{"product_id":"the-accountants-story-inside-the-violent-world-of-the-medelln-cartel-9780446178945","title":"The Accountant's Story: Inside the Violent World of the Medelln Cartel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"I have many scars. Some of them are physical  but many more are scars on my soul. A bomb sent to kill me while I was in a maximum security prison has made me blind  yet now I see the world more clearly than I have ever seen it before. I have lived an incredible adventure. I watched as my brother  Pablo Escobar  became the most successful criminal in history  but also a hero to many of the people of Colombia. My brother was loved and he was feared. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in his funeral procession  and certainly as many people celebrated his death.\"  These are the words of Roberto Escobar-the top accountant for the notorious and deadly Medellen Cartel  and brother of Pablo Escobar  the most famous drug lord in history. At the height of his reign  Pablos multibillion-dollar operation smuggled tons of cocaine each week into countries all over the world. Roberto and his ten accountants kept track of all the money. Only Pablo and Roberto knew where it was stashed-and what it bought.  And the amounts of money were simply staggering. According to Roberto  it cost $2 500 every month just to purchase the rubber bands needed to wrap the stacks of cash. The biggest problem was finding a place to store it: from secret compartments in walls and beneath swimming pools to banks and warehouses everywhere. There was so much money that Roberto would sometimes write off ten percent as \"spoilage \" meaning either rats had chewed up the bills or dampness had ruined the cash.  Roberto writes about the incredible violence of the cartel  but he also writes of the humanitarian side of his brother. Pablo built entire towns  gave away thousands of houses  paid peoples medical expenses  and built schools and hospitals. Yet he was responsible for the horrible deaths of thousands of people.  In short  this is the story of a world of riches almost beyond mortal imagination  and in his own words  Roberto Escobar tells all: building a magnificent zoo at Pablos opulent home  the brothers many escapes into the jungles of Colombia  devising ingenious methods to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States  bribing officials with literally millions of dollars-and building a personal army to protect the Escobar family against an array of enemies sworn to kill them.  Few men in history have been more beloved-or despised-than Pablo Escobar. Now  for the first time  his story is told by the man who knew him best: his brother  Roberto.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45647219851317,"sku":"ByrdShop_0446178942","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780446178945.jpg?v=1781689930","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-accountants-story-inside-the-violent-world-of-the-medelln-cartel-9780446178945","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}