In Charm City Peanut King is a street legend. The characters in The Wire were based off his persona and exploits. A gentleman gangster Peanut King ruled Baltimore's ghettos in the late 70s and early 80s. But he wasn't a vicious gang lord he was a business man who preferred to finesse situations instead of using outright violence.He has gone down in the chronicles of gangster lore as a street star and drug kingpin.