Essay Preview: Blow
Report this essay
George Jung
His life was made famous by being the subject of the movie “Blow”, but his life was infamous for being the largest drug trafficker in the United States during the 1970s. This is the life of “Boston George”, George Jung.
George Jung was born August 6, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was raised in the city of Weymouth, where his father operated his own business. It was said that from an early age George always had his ambition to succeed at no matter what he done. At some point in his childhood, his fathers business went belly-up and Georges father had a hard time earning a living for his family. His mother took this extremely hard and would often have breakdowns and leave them for a while, only to return a short time later. It was during this period of his life George made a decision to never allow himself become poor or let his life deteriorate like his parents.
During the 60s George and his best buddy “Tuna” pack up and move to California where the “new-age”/”hippy” scene has just started. It is here where George meets his girlfriend, and has his first introduction to drugs. Both of them being unemployed, “Tuna” suggests that they make money by selling marijuana. He is later introduced to a small time local pot supplier, and George and Tuna become very successful selling locally, literally amazed by the profits they reap from so little physical work. When an old buddy of theirs pays a visit, he informs them of the quality of their product and how much it sells for back east. The connection is made and George arranges for a stewardess to fly east with two suitcases of drugs and back west with the cash. By buying it at a low price of $60 per Kilo and selling it $300, it isnt long before they are rolling in cash, but Georges ambition tells him that he is capable of more.
Soon he begins to cut out the middle-man and flies to mexico in search of the source. After spending two weeks in Mexico they are about to give up when they meet an American girl who sets them up with a Mexican general and his son who happen to be weed farmers. They start off the buy stealing planes and flying back and forth to Mexico themselves, but eventually their profits begin exceeding $100,000 a month and they hire private pilots.
Jungs first arrest was in Chicago, where he was apprehended with 660 pounds of marijuana. He was sentenced to Danbury, Connecticut where he would have to spend 26 months in prison. It was here that he met Carlos Lehder, a Columbian man arrested for grand theft auto. George and Carlos became friends and later began teaching each other new aspects of the business. Carlos taught George about cocaine and introduced him to the cartels, George taught Carlos about smuggling.
When George was released he immediately contacted Carlos and made arrangements. The plan was to take the cocaine from Pablo Escabars ranch in Colombia to Georges contact in the US. At first they began to build up a sample of what was to come by hiring two American girls to fly back and forth to Antigua and the US with cocaine in their suitcases. After just a couple trips they had collected enough funds to buy their own airplane.
Soon they began to fly the drugs in more inconspicuously by routing it through the Bahamas. They began to build their reputation with the Colombian suppliers and even paid off Bahamian government officials for protection.
Jung once again found love in his life with a Colombian woman. Together they had a daughter named Christina Sunshine Jung who became Georges pride and joy.
The partnership with Carlos wasnt so fairytale as it first may have seemed. In the late 70s,