The Grandma Mafia

Suitcases of money . . . boxes of cocaine . . . undercover agents . . . wiretaps . . . government leaks . . . crooked agents . . . and grandmas? For most of their lives the four middle-aged women had never violated the law. But cocaine and its false promise of excitement and riches drew them in, one by one, into a multi-million-dollar money laundering and cocaine trafficking scheme. Cocaine also ensnared a nationally known jeans designer and sent him plummeting on a path toward personal destruction. Perhaps most disturbing of all, cocaine's profits lured agents from two different federal agencies--men sworn to investigate and bring cocaine traffickers to justice--to violate their oaths and engage in significant criminal acts. This is the true but incredible story of the Grandma Mafia.

Suitcases of money . . . boxes of cocaine . . . undercover agents . . . wiretaps . . . government leaks . . . crooked agents . . . and grandmas? For most of their lives the four middle-aged women had never violated the law. But cocaine and its false promise of excitement and riches drew them in, one by one, into a multi-million-dollar money laundering and cocaine trafficking scheme. Cocaine also ensnared a nationally known jeans designer and sent him plummeting on a path toward personal destruction. Perhaps most disturbing of all, cocaine's profits lured agents from two different federal agencies--men sworn to investigate and bring cocaine traffickers to justice--to violate their oaths and engage in significant criminal acts. This is the true but incredible story of the Grandma Mafia.

Dirty Money describes the origin of financial investigations of narcotics traffickers through four landmark prosecutions in Los Angeles. The House that Heroin Built tells of how a major heroin dealer's purchases of luxury items, including a San Marino mansion and several expensive cars, were used to prove he was the leader of a national organization and obtain a life without parole sentence. The Hunt for the Architect details how a small bank's reports of currency deposits helped identify and bring to justice an organization which derived more than $32,000,000 from heroin and cocaine. A Very, Very Honest Lawyer concerns the detection and investigation of a sophisticated money laundering service for narcotics traffickers run by a Beverly Hills attorney. The Grandma Mafia relates how a courageous banker helped uncover a multi-million dollar money laundering and cocaine trafficking operation run by middle-aged grandmothers. The recounting of these significant cases is told by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Perry, who supervised the investigations and represented the government at trial. Today, financial investigations are a major weapon in the federal government's continuing fight against narcotics. This important investigative technique originated in the cases described in this book.

On the surface, the sleepy little town of Dublin in East Tennessee seems like a wonderful place to live. But just scratch the surface of its fertile soil and you’ll see there’s more going on than just Mom’s Bakery, the Chew-Chew Diner, and people falling in and out of love. There’s also an undercurrent of greed, corruption, secrets, and malice that affect the whole town. Told partly by the dead mayor’s perspective, the town of Dublin, TN prevails with humor and wisdom.