The Conspiracy Revealed: A true account of the investigation of the "Cowboy Mafia"
R 1,114
or 4 x payments of R278.50 with
Availability: Currently in Stock
Delivery: 10-20 working days
The Conspiracy Revealed: A true account of the investigation of the "Cowboy Mafia"
An agent answers a routine telephone call, and is drawn into a late night confrontation involving the seizure of twenty tons of marijuana. Defendants began to talk and suddenly it became a one-hundred-ton marijuana conspiracy. Along the way, battles were fought among Federal judicial districts for the authority to prosecute. After much arguing the Deputy Attorney settled the dispute, and the investigation proceeded onward. At the close of the investigation, over thirty people were shown to be directly involved, a corrupt public official was prosecuted, millions of dollar in assets had been seized, and people had died. But still a question of justice remained.
The Conspiracy Revealed chronicled the struggles of a small U.S. Attorney's Office in Beaumont, Texas, and the efforts of law enforcement in Texas to meet the challenge presented by the1970's deluge of drugs being smuggled into Florida. The result forced smuggles to go elsewhere. Along came a multi-million dollar drug cartel who invaded the Beaumont, Texas area. The point of defense was a one man U.S. Attorney's Office and one DEA Agent.
During a late night in 1979, a lone DEA Agent from Houston and a handful of Customs Inspectors met a fishing vessel as it docket in a small town south of Beaumont, Texas. Opposing the "good guys" was an equal number of armed "bad guys" with in possession of twenty tons of marijuana and plastic explosives. Later, after the dust cleared, it became evident that this was much more than a large seizure of drugs.
As the investigation gained momentum, the media began reporting the investigation as "The Cowboy Mafia" based upon the life style of the defendants and their association to a well know Texas Millionaire and politician. It would not be long before resources that had been lacking became available to assist in an investigation that covered the U.S. The investigation demanded the attention of other offices of the DEA and other Federal and State Agencies.
Among those attracted to the investigation was DEA's larger office in New York along with the U.S. Attorney's Southern District of New York. Considering themselves better able to meet the challenge of a large cartel's influence, they attempted to have the investigation taken away from Beaumont and transferred to New York. Their efforts led to a battle between the north and the south with the bad guys watching.
DEA, unable to settle the dispute, took the matter to the Attorney General's Office for a decision. The U.S. Deputy Attorney General ruled on the prosecution which culminated with the largest forfeiture of assets ever made in the U.S. (at that time). Still, there remained a question of justice.