Download or read book Convictions written by John Kroger and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher Description

Download or read book Narcoland written by Anabel Hernández and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “investigative magnum opus” offers a jaw-dropping history of Mexican drug cartels as it transports readers to the frontlines of the ‘war on drugs’ in Latin America (Los Angeles Times). “A riveting story . . . [from] an incredibly brave journalist.” —NPR The “war on drugs” has so far cost more than 60,000 lives. Hernández explains in riveting detail how Mexico became a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America and one of the most violent places on the planet. At every turn, Hernández names not just the narcos, but also the politicians, functionaries, judges, and entrepreneurs who have collaborated with them. In doing so, she reveals the mind-boggling depth of corruption in Mexico’s government and business elite. Hernández became a journalist after her father was kidnapped and killed and the police refused to investigate without a bribe. She gained national prominence in 2001 with her exposure of excess and misconduct at the presidential palace, and previous books have focused on criminality at the summit of power, under presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón. The product of 5 years’ investigative reporting—and the subject of intense national controversy—Narcoland is a publishing and political sensation in Mexico.

Download or read book Drug Lords Cowboys and Desperadoes written by Rafael Acosta Morales and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drug Lords, Cowboys, and Desperadoes examines how historical archetypes in violent narratives on the Mexican American frontier have resulted in political discourse that feeds back into real violence. The drug battles, outlaw culture, and violence that permeate the U.S.-Mexican frontier serve as scenery and motivation for a wide swath of North American culture. In this innovative study, Rafael Acosta Morales ties the pride that many communities felt for heroic tales of banditry and rebels to the darker repercussions of the violence inflicted by the representatives of the law or the state. Narratives on bandits, cowboys, and desperadoes promise redistribution, regeneration, and community, but they often bring about the very opposite of those goals. This paradox is at the heart of Acosta Morales’s book. Drug Lords, Cowboys, and Desperadoes examines the relationship between affect, narrative, and violence surrounding three historical archetypes—social bandits (often associated with the drug trade), cowboys, and desperadoes—and how these narratives create affective loops that recreate violent structures in the Mexican American frontier. Acosta Morales analyzes narrative in literary, cinematic, and musical form, examining works by Américo Paredes, Luis G. Inclán, Clint Eastwood, Rolando Hinojosa, Yuri Herrera, and Cormac McCarthy. The book focuses on how narratives of Mexican social banditry become incorporated into the social order that bandits rose against and how representations of violence in the U.S. weaponize narratives of trauma in order to justify and expand the violence that cowboys commit. Finally, it explains the usage of universality under the law as a means of criminalizing minorities by reading the stories of Mexican American men who were turned into desperadoes by the criminal law system. Drug Lords, Cowboys, and Desperadoes demonstrates how these stories led to recreated violence and criminalization of minorities, a conversation especially important during this time of recognizing social inequality and social injustices. The book is part of a growing body of scholarship that applies theoretical approaches to borderlands studies, and it will be of interest to students and scholars in American and Mexican history and literature, border studies, literary criticism, cultural criticism, and related fields.

Download or read book Code of the Suburb written by Scott Jacques and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-05-08 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ethnography of teenage suburban drug dealers “provides a fascinating and powerful counterpoint to the devastation of the drug war” (Alice Goffman, author of On the Run). When we think about young people dealing drugs, we tend to picture it happening in disadvantaged, crime-ridden, urban neighborhoods. But drugs are used everywhere. And teenage users in the suburbs tend to buy drugs from their peers, dealers who have their own culture and code, distinct from their urban counterparts. In Code of the Suburb, Scott Jacques and Richard Wright offer a fascinating ethnography of the culture of suburban drug dealers. Drawing on fieldwork among teens in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta, they carefully parse the complicated code that governs relationships among buyers, sellers, police, and other suburbanites. That code differs from the one followed by urban drug dealers in one crucial respect: whereas urban drug dealers see violent vengeance as crucial to status and security, the opposite is true for their suburban counterparts. As Jacques and Wright show, suburban drug dealers accord status to deliberate avoidance of conflict, which helps keep their drug markets more peaceful—and, consequently, less likely to be noticed by law enforcement.

