Question 3: Locked-Up Abroad Raving Arizona


For the next 8 days, I'm going to post a question about the episode and my answer.

At the height of your Ecstasy-dealing career, what was a typical day in your life like?

Waking up late morning involved jumping in the pool with my wife, Amy, swimming laps and frolicking around. We’d head to our favourite Indian restaurant Sher-E-Punjab in Tucson – where I once dropped $30,000 cash on the floor in an envelope and the owner found it, contacted me, and returned it. Later in the day, my right-hand man, Cody Bates, would arrive to discuss my illegal business, including how much cash he’d collected and secured in our safe house, which workers needed more Ecstasy, who was having problems paying for their drugs… To avoid police detection, we only discussed these things in person, never on the phone. If everything was running smoothly, I’d go to a fancy restaurant with my wife such as Anthony’s In The Catalinas or The Gold Room. But when problems arose or key business associates such as the New Mexican Mafia wanted a face-to-face meeting, I’d head to Phoenix, pick up my two tough friends, Wild Man and G Dog, and try to fix things.
Cody Bates is one of several friends I’ve lost to drugs. He hung himself in rehab, an example of the horror of drug use that I tell young people in my talks to schools.   



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

keep them coming Shaun. i love reading everything you have to say!

Kathy

Rosa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.