In the mid 70’s, cocaine was coming to the states a few kilos at a time, but marijuana was arriving by the plane loads. So, when Jerry completed –I use the word completed with laughter because he had little choice since his two plane crashes and a shootout with the DEA—his marijuana smuggling time, he arrived in Medellin at a great time. They were looking for skilled pilots with courage to test their ability against the wiles of the United States government.

Jerry arrived with a plan, the only change from his marijuana smuggling would be the type of plane and the idea of how to refuel in air using fuel barrels. He would use his old ground crew, take the cocaine from east Tennessee to south Florida by cars, to be picked up by the Colombians.

Humberto Herrera would line up the cocaine contracts and Jerry would receive a cool $2 million per flight. Jerry used an old friend, Harold Ward, to be his sidekick. Ward, a car thief from Atlanta, called Jerry “Slim,” because of his slender build. The two lived together in Medellin, drank together, and nearly died together when Jerry, in an attempt to hide from the Florida radar, almost crashed into the mast of a large sailboat.

Jerry was provided a beautiful Medellin house, complete with bodyguards, and all the women he desired. But the women part changed when he met a beautiful woman who was an interpreter for an international oil company. Though he had no intention of getting married, she because his steady for the time he was in Colombia. Even when he moved to Fort Lauderdale, she would visit him.

I don’t know where she is today, nor did Jerry when he was alive. I decided not to use her real name in the book, but I have discussed some of their adventures.

As I got to know and understand Jerry, I saw that he didn't need bars to keep  him in prison. His life had been spent creating his personal incarceration. From the first time he shot at someone and went to the state prison, it had followed him. He craved excitement and living on the edge, and would constantly seek that knowing the probable result. I would ask why when he knew the authorities were closing in, he didn't run, and his answer was always that he didn't fear getting caught. It was almost as though he accepted it as losing the game. When the feds closed in on him in Fort Lauderdale, he could've taken his yacht and sailed anywhere, or flew in one of his planes. Instead, he remained where he knew he would be caught. As he got close to parole, and knowing him this way, I worried what he would do on the outside. Would he resort to form? He assured me he would go straight, and I thought he deserved that chance, but I questioned the outcome.

An unexpected side effect of writing this book is my conclusion that the fairness of the justice system is dependent on the principles of the prosecuting attorneys and judges. And this severely works against those who don’t have enough money to obtain adequate counsel, which is probably one reason I see the prisons filled with young people, and people of color. But even if you have money and wonderful counsel, fairness is often difficult to find.

Take for example the deal offered Jerry if he would testify against the Colombians, something the prosecutor knew would place him and his family in terrible danger. If only Jerry was involved, the offer would be understandable, but he had a mother, children, brothers, all who would have to go into witness protection. So, when he rejected the offer they threw the book at him, instead of allowing him to spend a couple of years incarcerated.

If he had been caught today, there is no chance he would receive such a harsh sentence, but back then the prosecution laughed at their victory. They relished punishing Jerry, more for what he wouldn’t do than what he did.

Now, I understand that deals are made all the time, it’s the leverage the prosecution has, but this offer I have trouble understanding---freedom vs 66 years! It makes no sense.  Understand that I’m not trying to minimize Jerry’s crime. He smuggled drugs, had led a violent life, and probably brought a lot of harm to many people, but he was only charged with smuggling, and it is on this charge where judgments should be made. The feds only attached the drug kingpin charge after he refused to cooperate. If they had charged him with being a bad man, associating with violent people, and all the other things in his life, I might agree with them, but you can’t charge people like that, which is probably good for a lot of us. They could only get him for smuggling.

Another way to look at it is that Griselda Blanco, a woman who was the largest cocaine dealer in Miami, a woman who was charged with several murders, received a far less severe sentence, and was actually released after serving a short time. Why?  Well, I have my opinions but you should look into it yourself. But Jerry angered the prosecution by his refusal to cooperate, and they made him pay.

66 years vs freedom?

If this is typical of the prosecution’s approach, no wonder our prisons are bursting at the seams. In going through the trial transcripts, it seems a game of chess where victory is the goal, without any regard for circumstances. And to me this begs the question: who really is the enemy?