Download or read book Robbing Drug Dealers written by Bruce Jacobs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-29 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume fills a research gap of striking proportions by exploring the contingencies that mediate the crimes perpetrated on those who are themselves perpetrators. The notion that violence is something that happens only to law-abiding citizens is both widely held and inaccurate. The disproportionate share of victims of crime are, in reality, themselves involved in crime. Yet existing scholarship has failed to explore the contingencies that mediate offenses like drug robbery - from the forces that inspire it, to the methods used to select targets, to the means employed to generate compliance, down to the tactics used to thwart retaliatory attempts after the crime has ended.Given that predatory behavior between and among offenders ultimately spreads to society at large (the ""contagion effect""), a research gap of striking proportions has emerged. The imprudence of robbing other criminals is widely assumed. Yet criminologists paradoxically observe that a major benefit of robbing fellow criminals is that they cannot report the offense to the authorities. Why, then, should offenders elect to reduce their odds of getting arrested at the cost of enhancing their chances of getting killed?Drawing on candid interviews with the perpetrators, Jacobs attempts to answer such questions and fill this gap in the research agenda of criminology. The result is a narrative that explores the world of street-corner drugs from the vantage point of those who actually commit these high-risk crimes. It also introduces serious ethical issues that criminology and law enforcement tend to gloss over or ignore entirely. This work is innovative and troubling at the same time. It takes a theme that Hollywood films have explored in greater depth than social science, and restores it as a crucial part of the ethnography of crime.

Download or read book Drug Kingpins written by The New York Times Editorial Staff and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2020-07-15 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The legacies of drug kingpins are both egregious and legendary. Through vast networks of mercenaries, corrupt officials, terrorists, and smugglers, organized drug cartels traffic billions of dollars in heroin, cocaine, MDMA, and methamphetamine across international borders. El Chapo, Pablo Escobar, Frank Lucas, Paul Le Roux, and other kingpins have left indelible marks on the communities they used for drug trafficking, and their far-reaching impact can take years to undo by even the most vigilant law enforcement efforts. This collection details the breadth of their crimes, and includes media literacy questions and terms that challenge readers to assess how journalistic principles are applied to news coverage of kingpins and narcotrafficking.

Download or read book Dorm Room Dealers written by A. Rafik Mohamed and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors provide insight into the world of college drug dealers, affluent, upwardly mobile students who have everything to lose and little to gain, and offer an important corrective to the traditional distorted view of the US drug trade as primarily involving poor minorities. Drawing on six years of fieldwork at a predominately white private university, their ethnography explores issues of deviance, race, and stratification in the US war on drugs.

Download or read book The Mastermind written by Evan Ratliff and published by Random House. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux—the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. “A tour de force of shoe-leather reporting—undertaken, amid threats and menacing, at considerable personal risk.”—Los Angeles Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Evening Standard • Kirkus Reviews It all started as an online prescription drug network, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of painkillers to American customers. It would not stop there. Before long, the business had turned into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. Yachts carrying $100 million in cocaine. Safe houses in Hong Kong filled with gold bars. Shipments of methamphetamine from North Korea. Weapons deals with Iran. Mercenary armies in Somalia. Teams of hit men in the Philippines. Encryption programs so advanced that the government could not break them. The man behind it all, pulling the strings from a laptop in Manila, was Paul Calder Le Roux—a reclusive programmer turned criminal genius who could only exist in the networked world of the twenty-first century, and the kind of self-made crime boss that American law enforcement had never imagined. For half a decade, DEA agents played a global game of cat-and-mouse with Le Roux as he left terror and chaos in his wake. Each time they came close, he would slip away. It would take relentless investigative work, and a shocking betrayal from within his organization, to catch him. And when he was finally caught, the story turned again, as Le Roux struck a deal to bring down his own organization and the people he had once employed. Award-winning investigative journalist Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate puzzle, chasing Le Roux’s empire and his shadowy henchmen around the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and uncovering thousands of documents. The result is a riveting, unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age. Praise for The Mastermind “The Mastermind is true crime at its most stark and vivid depiction. Evan Ratliff’s work is well done from beginning to end, paralleling his investigative work with the work of the many federal agents developing the case against LeRoux.”—San Francisco Book Review (five stars) “A wholly engrossing story that joins the worlds of El Chapo and Edward Snowden; both disturbing and memorable.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Download or read book Drug Warrior written by Jack Riley and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DEA Agent Jack Riley, "[Chicago's] most famous federal agent since the days of The Untouchables" (-Rolling Stone) tells the inside story of his 30-year hunt for the drug kingpin known as El Chapo, and reveals the true causes of the American opioid epidemic. Jack Riley, grandson of a Chicago cop known for using his fists, was born to be a drug warrior. Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, who farmed marijuana and opium poppies as a teenager in Mexico, was born to be a drug lord. Their worlds collided when Riley, a career special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, was promoted to lead the fight against Chapo on the border at El Paso. Drug Warrior is the story of Riley's decades-long hunt for the world's most wanted drug lord, set against the rise of modern international drug trafficking, and America's spiraling opioid epidemic. Jack Riley started his career as an undercover street agent in Chicago busting small-time dealers. By the time he worked his way up to second in command of the DEA-a post few field agents ever reach-he had overseen every major mission to capture foreign drug kingpins since the 1990s, and had witnessed first-hand how El Chapo changed the game. As brilliant as he was lethal, Chapo not only decimated his competition, he foresaw Americans' dependence on opioids and heroin, and manipulated supply to increase demand. Riley's story culminates as he and the DEA win their greatest victory-the capture and extradition of his long-time nemesis-and Chapo faces his darkest fear: U.S. justice. A riveting memoir of life inside the drug wars, and a never-before-seen glimpse of the inner-workings of the DEA, Drug Warrior is a critical examination of how America's opioid crisis came to be, and the extraordinary people fighting it.

