George Jung
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| George Jung | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 6, 1942 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking and smuggling |
| Status | Serving 15-year sentence |
| Occupation | Drug trafficker and smuggler |
| Parents | Frederick Jung & Ermine Jung |
| Children | Kristina Sunshine Jung |
George Jacob Jung (born August 6, 1942), nicknamed "Boston George", was a major player in the cocaine trade in the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s; he was infamous for being one of the most prolific drug traffickers in the United States during that time. Jung was a part of the Medellín Cartel which was responsible for up to 85 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States. He specialized in the smuggling of cocaine from Colombia on a large scale. His life story was portrayed in the 2001 movie Blow, starring Johnny Depp.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
George Jung, born to Frederick and Ermine Jung, in Boston, Massachusetts then raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts. [1] Though Jung did not excel in academics at school, he was a star football player and was described by his classmates as "a natural ringleader."[1] After a brief stint at the University of Southern Mississippi, he traveled to California where he hoped to get a degree in advertising. However, this was not the case.[1] Jung began recreationally using marijuana, selling a portion of everything he bought to continue his habit. In 1967, after meeting with a childhood friend, Phillip Eugene Sadler, Jung realized the enormous potential for profits by smuggling the cannabis he bought in California back to New England.[1] Jung's initial smuggling operation had the drugs being transported via his stewardess girlfriend, who would carry them in her suitcases on flights.[1] In search of even greater profits, Jung expanded his operation to flying the drugs in from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico[1] using airplanes stolen from private airports on Cape Cod[2] and professional pilots.[3] At the height of this enterprise, Jung and his associates were reportedly making $250,000 a month.[1] This soon ended however, when Jung was arrested in Chicago for marijuana smuggling in 1974 (he was caught with a total of 660 pounds of marijuana imported from Mexico). He had been staying at the Playboy Club with Emily where he was to meet a connection that would pick up the marijuana. The connection however, was arrested for heroin smuggling and informed on Jung.[3] After arguing with the judge about the purpose of sending a man to prison "for crossing an imaginary line with a bunch of plants,"[2] Jung was sent to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.[1]
[edit] Introduction to the Medellín Cartel
At Danbury, Jung's cell mate was Carlos Lehder, a young German-Colombian man convicted of motor vehicle theft. Lehder introduced Jung to the Colombian Cartel and Jung taught Lehder how to smuggle. The day that Jung was released he was to contact Lehder in Florida, in order to begin preparation. Their plan was to fly hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Pablo Escobar's Colombian ranch to the U.S., and Jung's California connection, Richard Barile, would take it from there. George never had a problem with exchanging the smuggled cocaine for his transportation fee. Initially, it was $10,000 per kilo but later it went down to $5,000 per kilo as supply grew. He had a security man that would accompany him to the exchanges where George would give the keys to a car and half the cocaine to his connection and leave. A day or two later they would meet up again and exchange keys to cars. Jung was hesitant to allow Lehder, or any other cartel member to know Barile's identity, as his "California connection" was what gave Jung his edge in the smuggling game and kept others from simply cutting him out.
[edit] Betrayal by Lehder
However, in what turned out to be an error in judgment, Jung introduced Lehder to Barile. By the late 1970s, Lehder took his plans to the next level. As Jung had initially feared, Lehder cut Jung out, by going straight to Richard Barile; freeing himself of the need to work with Jung in any of his operation. However, Jung recovered from the betrayal and found other schemes that made him more than $100 million.
Jung was later arrested in Massachusetts in 1987 at his mansion on Nauset Beach,[4] near Chatham. With his family, he skipped bail, but very quickly became involved in another deal, where he was betrayed by a pilot of his acquaintance. During this time, Carlos Lehder began cooperating with the government against Noriega. With Escobar's advice and approval, Jung agreed to testify against Carlos Lehder and was set free. Lehder received life plus 135 years, but after making a deal with the federal government, he went into the Bureau of Prisons' version of the federal Witness Protection Program.
[edit] Current incarceration
After working some "clean" jobs, Jung began to work in the marijuana business again. In 1994, he reconnected with his old Mexican marijuana smuggling partner and was arrested with 754 pounds of marijuana in Topeka, Kansas and faced a 15 year mandatory sentence. He pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy. He was incarcerated at Otisville Federal Prison in Mount Hope, NY[5], but has since been transferred to Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna in Anthony, Texas.[6] His projected release date is November 27, 2014, at age 72. After his release, he will still have eight years of parole.
His daughter, Kristina Sunshine Selina Noel Jung, was portrayed in the movie Blow by Emma Roberts (and briefly by model/actress Jamie King) and now lives in California with her spouse and children. In the spring of 2002, a year after the film was made, she eventually visited her father. Kristina Jung was filmed for another role in Blow, but the scenes were not in the final film.
In September 2007, an official George Jung website was launched (georgejung.com) which includes links to his clothing label named 'Smuggler Wear' [3] , a petition aimed at the current president of the United States to free George Jung via presidential pardon and his contact details at the or Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna in Anthony, Texas. The site also contains a graphic novel The Adventures of George Jung. Jung wrote and consulted on the creation of the novel based on his life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h he smoked weed.Graham, Renee (7 July 1993), "Weymouth's Wayward Son", The Boston Globe: p49
- ^ a b Pearson, Patricia (24 July 1993), "Up and down on a mountain of cocaine", The Globe and Mail
- ^ a b "Interview with George Jung". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/jung.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
- ^ "True Crime Authors, History Channel, 3-14-08
- ^ [1]NNDB Tracker
- ^ [2] United States Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Finder
[edit] External links
- Cocaine Cowboys (Documentary about the Medellin Cartel)
- GeorgeJung.com The Official Online Home of George Jung aka Boston George
- Frontline Interview with George Jung conducted in 2000
- Blow - The Official Movie Website
- The Official Website of George Jung's clothing label Smuggler Wear
- Free George Jung Petition Website
- The George Jung Official MySpace Page
