Tuesday, December 6, 2011

AMERICAN DESPERADO by Jon Roberts and Evan Wright

Finished Tu 12/6/11

A biography of arguably the most successful American drug dealer, ever! The man was born into the 'Blue Blood' world of the Italian mafia. His father and uncles sailed from Sicily with Charles 'Lucky' Luciano. His real name is Jon Riccobono, but he changed it to Jon Pernell Roberts after the actor on the television show, 'Bonanza'.

His father was deported to Sicily, and his mother remarried, and he began his life of crime in the New York suburbs both with a street gang called 'The Outcasts', and with his uncles in the Italian mafia. Soon, he was busted and was sent to Vietnam instead of a jail sentence. There he excelled as a paid killer for the United States in a branch of Special Forces known as 'Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol'.

Jon Roberts is a man without any moral compass whatsoever. He claims that Evil is more powerful the Good, and any Cosmic Justice is a complete joke. However, one thing is for certain. He lived his life accordingly, and never looked for help from any sort of Higher Power.

Jon and his partners were heavily involved in the trendy NYC nightclub scene of the Swinging Sixties. He became a major supplier of all forms of narcotics, and was even a close acquaintance of Jimi Hendrix.

The book is chock full of detail, and examines numerous murders and drug deals perpetrated by Jon and his crew. By the mid 80's he was America's rep with the deadly Medellin drug cartel. His main base of operations was in Florida, and he lived in a big ranch out in the Everglades. When he was finally brought down, he was facing a three hundred year sentence, but he managed to have it reduced to THREE YEARS!

An amazing story, and an amazing individual. A man who just might be truly evil, and I don't think that he would have any trouble admitting to this fact.

My post at GoodReads (Tu 12/6/11)
This is the story of arguably the most successful American drug dealer, ever! He was born in 1948, and related by blood to the aristocracy of the Italian mafia-his father and uncles sailed from Sicily with Charles 'Lucky' Luciano, and were part of the Gambino Crime Syndicate.

The book is chock full of detail, and delineates numerous murders, drug deals involving millions of dollars, and wild excesses perpetrated by Jon and his crew. When he was finally brought down, he faced a three hundred year sentence, yet he managed to have it reduced to THREE YEARS!

An amazing story about an amazing individual who just happens to be truly evil, however the book presents his code of behavior in his own words. Many of his beliefs are shocking and morally aberrant, yet he can make the reader understand his position. And, that is the biggest 'kick' of the book. He makes the case that Evil is more powerful than Good, and any Cosmic Justice is a complete joke. However, one thing is for certain. Jon Roberts has lived his life accordingly, and has never once looked for help from any sort of Higher Power-in this world, or the next.

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