WEBVTT - The Commodore of Cocaine - MIM B3

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<v Speaker 1>Murder in Miami is a production of iHeartRadio. What follows

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<v Speaker 1>is some bonus content from mister Happy Miles on is

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with the DEA and others on the task force

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<v Speaker 1>fighting the War on drugs in the nineteen seventies in Miami.

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<v Speaker 1>Mister Miles says there was absolute overlap with law enforcement

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<v Speaker 1>and the opposing side of the battle in terms of corruption,

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<v Speaker 1>and that he had a front row seat to it

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<v Speaker 1>during his pre smuggling days as the commodore of the

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<v Speaker 1>Adventurers Club in Coconut Grove.

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<v Speaker 2>My want for people to realize that people in governments

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<v Speaker 2>shouldn't be able to come in and destroy your livelihood,

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<v Speaker 2>in your way of life without any recourse. It's just wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>It's wrong. You're cooperating with them. And because Congress has

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<v Speaker 2>in fit to grant them funding, they in turn have

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<v Speaker 2>the right of seizure, and so they don't care if

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<v Speaker 2>you're doing anything wrong or not. They just want to

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<v Speaker 2>seize whatever they can so they can get funding to

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<v Speaker 2>put gas in the DEA vehicles, to have people come

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<v Speaker 2>in that can put you out of business in our heartbeat,

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<v Speaker 2>and do it with impunity. It's wrong. It's terribly wrong.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean they can lie to you. They can do

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<v Speaker 2>anything they want to in an interrogation to try and

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<v Speaker 2>tick trick you into admitting something or saying something improper

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<v Speaker 2>that can be used against you. And now that's okay.

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<v Speaker 2>People realize why I ever got into the business, and uh,

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<v Speaker 2>it was because I was basically pushed into the business

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<v Speaker 2>to survive. You know, it's like a sinking ship. You

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<v Speaker 2>jump off of it, you get in a raft and

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<v Speaker 2>hope she'll survive.

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<v Speaker 3>So you contend that until the DEA approached you, you

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<v Speaker 3>were a legitimate businessman.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly. I mean, it wasn't just DEA, it was it

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<v Speaker 2>was FBI, it was DEA, it was I, R, S

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<v Speaker 2>and H and the state police. I mean, it was

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<v Speaker 2>the whole task force. And then they came in and said, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>we might seize happ these airplanes, and we're putting you

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<v Speaker 2>on notice, so if we do seize them, we can

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<v Speaker 2>keep them.

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<v Speaker 3>But what do you think placed you on their radar?

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<v Speaker 3>Was it Jack Devo?

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<v Speaker 2>Well? Yeah, I think that active vote was using my airplanes.

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<v Speaker 1>Did they claim that you knew what he was doing

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<v Speaker 1>with your planes?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, they acted like I either knew or was part of.

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<v Speaker 3>It, and did you know? Were you part of Oh?

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<v Speaker 2>I wasn't part of it, and I didn't know.

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<v Speaker 1>But to save his planes from being repossessed by the bank,

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<v Speaker 1>Happy says, he turned to smuggling.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I didn't want to my company to go under

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<v Speaker 2>and disappoint everybody who had given me money to have

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<v Speaker 2>the right to sail and fly. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>there's a little thing called honor, which very few of

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<v Speaker 2>these guys have. I had enough fun afterwards, which I

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<v Speaker 2>would have probably never had and never had that kind

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<v Speaker 2>of money if I hadn't gotten into the business. So

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<v Speaker 2>anyway I at all equals itself out.

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<v Speaker 1>Happy says. Once he retired from smuggling, he was asked

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<v Speaker 1>to share his insight with law enforcement on how the

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<v Speaker 1>war on drugs could be won.

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<v Speaker 2>I once gave a lecture to people from all over

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<v Speaker 2>the country. There had to be forty five people in

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<v Speaker 2>the room, and I told him how you shut this

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<v Speaker 2>at least eighty percent of cocaine down? And when I

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<v Speaker 2>got done, they all agreed that it would work what

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<v Speaker 2>I told him. But like I was conducting an orchestra,

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<v Speaker 2>four guys in different corners of the room stood up

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<v Speaker 2>and they said, yeah, but what would we do for jobs?

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<v Speaker 2>They didn't care about shutting it down. That was the mentality.

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<v Speaker 2>They didn't want to stop it.

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