Bøger udgivet af Strategic Media Books

Sergeant Smack chronicles the story of North Carolina's Leslie "Ike" Atkinson, an adventurer, gambler and one of U.S. history's most original gangsters. Under the cover of the Vietnam War and through the use of the U.S. military infrastructure, Atkinson masterminded an enterprising group of family members and former African American GIs that the DEA identified as one of history's ten top drug trafficking rings. Ike's organization moved heroin from Thailand to North Carolina and beyond. According to law enforcement sources, 1,000 pounds is a conservative estimate of the amount of heroin the ring transported annually from Bangkok, Thailand, through U.S. military bases, into the U.S. during its period of operation from 1968 to 1975. That amount translates to about $400 million worth of illegal drug sales during that period. Born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Ike Atkinson is a charismatic former U.S. Army Master Sergeant, career drug smuggler, scam artist, card shark and doting family man whom law enforcement nick-named Sergeant Smack. He was never known to carry a gun, and today many retired law enforcement officials who had put him in jail refer to him as a "gentleman." Sergeant Smack's criminal activities sparked the creation of a special DEA unit code named CENTAC 9, which conducted an intensive three-year investigation across three continents. Sergeant Smack was elusive, but the discovery of his palm print on a kilo of heroin finally took him down. In 1987, Ike tried to revive his drug ring from Otisville Federal Penitentiary, but the Feds discovered the plot and set up a sting. The events that follow seem like the narrative for a Robert Ludlum novel. Atkinson was convicted again and nine years added to his sentence. Ike was released from prison in 2006 after serving a 31-year jail sentence. Atkinson's story is controversial because his ring has been accused of smuggling heroin to the U.S. in the coffins and/or cadavers of dead American GIs. As this book shows, the accusation is completely false. The recent movie, "American Gangster," which depicted the criminal career of Frank Lucas, distorted Atkinson's historical role in the international drug trade. Sergeant Smack exposes the lies about the Ike Atkinson-Frank Lucas relationship and documents how Ike, not Lucas, pioneered the Asian heroin connection. "Drug kingpin Ike Atkinson, is the real deal, and not the stuff of Hollywood legend. The author delivers an eminently readable book about a genuine Mr Big who knows that no fictional makeover is required for his compelling story - the truth is more than enough." -Steve Morris, Publisher, New Criminologist "Sergeant Smack is meticulously researched and its prodding for the truth by author Ron Chepesiuk makes it an excellent non-fiction crime story. Along with a compelling history of Ike Atkinson's life and criminal career in drug smuggling, the author has managed to put the truth to numerous falsehoods contained in the major movie, American Gangster, about the life of Frank Lucas." -Jack Toal, retired DEA agent who worked the investigation of Frank Lucas "Finally, the real story. I've waited 40 years for this book." -Marc Levin, Director of the documentary, "Mr. Untouchable" "Ron Chepesiuk has gone from publishing the Black gangster classics, Gangsters of Harlem and Black Gangsters of Chicago, to crafting Sergeant Smack, an astonishing masterpiece." -David "Pop" Whetstone, Owner, Black Star Music and Video "Sergeant Smack forcefully debunks the urban legend of Black family groups smuggling heroin from Southeast Asia in the bodies of dead GI soldiers while recounting the colorful saga of the authentic American gangster. Highly recommended." -Gary Taylor, journalist and author of the award-winning true crime

This is a different kind of book about doing business in China, and it is done with humour. The Chinese command one of the world's largest economies yet routinely baffle foreigners who try to do business with them. Trying to drink a woman under the table is one of the MANY ways you can blow it when doing business with Asians. You can also get grey hair waiting for your menu to come at a banquet in a Chinese restaurant's private room. And do you really have to eat the ox tongue and tripe with roasted chili-garlic black beans? And why can't you get a glass of cold water? Richard Bradspies spent more than a decade as the Bank of China's top American in the US. He and PR pro J D Fox have authored a book about understanding the Chinese and other Asians in a business and cultural context.

This is the remarkable story of Frank Matthews, a charismatic drug kingpin from the late 1960s and 1980s who organized a huge criminal enterprise before jumping bail and 1973 with $15 million and a beautiful woman. Nicknamed Black Caesar, Matthews has never been seen again in what has become one of organized crimes most intriguing mysteries.

Tales featuring drug king pins, entertainers, hit men, street gangs, con men, corrupt cops and reformed gang-bangers. Read about the most feared man in the entertainment industry, the unlikely alliance between an ambitious gangster and a violent and crazy mobster, and more.

Nearly forty years after Jimmy Hoffa vanished from the face of the earth his disappearance still remains one of the biggest mysteries in crime history. At his zenith, Hoffa was reputed to be the most powerful figures in North America. The labour boss was never seen again after 30 July 1975 marking one of the most unexplainable cold cases ever. In this book, freelance journalist William Hryb attempts to unravel the five-decade long riddle. The author painstakingly takes the reader behind the scenes of the man who made the Teamsters the most formidable labour union in the United States. Alleged to have close ties with organised crime, Hoffa became the target of sensational congressional hearings into organised crime spearheaded by Robert Kennedy. Hryb describes in vivid detail the life and times of Jimmy Hoffa, an iconic American character whose fascinating story comes alive in this intriguing one-of-a kind narrative.

This is the true story of Detroits most dangerous enforcer. On 6 February 1975, a near collision between Chester Wheeler Campbells Oldsmobile and an on-duty Keego Harbor patrolmans car cracked open the unbelievable tale of the eras most dangerous enforcer to the drug lords and mob factions of Detroit. Murder, corruption, espionage and courtroom drama would ensue for two decades, with hit man for hire Chester Wheeler Campbell at the centre of it all. This is the true, untold story of Motor Citys most dangerous enforcer. Through never-before seen photographs, letters, evidence files and expert commentary, readers will enter a time and place where organised crime was in transition, as to who would be in control of the biggest source of illicit cash -- heroin and cocaine. Experience the people, places and things that create an environment where a man like Campbell could exist. Learn the strengths, weaknesses and mindset of Chester Wheeler Campbell. He was a master manipulator, a narcissist, a spy, a courier, a dealer, strong-arm thug, a ladys man, and of course -- a hit man.