Before he took up serial bombing, Brett Kimberlin was a wholesale dope dealer and drug smuggler. This post from ten years ago today took a look at Dread Pirate #BrettKimberlin’s Caribbean Adventures.
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Before he took up bombing, TDPK earned his living as a wholesale dope dealer and drug smuggler. In 1978, he was caught while trying to retrieve 50 lb bales of marijuana that had been jettisoned from a DC-4 flying in from Colombia. The plane had been carrying 5 tons of dope when it ran into trouble and found it would have to land at the wrong airstrip.
It seems that TDPK had been keeping his supply line running via air over the Caribbean.
BTW, 10,000 lb of dope is not the kind of buy made causally on the street. Back in the ’70s, that kind of quantity was cartel business, usually Cali. The other cartels had moved on to coke by then.
<mockery>Given TDPK’s history, please be careful in selecting snacks, especially brownies. Popcorn is always good.</mockery>
Stay tuned. There’s plenty of interesting stuff ahead.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, …
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BTW, Kimberlin pleaded guilty to the dope charge, so even if the Supreme Court were to take his appeal and find in his favor on the Speedway Bombing convictions, The Dread Deadbeat Pirate Pusher Kimberlin will still be a felon.
What was the cost of 5 tons (10,000) pounds of dope in the 70s. I looked but couldn’t find any numbers. And no- No I don’t own the Miami Vice DVD boxset (but I should; will remedy shortly).
Ok, Sherman- Let’s put on our analytical thinking cap and determine if we can come up with a ballpark number. What’s the cost of a pound of marijuana today? And then we can factor a wholesale discount and also inflation to derive some number…
Well.
Dope pricing is retail business analytics today. And, on advice of more than one of the monkeys I deal with, I’m not giving my email address to LeafLink. So if I can’t be scientific how ’bout trying anecdotal?
I’m told (don’t ask who) that retail dope went for $10 per ounce during the late 70s. Wasn’t high quality because of stems and seeds and such. Note this number is entirely uncorroborated because I (seriously-) have no personal knowledge of this stuff.
($10/ounce) (16 ounces/pound) (2,000 pounds/ton) (5 tons) = $160,000
Figure a 50% discount for wholesale? And that includes shipping and handling (*snort*). Comes to $80,000 required to buy 5 tons at wholesale prices.
How’m I doing, Brett? Am I close?
So Brett ‘Moriarity’ Kimberlin was throwing a bit less than $100,000 at each shipment assuming he ran more shipments than the one which got caught. Oh heck, let’s be generous and figure his first try was a bust and that Brett went entirely straight after that one.
The WayBack Machine provides other prices for comparison:
New House
1970: $23,400
1979: $58,500
Average Income
1970: $9,350 per year
1979: $17,550 per year
New Car
1970: $3,900
1979: $5,770
Average Rent
1970: $140 per month
1979: $135 per month
Nice little business, there. Capital intensive for that day and age. I assume the Feds didn’t pursue the tax angle.
Brett Kimberlin is a iceberg. Among other things.
IMHO.
Nothing I say should be construed as investment advice. I do not know your circumstance and so please treat my work as nothing more than what my thoughts are & what I’m doing with my own money. Please do your own work and consult your own financial advisor.