this is "nightline." >> tonight, crooks cleaning up with apparent counterfeit products. fake tide, downy and more. what you see isn't what you get. >> if you made just as much money selling counterfeit tide as heroin, what would you choose? >> tonight we're with investigators cracking down o dodgy detergent, putting it to the test. a star is bred. herman the hood is on a roll shoring major endorsement deals and turning his owner's life upside down. >> herman and i, we're going to take on the world, right, buddy? >> how does a pint-sized pooch get insta-famous? a lovely lady. ? who was bringing up three very lovely girls ? >> remembering america's iconic tv mom, "brady bunch" actress and "dancing with the stars"

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good evening. thank you for joining us. you've heard of knock-off bags, counterfeit couture, fake relekdss. here's a crime you may never have considered.

comes to laundry detergent. cleaning up at your expense. here's abc's nick watt with another look at the investigation. >> we need to be quick and thorough and hit them hard. >> reporter: california, early morning armed officers swoop. >> the troops are rolling in. >> reporter: they're not after drugs, weapons, moonshine. oh, no. today the l.a. county sheriff's department is on the scent of -- dodgy detergent. and hidden amongst the reportedly stolen speedboat, medical hardware and coffee pots -- buckets and buckets of apparently counterfeit tide. in the office, fake labels for fake gain? >> this might be the distribution center? >> it is. it is. >> reporter: tide in five-gallon buckets. why do we think it's fake? >> there's no such thing here. that's what's crazy. >> there is no such product? >> there's no such thing. they do not make this. >> we don't sell tide in

contraband is sent to the lab to find out what it is, if it ain't tide. >> without sounding scary the rifrgs are large. we just don't know. you don't know where it came from. like putting your family in a car that you had no idea who made it or where it came from. >> reporter: we'll follow that trail in a minute. counterfeiting they say is a nearly $500 billion a year business. >> hundreds and hundreds of labels. >> reporter: the past year alone identify and close 50 factories cranking out counterfeit goods. >> be cognizant of that, be safe. >> reporter: the boys in blue have a nearby address. one step closer they hope to the mr. big to another factory. >> when we find the source of this we're going to find some kind of organized criminal organization. >> reporter: i'm riding with vet rant lieutenant jeffrey diedrich. >> bodies trashed.

this hand three times. >> from? stuff on the job? >> yeah. >> reporter: he now heads the l.a. county sheriff's counterfeit and piracy team. laundry detergent -- >> you can smell it. i don't get it. >> reporter: cigarettes, alcohol. detergent? >> if we're driving around with a kilo of cocaine, we're nervous. these guys are driving around vanloads of this stuff every day like nothing. if you made as much money selling counterfeit tide as heroin? what would you choose? the tide. you're not going to do 40 years in prison. >> reporter: the math goes something like this. dealers buy the stuff for maybe $5 a bucket, and we found it for sale online for at least five times that. 25 bucks for that one. here's another one. $35 for that. within 20 miles of where i am right now, i'm being offered

>> we started seeing this really escalate starting about a year ago. it's showing up all over the place. and the social media is the enabler. >> reporter: in places like texas, illinois, manhattan, where we found this ad offering samples and a free laundry bag with the purchase of six gallons. >> the product comes in a five-gallon bucket. that's a huge tip-off that the product is illegal, counterfeit. we don't sell product in five-gallon buckets to the public. does not sell downey or gain in five-gallon buckets either. so this, this, and this they say must be fake. detergent seize in california has now been analyzed at procter & gamble's lab in cincinnati. >> it actually looks and smells kind of like detergent. but we found it had very high water content. >> reporter: fake but effective? >> this is a chocolate pudding stain on a t-shirt or on a child's onesie.

this was washed in the counterfeit detergent. and this was washed in the tide liquid. when you actually use the counterfeit detergent, you can see that it's not that much different than just using water by itself. >> we're here to discuss the impact of counterfeits on consumer health and safety -- >> reporter: earlier this year, a procter & gamble executive testified before congress on the issue. >> p and g takes counterfeiting very seriously. coun fraud, lane and simple. >> reporter: the company is fighting back, hunting down leads and handing their findings to law enforcement. >> we realize this was something that it was -- that we couldn't handle ourselves. but we were really concerned about what kind of fraud was happening here with our consumers. >> we get tips from the community. we get tips from private investigation firms. we get tips from citizens. in this situation, the tip came from procter & gamble.

