I read it two or three times. A year later I recomended it to a friend and when he went to the same library to take it out the book it no longer existed. I looked into the missing book and the library had no record that they ever had the book. I felt a shiver. Keep up the good work. Thanks Frank. Your story gives me kind of a shiver too. But it was naive. Just ask Pete Brewton, or Robert Parry, or… the list goes on.
Still, we do what we can, no? Secret censorship of Daniel's book? Would not surprise me. Quite a few books lanquish on the shelves…with a very bad "check out" record showing little or no interest…. Yet…a book like "Terrorland" or "Barry and the Boys" is…. Just shows…just how expedient and accurate and dangerous Daniel's reporting is and was…as the earth turns on it's axis everyday…the sound of one hand clapping?
People who wander aimlessly…. Sometimes the goal is not as much fun as the journey towards that goal. I read that book, Granny…. With a dubious corporate media………to compare "real investigative reporting" to…. I like finding gold nuggets. I believe that Gary Webb was murdered. Not right away….. Count yourself lucky…not to be "suicided with two bullet wounds"…. I think…the cabal…likes Daniel's reporting and found it so refreshing and amusing quite a few black ops are compartmentalized …that….
Daniel has…. Why not? I can appreciate your desire not to have your own original writing lifted without due credit and even more so when the author or plagiarizer is then purposefully rewriting those ideas to fit his and his sponsors' own agendas.
This brings me to another similar incident. Weren't you the one who coined the term 'Cocaine One',in the first place in reference to the DC-9 belonging to the Skyway Communications penny stock fraud and Titan Corp,et. If not who did? Somehow I don't think so…… Note below how the Telegraph of London uses the term Cocaine One without providing a source as to who named it Cocaine One and their whole 'story' revolves around the U.
Ever since he swept to power on a Left-wing, "anti-imperialist" ticket, it has been one of the bitterest points of contention between Hugo Chavez and his Norteamericano foes. Claims that Venezuela has deliberately turned a blind eye to the trafficking of vast quantities of US-bound cocaine have been furiously denied by the country's president, who insists it is just another Washington plot to discredit him.
Now, though, backing for the US version of events has come from an unlikely, if arguably well-informed source — an alleged Venezuelan drug lord who claims that dozens of "top level" figures in the Chavez government, including ministers, generals and judges, were on his payroll. Walid "The Turk" Makled, a portly Venezuelan of Syrian descent ………… One of his planes, a DC-9 nicknamed "Cocaine One" by drug enforcement officials, had nearly six tonnes of the drug on board when it was searched by police in Mexico; the drug was stashed in suitcases scattered across the 90 passenger seats, according to a separate indictment brought in New York……..
Not just a LIAR…. Its purpose was perhaps a little different. It was not only designed simply to be a fraud, but also as a vehicle to launder Barry Seal's money — money that Barry Seal was earning from his narcotics activity. Barry Seal, of course, has been extensively discussed in public before, but usually only in the context of narcotics.
District Judge Sam R. Cummings in Lubbock, Texas, sentenced Sidney Wade Sers to months in federal prison based on Sers' guilty pleas to contempt of court, obstruction of justice and money laundering charges. These orders were entered in a Commission enforcement action and enjoined the transfer of Sers' assets, those of Trinity Gas Corporation Trinity and the proceeds of any sale of Trinity stock.
At the time of the transfers, Sers, age 57, formerly of Brownwood, Texas, was the president and chief executive officer of Trinity, a Brownwood publicly traded oil and gas exploration and development company.
From January until his arrest, Sers was a fugitive hiding in Columbia …. Yes…Daniel led the pack by himself…and coined the moniker, "Cocaine One". Nothing to worry about. But she was worried. She had been worried ever since I'd got into that scrape with the state police down at Garner's Store. But that had been a long time ago, almost six months. Anyway, I hadn't killed anybody; I'd just beaten hell out of a carpetbagger with the butt end of a Winchester.
There had been a big stir about it for a while, but Pa had fixed it up with the bluebelly police for fifty head of three-year-old cattle. So I wasn't worried about that. It's probably one of the neighbors. Maybe somebody's sick. We heard the horse pull up and scamper nervously, and we knew the rider was swinging open the rail gate about two hundred yards south of the house. He'd call your name and wait for you to answer before he'd come out and say what he was thinking.
A very dirty book. Not in the sense of pornography, though Playboy Bunnies, as well as prostitutes, are on a few pages. But, rather, very "dirty" in the sense of the dirtiness of the Mafia's violence, the dirtiness of its involvement in drug trafficking, and the dirtiness of the government's "War on Drugs": corrupt cops, corrupt politicians, corrupt judges at the state level, at least, due to most states electing them and more.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is in Congress today because her hubby, a Florida state DA, cut a "smelly" deal that kind of smeared her first Congressional opponent, for example. Jon Roberts was long known as one of America's top "cocaine cowboys. Bush for his part in the War on Terror and retiring as the CIA equivalent of a two-star general, and more. Author Evan Wright is painstaking in trying to verify all claims of Roberts', no matter how outlandish, and usually succeeds.
