this is "nightline." >> tonight, life or death in puerto rico. after hurricane ma, american citizens in dire need. >> it's getting worse and worse every day instead of getting better and better. >> food, water, and gas hard to find. families crossing dangerous waters for help and basic supplies. why the mayor of san juan is criticizing the trump administration's response. >> when you're drinking from a creek, it's not a good news story. plus the real wolf of wall street. the hard-partying stockbroker who inspired the oscar-nominated film. >> there is no nobility in poverty. >> what kind of money are you were you making? >> a million a week, about. >> after serving time for more than $200 million of fraud, now he's saying he has tips on how

to get rich legally. >> i'm a born salesman. and inhumans. >> you should have known this day was coming. >> we're on the set of the newest marvel action series. the super powered stars fighting for the fate of inhumankind. and their new and unique abilities you've never seen on screen before. but first the "nightline 5." >> i will never, never watch my hair again. >> now i fuel it. >> pantene is the first shampoo and conditioner system with active pro-v that fuel 100% stronger hair. >> because strong is beautiful. fall is here at jcpenney. get 50% off select apparel across the store, like exertion active wear. arizona. and st. john's bay. hurry in thursday through sunday, no coupon needed. in stores only at jcpenney. >> number one in just 60 seconds.

good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin with a humanitarian crisis in puerto rico. more than a week after a walloping from hurricane maria, millions of american citizens on the island remain without adequate food, water or electricity. many of the supplies that are starting to trickle in are caught in the distribution bottleneck. abc's eva pilgrim has seen devastation all over the island. >> reporter: in central puerto rico, the only lifeline for this battered city, a single piece of wire. this used to be part of the bridge that has now completely collapsed in the force of hurricane maria's wind. this town now completely isolated. we journeyed southwest of san juan along roads caked with debris, finally arriving at the town. what are you having to do?

>> we have to cross, walk little by little. i took them to the hospital. >> reporter: anthony, who lives in the st. lorenzo neighborhood, had to cross the river with his father in tow for critical dialysis treatments. you carried him? >> yeah, i carry -- i tied him to a rope, then i went first. i had to do it. or he was going to die. >> reporter: puerto rico is an island all too familiar with disaster. but this month's onslaught of hurricanes relentless and trying. this american territory first hit by irma. now walloped by maria. 16 lives lost. 11,000 people still in shelters. with a flash flood warning for this weekend. there is not a corner of this island that has not been devastated. to the east, an island itself isolated, hanging on by a thread with no power or running water. we hitched a ride with nathan perrins and christian evans are two residents who have stepped

up. >> it started with irma, we started flying food over to portola. then we had all the extra food when we got hit with maria. we started distributing it back to the people who needed it. >> reporter: the idea as de facto rescue service now. shuttling desperately ill residents to san juan where they can receive medical services. for people like luz velez, she doesn't know where her husband would be without them. >> he has a heart condition that needs to be taken care of, that's all. >> do you feel like you couldn't stay there? >> no, we had to fly out. >> reporter: their help is crucial. with the local hospital so severely damaged, a triage tent had to be set up outside. >> we got water yesterday. but any other help, we're still waiting. >> reporter: a doctor telling us fema's only brought them water so far. but 10,000 shipping containers of potential relief, bound for businesses, are already on the

island. parked on the docks in san juan, just not near anyone who would benefit from them. my colleague alex perez talked to jose ayalla, who provides shipping and logistics services for the island. >> the total supply chain of distribution has been interrupted. there's no gas, no diesel to move around the island. >> reporter: in addition, the island's infrastructure, so mangled it would be nearly impossible to distribute the supplies if there were drivers. >> we need to restore the electricity power, we need to restore our roads, we need to restore communications. >> reporter: fema telling abc news anything they have delivered is immediately distributed. there's not a single trailer from fema or from response operations that are being held. >> this is an island surrounded by water. big water. ocean water. >> reporter: today the president justifying the administration's efforts in puerto rico. >> they were at their life's end

prior to the hurricanes. and now virtually everything has been wiped out. we're literally starting from scratch. >> we've all seen the pictures of the parachutes with the big boxes and they drop them with food and so forth. that can be arranged. we're 100 miles long and 35 miles wide. how difficult can that be? >> this is the disaster that will define trump's response to this extraordinary several weeks where we saw three powerful storms hit the united states. >> reporter: 10,000 personnel are being sent to the island. three-star general jeffrey buchanan in puerto rico to lead the recovery effort. >> you suffered a tremendous devastation. and we are there with you. this recovery is going to take a very long time. >> reporter: but criticism still mounting. many saying not enough is being done to help puerto rico, and that american citizens who call this island home. the president this morning again raising questions whether the

