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jtfales's review
4.0
Pretty gripping. A compendium of hard to believe anecdotes about a computer whiz turned cartel boss, and the bizarre antics that result from a single person amassing unchecked power.
sarapalooza's review
4.0
The Mastermind
Evan Ratliff
The “true crime” genre is not one I spend much time engaged in, although I am a massive devotee of Dateline and Keith Morrison.
An interview with the author inspired me to Google Paul LeRoux, the book’s subject, and I was fascinated. This is a real page turner that weaves a tale of one of the most prolific crime bosses in history, turned DEA informant.
The diversification and depth of this man’s crimes are astounding (worth a Wiki read if you’re unaware of him). I can’t help but wonder all the good that would have been possible if his focus had been something other than power and money.
Ratliff has researched the heck out of this, and I am grateful to be able to travel around the world via his keyboard!
Evan Ratliff
The “true crime” genre is not one I spend much time engaged in, although I am a massive devotee of Dateline and Keith Morrison.
An interview with the author inspired me to Google Paul LeRoux, the book’s subject, and I was fascinated. This is a real page turner that weaves a tale of one of the most prolific crime bosses in history, turned DEA informant.
The diversification and depth of this man’s crimes are astounding (worth a Wiki read if you’re unaware of him). I can’t help but wonder all the good that would have been possible if his focus had been something other than power and money.
Ratliff has researched the heck out of this, and I am grateful to be able to travel around the world via his keyboard!
mkesten's review
3.0
In Evan Ratliff’s absorbing account of Paul Le Roux’s criminal empire, I am reminded of another criminal trial that is presently wrapping up, and a couple of trials that ought to be but are unlikely ever to take place.
Joaquim “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, head of a deadly Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel sits in a Manhattan prison awaiting sentencing for murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, racketeering, and organized crime.
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, may never stand trial for conspiracy to commit fraud in the transfer of his father’s real estate empire to himself and his siblings, for conspiring with a foreign power to undermine the security of the United States, or for conspiring to launder money for known Russian kingpins.
Advances in logistics, computer payment systems, and social media have made massive online fraud in the distribution and consumption of barbiturates eminently feasible for at least a generation. It was these systems which made Le Roux’s online prescription services a foregone conclusion and to some degree, virtually unassailable. Nobody will face trial for this: not the courier companies, not the managers of the Internet infrastructure, and as we’ve seen, not the social media companies that lure the eyeballs of millions of people.
The drugs Le Roux distributed under American law were not “controlled substances” at the time his business swung into full operation. The admittedly brilliant computer programmer used the infrastructure to climb into the stratosphere of the wealthy few.
This newfound power led him to even bigger crimes corrupting public servants in many countries, hustling methamphetamines out of N. Korea (most likely manufactured with the participation of the Kim family), originating targeted assassinations, and shepherding tons of cocaine around the oceans for the El Chapos of the drug world.
Whether the drugs are controlled substances or not seems to be beside the point. There’s something about our society that seems to be out of control, something that the wealthiest have figured out: that accountability and transparency have gone out the window.
Corruption is on the ascent across the globe. Vast sums of illegally acquired money and tax-sheltered money move across jurisdictions with the aid of bankers, lawyers, and border personnel. Dictators like Rodrigo Duterte assume power with a mandate to clean up the drug trade in his country so he takes the opportunity to assign death squads to mete out rough justice, but the biggest criminals remain hidden.
Le Roux’s saga changed dramatically when he turned state’s evidence in rolling up many of his employees and may walk out of an American prison in another ten years.
American prosecutors blurred their priorities enough to give Le Roux an exit plan. First they built a case to convict him of the initial online drug business, then they compiled a record of racketeering and mob-style violence, then another case of shipping controlled substances around the globe, and finally there is a case that he conspired with North Korea and Iran.
American law enforcement found a treasure trove of contacts and information in Le Roux’s cooperation, undoubtedly offering him inducements to stay onside, more than we’re ever likely to know, and enough to keep him from being criminally accountable on his international crimes.
On one hand you ask yourself: “Well, if El Chapo gets caught and sent to prison after all the drug smuggling, murders, and payoffs to politicians surely the world is a just place after all. With any luck he won’t escape a US SuperMax prison.”
But for Donald Trump the only exit will be at the ballot box. He has earned the biggest get out of jail free card almost no matter what he does next. There will be a lot of hemming and hawing but the next president will likely do what Barak Obama did and let bygones be bygones. Why? Because ultimately Americans believe the institution would take too big a hit to its prestige to indict either a sitting or past president.
As we learn in this story Trump is negotiating with a regime in N. Korea that not only is building a deliverable nuclear arsenal, but also manufactures massive quantities of methamphetamines bound for the US market. Trump’s bro-mance with Kim Jong-un is nothing short of disgusting.
It will be a similar logic to the “too big to fail” rationale taken to preserve US financial institutions.
The question remains “is it right?”
As we roll up environmental protections, human rights legislation, economic redistribution of wealth, and democratic protections around the globe not only is it wrong it risks dooming our society and civilization.
And yet I am a businessman in retail who suffers from an extreme form of accountability. When people leave my stores unhappy, as they sometimes do, a few of them leave really nasty reviews on Google or YELP. So before I begin criticizing seasoned US prosecutors I best settle up with my conscience.
This is a really complex environment in which to do business, even the business of the people. The prosecutors enforce laws written long before the electronic communications environment we find ourselves in today.
No wonder they had a hard time nailing Le Roux’s business.
Joaquim “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, head of a deadly Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel sits in a Manhattan prison awaiting sentencing for murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, racketeering, and organized crime.
Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, may never stand trial for conspiracy to commit fraud in the transfer of his father’s real estate empire to himself and his siblings, for conspiring with a foreign power to undermine the security of the United States, or for conspiring to launder money for known Russian kingpins.
