble booth, Total in Christ Ministries, Sorzano offers prayer and deliverance to anyone in need. He also has a microphone and preaches to shoppers and passers by in the busy heart of Sangre Grande, urging them to come out of negative lifestyles.
“I was selling punch too but the regional corporation told me I cannot be selling punch and preaching, so I gave up the punch,” Ricky, as he is popularly known in the area, said.
Giving an insight into the criminal world he came out from, Ricky said: “My mother migrated and I was staying with my stepfather. I ain’t know my dad much.
“I started out on the block and worked my way up. I was taking hire work, transporting people with drugs and also running my own thing.”
Ricky said he also used drugs and suffered spiritual attacks for 25 years.
“If anybody disrespected me, or wanted to do me something, I didn’t wait to start. I started you. I just didn’t care. Out there, is either you kill or get killed.”
Ricky said he lived at Pinto Road, Arima, La Horquetta and San Juan and watched “many brothers get shoot out.” Machine Gun Kelly came to mind.
“They shoot him in the house and then burn it down. I outlived many brothers,” he said.
Ricky revealed an astonishing fact from the gangster world to explain why so many young men are killed: “Fellas don’t care if they die. They see old people suffering and don’t want to get old. They rather be killed young.” He said he was stabbed in the throat, came close to being killed many times and was involved in more than one serious vehicular accident.
“And God still have me alive.”
On one occasion, the car Ricky was driving crashed head on into a Hilux van.
“The two people in the back seat were injured and I was spared,” he said.
“Once, I was transporting a man and drugs down a steep hill in Laventille and the car went totally out of control and I couldn’t stop it. I tell myself I gone through and started saying a lil’ prayers.
“Suddenly, I felt the whole back of the car lift up and then pelt down inside a bank and my life was spared again.” He said all this time, he faced constant spiritual attacks and could hardly sleep or eat.
“My mom carried me all over to get healing but nothing worked. I got worse.”
Ricky said he pelted down pastors in churches and tried to run between cars to kill himself.
“My mother got me to cross the sea by taking me to New York but when I went there I beat up the priest real bad.” He got his deliverance at 2 am one morning. “I stretched out my hands to heaven and prayed and got instructions.
“Soon after I walked into an Arima church and since then there has been no turning back. I am happy now,” Ricky said. He said he faces new dangers now because people opposed to his preaching come and shoot up the area around his booth.
“I love all of them and pray for them,” he said.