Apr 01, Kevin rated it really liked it. This was a great book, but to truly enjoy it I think you first have to watch the documentary "Cocaine Cowboys".
The documentary focuses on the cocaine trade in Miami in the early 80's and Jon Roberts is one of the central characters. The book is an autobiography that goes into more detail on his crime life before and after those events. Some of it is a bit over the top, but you can tell most of it is true and he pulls no punches.
He really lays it out there in terms of a living a life of crime. Aug 21, Stephen rated it really liked it. Not for the faint hearted though - extreme violence throughout and description of his time in Vietnam apparently US govt let violent criminals off their charges if they would go and fight in Vietnam is particularly horrific. Aug 26, Mark Bunch rated it liked it Shelves: organized-crime. Horrible story of an evil person who personifies the American criminal mastermind and socio-path.
This guy is the real thing. It is a very interesting USA tale but it gives understanding how bad some people really are. This story has it all. The man was born in the blueblood of the criminal world. Once he moved from NYC to Miami he made it big, huge. Oct 28, Matt Peters rated it really liked it. Awesome biography about a horrible person and portrait of the s, 70s, and 80s underworld.
Jan 11, Austin rated it it was amazing. Wow, what a fascinating read. Roberts and Wright weave a narrative spanning many cultural eras that was as disturbing as entertaining. His insights into the life of a child of an old school gangster who witnesses his father casually commit murder grow into the life long criminal who is now trying to raise his son not to be like him is captivating.
Mar 01, Mark rated it really liked it. A dark crazy story. Very interesting perspective on what it means to be evil by someone who considers themselves to be that.
Jul 15, Aivaras rated it really liked it. May 30, Michael Flanagan rated it really liked it. There is so much I like about this book and much that did not sit well with me. He tells this story mainly through the eyes of one of the original cowboys. The story is in two parts that run parallel with each other. We get an insight into the life of the cowboy post prison as the author spends a lot of time with Jon Roberts as he is told his tale.
The second part is the life o There is so much I like about this book and much that did not sit well with me. The second part is the life of? Jon as a ruthless crime boss in which money is never a concern. Both story arcs intertwined well together and told a highly interesting story of excess, greed, crime and violence.
This book delivered the high quality of journalistic investigation that I have come to expect and love of Evan Wright.
What I did not like about this book was how he let Roberts drift off on tangents and the right way to inflict pain on someone. The first one had some merit as it let you see just how much a sociopath he was. But after that all it did was to allow Roberts to stoke his own ego. Overall Evan Wright has delivered another great book that lets you look into the other side of society.
He has a great knack of bringing the reader into the world of the subject matter he is writing about. Apart from my earlier quibbles I would still recommend this book without hesitation. Aug 15, Tomasz rated it really liked it Shelves: owned , biography , Greatly written book about life of a man who started as a soldier in Italian mafia and ended as a most influential American member of Colombian drug cartel.
Book contains everything a good action title need: murders plenty , sex, bribes, smuggling, CIA, top secret government operations. It describes many anecdotes from live's of people who became very rich too quickly: putting gold teeth for beloved dog, sending favourite dish to friend using Air Forces aircraft or sailing a motorboat to anothe Greatly written book about life of a man who started as a soldier in Italian mafia and ended as a most influential American member of Colombian drug cartel.
It describes many anecdotes from live's of people who became very rich too quickly: putting gold teeth for beloved dog, sending favourite dish to friend using Air Forces aircraft or sailing a motorboat to another country to buy delicious bread. It reads very fast and I've found it pretty difficult to put it away on the shelf so there were some sleep deficiencies during this reading Jul 25, Matthew rated it it was ok.
Fuck this book and fuck this guy. He is or at least was a mean spirited criminal and it's annoying to have him relay tails of murdering people and making money in the cocaine trade with little to no remorse. Sure, there are some entertaining anecdotes and stories.
He was young and made a lot of money coordinating the import of cocaine throughout the 80s, but the underlying narrator is just kind of a scumbag and you're not cheering for him to pull it all off with no consequences.
If you're into Fuck this book and fuck this guy. Nice about Howard Marks. Mar 30, Cara rated it it was amazing. Well holy crap. This guy has had SOME life. I first learned about him from watching the documentary 'Cocaine Cowboys'; he pretty much single-handedly started the cocaine smuggling in the 70s and 80s that had a huge impact on the Miami culture. But his story is even more interesting than that- from a Mafia family, Vietnam vet, and crazy as all getout while also pretty freakin' brilliant.
