Dirty Deal

"Cartwright tells the story of the Chagra brothers, Lee and Joe, as they get mixed up with the drug-running community along the border and in short order find themselves hopelessly entangled in a net cast by the DEA. Even readers unfamiliar with the well-publicized events of the book or of the dark, lawless aspect that often rules El Paso will find themselves pulled along by the plot: brigands and intrigue leap from almost every page, and the story just gets wilder the further into it you venture."--from an Amazon.com review Four pages into this rollicking good story, the central figure, Lee Chagra, comes alive: " Lee] washed his morning cocaine down with strong coffee and remembered the time he had met Sinatra, how genuine he appeared." Everything you'll need to know and remember about Chagra--the son of Syrian immigrants to Mexico and an attorney who spun the world of dope-running, border-crossing, high-living outlaws along the El Paso-Juarez border around his finger like the gaudy rings he favored--can be neatly summarized in that one sentence. Chagra dies two pages later, yet he haunts the rest of this cautionary tale like a high-rolling specter. Gary Cartwright is a long-respected, award-winning journalist and contributing editor to Texas Monthly magazine. The author of numerous books, he has contributed stories to such national publications as Harper's, Life, and Esquire. He lives in Austin, Texas.

An encyclopedia unlike any other, this work focuses on lobbying, corruption, and political influence in America to inspire readers to think critically about the U.S. government and to appreciate the opportunities of citizenship. Even before the founding of the Republic, James Madison expressed the concern that special interest influence could become "adverse to the rights of other citizens [as well as] the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." In modern times, examples of lobbying scandals and corruption associated with political campaign contributions abound—and yet our political system can and does further the larger goals of American democracy. Suited for advanced high school students, undergraduates, and general readers, this set examines the three powerful forces that affect every level of government but typically operate out of public view. This three-volume work exhaustively covers the evolution and impact of lobbying, political influence, and corruption from the Colonial era to today. Volume 1 contains detailed scholarly essays on various aspects of lobbying, corruption, and political influence. Volume 2 comprises informative A–Z entries on people, events, laws, organizations, and legal decisions. The entries demonstrate the linkages among the topics but give equal attention to each as an independent influence on U.S. government and politics. Developments since 1990 and the extensive proliferation of the Internet and social media receive additional emphasis. Volume 3 contains primary documents that include executive orders, court cases, state and federal lobbying forms, and codes of conduct related to lobbying, campaign finance reform, and anti-corruption measures.

When a young screenwriter goes online to check out the promotional website for a new poker movie called Rounders, he’s shocked to discover how similar it is to a screenplay he wrote a few years earlier and submitted to a number of studios. When he later sees the Miramax-produced film in theaters, he is astonished by the number of overlapping elements—the protagonist playing Texas Hold ’em to pay his way through college while deceiving the girlfriend who believes he’s quit, the loss of everything he has in a single hand of high-stakes Hold ’em, a character named “Worm,” and many other commonalities that form the foundation of what will become his lawsuit against Miramax. He leaves the theater that day feeling that not only has the studio stolen his script, but his life, which had encompassed years of professional poker playing that informed the screenplay he hoped would open the door to a writing career in Hollywood. Against all odds, he proceeds to take on Miramax and the Hollywood system with the help of an ingenious lawyer. Jeffrey Grosso simply has to prove how it could have happened and convince a judicial system that often favors studios over writers that he’s a victim of intellectual property theft, which results in a ten-year landmark legal battle against Hollywood’s most notorious studio. Part comic legal thriller, part nail-biting poker memoir, Dirty Dealing: Grosso v. Miramax—Waging War Against Harvey Weinstein, and the Screenplay that Changed Hollywood is the entertaining look at one man’s fight to get the credit he believes he deserves. Does he have a case or are the similarities just an illusion the mind plays on a creator? Perhaps there are only five stories in Hollywood, as his lawyer points out, and no idea is truly original. You be the judge.

Highly organised gangs, from the Italian Mafia to the Japanese Yakuza, infiltrate every corner of the globe: and money laundering is at the heart of their business. Dirty Dealing exposes the awesome scale and scope of global money laundering and its filtration into the world's legitimate business structures. Leading expert Peter Lilley reveals how the money is obtained, how it is "washed", and how organizations can detect and prevent money laundering. Highly topical, this fully revised and updated edition provides thorough examination on the funding of terrorism. Packed with incredible stories, shocking facts and telling detail, Dirty Dealing brings home the global scale of crime. Invaluable appendixes provide a country-by-country guide to specific local issues, types of crime and legislation, and a directory of websites offering further information on money laundering and related issues.

In the tempestuous world of the mafia, loyalty is everything and secrets are a dangerous currency. Riccardo, the enigmatic right-hand man to the formidable Don, has always kept his past shrouded in mystery. But when the dark shadows of his past start to intertwine with the present, the lethal streets of Russia become his battleground. As they delve deeper into a deadly game to find a killer, Riccardo's fiercely protected ward, the innocent and alluring Liat, becomes a target. The stakes are raised as an intense, fiery passion sparks between them. In a universe where love can be as lethal as betrayal, will their one-night stand lead to forever, or doom them both? Dive into this heart-pounding, OMYW romance for an epic conclusion that will leave you breathless.

He's so much more than she bargained for... Professional matchmaker Serena Elliott spends her workdays helping clients find love. It's the perfect gig. She gets to see the good part of the relationships...before things inevitably turn to crap. She leads her own love life the same way. Get in, and get out before things get too complicated. One date with sexy army doctor, Bryan Metcalf, won't be enough to make her change her mind, no matter how hot it gets... Bryan has had his share of crazy women and isn't in the market for another relationship that ends by way of restraining order. When Serena Elliott gets into a bidding war for him at a charity bachelor auction, he's a little worried. Turns out she's just as anti-relationship as he is, and could be the solution to all his problems. If he can convince her to be his fake girlfriend, he just might be able to spend the rest of his leave in peace. Now if only he can stop thinking about that night on the beach... But there are other forces at work that believe these two belong together, and they just might find out that happily ever afters do exist.

Drawing on both theory and major case studies, this book provides a much-needed sociological and comparative analysis of the world of the manager in the context of misconduct within business organizations. Organizational misbehaviour and crime have been relatively neglected in the social sciences, particularly in business studies. Analyses have tended to be fragmentary, overly slanted towards narrow external views - such as those of legal control and public policy - and predominantly North American. Dirty Business rectifies this by offering a broad sociological perspective related to work, organizations and management, supported by a range of key international case studies. In developing his arguments, Maurice Punch draws on primary and secondary sources as well as his extensive personal experience of teaching and interacting with managers and in developing courses on crisis and disaster management.

Pregnant women are disappearing in the capital region. The mother of Alexia Clemmons, one of the missing women, hires private investigator Leah Ryan and partner Jackson Quick to find her daughter. The list of suspects include Alexia¿s philandering husband, who hardly seems broken up about his pregnant wife¿s disappearance, a cult leader who purposely impregnates his female followers whose babies suddenly vanish, and a shady network of adoption agencies whose involvement in a black market baby scheme has ruined many lives. Taking this case leads Jack and Leah into a labyrinth of mystery and murder.Complicating matters is Leah¿s intense sexual attraction to Lucas Novak, the married expert in violence and threat assessment whose expertise they¿ve enlisted. Turning to Lucas in search of oblivion leads to a series of risky, addictive encounters between them, endangering Leah emotionally and physically as her focus on the case wavers.