Well......they weren't boring to be around...and nobody ran out of the pits in protest at their presence...and they beat a lot of good racers..... What part of my sentence is untrue?

This thread has angered a bunch of people getting their knickers in a wad about a period in Offshore racing that featured smugglers racing in the top echelon of the sport.

This is a high performance boating web site, and the story concerns some guys in Offshore racing, who added to the notoriety of the sport.......This was never a sport for chorus boys........

If you object to those facts, or are somehow offended by them...I repeat...what does that make you....good?

T2x

I think all of the high and mighty on here are just a little pissed off that they missed the glory days of this sport. Those days were great. The characters are what made the sport. And yes, they were a blast to be around. Fact is, they were great racers. Without their infusion of illegal money, many of the advances in boat racing technology would not have happened. They are in jail. They did horrific things. They also made the sport very popular.

I'd love to pick Sal & Willy's heads, about how deep they were in with Pablo Escobar & the Medelin Cartel. They both had to be damn near a part of the family, with how much product they were running for THEIR supplier.

Obviously that would never happen, but I love to read up on those old drug cartels & the people involved.

Those guys definitely made offshore racing much more competitive & noticable. Even though I don't agree with their choice of business any more than the rest of you guys, I am glad that they loved powerboats, & poured a lot of their money into them. Those races never get old to watch from those days.

I have to admit those guys and others put a lot of money into offshore, CART and IMSA racing.

Saw it all and still dislike anyone involved with the drug business.
ed

I haven't seen on here anywhere where the sermonizers are against what BK or DW or any Number of others who started Boat companies with Weed money. is only the Jejo they have a problem with??????

An addict has to make that first bad decision. A decision THEY are responsible for. Like the little lady said.. "Just say no."

Sal, Willy and Gus were NOT street dealers... you understand this right? They were smugglers.

Before the drugs, the magoons, Lanniers, etc...etc. were just guys who were having a good time in the open ocean. It was the drug trade that put Cigarette on the financial map and Miami Vice on television screens across the country which is how many of today's followers were introduced.

If this sport was built on drug money(which I disagree with), then NASCAR was built on running illegal moonshine. I'm interseted to hear what NASCAR fans have to say about that? Care to debate the societal woes of alcohol abuse/addiction and the sport that was created around supplying the "users". It has been said that a LARGE proportion of early mechanics, car owners, drivers, promoters and track owners had deep ties to bootlegging. How about your NASCAR heros? Should they be forever vilified?

NASCAR has something Offshore will never have. Relatability. Most Americans have cars. Most DO NOT have 40' boats in their back yard.

To me there is very little difference between drugs and alcohol.

NASCAR heros? I don't have any. Never got into it.

Todd, my post was not directed at you, but to those who choose to ignore the parallels between the "bad guys" mentioned in this thread and the individuals who built NASCAR....supposedly the most popular sport today. Why are these good ole boys treated like heros? What ehy did was illegal and yet because alcohol is legal today, we forgive their past deeds?? and if we legalized marajuana, cocaine or heroin, would the villians here then be canonized?

I agree which is why I have to ask: What do we do with all these guys who are serving "life" sentences when we legalize the very activity they were convicted of??

I find alcohol to be a far more dangerous drug because of its accessibility. There have been many who have been cured of a coke habit by simple finances alone.

PS.. is your 33 for sale? I saw one up in your area in an ad someplace.

Not yet. The 99 brochure boat is for sale in CT right now as is the 01 Rio Roses boat in NJ. Mine will be for sale in the spring...have another baby on the way...

At the end of the Day...These guys will always be a great part of offshore racing..Like it or NOT...:angry-smiley-038:

You are right about an addict, they cannot pick up that first drug/ or alcoholic that first drink...

As far as the polularity of offshore boat racing/and Cigarette type boats, Miami Vice helped with that, no question, but it did not, and never did build the sport. Betty Cook, Pepe Nunez, Wally Harper, ..... legend racers, not criminals, and that type of racer helped build the sport; but in all fairness to your point, George Morales was a great offshore racer too, and he was a colorful character. So I do understand your position.

With repsect to your question, "do I understand that Magluta was not a street level dealer", the answer is YES. I am a criminal defense attorney. I know what went when on here with respects to the charges and dispositon from genereal reading... drug distribution and drug wholesaling....that is still being a drug dealer in court in a court of law, no need to flower up the desciption of what they did, call it what it is, and what it amounts to is a greater length of prison sentence. That sums it up. I am up to speed now. I represent drug dealers, murderers (just once), DWI and other criminal defendants..so I do know a little about the judicial system (in New Jersey).

Are you T. Rafael Cimino, the novelist? Author of the novel Mid Ocean? That would certainly explain your positon and thought pattern in regards to this topic. From the reviews online about the novel, Mid Ocean does sound like a good read.

All recorded court documents will hold whatever the prosecuting atty: wants the judicial system/media to read and know..Does this justify the TRUTH...Far From It...

Paper will allow one to write what they want...

:drink:

Unless a person is there to witness an event/crime first hand the rest is bullsh*t/speculation. And even with first hand observation, the facts can get distorted, and or revised (revisionist history). There is much more to this but the discovery (factual evidence against a defendant) does paint a full picture of the allegations, and the facts that surround the allegations. It is not as slanted as you seem to believe it is (the truth).

The truth....it is somewhere in between, from what the defense council presents, and what the prosecution alleges. Sometimes, the prosecution is dead-on accurate in their charges against a defendant, through eye-witness accounts, and other evidence. I see it Monday through Friday...

Enough of this, time to watch the Eagles beat the Redskins...see you at halftime.

Yes, that would be me. Thanks for the kind words... Now available on Kindle... had to elaborate on the plug. :drink:

I intend to purchase your book, Mid Ocean. It has/had positive reviews, and I will always support an OSO brotheren, with their products and services. I may not agree with everyone's opinion, but that is not a big deal to me.

You keep writing great books, I will buy them. I wish you the best in sales and success.

Stephen

Screw waiting till halftime, the Eagles are kicking the sh*t out of the Reskins, 28-0 and it is still the first quarter.

Does anyone remember the big name Georgia Boat Builder that paid about 30-50Mil to the feds to settle old questionable dealings? (and stay out of jail) Probably 10-15 years ago.

I don't remember one in Ga But I Do remember one in Miami in the Mid to late 80's that had that problem, He ended up building them boats that ate up ALL his Profits and his Buisness....(that was their plan)

Buck Pegg

That was Monterey boats. Still making boats also.