The Cornbread Mafia: A Homegrown Syndicate's Code Of Silence And The Biggest Marijuana Bust In American History

Really enjoyed this book. Lots of good facts. And like always the government goes overboard in pursuit of this man. Think they went to extreme's cause they were butt hurt. Excellent book well worth the purchase.

I first ran across the “CornBread Mafia” while doing research for my own book regarding the ‘MachTenn Conspiracy’, a sister event which took place in Tennessee at the same time as was the investigation into Johnny Boone, and the rest of the Marion County boys.From my own personal research and experience I know the subject matter which was chronicled in this book to be true, and precise. The ‘CornBread Mafia’ is a compelling read for anyone interested in the Marijuana sub-culture, or ‘true crime’ stories in general.James Higdon lays out the story brick by brick, plant by plant, dollar for dollar in a fluid and descriptive manner, with literary skills that would make even the most competent word-smith envious.As I read the book I was immersed into the life of the Northern Kentucky dope grower as he stood in a cornfield tending some of the best Mary-Jane this country has to offer. I felt what it was like to walk in their shoes so much so that I actually wanted to be one, and were it not for the fact that I would have to bust myself in the mouth to understand what it was like trying to eat corn off the cob with no teeth, I would have. As I stepped from page to page on this journey through the world of Marijuana and Moonshine, it was almost like I could smell a freshly rolled joint smoking crisply between my fingers; oh wait, that was a freshly rolled joint smoking crisply between my fingers, lol.It was part history, part comedy, with a few streaks of insanity so well compiled that it will leave you staggering like George Jones taking a sobriety test.It was an informative, well written, historically based book which will give you a good look into the life of a Marijuana distributor in the great state of Kentucky, a state where the only thing higher than the taxes, are the citizens.

