Bluegrass Conspiracy Denton Free Pdf Download
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The story itself is very interesting. Showing Kentucky,
I read this story because I am from Kentucky. I thought the topic of the book was interesting, and the story line was good. However, this book is hard to read and the majority of it moves slow. There are so many people that are introduced that it's hard to keep up with everyone. At the end of the book, updates were given for certain people. I'll be honest, some of these I don't remember! I felt like I should have been taking notes as I read!The story itself is very interesting. Showing Kentucky, specifically Lexington-area, upper class and their shady dealings. From the high class to law enforcement officials. Links are shown between the Bluegrass State to Vegas and Florida to Columbia, South America. From politicians, to the mafia, to NFL players, to the DEA. The listing of people involved is massive.
However, at the same time that the story is interesting, I find it saddening. To know of the shady doings of people who are there to protect the interest of others, are simply there protecting themselves. To see how the justice system is used to their advantage. And the horrible knowledge that the system isn't always for the people.
...moreThey say truth is stranger than fiction .... the scandal & conspiracy presented in this investigative work rivals anything you'll watch in prime time.
I did find it challenging to keep track of the extensive list of characters especially as layer upon layer of the story unfolded but overall it he
3-3.5 stars if you've never lived in Kentucky but easily 4 if you have. I spent 13 years in the Bluegrass including a couple in the mid 70's when some of this story line was apparently unfolding nearby.They say truth is stranger than fiction .... the scandal & conspiracy presented in this investigative work rivals anything you'll watch in prime time.
I did find it challenging to keep track of the extensive list of characters especially as layer upon layer of the story unfolded but overall it held my interest and had me wide eyed as many of the highlighted locations hit very close to my old Kentucky home.
...moreAt the time of
This book opens with a rather shocking event. In Sept 1985 a seasoned citizen in Knoxville, TN wakes up early one morning to find a dead man lying in his driveway. The dead man turns out to be a Lexington, KY based drug smuggler/pilot/ex-cop in possession of 34 kilos of cocaine. It further appears that the man fell out of the sky without deploying his parachute. Ouch. A crashed $250k Cessna airplane (w/o pilots) was found in the NC mountains east of Knoxville on the same morning.At the time of this "falling man" incident in Tennessee I was a DEA street agent in Los Angeles fighting the "war on drugs" in the city of angels. I was hired due to all the drug-related insanity in south Florida in the late 70s-early 80s which quickly spread across the country. In the 1980s the drug scene in Los Angeles was out of control. In 1989 an intelligent and hardworking DEA agent in my group (squad) executed a search warrant at a Sylmar, CA warehouse which resulted in the seizure of 21 tons of cocaine and $12 million cash. Trucked in from El Paso. The 80s were also a time when pilots like Barry Seal were running guns to the Contras in Central America and returning to the states with large quantities of marijuana & cocaine. The Miami Federal Reserve Bank and other banks in Miami were overflowing with cash (drug money). Miami was the murder capitol of America. The Medellin & the Cali Cartels were on the rise.
The incident in Knoxville sounds very interesting: 34 kilos of coke, an identified dead man & known smuggler, guns, some cash, interesting phone numbers etc. Case closed. Not exactly. The pilot, Drew Thornton, was part of a network of dirty ex-Lexington cops turned gun runners/drug traffickers with the support of dirty politicians in Lexington. The "plot" includes a murdered federal judge in Texas, a murdered prosecutor in FL and murdered girlfriends in KY. Throw in Gov John Y Brown of KFC fame and his wife, Phyllis George, for a little comedy. Kentucky, the state run like a business. Right. Was this KY criminal enterprise protected by elements of the CIA, DEA, Customs and the Lexington establishment? I don't know. It certainly appears that the DEA boss (RAC Harold Brown) in Louisville was a member of and supporter of a continuing criminal enterprise known as "the Company." No doubt several players in Lexington were involved.
Enter Kentucky State policeman Ralph Ross, the J Edgar Hoover of Kentucky. The good guy who probably had a file on anybody in Kentucky involved in any sort of shady activity. It was his business to know the players in his state. Ross is the star of the story on the investigative side of things. He was smart, analytic, dogged and possessed the ability to connect the dots. He was also much more politically savvy than the good old boy persona he projected. He had recruited numerous sources, ran surveillance teams, utilized pen registers and more to keep in the know. He was also a big thorn in the side of "the Company" (the members of the Bluegrass Conspiracy).
Being a fan of football from my father's generation (he was a '52 UK grad and played football for Bear Bryant), I was very interested in the involvement of Paul Hornung & Lance Alworth with the Company. Not much really, unless I missed something. Thornton's partner, Bradley Bryant, asked Alworth in Vegas if he'd be interested in investing in a drug load, the returns would be high. Paul Hornung (from Louisville) was involved in some business activities with some of the Lexington politicians & businessmen and was a known gambler. However, if Hornung or Alworth committed any criminal acts with the Lexington group it was not reported in the book. I assume Alworth was interviewed, perhaps Hornung was too. I get the feeling that Sally Denton brought up the Alworth and Hornung names to help sell books.
In the book there is reference to an airplane broker in south Florida by the name Bertram Gordon. He was a documented DEA informant who was supposed to be controlled by and working for DEA. He was supplying planes & pilots for traffickers. Great source if utilized correctly. He is a prime example (from what I know about him) of an informant "snitching" on one group and doing a deal with another group behind DEA's back. These kind of informants can cause major problems for DEA or any other agency. They're slick talkers who are always looking out for #1. If they ever get caught committing a crime they always have someone to give up. I wonder if Thornton was playing the same game? I don't know.
