The Mastermind

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The incredible true story of the decade long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux the creator of a frighteningly powerful Internet enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneurIt all started as an online prescription drug network, supplying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of painkillers to American customers It would not stop there Before long, the business had turned into a sprawling multinational conglomerate engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem Yachts carrying 100 million in cocaine Safe houses in Hong Kong filled with gold bars Shipments of methamphetamine from North Korea Weapons deals with Iran Mercenary armies in Somalia Teams of hitmen in the Philippines Encryption programs so advanced that the government could not break them.The man behind it all, pulling the strings from a laptop in Manila, was Paul Calder Le Roux a reclusive programmer turned criminal genius who could only exist in the networked world of the twenty first century, and the kind of self made crime boss that American law enforcement had never imagined.For half a decade, DEA agents played a global game of cat and mouse with Le Roux as he left terror and chaos in his wake Each time they came close, he would slip away It would take relentless investigative work, and a shocking betrayal from within his organization, to catch him And when he was finally caught, the story turned again, as Le Roux struck a deal to bring down his own organization and the people he had once employed.Award winning investigative journalist Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together this intricate puzzle, chasing LeRoux s empire and his shadowy henchmen around the world, conducting hundreds of interviews and uncovering thousands of documents The result is a riveting, unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age.Advance praise for The Mastermind As directors, we spend countless hours imagining heightened plots and memorable characters that will leave a lasting impression on audiences The true tale of obsession, genius, intrigue, and vengeance detailed in The Mastermind is as gripping and cinematic as anything we could endeavor to conjure up Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Captain America The Winter Soldier, Captain America Civil War, and Avengers Infinity War With his relentless and fearless reporting, Evan Ratliff has pried open a hidden world filled with high tech gangsters and drug kingpins and double crossers and stone cold hitmen The story is as fascinating as it is terrifying, and it is one that will hold you in its grip David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon If truth is stranger than fiction, then The Mastermind is the truest book you ll read this year The only thing predictable about it is how quickly you ll turn the pages Noah Hawley, author of Before the Fall and creator of the TV series Fargo This is a mesmerizing, absolutely bonkers story about a man as brilliant as he is villainous You ll find yourself sucked in, freaked out, and ultimately blown away by Ratliff s storytelling and tireless reporting The Mastermind is a masterpiece Nick Thompson, editor in chief, Wired Best Read [ The Mastermind ] author [ Evan Ratliff ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr This man, Paul Le Roux, ran an empire And he did it internationally Selling legal drugs through the internet, after developing an encrypted software And when you think of Empire, with the big E this is one As much as any former multi continental colonial or otherwise Empire within orders laws merchant pathways for productions and distributions with all authority coming from the top down And within its own shared to the underlings culture as well Countries and substances both, This man, Paul Le Roux, ran an empire And he did it internationally Selling legal drugs through the internet, after developing an encrypted software And when you think of Empire, with the big E this is one As much as any former multi continental colonial or otherwise Empire within orders laws merchant pathways for productions and distributions with all authority coming from the top down And within its own shared to the underlings culture as well Countries and substances both, in the dozens.Evan Ratliff is beyond bravery I have no full paragraphs that could expand He s worthy of a Medal of Honor, IMHO Or whatever the International version of that has become Because it certainly is not the Nobel Prize Nor anything the United Nations has applied in the last 15 years.He s earned it, this author He risked life and farthan ONLY staying alive all associated related to him as well doing this book The details of long telling is not left with voids, either And if the information ...Very strange and dark story about a man, Paul Leroux, who used his coding knowledge to eventually set himself up as some kind of barbarian drug kingpin I am impressed at the massive amount of reporting that went into this story over several years Despite that, it was not really my favorite There is lots of blow by blow of this complicated and disturbing criminal plot but not much reflection on what it all means for our society and the human condition.My own takeaway is that Leroux was a distu Very strange and dark story about a man, Paul Leroux, who used his coding knowledge to eventually set himself up as some kind of barbarian drug kingpin I am impressed at the massive amount of reporting that went into this story over several years Despite that, it was not really my favorite There is lots of blow by blow of this complicated and disturbing criminal plot but not much reflection on what it all means for our society and the human condition.My own takeaway is that Leroux was a disturbed man who was completely enslaved to his passions Like a crazed colonial official from a Joseph Conrad novel, he exploited the weak institutions of third world countries to live as a man outside of any legal or moral constraint The violence and depravity of his organization was completely gratuitous In the end he onl...What does the murder of a female realtor in the Philippines, shot by a 22 under each eye, have to do with small pharmacies all over the United States that are filling prescriptions over the internet In addition, what does the foregoing have to do with hitmen, international arms dealers, the smuggling and ...An amazing story Reads like a Vince Flynn or James Bond type thriller Who would ever have believed that there was actually a super villain , who manipulated events world wide, all the while staying hidden behind the scenes I couldn t put it downInteresting if a bit dry in spots The amount of people carrying out billion dollar schemes in the international markets is both amazing and horrifying.The Mastermind Drugs Empire Murder Betrayal.by Evan RatliffThis amazing book chronicles a modern day mega criminal his tools a combination of subterfuge, fraud, intimidation, intelligence, intuition, craftiness, daring, murder, mayhem, greed and computer programming expertise Evan Ratliff spans the entire globe for over a decade in time in the pursuit of THE MASTERMIND, his glob...for fifteen years or so, since selling my first startup, i ve dreamed of moving into the criminal cartel space, building one up around me and some trusted rogue engineer associates, with the eventual goal of turning warlord in some ungoverned territory and building out a libe...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here In Evan Ratliff s absorbing account of Paul Le Roux s criminal empire, I am reminded of another criminal trial that is presently wrapping up, and a couple of trials that ought to be but are unlikely ever to take place.Joaquim El Chapo Guzman Loera, head of a deadly Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel sits in a Manhattan prison awaiting sentencing for murder, money laundering, drug trafficking, racketeering, and organized crime.Donald J Trump, President of the United States, may never stand trial for In Evan Ratliff s absorbing account of Paul Le Roux s criminal empire, I am reminded of another criminal trial that is presently wrapping up, and a couple of trials that ought to be but are unlikely ever to take place.Joaquim El Chapo Guzman Loera, head of a deadly Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel sits in a Manhattan prison awaiting sentencing for murder, money ...The book is about LaRoux, a mastermind behind multiple illegal smuggling He s a genius in maintaining an empire of crimes through manipulation of the laws within the countries he operated He manages stay ...A top notch story which Ratliff has taken really good care of True crime doesn t get any better than this.

The Mastermind
  • 07 June 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 480 pages
  • 0399590412
  • Evan Ratliff
  • The Mastermind