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Title: Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border & the Assassination of a Federal Judge : An American Parable by Gary Cartwright ISBN: 0-938317-35-0 Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (9 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The Chagras Were Criminals..., Period!
Comment: Cartwright's friendship with Joe and Patty Chagra is quite evident throughout the contents of this book. As a historical and informative book, I enjoyed it very much. However, Cartwright's constant attempt to portray the Chagras as victims of an over-zealous federal investigation or as some type of folk heros is absurd. Lee, Jimmy, and Joe were the typical, bottom-of-the-barrel scum who hurt many true victims in our society. And I am referring to not just the assassination of Judge Wood, but all the crime that is associated with any narcotics dealer. The U.S. government did an excellent job to remove Jimmy, Joe, and the other worthless members of their group from society. Joe had no business attempting to get his law license back after his time in jail. The government never promised to help him get it back, as Cartwright insinuates in his book. The government doesn't make promises like that. The only people that may have seen the Chagras as "heros" were fellow criminals. And even then, the Chagras weren't the brightest individuals as they were always flaunting their wealth, doing cocaine, and drawing attention to themselves. It's the smart criminals that don't get caught.
Rating: 2
Summary: Too sympathetic to the bad guys
Comment: The murder of Judge "Maximum" John Wood is a fascinating case, and I'm bewildered as to why it is the subject of apparently just this book. It is my understanding that the FBI spent more time investigating the assassination (which had Woody Harrelson's father as the triggerman!) than in any other case besides the Kennedy murder.
Yet I regret to say that this book is essentially a "hit job" of its own against Judge Wood. The author seems to rely on a lot of statements from defense attorneys (not the type of people to love a judge who hands out stiff punishments). He also "weeps" copious tears over the lot of one Joe Chagra, the brother of Jamiel Chagra, the man who actually ordered the hit. If memory serves, the author gives the impression that he thought it was a shame that Joe Chagra, who admitted to playing a role in the killing, was not allowed to practice law after being released from prison (he subsequently died in a traffic accident).
I am prepared to accept that Judge Wood was not a fair judge. I am also prepared to accept that Joe Chagra may not have been the prince of darkness. However, I will never accept the argument that Chagra, a lawyer and officer of the court, should have been allowed to resume being a lawyer after playing a role, however tangential, in what amounts to a direct assault on the judicial system itself.
I will also never accept the subtext of the book that if Wood had been fairer, he wouldn't have been killed. As if the fact that a judge is unfair gives a criminal (a VERY powerful drug dealer) to kill him. Give me a break.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic Book
Comment: I'm surprised to see such little attention given to this book. Anyway, extremely well written, fascinating story line, colorful characters.
There's lots of details here (almost too many) and probably requires a second reading to understand the full impact and all the connections. But it's a great story that has many twists and turns.
My only criticism is with the organization of the book. Much of the first third focuses on a character (spoiler) who ends up dying. At that point the story changes focus on two other characters, so all the story arcs have to start all over again. There's tons of details, so I imagine the nightmare in trying to organize all the overlapping details.
That said, it's not a big deal, and probably more of a personal preference.
Read this book. It really is exceptional.
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Title: Drug Lord, the Life and Death of a Mexican Kingpin by Terrence E. Poppa ISBN: 0966443004 Publisher: Demand Publications Pub. Date: 23 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Cowboy Mafia by Roy Graham ISBN: 0970961405 Publisher: The Grove Pub Pub. Date: March, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Down by the River : Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family by Charles Bowden ISBN: 0684853434 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: Drug Smuggling: The Forbidden Book by K. Hawkeye Gross ISBN: 0873646851 Publisher: Paladin Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1992 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Doctor Dealer: The Rise and Fall of an All-American Boy and His Multimillion-Dollar Cocaine Empire by Mark Bowden ISBN: 0802137571 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 30 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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