Download or read book Amphetamine King written by Alexander Gonzales and published by Author House. This book was released on 2011-03-25 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his book, Gonzales provides snapshots of true-life accounts to eloquently describe the world in which he lived from the humble beginnings of his childhood, to his life as a Drug Kingpin, to his transformation in State Prison. He goes into detail of how he perfected the manufacturing and distribution of amphetamines during the mid to late 1980s. His escapades include run-ins with infamous drug lords and mad men of various underground organizations. And of course, he discusses the key people involved in helping him rise from a Latino Texan minion to a convicted Drug Kingpin.

Download or read book Dealing with Privilege written by David Crawford and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dealing with Privilege: Cannabis, Cocaine, and the Economic Foundations of Suburban Drug Culture focuses on the careers of nine successfully retired drug dealers, offering a contrast to sociological, criminological, and other depictions of drug dealing as a realm of the desperate, dangerous, and poor. David Crawford tells the great untold story of drug dealing in America, where white, middle-class dealers are unlikely to suffer the enforcement of drug laws. Contrary to media portrayals, Crawford argues that suburban drug sales are not oriented around money making but friendship and fun. Using economic anthropology, classic sociology, and neuroscience to analyze the life trajectories of these dealers, Crawford touches on issues of crime, race, culture, aging, gender, privilege, illegal drugs, and the limits of conventional economics as a framework to understand economic behavior.

Download or read book Drug Lord written by Terrence E. Poppa and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pablo Acosta, born in abject poverty in Mexico, became drug czar of Ojinaga across the border from the Big Bend country of Texas. He launched his career by smuggling marijuana and heroin into the U.S., later adding cocaine, and forging an alliance with Columbian drug traders. At the peak, he may have controlled 60% of the coke trafficked into the U.S., according to Poppa. The author shows that Acosta consolidated his power by murdering rivals, corrupting local police and soldiers, distributing money to the poor and contributing generously to civic projects. Eventually, however, he became a coke addict; his iron entrepreneurial grip slipped; and he was tracked down and killed in 1987 by an international narcotic strike force. Poppa interviewed the drug lord in 1986 for the El Paso Herald-Post and bases this enlightening book in part on those talks.