federal government should pay to rebuild tweeting, big decisions will have to be made as to the cost of its rebuilding. and this assertion from the department of homeland security -- >> it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths -- >> reporter: eliciting a strong response from carmen cruz, the mayor of san juan, on cnn. >> maybe from where she's standing it's a good news story. when you're drinking from a creek, it's not a good yuts story. when you don't have food for a baby, it's not a good news story. when you have to pull people down from their buildings -- i'm sorry. but that really upsets me and frustrates me. >> it is undeniably harder to get supplies to puerto rico than it is to texas or to florida. but that's not an excuse. the federal government has ships. the federal government has planes. there's a way to get this done. >> reporter: florida senator marco rubio, whose constituency includes more than 1 million puerto ricans, visited earlier this week. >> our response needs to be above and beyond what we would

ordinarily do in an event like this. i hope we don't see katrina-like images. >> reporter: celebrities making public plea forth more help. puerto rican stars recording videos in support of their beloved island. >> the devastation is beyond belief. >> puerto rico needs your help and i'm calling on everyone to support and donate. >> $1 that you give is $1 that will get to the victims. >> there's a lot that needs to be done the next few months. >> reporter: a challenge some businesses are already taking on. last week my colleague rob marciano met maria ortiz, a caregiver at a hard-hit nursing home. >> we can't let them die. we need help, all the help we can get. >> reporter: struggling to keep 11 patients alive. their generator low on fuel. >> now i see when that generator runs out -- >> what are we going to do? what are we going to do? >> reporter: rob's report seen by the florida ceo of invicta watch company.

>> help the community -- >> reporter: loading up the company jet with $15,000 of severely needed supplies like medicine, food, and water. all for this nursing home. with roads still impassable, the crew manage to get to her. >> maria, how are you? >> fine, thank you. >> i saw the piece on the news. we have a whole airplane load just for you. >> oh, thank you very much, oh my god, i don't know how i can say, thank you god, god never lets us down. >> reporter: the single act of kindness, only a drop in the bucket. so many more needed to bring this once-vibrant island back to life. for "nightline," amy pilgrim in san juan, puerto rico. >> let me give you a hug, thank you very much, thank you. next, he went to prison for defrauding investors of at least $200 million. now the real-life wolf of wall street says he's teaching people to get rich legally.

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he abused legal and i will legal drugs, sometimes while flying a helicopter. he went to prison for fraud and money laundering. now he's a motivational speaker. sound like a tough sell? if anyone can do it, it's jordan belfry, the real-life wolf of wall street. he is the money-making, drug-taking, car-crashing wolf of wall street. jordan wbelford, made infamous on the big screen by leonardo dicaprio. >> i've been a rich man and i've been a poor man.

and i choose rich every [ bleep ]ing time. >> what kind of money were you making? >> a million a week, about. >> reporter: he began his climb up the finance food chain as a stock broker in the 1980s, from penny stocks to multi-million dollar deals. >> i'm a born salesman. i have an ability naturally, from the first time i opened my mouth, to sell. the words came out perfectly. >> reporter: eventually running his own firm, stratford oakmont. the cash fell like rain. his appetites exceeded his income. >> voracious appetite to spend money, which i no longer have. >> on what? >> sex, drugs recognition and roll. houses, cars, boats. dinners, wine, champagne. i don't even like champagne. >> reporter: living the life of stereotypical '80s wall street excess, think gordon gekko. >> greed, for lack of a better word, is good. >> reporter: with wilder parties. >> i think it's about money, first. but certainly about sex and drugs. it was an alternative universe. people having sex under their desks in coat closets, everyone,

drugs lining the pockets of the brokers. >> reporter: belford his meteoric rise for the rich and shameless was headed to are a crash landing but he was stoned to notice or care. >> what was your drug of choice? >> quaaludes to start. cocaine. then everything after that. i won't blame the mistakes i made on drugs. i would say the drugs quieted down my guilt and remorse. >> reporter: he didn't so much hit rock bottom, the rock rhit him. 1998 indicted for securities fraud and money laundering. the government says his firm defrauded investors of over $200 million. >> the money to switzerland. the swiss banker got arrested here. he gave everybody up and i was one of them. >> reporter: he's serve 22 months if prison. how much money are we talking about? >> good question. i don't know. >> the federal government says it was about $110 million. >> yeah. >> reporter: his list of victims is long. >> come here, buddy. >> reporter: more than 1,500 people. on that list, bob sheran lost