footage shot by a procter & gamble hired investigator on a recon mission at that warehouse in compton. that's the man diedrich and his men just arrested. sticking fake downy labels on buckets filled with apparently fake downy fabric softener. investigators believe crooks are selling mostly online. >> with the explosion of social media and the internet, it's really taken off. it's become a real problem. >> reporter: and some people are selling it without knowing it's not >> fund-raiser for spain trip for my daughter. my son's baseball team is se selling five-gallon buckets of laundry detergent. fund raise are for my day care, tide. no generic homemade stuff, claiming this is the real deal. it's not. >> there's one here for a student ministry. so these are, you know, highly lucrative fund-raisers for these people. then when we have to tell them

it becomes a really emotional situation for everybody involved. >> reporter: okay, back on the front line on the streets of l.a. >> this is a unique caper here. >> reporter: go ahead rick and his men are chasing down a lead, an address they picked up during the warehouse raid earlier. >> it's all cash. so you always have the propensity for some kind of armed robbery or some kind of robbery to steal the money. and the person selling the product is going to have to defend it. >> reporter: here we are. half a dozen or and at this house they found a lot of money. a suburban home. yep, apparently counterfeit detergent, and maybe $10,000 in cash. plus a firearm. sheriff's department thinks it's loot and laundry. a unique caper indeed. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in los angeles. up next, talk about a good dog. the tear yore who's making his

instagram star. and later, a tribute to "brady bunch" star florence henderson, america's favorite tv mom. ? all of them had hair of gold like their mother ? ? the youngest one in curls ? erc plaque psoriasis made a simple trip to the grocery store anything but simple. so i had an important conversation with my dermatologist about humira. he explained that humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source in clinical trials, most adults taking humira were clear or almost clear, and many saw 75% and even 90% clearance in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb.

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it's been said dogs are man's best friend. in this case it's quite true. the yorkshire terrier revved up his owner's social life, raking in big money on instagram. here's my "nightline" coanchor

>> reporter: this is herman. he's a 1-year-old maltese yorkie. he loves running. snacking. >> good boy. >> reporter: and hoodies. >> there it is. >> reporter: oh, yeah. he also likes posing for photos, of course. herman is what you'd call a doggy influencer, modeling urban streetwear has garnered him over 40,000 fallers on instagram and made hip the furry face of big-name sponsors. it's turned this four-pound furry ball of cuteness into a social media celebrity. >> let's change. >> reporter: herman's owner, david yip, a 37-year-old bachelor, an overworked sales manager who says this little pooch changed his life. >> he's the first dog i've ever had. i was in a client's office last year. they asked me to dogsit a couple of weeks when they went on family vacation. when he had to go home i was a little bummed out.

of the litter. >> reporter: david rediscovered his youthful love of photography. >> i started taking pictures of him. >> reporter: a two-pound puppy. >> the pictures started getting popular so i started his own instagram. people started liking it online. >> reporter: boom, an instagram star is born. it's the secret sauce to social success. one part adorable pet, two parts cute clothing, three parts great lighting. and voila, a pic made for instagram. of course you have to top it off with the game. "hey, what's cooking? "posing with great goose, "who wants to pawty with me?" sitting at the "nightline" even correspond desk? really, you have to be this cute all the time? >> good captioning is important. it's telling a story, still giving somebody else that reason to tune in. >> reporter: kyla runs hello society, an agency that represents social media stars of all kinds. why are we obsessed with animals on social media? >> people have a physiological

it elicits these actual warm fuzzy feelings in us. >> reporter: it was kyla's team that discovered david and herman in toronto. >> how can you not look at herman and love him? he's this tiny adorable fluffball that wears hoodieses. >> how does it get big? >> their owners are incredible activers. the sets and the the stories and every photo is really different. >> reporter: keeping it going against capitalizing on herman's stardom. does grumpy cat and gifpalm ring a bell? they fetch major deals for owners. when you get to be a top dog in a doggy influencer market you get the glam treatment. cocktail hours. the finest doggy treats money can buy. and rubbing elbows as it were with golden doodles in spiffy suits. rocker dogs in bark sabbath jean jackets. these dogs on the catwalk famous in their own right.

following. >> this is iggy zoe, 35,000 followers on instagram. >> 127,000 followers. >> reporter: even though they're just starting out, david says herman's instagram presence has brought in deals close to $10,000. but for david, herman is enriching his life in ways money can't buy. >> herman definitely helped me get away from my workaholicism. herman and i are going to take on the world, right, >> reporter: helping redy cover all passions. sprucing up his social life. >> does it concern you at all that people might be going out and grabbing pets just to try to turn them into insta famous pets? >> it's very hard to make an animal famous on instagram. it's a full-time job. >> reporter: could it really be that hard to make cute animals famous? i policied a hypothetical challenge, could they make a star out of my 1-year-old labradoodle hershey?

she is insanely adorable. number two, good grooming. >> okay, come on. let's go. hi, how are you? you're going in a labradoodle, you're going to come out a star. right now she doesn't want to be internet famous. >> i guess that's what it takes to be a social media star. >> she's all glammed up and ready to go. look out, world, here we come. my hershey in all her fluffy cuteness seems more interested in chilling than stardom. >> this is why she can't be insta famous, she doesn't take commands. you're the perfect dog, you even pooped, this is why i love you. oh, well, it's a dog's life. for "nightline" i'm juju chang in new york. next, celebrating the life of america's tv mother, "brady bunch" star and "dancing with

