Rick Ross and his Triple C's (LONG I TYPED IT UP QUICK)?

I'm curious. We've heard all the deal about William Roberts - I refuse to call him Rick Ross...he isn't Rick Ross. But his crew, Triple C's? I've been watching their videos and listening to all the music and even though I think it's good, I question all their claims. I mean, Snoop Dogg and The Game claimed their affiliations and you know that more or less they aren't fraudulent for a number of logical reasons that I can't be bothered to explain. But firstly, William Roberts adopts the stage name Rick Ross and talks about moving 'kilos' across the Atlantic, his dealings with Pablo and Noreaga (bullsht) and if you've watched him interviews, he's very confident about his 'thug' persona. His crew call themselves after the Carol City Cartel? A drug cartel? They also claim to engage in gun battles and bla bla. Now, how can these people come out with all these claims - and if they aren't legit, still be alive today? I know that if I pretended to act like these guys I'd have death threats within the hour and I'd be jumped more often than usual. Now there's nothing wrong with being a correctional officer or a model citizen of the law. But lets say for arguments sake, they are frauds making drug trafficking, gang banging, thug, excess money etc claims - how can they still be relevant/alive today?