$250,000. >> first investment i think was $11,000, i made a couple thousand on it. the next one i made $1,500. took me probably three or four rounds for me to fully figure out that this is just nonsense. >> reporter: now nearly two decades later -- >> i had bankrupt upside down values. >> reporter: belford trading on his notoriety, rebranding himself as the self-help guru, teaching people how to sell anything without breaking the law. are you the new tony robbins, oprah winfrey, joel osteen? >> that's not who i am. my gift is to essentially take any person, to make them to be the best version of themselves. >> reporter: he's written "way of the wolf." hes very advising average folks to legally and ethically make money. >> this book will help thousands of millions, hopefully millions of people. the system has helped millions of people all over the world. >> millions? that's a big number. >> i wouldn't say i tdays.

but you know how many people watch my videos? tens of millions. tens of millions. >> reporter: 20 years may have helped redirect his moral compass but not his ego. >> i need some music in the background. >> reporter: all these years later, belfort is neither modest nor apologetic, irking his critics and those bilked out of money. >> you read about people who lost their life savings, had nervous breakdowns, their lives were ruined. it's very annoying when he tries to excuse his behavior with, these were people that could afford the loss. >> what do you say to those people who you owe money to, who are angry? many people claim that what you did ruined their life. >> i don't think many people claim that. i'd be surprised i destroyed someone's life, okay? if it did, that's terrible, i'm sorry. >> reporter: at the time of his sentencing, belfort was ordered to pay over $110 million in restitution. but as of 2013, prosecutors say

he'd only paid $11.6 million, about a dime on every stolen dollar, numbers belfort disputes. those who say, why is he living as well as he is and he still owes these people? >> how should be i be living, in the gutter. >> reporter: he isn't, he lives here with his partner ann. >> we went through the rough stuff in the beginning. it's all smooth sailing from here on out. >> exactly, the bad stuff out of the way the first two years. >> reporter: for her it was hard to reconcile the wolf of wall street with the man she loves. >> i was a bad guy, i made mistakes, no doubt about it. >> he is one of the most brilliant people anyone could ever meet. and with that brilliance comes a sensitivity that i don't think people realize you have. >> reporter: these days belfort spends a good amount of time playing tennis. how would you describe his game? >> counterpuncher with a dangerous forehand.

>> reporter: a passion he was able to indulge while in prison. >> one of these club med prisons you hear about? >> you know -- in some respects, yes. i mean, it wasn't, you know -- you don't have to be scared to be in the shower, right? but it's jail. at one place there was tennis courts. it's a good life. it's quiet. >> reporter: jordan belfort says he hopes his second act with make for a positive contribution to society. 55, seemingly wiser, yet still a wolf. >> good or bad, once a wolf, always a wolf, flight. >> hopefully a benevolent wolf. you know? next, behind the scenes with the super powered aliens the new marvel series "inhumans." coney island has been around for a long, long time. reminds me of how geico has been saving people money for over 75 years. hey, big guy! come on in! let me guess your weight! win a prize! sure, why not.

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finally tonight, a teleporting alien from the dark side of the moon -- this dog is kind of cute. >> brother, sooner or later the humans are going to find us. >> marvel's "inhumans" is out of this world.

and at the center of it all is one royally dysfunctional family. black bolt, the king. medusa, the week. brother maximus, who's after the throne. >> you're talking about treason. >> i think oftentimes politics can run thicker than blood. >> reporter: and a cow-sized canine lock jaw. a fan favorite from the comics. transports the superheroes to hawaii. >> we're actually showing these beautiful locations and highlighting the people and how expansive and beautiful it majors our show. >> this is the grand hall. >> the grand hall? >> reporter: "nightline" got a behind the scenes look. >> it's so cool! >> reporter: abc's new series on a closed hawaiian set. >> what are we? >> reporter: each character with incredible powers. bl >> he speaks, it could do

tremendous harm. >> reporter: medusa, her famous hair. >> never. it protects her. it's a weapon. it's part of her strength. >> what's your super pow they are. >> mine, okay. so gorgon basically has these hooves. when he stomps down, he creates this seismic wave of destruction. >> everybody scurrying, running away. >> reporter: the show's villain, maximus, has no apparent super powers. >> he's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder. the way people have been treating him, he's mocked all the time, called a human. >> you're just a human. >> he's weaker than everyone else because he's not got that inhuman gene. it's a real tragedy for him. >> regardless of what my genes might suggest, yai am inhuman le the rest of you. >> reporter: he played the sadistic ramsay bolton on "game of thrones." >> my dogs are desperate to meet you, i haven't fed them in seven days, they're

>> he wants to inflict chaos on everybody. >> reporter: the cast hope that at heart fans realize, basically they're just like us. >> it's a grounded series but with all these magical powers intertwined. unrealistic situations that become very real. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in hawaii. >> "inhumans" airs friday right here on abc. thanks for watching abc news. as always, we're online at abcnews.com and our "nightline" facebook page. thanks for the