American desperado: my life...from mafia soldier to cocaine cowboy to secret government asset

Jon Roberts was perhaps the most infamous and powerful man in the United States at one time, but most people have never even heard of him. In this fascinating and scrupulously detailed account, Roberts's life-from his days as head of the drug cartel in Florida to his time as an assassin in Vietnam-is for the first time revealed to the world. This gripping audio edition is read by a large, gifted cast of narrators, including Mark Bramhall as Roberts, Erik Davies, Mark Deakins, Kirby Heyborne, Thomas Vincent Kelly, and Jonathan McClain. Bramhall's standout performance is stern and composed, well capturing Roberts's cool exterior. When an audiobook is this good, listening becomes a compulsive act. A Crown hardcover. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Roberts (nee Riccobono) was born into a Mafia family. At seven, he witnessed his first murder when his father shot a man simply for blocking traffic. As a teen, instead of merely dealing drugs he robbed the drug dealers. After a kidnapping scheme went awry and he ended up in prison, he was released to serve in Vietnam, where he tortured and killed before returning to do the same for his Mafia family in New York. After the suspicious suicide of a corrupt police officer, Roberts was exiled to Miami, where he ran an even more profitable criminal enterprise. His greatest success came as cocaine smuggler-he was featured in the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys-working first with Cubans and then Colombians, including Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. He also smuggled guns to Noriega in Nicaragua for the CIA. When he was finally indicted, he snitched his way into serving only three years. He is now living the good life in Florida as villain-cum-celebrity, happily married, and succeeding in his new career as a father. Verdict Crime, sex, violence, drugs, celebrities, politicians-this book has it all. Recommended.-Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Vanity Fair contributor Wright (Hella Nation: Looking for Happy Meals in Kandahar, Rocking the Side Pipe, Wingnut's War Against the GAP, and Other Adventures with the Totally Lost Tribes of America, 2009, etc.) team up to recount Roberts' unflinchingly brutal coming-of-age amid the crime-soaked underworld of New York City and beyond. Yet to call Roberts just a cocaine trafficker hardly does the man justice. He was a hustler on every front--from his humble beginnings ripping off drug deals to his ascent to the highest level of drug kingpins. Told primarily through Roberts' firsthand account (as well as the occasional insertion by Wright and Roberts' associates), the book reads like a how-to guide for criminals: "My father was careful not to hit people in the face who owed him moneyyou might kill him, and then you won't collect your money." Equally disconcerting are Roberts' tips on disposing of a body, noting that the trick is to separate the guts from the rest when dumping a corpse into the ocean: "The reason bodies float is because the juices inside the guts make gases." After being charged with kidnapping early in his criminal career, Roberts joined the army and served in Vietnam in an effort to avoid prison time. In the jungles of Southeast Asia, Roberts' insatiable bloodlust began to flourish; he describes one instance in which a VC soldier was skinned alive, noting simply, "Our amusement was finding new ways to make the bad ones suffer." The author recounts his brutal crimes against man and morality in an off-handed manner, confirming Roberts' assertion, "I don't have a conscience"--an assessment with which readers will likely to agree. A savage, unrelenting tale.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Roberts (née Riccobono) was born into a Mafia family. At seven, he witnessed his first murder when his father shot a man simply for blocking traffic. As a teen, instead of merely dealing drugs he robbed the drug dealers. After a kidnapping scheme went awry and he ended up in prison, he was released to serve in Vietnam, where he tortured and killed before returning to do the same for his Mafia family in New York. After the suspicious suicide of a corrupt police officer, Roberts was exiled to Miami, where he ran an even more profitable criminal enterprise. His greatest success came as cocaine smuggler-he was featured in the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys-working first with Cubans and then Colombians, including Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. He also smuggled guns to Noriega in Nicaragua for the CIA. When he was finally indicted, he snitched his way into serving only three years. He is now living the good life in Florida as villain-cum-celebrity, happily married, and succeeding in his new career as a father. Verdict Crime, sex, violence, drugs, celebrities, politicians-this book has it all. Recommended.-Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.