One of the cartel families Jerry delivered for was that of Griselda Blanco, known as the godmother of cocaine, the black widow, and some less flattering names. Free from any business partner, by the early 70’s she started her own trafficking network in New York. Business was good but she was forced to flee to Miami in 1979 after being indicted in New York on drug related charges. It was in Miami that Griselda developed her reputation for being bloodthirsty, ruthless, and sexually deviant. She quickly rose to the top of Miami’s drug trade. Much of the violence that occurred during this time, known as the Cocaine Cowboy Wars, was accredited to Griselda and her gang. Her business philosophy was simple – anyone that she owed money to would be killed and anyone that failed to pay back monies she was owed would be killed. When the 80s rolled around, her drug empire was the largest in Miami and she was wealthy beyond imagination. And Jerry was one of those delivering cocaine for her.
Three of her sons were in Medellin arranging for the cocaine to be shipped to Miami. When Jerry flew a shipment, several cartel families would have a certain amount of their product on board, with each family assigned a specific weight. Griselda was no exception. Jerry was living in Fort Lauderdale at this point in his career and most of the flights from Medellin were made by the pilots working for him.
They began complaining that her sons were demanding that more cocaine be loaded than was their allotment. This dangerously overloaded the plane because the allotments were carefully planned. Something had to be done. But this was Griselda Blanco, who would kill and mutilate for no reason, so it was a delicate situation, one the pilots had no intention of handling, and truthfully, the other cartel members weren’t that eager either. As Jerry was trying to come up with a solution, his reputation took care of the problem. He was one of the few who had never lost a shipment or caused the cartel any problems; his record was spotless. So she told her sons to do exactly what his pilots said, to always listen to Jerry, and stop their complaining. And that was that. No more problems.
She was later sent to prison where she continued to conduct her business. A few years later, her sons were murdered in Colombia. Reportedly, she had a letter read at the funeral vowing that the killers would suffer greatly for their deed. They did. One committed suicide and the other was brutally murdered. She herself was killed shortly after being released from prison and extradited to Colombia.
Three of her sons were in Medellin arranging for the cocaine to be shipped to Miami. When Jerry flew a shipment, several cartel families would have a certain amount of their product on board, with each family assigned a specific weight. Griselda was no exception. Jerry was living in Fort Lauderdale at this point in his career and most of the flights from Medellin were made by the pilots working for him.
They began complaining that her sons were demanding that more cocaine be loaded than was their allotment. This dangerously overloaded the plane because the allotments were carefully planned. Something had to be done. But this was Griselda Blanco, who would kill and mutilate for no reason, so it was a delicate situation, one the pilots had no intention of handling, and truthfully, the other cartel members weren’t that eager either. As Jerry was trying to come up with a solution, his reputation took care of the problem. He was one of the few who had never lost a shipment or caused the cartel any problems; his record was spotless. So she told her sons to do exactly what his pilots said, to always listen to Jerry, and stop their complaining. And that was that. No more problems.
She was later sent to prison where she continued to conduct her business. A few years later, her sons were murdered in Colombia. Reportedly, she had a letter read at the funeral vowing that the killers would suffer greatly for their deed. They did. One committed suicide and the other was brutally murdered. She herself was killed shortly after being released from prison and extradited to Colombia.
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