Advances in logistics, computer payment systems, and social media have made massive online fraud in the distribution and consumption of barbiturates eminently feasible for at least a generation. It was these systems which made Le Roux’s online prescription services a foregone conclusion and to some degree, virtually unassailable. Nobody will face trial for this: not the courier companies, not the managers of the Internet infrastructure, and as we’ve seen, not the social media companies that lure the eyeballs of millions of people.
The drugs Le Roux distributed under American law were not “controlled substances” at the time his business swung into full operation. The admittedly brilliant computer programmer used the infrastructure to climb into the stratosphere of the wealthy few.
This newfound power led him to even bigger crimes corrupting public servants in many countries, hustling methamphetamines out of N. Korea (most likely manufactured with the participation of the Kim family), originating targeted assassinations, and shepherding tons of cocaine around the oceans for the El Chapos of the drug world.
Whether the drugs are controlled substances or not seems to be beside the point. There’s something about our society that seems to be out of control, something that the wealthiest have figured out: that accountability and transparency have gone out the window.
Corruption is on the ascent across the globe. Vast sums of illegally acquired money and tax-sheltered money move across jurisdictions with the aid of bankers, lawyers, and border personnel. Dictators like Rodrigo Duterte assume power with a mandate to clean up the drug trade in his country so he takes the opportunity to assign death squads to mete out rough justice, but the biggest criminals remain hidden.
Le Roux’s saga changed dramatically when he turned state’s evidence in rolling up many of his employees and may walk out of an American prison in another ten years.
American prosecutors blurred their priorities enough to give Le Roux an exit plan. First they built a case to convict him of the initial online drug business, then they compiled a record of racketeering and mob-style violence, then another case of shipping controlled substances around the globe, and finally there is a case that he conspired with North Korea and Iran.
American law enforcement found a treasure trove of contacts and information in Le Roux’s cooperation, undoubtedly offering him inducements to stay onside, more than we’re ever likely to know, and enough to keep him from being criminally accountable on his international crimes.
On one hand you ask yourself: “Well, if El Chapo gets caught and sent to prison after all the drug smuggling, murders, and payoffs to politicians surely the world is a just place after all. With any luck he won’t escape a US SuperMax prison.”
But for Donald Trump the only exit will be at the ballot box. He has earned the biggest get out of jail free card almost no matter what he does next. There will be a lot of hemming and hawing but the next president will likely do what Barak Obama did and let bygones be bygones. Why? Because ultimately Americans believe the institution would take too big a hit to its prestige to indict either a sitting or past president.
As we learn in this story Trump is negotiating with a regime in N. Korea that not only is building a deliverable nuclear arsenal, but also manufactures massive quantities of methamphetamines bound for the US market. Trump’s bro-mance with Kim Jong-un is nothing short of disgusting.
It will be a similar logic to the “too big to fail” rationale taken to preserve US financial institutions.
The question remains “is it right?”
As we roll up environmental protections, human rights legislation, economic redistribution of wealth, and democratic protections around the globe not only is it wrong it risks dooming our society and civilization.
And yet I am a businessman in retail who suffers from an extreme form of accountability. When people leave my stores unhappy, as they sometimes do, a few of them leave really nasty reviews on Google or YELP. So before I begin criticizing seasoned US prosecutors I best settle up with my conscience.
This is a really complex environment in which to do business, even the business of the people. The prosecutors enforce laws written long before the electronic communications environment we find ourselves in today.
No wonder they had a hard time nailing Le Roux’s business.
melissamcallisterbookishgirl's review
5.0
This book weaves an incredible tale! It’s like The Wire as a true story... I knew Evan Ratliff from The Longform Podcast. I heard about this book from an episode of the Reply All podcast, “The Founder”, and knew I would have to read it. Glad I did.
mikegray6's review
3.0
3.5/5
Wild story happening in the last 10 years. It is always amazing to me to think these types of things are happening around the world today. Very well done and interesting (I was definitely flipping the pages and wanted to know what happened next) but I wasn't blown away by it. It also left some things unfinished, by nature of it being a modern true crime.
Worth reading if you have any interest in international drug/weapons trades. Not sure it was as technical as I was expecting, but perhaps it is for someone not in the tech space.
Wild story happening in the last 10 years. It is always amazing to me to think these types of things are happening around the world today. Very well done and interesting (I was definitely flipping the pages and wanted to know what happened next) but I wasn't blown away by it. It also left some things unfinished, by nature of it being a modern true crime.
Worth reading if you have any interest in international drug/weapons trades. Not sure it was as technical as I was expecting, but perhaps it is for someone not in the tech space.
readyourworriesaway's review
5.0
I added this to my May BOTM box, and it’s been sitting on my shelves ever since then. I‘m not really sure why I kept putting it off, because the story was definitely intriguing to me. I’m so glad that I finally picked this book up because it was incredible.
The Mastermind is the true story of the journey to catch Paul Le Roux. Le Roux started an online prescription site where he provided hundreds of millions of dollars worth of painkillers to Americans. Le Roux’s criminal activity only got worse from there. Drugs, murder, gold, safe houses— it’s crazy that it took a decade to bring him down.
The Mastermind was truly insane and such an incredible piece of investigative journalism. There were so many crazy elements. I would highly recommend this book to any true crime fans!
The Mastermind is the true story of the journey to catch Paul Le Roux. Le Roux started an online prescription site where he provided hundreds of millions of dollars worth of painkillers to Americans. Le Roux’s criminal activity only got worse from there. Drugs, murder, gold, safe houses— it’s crazy that it took a decade to bring him down.
The Mastermind was truly insane and such an incredible piece of investigative journalism. There were so many crazy elements. I would highly recommend this book to any true crime fans!