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The Cornbread Mafia by James Higdon
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The Cornbread Mafia

A Homegrown Syndicate's Code of Silence and the Biggest Marijuana Bust in American History

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Narrator Paul Boehmer

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Length 14 hours 9 minutes
Language English
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In the summer of 1987, Johnny Boone set out to grow and
harvest one of the greatest outdoor marijuana crops in modern times. In doing
so, he set into motion a series of events that defined him and his associates
as the largest homegrown marijuana syndicate in American history, also known as
the Cornbread Mafia.

Author James Higdon—whose relationship with Johnny Boone,
currently a federal fugitive, made him the first journalist subpoenaed under
the Obama administration—takes listeners back to the 1970s and '80s and the
clash between federal and local law enforcement and a band of Kentucky farmers
with moonshine and pride in their bloodlines. By 1989 the task force assigned
to take down men like Johnny Boone had arrested sixty-nine men and one woman from
busts on twenty-nine farms in ten states, and seized two hundred tons of pot.
Of the seventy individuals arrested, zero talked. How it all went down is a
tale of Mafia-style storylines emanating from the Bluegrass State, and
populated by Vietnam veterans and weed-loving characters caught up in
Tarantino-level violence and heart-breaking altruism.

Accompanied by a backdrop of rock-and-roll and
rhythm-and-blues, this work of dogged investigative journalism and history is
told by Higdon in action-packed, colorful and riveting detail.

James Higdon has worked for the Courier-Journal in Louisville and the New York Times, contributed to the Prairie Home Companion, researched the NYPD counter-terrorism and intelligence divisions, and is currently a contributing editor with PBS Frontline's Tehran Bureau. He lives in Lebanon, Kentucky, and Brooklyn, New York.

Paul Boehmer attended his first Shakespearean play while in high school; he knew then that he was destined to become the classically trained actor he is today. Graduating with a master's degree, Paul was cast as Hamlet by the very stage actor who inspired his career path. A nod from the Universe he'd chosen aright! Paul has worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater. Coinciding with another of his passions, sci-fi, Paul has been cast in various roles in many episodes of Star Trek. Paul's love of literature and learning led him by nature to his work as a narrator for audiobooks, his latest endeavour. Paul is married to the love of his life, Offir, and they live in Los Angeles with their two midnight-rambling tomcats, Dread and David.

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Shop the sale

In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!

Shop now
Celebrate indie bookstores with our limited-time sale! Shop the sale