Audiobook14 hours
The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History
Written by James Higdon
Narrated by Paul Boehmer
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
In the summer of 1987, Johnny Boone set out to grow and
harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. In doing
so, he set into motion a series of events that defined him and his associates
as the largest homegrown marijuana syndicate in American history, also known as
the Cornbread Mafia.
Author James Higdon-whose relationship with Johnny Boone,
currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under
the Obama administration-takes listeners back to the 1970s and '80s and the
clash between federal and local law enforcement and a band of Kentucky farmers
with moonshine and pride in their bloodlines. By 1989 the task force assigned
to take down men like Johnny Boone had arrested sixty-nine men and one woman from
busts on twenty-nine farms in ten states, and seized two hundred tons of pot.
Of the seventy individuals arrested, zero talked. How it all went down is a
tale of Mafia-style storylines emanating from the Bluegrass State, and
populated by Vietnam veterans and weed-loving characters caught up in
Tarantino-level violence and heart-breaking altruism.
Accompanied by a backdrop of rock-and-roll and
rhythm-and-blues, this work of dogged investigative journalism and history is
told by Higdon in action-packed, colorful and riveting detail.
harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. In doing
so, he set into motion a series of events that defined him and his associates
as the largest homegrown marijuana syndicate in American history, also known as
the Cornbread Mafia.
Author James Higdon-whose relationship with Johnny Boone,
currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under
the Obama administration-takes listeners back to the 1970s and '80s and the
clash between federal and local law enforcement and a band of Kentucky farmers
with moonshine and pride in their bloodlines. By 1989 the task force assigned
to take down men like Johnny Boone had arrested sixty-nine men and one woman from
busts on twenty-nine farms in ten states, and seized two hundred tons of pot.
Of the seventy individuals arrested, zero talked. How it all went down is a
tale of Mafia-style storylines emanating from the Bluegrass State, and
populated by Vietnam veterans and weed-loving characters caught up in
Tarantino-level violence and heart-breaking altruism.
Accompanied by a backdrop of rock-and-roll and
rhythm-and-blues, this work of dogged investigative journalism and history is
told by Higdon in action-packed, colorful and riveting detail.
Related to The Cornbread Mafia
Related audiobooks
Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kilo: Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels—from the Jungles to the Streets Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hatfields and The McCoys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crusaders, Gangsters, and Whiskey: Prohibition in Memphis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ride the Devil's Herd: Wyatt Earp's Epic Battle Against the West's Biggest Outlaw Gang Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs and Cheap Labor in the Black Market Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Double Cross: The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet Don: The Untold Story of Mafia Kingpin Russell Bufalino Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Corporation: An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Battle For Las Vegas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women of Southie: Finding Resilience During Whitey Bulger's Infamous Reign Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kentucky's Famous Feuds & Tragedies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America's Deadliest Biker Gangs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Hand: The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5MS-13: The Making of America's Most Notorious Gang Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exile on Front Street: My Life as a Hells Angel . . . and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Good Heist: The Inside Story of the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood Covenant: The Michael Franzese Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Biography & Memoir For You
Twisted Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divine Rivals: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Local Woman Missing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Lies Between Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Blood and Ash Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dutch House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Five Years: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pet Sematary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Cornbread Mafia
Rating: 4.015625046875 out of 5 stars
4/5
32 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Had not realized all this was going on- amazing loyalty
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Saw the author speak and sat with him at a banquet dinner. He is from the area where the Cornbread Mafia ruled. He is a fascinating fellow and the story is hilarious, exciting, and hugely interesting from the early Catholic settlers in the late 1700s, thru Prohibition, to the marijuana growing magnates depicted in the book. Hugely recommended and I'm only 100 pages in ... .
And, it stayed fascinating to the very end. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a very good book. It's well written and flows nicely holding your attention the whole time. After reading it I realized it reflected my feelings about lawmen in general which my friends know, and the government interfering with the states. If you are from Kentucky, if you bought or smoked marijuana in the 70's or 80's, or you like homegrown outlaws you should read this book you won't be disappointed.