Underground Empire

Read this book fresh off the shelf and it has stuck with me ever since. James Mills is a great author.

There are two kinds of government crime against the taxpayer, and both are wide-spread and costly to the taxpayer. There is corporate corruption, the buying of politicians, such that decisions are made that in effect transfer the taxes paid by individuals (who carry every government's costs) to unethical corporations focused on profit at any cost (to others). This book documents the second kind of crime: where government agencies charged with protecting the taxpayer from drugs or crime or terrorists or other threats, themselves become allies with criminals, and seek to profit from crime while permitting field officers to go bad, steal money, and become nothing more than officially sanctioned criminals. If and when each Nations cleans house within its "secret world," the ethics of intelligence, and how to police the police, will be among the most fearsome challenges to be addressed.This extraordinary book, at 1165 pages (1974 edition) is a deeply documented, thoughtful, credible account of the second kind of corruption. It is strongly recommended for purchase by anyone who pays taxes.

Wow, this book should be required reading for an educated adult, this could be used as a university text. This book is hard hitting, realistic and well written about the illegal trade and alliances between Narco-trafficers and governments, whether willing or not. This book exposes the facades and uncovers startling and incredible truths about the impact of illegal drugs on America that the mainstream media just glosses over. I wish this book was still in print. There needs to be more investigative reporting like this to resurrect journalism.

I read this book many years ago, but it's impact on me was so powerful that I vividly remember it to this day. Yes it is long and the material is now dated, but the overall content is something every American citizen should read. It will open your eyes to what a farce the so called "war" on drugs really is in this country. It's understandable how our government caves into the corruption when you look at the staggering amounts of money and power plays involved. The now dissolved Centac organization (the focus of this book) is about the only U.S. government agency worth the tax dollars. Their approach was to go after the top men, unlike the DEA and police system making small/mid-level busts every now and then to get good news coverage, while they continue taking their kickbacks and ignoring the kingpins and tons of drugs coming in. This book will make you ripping mad and scare the hell out of you at the same time.

And I do mean everyone, absolutely everyone. Yes, it's huge, one of the thickest paperbacks I've ever seen. But every single page, indeed every paragraph, hums with Mills's hyperefficient prose, propelled by the astonishing story. Every single person in the United States should read this book. And then we should tell our political leaders we've read it, and that we know better to believe their posturing and BS any more. THEN we'd see some results. Does that sound like an impossible exaggeration? Well... go read this book, then come back and see if you still have any doubts. This is a must read to top other must reads -- far and away one of the most staggering books I've ever read. Bravo to all.

This book was recommended to me by a DEA agent. When I opened the cover, I stepped into another world, and when I emerged, I could no longer take seriously such presidential pronouncements to "Just Say No" or "read my lips." Later, I encountered a "friend" who had been in jail with one of the major individuals featured in the book. He told me that the convicted drug dealer had discussed the book and proclaimed that his part of the story had been reported accurately, except for the amount of money he'd been caught with. Evidently, DEA agents turned in $1M of drug money found in his trunk. He said there was at least $3M. Such corruption, I discovered upon reading the book, was more the rule rather than the exception. The book moved me to write my congressman, who admitted he had never even heard of the secret drug enforcement organization detailed in the book. And when Reagan and Ollie North were getting roasted about "guns for hostages," I laughed. If the American people knew about the drug deals our government oversaw (and I'm sure continues to oversee) to prop up "U.S. causes" in other countries, as well as our own, they also would have found the affair amusing. This book opened my eyes and blasted my naivete regarding our government's involvement in the dark underworld of illegal drugs. It will do the same for you. James Mills has written a remarkable book, and he had sense enough not to overwrite and allow this astounding story to speak for itself.