All in all a very interesting story. What exactly happened on that September night over Tennessee is open for speculation. Dumping kilos of cocaine over wooded mountains w/o crews immediately picking them up makes no sense. Was Thornton being chased in the sky or not? Customs says no. Was there a co-pilot? It seems to me Thornton was in a pretty big hurry to bail. Somehow he must have been injured in the process of bailing out and did not pull the primary rip chord during free fall. The legend in his own mind bites the dust. Anyway, some shady activity in Lexington was finally exposed.
...moreThis book isn't that political but I wasn't surprised that the corrupt politicians mentioned were all Democrats. At the end of the book, in the afterword section, the Democrat politicians involved in the drug running were also friends of the Clintons. You've heard the saying "all roads lead to Rome"? Well, I have a saying: "All corruption leads to the Clintons." I'm not saying they were involved in this story, but they were friends of those that were. That's bad enough. A sitting Kentucky Democrat governor that was involved with drug lords didn't see a day in prison. Why? Because power, influence and the Democratic Party can get you out of anything!
The reason I gave it four stars is because although the book keep me interested, its riddled with typos, grammar errors, and terminology misspellings. The one that made me have to stop was the word "numb-chucks". They're called nunchaku! So I have to point out that some military, martial art, tactical items in the book weren't fully researched. It's still a good read but needs an editor to give it the business.
...moreDrew Thornton certainly had my attention after realizing he went to one of the schools as I in my hometown. After that, characters were introduced right and left and read more like a summary of events and not like a novel.
So I broke up w the book 😱 I hated (#sorrynotsorry) to do this-but life is too short and there are too many books out there waiting to be devoured. I
So I really wanted to be "all in" on TBC. I'm a lifelong Kentuckian, lived/worked decades in Lexington. I gave it a good shot.Drew Thornton certainly had my attention after realizing he went to one of the schools as I in my hometown. After that, characters were introduced right and left and read more like a summary of events and not like a novel.
So I broke up w the book 😱 I hated (#sorrynotsorry) to do this-but life is too short and there are too many books out there waiting to be devoured. I did come away wanting to learn more about my state's former governors (I'm looking at you, Julian Carroll & John Y. Brown). 😳🤔
If it hasn't been already-w the right screenwriters and actors, I could see TBC being made into a suspenseful movie (the bones/truth are there) that is more quickly and clearly executed in pace and character/plot development.
...moreThis was an account of corruption in Kentucky, including drugs, smuggling and murder. A convoluted story, you need notes to keep up with all the players. The main protagonists are Drew Thornton, a well heeled Kentucky former military and police officer who became a drug smuggler and his nemesis Ralph Ross a good cop trying to catch bad guys who got blindsided along with way. It also included corruption in the Lexington, Kentucky police force and drama with the feds as well
A Convoluted ConspiracyThis was an account of corruption in Kentucky, including drugs, smuggling and murder. A convoluted story, you need notes to keep up with all the players. The main protagonists are Drew Thornton, a well heeled Kentucky former military and police officer who became a drug smuggler and his nemesis Ralph Ross a good cop trying to catch bad guys who got blindsided along with way. It also included corruption in the Lexington, Kentucky police force and drama with the feds as well. A number of other readers have noted the mispronounced words and lack of authentic dialect in the audio book version. I have to agree. The narrator Kate Mulligan sounded like she was reading from a script. The rote and dull tone could put you to sleep. An interesting read. The afterward gave a follow-up about the major players. The book didn't really end, it just stopped.
...moreBeing new to the Lexington area; this read was suggested to me. So glad I listened and purchased.
Learning about a little over a decade in Lexington and how the 'good old boys' and the blue blood privileged take care of and hide their secrets in plain sight. Even if it's drug and arms smuggling plus murders and millions of doll
Awesome read! An intriguing page turner from the first chapter forward . Every place has it's own story to tell; with some mystery and intrigue thrown in for good measure.Being new to the Lexington area; this read was suggested to me. So glad I listened and purchased.
Learning about a little over a decade in Lexington and how the 'good old boys' and the blue blood privileged take care of and hide their secrets in plain sight. Even if it's drug and arms smuggling plus murders and millions of dollars amassed through illegal deception.
Loved this book!
...moreAt times the book was hard to follow as there are a LOT of characters and the lines between them aren't always a straight connection. Also I feel like some loose ends weren't wrapped up (was The
The TL:DR review is that there are many parallels that one can draw between this story of Drew Thornton and Ralph Ross with the characters of Drew Thompson and Raylan Givens from the FX show JUSTIFIED. It's abundantly clear that show runner Graham Yost pulled storylines from this sordid Kentucky history.At times the book was hard to follow as there are a LOT of characters and the lines between them aren't always a straight connection. Also I feel like some loose ends weren't wrapped up (was The Company a covert CIA operation)? But in all it was a fascinating and quick read.
...moreRead this book 20 years ago and wanted to read it again. It is still as interesting as it was the first read. Knew some of the characters in this book and was shocked to think how malice they were. I hope that when Melanie Flynn is found, it will be as interesting a book as this one is. Hint hint!
I was expecting more from this book. There is a lot of information but it does not really grab your attention. At times it is hard to remember all different characters. It probably would have been better with a narrower focus as it ends with a lot of unknowns.
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