Download or read book Desperados written by Elaine Shannon and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: READ THE CAMARENA STORY AND FIND OUT WHY THE DRUG TRADE IS KILLING US. Desperados takes you to the front line of the drug wars. You'll come face to face to with: Swaggering, flamboyant drug lords who rule over immense empires; Federal police and government officials who are silent partners in the vicious drug trade; A CIA locked in a unholy relationship with the Mexican security police; The Regan administration's duplicitous and ambivalent fight against narcotics. In Desperados you'll learn firsthand about the isolation, vulnerability, and courage of DEA agents in Latin America. And you'll witness the harrowing murder of Enrique ("Kiki") Camarena, a dedicated agent who tried, against all odds, to secure one victory in this endless war. "A breathtaking, behind-the-scenes look at one of the major problems of our time" The San Diego Tribune "Fast-paced and meticulously documented...reads like a thriller." The Village Voice

Download or read book I am a Drug Lord written by Anonymous and published by WelBeck. This book was released on with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Kingpin written by Sarah Bartholomeusz and published by Michael Hanrahan Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who are the most innovative and creative business leaders of all time? Names such as Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Nikola Tesla and Bill Gates usually come to mind, but Kingpin proposes an alternative. What if the most innovative and creative entrepreneurs operate on the fringe of business culture, outside the generally accepted confines of corporate organisation and governance? Despite the immoral, destructive and violent culture of the illicit drug trade, drug Kingpins are - first and foremost - entrepreneurs and risk managers. As pioneers of the underworld, they face unique challenges arising from the illegal nature of their trade. Their unpredictable and inherently risky world provides a wealth of diverse business challenges rarely encountered by mainstream business leaders. Thus they provide us with lessons that we can learn from no one else. The most successful Kingpins are visionary leaders who survive by implementing effective business strategies and policies. By suspending our judgement of the drug dealer and focusing on the Kingpin, we open our minds to their pioneering spirit. Their skills, flaws, triumphs and downfalls are magnified by the volatile environment that shapes their enterprises. By bravely exploring where others fear to tread, Sarah Bartholomeusz reveals unique insights that have eluded the minds of the world's most respected business experts and provides us with innovative approaches to managing risk during times of rapid change. The seven people examined in this book have been chosen because they are all high achievers in their field. The shock of their real-world impact, though often reprehensible, has reverberated across the globe. While the Kingpins as leaders operate within a similar rule set to executives, they come from widely differing backgrounds and they build their businesses in an environment of extreme volatility. This makes them ideal subjects of study for business experts at the cutting edge of industry. Their responses to compliance situations are not curtailed by the law, best practice or, at times, even logic. This makes them some of the most innovative and creative business leaders in the world, and they therefore provide us with lessons that are simply unavailable through the study of mainstream leaders.

Download or read book Original Gangster written by Frank Lucas and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-06-08 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A suspenseful memoir from the real life American gangster, Frank Lucas In his own words, Frank Lucas recounts his life as the former heroin dealer and organized crime boss who ran Harlem during the late 1960s and early 1970s. From being taken under the wing of old time gangster Bumpy Johnson, through one of the most successful drug smuggling operations, to being sentenced to seventy years in prison, Original Gangster is a chilling look at the rise and fall of a modern legacy. Frank Lucas realized that in order to gain the kind of success he craved he would have to break the monopoly that the Italian mafia held in New York. So Frank cut out middlemen and began smuggling heroin into the United States directly from his source in the Golden Triangle by using coffins. Making a million dollars per day selling "Blue Magic"—what was known as the purest heroin on the street—Frank Lucas became one of the most powerful crime lords of his time, while rubbing shoulders with the elite in entertainment, politics, and crime. After his arrest, Federal Judge Sterling Johnson, the special narcotics prosecutor in New York at the time of Lucas' crimes, called Lucas and his operation "one of the most outrageous international dope-smuggling gangs ever, an innovator who got his own connections outside the U.S. and then sold the narcotics himself in the street." This powerful memoir reveals what really happened to the man whose career was dramatized in the 2007 feature film American Gangster, exposing a startling look at the world of organized crime.

Download or read book Dopesick written by Beth Macy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-08-09 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now a major TV series on Disney+ 'A shocking investigation... Dopesick is essential' The Times 'Unfolds with all the pace of a thriller' Observer 'A deep – and deeply needed – look into the troubled soul of America' Tom Hanks 'Essential reading' New York Times Beth Macy reveals the disturbing truth behind America's opioid crisis and explains how a nation has become enslaved to prescription drugs. This powerful and moving story explains how a large corporation, Purdue, encouraged small town doctors to prescribe OxyContin to a country already awash in painkillers. The drug's dangerously addictive nature was hidden, whilst many used it as an escape, to numb the pain of of joblessness and the need to pay the bills. Macy tries to answer a grieving mother's question – why her only son died – and comes away with a harrowing tale of greed and need.