{"product_id":"9780063265530_the-last-kilo-willy-falcon-and-the-cocaine-empire-that-seduced-america","title":"The Last Kilo: Willy Falcon and the Cocaine Empire That Seduced America","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom true-crime legend T. J. English, the epic, behind-the-scenes saga of “Los Muchachos,” one of the most successful cocaine trafficking organizations in American history—a story of glitz, glamour, and organized crime set against 1980’s Miami.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite what \u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e might lead one to believe, violence was not the dominant characteristic of the cocaine business. It was corruption: the dirty cops, agents, lawyers, judges, and politicians who made the drug world go round. And no one managed that carousel of dangerous players better than Willy Falcon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Cuban exile whose family escaped Fidel Castro’s Cuba when he was eleven years old, Falcon, as a teenager, became active in the anti-Castro movement. He began smuggling cocaine into the U.S. as a way to raise money to buy arms for the Contras in Central America. This counter-revolutionary activity led directly to Willy’s genesis as a narco. He and his partners built an extraordinary international organization from the ground up. Los Muchachos, the syndicate founded by Falcon, thrived as a major cocaine distribution network in the U.S. from the late 1970’s into the early 1990’s. At their height, Los Muchachos made more than a hundred million dollars a year. At the same time, Willy, his brother Tavy Falcon, and partner Sal Magluta became famous as championship powerboat racers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCocaine, used by everyone from A-list celebrities to lawyers and people in law enforcement, came to define an era, and for a time, Willy Falcon and those like him—major suppliers, of whom there were only a few—became stars in their own right. They were the deliverers of good times, at least until the downside of persistent cocaine use became apparent: delusions of grandeur, psychological addiction, financial ruin. Thus, the War on Drugs was born, and federal authorities came after Falcon and his crew with a vengeance. Willy found himself on the run, his marriage and family life in shambles, the halcyon days of boat races and lavish trips to Vegas and parties at the \u003cem\u003eMutiny\u003c\/em\u003e night club seemingly a distant memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eT. J. English has been granted unprecedented access to the inner workings of Los Muchachos, sitting down with Willy Falcon and his associates for many lengthy interviews, and revealing never-before-understood details about drug trafficking. A classic of true-crime writing from a master of the genre, \u003cem\u003eThe Last Kilo\u003c\/em\u003e traces the rise and fall of a true cocaine empire—and the lives left in its wake.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"T. J. English","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46898366087317,"sku":"9780063265530","price":65.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9780063265530_15e31783-23c0-4812-89d8-6c9f913c1128.jpg?v=1776888266","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9780063265530_the-last-kilo-willy-falcon-and-the-cocaine-empire-that-seduced-america","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}