I was sad to finish this one Jul 03, Elias McClellan rated it liked it. American Desperado, Jon Roberts' autobiography with Evan Wright, is better than this type of book should be. Most true-crime books begin with a definition of terms or a humanization of the subject with lines like, "Fothermucker McGee speaks in the coarse language of the street which belies his inherent sensitivities and intelligence.
Wright does neither. His introd American Desperado, Jon Roberts' autobiography with Evan Wright, is better than this type of book should be. His introduction is Jon Roberts' own assertions that he is evil and evil has supported him quite well. It will come as no surprise to anyone who reads true crime books that there is considerable overlap between Roberts and prominent organized crime figures like Gambino and Gotti and Lansky--all of whom put in appearances as Jon Roberts progresses from broken-home punk to NYC street hood to Gambino soldier.
It's only after the early establishment pages, that Mr. Wright gets out of his own way that we get to details of that life. Even still, it's another pages before Roberts gets to Miami--where the book really takes off--his first forays into the cocaine business, and then his full-tilt ascent to the top of U. Sadly that means first third of the book is slow, bordering on tedium.
However, if you read through, your patience is rewarded with a wealth of details and insight you can only get from someone with an immunity deal. Is there BS here? It wouldn't be an as-told-to mafia memoir without a healthy cartload of BS.
However, to Mr. Wright's credit, he never claims friendship, or sheds his objectivity, as evidenced by extensive annotation of Roberts' claims. Further, there is a read-between-the-lines treasure hunt for any student of the '80s' cocaine empires, the associated criminal excesses, and the political chicanery that made it all possible.
If you read this book, do yourself a favor and also read Cocaine Politics by Peter Dale Scott as a companion. While the title would rightly suggest, Mr. Scott's book is a "dryer" read, the scholarly study is also an excellent supporting reference and balm for the numerous "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Wright's history of the cocaine cowboys and their wild Florida hijinks.
Jun 14, Nick Moran rated it really liked it. Equal parts outlandish and gruesome, just like you'd expect, but what really sets it apart is the practical wisdom delivered in the style of Henry Hill from Goodfellas. Just got out of jail? Avoid associating with other criminals who might turn you in for a reward. Happen to get indicted? Don't panic because those indictments are always inflated. Leave a safety deposit box full of cash in a bank that's since closed down? Get ready for an IRS tax bill.
Between the housebroken jungle cat, the outra Equal parts outlandish and gruesome, just like you'd expect, but what really sets it apart is the practical wisdom delivered in the style of Henry Hill from Goodfellas. Between the housebroken jungle cat, the outrageous murders, and the dog with gold-plated teeth, I'm not even sure what my favorite part of this was. It's hard enough to narrow down my favorite University of Miami-adjacent moment: how Jon loaned cash to the guy who just paid for Miami's indoor practice facility, or how he used to cruise the campus passing out quaaludes.
Griselda Blanco's boyfriend was a Hurricanes fan. Apr 21, Jeffrey rated it really liked it. Very compelling biography of Jon Roberts. Sometimes the writing is a bit boorish. I wish that all those half-talented military scifi authors who so disappoint me would read this book for descriptions at least the military sections, they attempt to create the feel that this guy or Evan Wright's voice and fail.
There's a journalistic conceit here that I love, where the author breaks out of the nar Very compelling biography of Jon Roberts. There's a journalistic conceit here that I love, where the author breaks out of the narrative occasionally to call Jon on his BS or to give additional information or sometimes correct the flawed tales.
This information is almost always an excellent addition and worth breaking the narrative. Apr 02, Donna rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction , crime-mystery. This book is True Crime about Jon Roberts and his life in crime. As a sociopath he would be every psychologists dream. This book was entertaining. I listened to the audio and the main narrator was perfect for this book. I think hindsight was this book's bestfriend. The humor was appreciated. Jon shrugged things off a lot.
He didn't feel bad about his actions nor did he blame others He took every opportunity to link himself to negative labels, 'ev This book is True Crime about Jon Roberts and his life in crime. He took every opportunity to link himself to negative labels, 'evil' being the most predominant one, satan's follower was used a lot toward the end.
He wanted people to fear him because it made less work for him. But overall, I found this interesting, so 4 stars. Mar 23, Marco rated it it was amazing. Great book. Super interesting. Probably the best book I've read in a while, def top It's hard to believe everything the guy said because some things are too farfetched or too exaggerated for poetic reasons, but I want to believe in them anyway. I saw the documentary "Cocaine cowboys", I don't usually read a book after I've seen a movie, because usually the movie keeps things short and simple.
This book added soo many informations it was definetly worth the read. Probably one of the smartest str Great book.
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