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>> good evening. i'm jonathan headquarters in new york interrupting programming to bring you some breaking news. abc news has learned that long-time cuban feeder fidel castro has died. he was 90 years old. his death was announced by his brother raul on cuban state television just a few moments ago. fidel castro ruled cuba for close to 50 years, seizing power in the cuban revolution of 1959 before eventually handing over

2008. abc's jim avila has more on the life of the revolutionary figure. >> reporter: for a half century, fidel castro ruled cuba while the world changed around him. 50 years of isolation finally ended only after he left power. and only with his tacit blessing. castro remained skeptical and suspicious of the u.s. right up to his death. defiantly commenting after president obama's historic visit bay of pigs invasion, and does not need america. his defense of his communist revolution never faltering. >> translator: i am a communist. a marxist socialist communist. i am not a afraid to say i'm a communist. >> reporter: he was born in 1926 out of wedlock to a wealthy cuban landowner and his maid. he went to catholic schools then studied law.

was very good at it, and politics. he became an activist for the poor and working class. in 1956 after being expelled by cuba's american-supported dictator have a lens i don't bautista, castro returned secretly with brother raul, che guevara, and others. they hid out in the mountains and waged a guerilla war. >> the road to havana paved with glory for rebel chieftain fidel castro. >> reporter: castro finally expelled fidel promised democracy but squashed all dissent with jail or expulsions, even executions. he nationalized all u.s. businesses. in 1961, president john f. kennedy, just elected, approved a cia-trained invasion force of 1,300 cuban exiles who went ashore at the bay of pigs. castro demolished them. a huge propaganda victory.

discovered castro had let the soviets put nuclear missiles in cuba. >> it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the soviet union on the united states. >> translator: yes, we were very close to the nuclear war. extremely close. >> reporter: ultimately the soviets removed the missiles. fidel continued to promote leftist movements in latin america where he even castro's critics praised his advances in health care and in education. but the inefficiency of cuba's soviet-style economy produced dissent. in 1980, more than 125,000 cubans, some expelled, many allowed to just leave, braved rough seas and dehydration to come to the united states in the mariel boat lift. in the early 1990s, the fall of

dollars in soviet aid and trade, leading to widespread shortages and rationing. >> translator: with the demise of the soviet union, we have suffered the equivalent to a treason. we have felt betrayed. >> reporter: castro fought back by courting tourism and business. in 2006, just before intestinal surgery, he gave up power temporarily to his younger brother raul. he never took the reins again. made it official in 2008. but he was not totally started writing newspaper columns, receiving visitors, including hugo chavez of venezuela. suddenly, summer of 2010, he began displaying his indomitable drive again in public, giving tv interviews, laying flowers at the tomb of the fallen, exhorting the communist youth, addressing the cuban parliament. now the world will see how a new era of cuban-american diplomacy changes his island home.

americans gradually returning, it may no longer be fidel castro's cuba. >> jim avila joins us on the phone. jim has been to cuba many, many times. this comes just after those historic relations between cuba and the united states. how do you think this might now effect change in cuba? >> i think that it will continue on the same course. at this point i think the changes in the united states, actually, might have more effect on what's going than the change with fidel castro. because while fidel castro was considered, even to this day, the george washington of his country among those who remain in cuba, he was also a very divisive figure. and he has recently sort of faded into the woodwork, raul castro has taken over, and he really is, raul castro really has been running the day-to-day government. fidel has not.

writing, trying to be the conscience of cuba more than the ruler of cuba. but he remains, to his death, a very important figure. while he was -- because of his nationalism, because of what he meant to the people, he meant that cuba would not be dominated by the united states even though the united states is so big and so close. >> so jim, looking at this, we're looking at the historic footage of fidel castro. you can't help but think about his legacy after all these years. what do you think will be the word of historians when they look back at the life of fidel castro? >> well, i think he'll be the most prominent figure in cuba. perhaps only overshadowed a little bit by jose marti, the

but fidel castro changed the course of cuba. he changed the way cuba was. in 1959, 1958, cuba was pretty much a satellite of the united states. run by the united states. run by the united states mafia. all those casinos, all that lively dance footage we see of cuba, that was all run by the mafia. the united states mafia. and castro came cleaned that out. and not only did he do that, he's revered in his country, in cuba, for changing the class system. there was a huge class system in cuba up until then. and the peasant class didn't know how to read or write. most of the people in cuba didn't know how to read and write in 1960. and in fact, they didn't have medical care of any kind. and they didn't have electricity outside of havana.