Crime
So you think your life will be easy because you made a lot of money through early investment in cryptocurrencies? Not so fast. It used to be just your computer was held hostage for a crypto ransom. Now it’s you. A slew of people have been abducted in France and even one New York. Why? […]
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned a few people and some companies associated with laundering money for the Sinaloa cartel. They’ve used the authority provided by designating the cartel as a terrorist organization. Treasury indicates that the cartel has used currency exchanges and bulk cash pickups to launder the money. This has been going on for […]
One of the strangest trips I took was to Bogotá in 1994, shortly after Pablo Escobar was killed. I was trying to write my first book, a thriller that took place there. I knew people from when I had spent a summer working with the YMCA in Bogotá after graduating from high school. Chepe Laspina, […]
I’ll leave you to speculate why I’m thinking about this now. It’s what I learned after watching Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. He, like a number of dictators, tried to seize power, failed, and succeeded the second time around. Hug Chavez attempted a coup in Venezuela in 1992 and was imprisoned. From inside his jail, he […]
I’m blogging a second time about Alice Murno. I just finished a long and fascinating article in the New Yorker of Jan. 6, 2025 about her. Rachel Aviv does a deep dive into how the sexual abuse of her daughter, Andrea, affected her life and writings. It was fascinating to read this while reading her […]
Former international banker and award-winning thriller author Carl Vonderau recounts a story in Medellin, Colombia about the “long way.”
Former international banker and award-winning thriller author Carl Vonderau talks about an experience with a prison in Medellin, Colombia (video.)
An interesting piece in the NYT Times of Jan. 12, 2025 described Samuele Landi, a wealthy Italian businessman, who chose to live on a barge to avoid being sent to prison. In 2006 Italian authorities discovered millions of euros had been siphoned from his company, Eutalia. The money had been sent to international tax shelters […]
Imagine you have a timeshare condo in Tahoe. You’re getting older and you and your kids no longer need it. Then someone calls you up and offers to buy your share for a good price. They are from Worry Free Vacations and give you the name of a Mexican buyer. You google Worry Free and […]