The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medellin Cartel

This book was a quick read because it was very interesting. Although it's hard to feel any sort of sympathy for drug traffickers, this real-life story about Pablo Escobar makes him seem like a modern day Robin Hood to his people. Each story has two sides and this one definitely takes you to that other side, to see what it's like to walk in the shoes of a different person. I liked the way this book was able to take you into the busy city streets of Columbia as well as to the hidden jungles where many laboratories were built to make cocaine; it made me feel like I was actually there. What really stood out above everything else were the translations from Spanish to English; they were right on target and I've never seen a better job done when it comes to translating. I'm not sure if there is a movie planned for this book but it sure would be a great idea!

Interesting and seemingly accurate tale of how it all went down for Pablo Escobar. If you have read about George Jung, Barry Seal, or Larry Lavin, You need to read this also!

At the end of this book I felt I had a better understanding of who Pablo Excobar really was and how not everything you read or hear is based on truth. I also obtained a more complete picture of the situation in both Colombia and in the drug trade. I am glad I read this book. It told me truths that I could not have obtained from any other source. It also shows the real man behind the myth. His brother was both beleivable to me as well as down to earth. I would suggest this book to all who wish to get closer to the real truth not just the myth.

Wow what a powerful story. This is one of the best reads for me this year. I highly recommend this book. It is well written. Fast paced. Informative. And without editing errors.

Roberto Escobar, brother of Pablo Escobar, was top accountant for the Medellin drug cartel, with a staff of ten (7 killed) and a "budget" of $2,500/month for rubber bands to help stash the cash. Roberto would write off about 10% of the cartel's cash/year due to losses from rats, decomposition, and being misplaced. Roberto has a soft spot for his brother, and uses every opportunity to explain away or deny the violence attributed to his brother, as well as emphasize how well he treated the poor and those loyal to him. On the other hand, those responsible for losses disappeared if they did not make them good. Another problem was kidnappers and sometimes police that would grab cartel family members and hold them for ransom. The brothers were born into the midst of a civil war - in the decade ending in the mid-1950s peasant guerrilla armies murdered up to 300,000 innocents - and almost Roberto's entire family as well. Roberto's first occupation was champion bicycle racer, then bicycle maker with 100 employees and five stores. During this period he also studied accounting. Pablo's start was moving smuggled goods into the country - succeeding by splitting his 40% take with the poorly paid workers who had previously been stealing much of the merchandise. After taking over Pablo's accounting, Roberto created an additional set of books to make it look like all Pablo's monies were earned in real estate so the government couldn't seize it. Pablo switched to cocaine after a paid-off police chief moved and caused the loss of 37 merchandise-filled trucks being moved into Medellin. Initially, the the small hollows in small Renault's was used to hide the drugs. Then it evolved to flights (up to a DC-3 and Pablo's personal Learjet - pilots could earn millions/flight, or 40 years if caught), passengers and crew on commercial flights (paid at least $1,000 plus the ticket) using luggage with hidden compartments and swallowing cocaine-filled condoms, just sending the suitcases, submarines, (two - carrying 1-1.5 tons each), pods attached to the outside of ship hulls, speedboats from Jamaica to friends' docks in Florida, landing small planes at night on the streets of abandoned Florida developments, and finally partnering with Mexican gangs. Alternative methods included soaking clothes in cocaine, mixing in with dried fish from Peru, liquefying the product and pouring into beer, etc., making plastic sheeting or pipes out of cocaine - the latter two approaches entailed a 35% loss of product, but avoided high transportation costs. Other drug dealers could use Pablo's methods for a price - usually about 35%. Smuggling was much easier when Pablo began as the DEA was focused on looking for bag bales of marijuana. Laundering the money was another problem, costing up to 50-60% of the total, but more often simply wire-transferred (6% fee), smuggled back in suitcases and new car, stock, art, TV, and refrigerator purchases. Storing the money was still another problem - holl