A good read about the history of the marijuana drug growing and trading industry in America, and how Marion County in central Kentucky became the home of the largest domestic marijuana distribution center in America. The author with his Marion County roots and his sometimes self-aggrandizing relationship with one of the local marijuana kingpins (Johnny Boone); gives the history of how this predominately Catholic community, and its penchant for alcohol and history of alcohol distilleries, came to wink at the illegal moonshine trade during Prohibition, and bred a community of corrupt local government officials and lawyers that could get you off the hook in a pinch if caught. The author gives the history of this march to debauchery with the early settlement of Catholics in the area and their distillation of alcohol. Then the Prohibition area which allowed moonshiners and gangsters to flourish in the area. This included John Dillinger's stay in Marion County in 1933, and robbing the bank in Gravel Switch in Marion County with two local thugs, upon his departure on August 8, 1933. The author also includes the history of the infamous local moonshiner and gangster Charlie Stiles who became a local Robin Hood in the area and was supposedly gunned down by Kentucky State Troopers when they could not get anything to stick to him in the legal system. All of this centers around the rough and rowdy town of Raywick in Marion County in which laxity in observing the legalities of the law of the land would birth the marijuana industry after the death of Stiles and the end of Prohibition. The local attorney's and mayor's collusion with these individuals, allowed a fertile ground for the birth of an anything goes mentality.This corruption of the system cultivated the climate for the growing of marijuana in the area and the idea that one could get rich quick if they were willing to take a chance. The reader that is from this area or surrounding counties will recognize some of the history and the individuals that are mentioned in the book and they will bring back some memories, some good and many not so good. The book and revelations of the magnitude of the operations will be an eye-opener to many. Those that are not from the area will not have the local fascination with the names of the places and events, but the drama and lawlessness recorded will fascinate these readers as they would not have been imaginable or believable in a Hollywood script. Some are buying the book because they have heard that the author includes "names". However, if you are purchasing the book for this reason, you will be disappointed in that the author only mentions the ones that were arrested in the older major news stories and the one's that are still involved remain protected and anonymous. The reader soon begins to see that fact is stranger and more interesting than fiction, and the characters and events unfold in rapid succession throughout the book.The two negatives about the book comes from the author at times trying to romanticize the era, the events, and the key players--especially his informant for the book, Johnny Boone. Statements such that "these were not bad people" make you wonder if Higdon read his own research. Many were murdered and killed (at least 12 in the book) in this lawless area, including Johnny Boone's son from suicide, and Steve Lowery from alcoholism. These, plus the families that were torn apart and separated from their spouses, fathers, and some instances mothers--going to jail for their part in the growing and selling operations. Many were intimidated with threats on their lives, including the author in writing the book. This was not a victimless crime spree, but a multi-million dollar crime syndicate that spread even overseas. These events also do not include the many teenagers and adults that were led into the addiction of drugs through this "harmless way to make a living", not to mention some on the end the drug chain in other states that lost lives in the drug industry in the metropolitan areas. The roads leading out from Lebanon in all directions are dotted with roadside crosses of teens that died in car crashes from government officials and locals looking the other way on the sale of alcohol to underage teens. The author's sympathetic and almost adoring positioning of Boone in the book, has him dangerously mirroring John Edwards, the Kansas City Star's newspaper editor, who attempted to romanticize the exploits of Jesse James to affect sympathies for James and rewrite history in his day.The author's loses some credibility when he makes statements such as when the land for the Marion County Adjustment Center was purchased for use as a prison, "that it could have been worse, in that it was almost sold to some Texas Baptists". The author had already tried to create a case in the first half of the book for the Catholic acceptance of alcohol and marijuana that birthed the drug industry in the area, and then says that it could be worse if "Texas Baptists" came here? His personal bias directed at Baptists seems to be out of place here, when by his own admission every individual that was indicted during this time was Catholic.The other negative is that the author describes the local lawlessness and such times during this era as when the Mayor Hyleme George owned bars such as Club Cherry and Club 68 that openly served alcohol to underage teenagers in front of local law enforcement, yet he does not talk about the negative social-economic impact this climate had on the county. John Ed Pierce (a noted Kentucky writer that also wrote for the Louisville Courier Journal) in his book "The Days of Darkness--The Feuds of Eastern Kentucky" went to great lengths in his book to show the cause and relationship of the "100 Years War" in Clay County, Ky, and the dire economic impact it had on the community for decades. Many migrated to Marion County from this area because of the economic depression and lawlessness there in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Marion County was economically depressed and industry stayed away from this county during the time that is covered in this book due to the alclchol, drugs, and lawlessness--while the predominately dry Taylor County adjoining Marion County to the south prospered. This is important as a result of these events and could have been brought out more by the author and objectively covered in the book.The book is a good read and for anyone that came up through this era and for those who want to understand how the illegal marijuana industry developed and became centered in the small area of Marion County, KY.

Hands down, James Higdon's "Cornbread Mafia" is one of the best true crime books I've ever read, bringing to life the colorful history of Marion County and its metamorphosis from dissident Catholic enclave to moonshiner's and bootlegger's central to the place that made American pot synonymous with Kentucky Bluegrass.In this respect, the book is less an examination of a particular criminal or criminal cartel, but instead a cultural history of a particular place and its peculiar brand of crime. Although the central figures of "Cornbread Mafia" are marijuana gang chieftans Johnny Boone, Bobby Joe Shewmaker, and Jimmy Bickett, Higdon's real strength is laying out the two century history of Marion County. In doing so, the author vividly creates for the reader a culture that fostered outlaws with a insular, backcountry code of silence that would put even the Mafia in their heyday to shame. Another major treat is the intersection with characters of "the Bluegrass Conspiracy"The book is not without its warts (a DC-3 is a twin-engined place, for example, not four), but these are minor and are not what some reviewers chose to focus on. I've read a few comments about how this book is for "Kentucky insiders," a claim I reject with prejudice. While I am a Kentuckian, I wonder if those readers would say the same thing about such a colorful cultural history of crime in Staten Island, NYC or the South Side of Chicago. Their beef isn't with the lively and detailed background provided by Higdon, but with its unfamiliar rural setting. Basically, they are complaining about being shown a new and different place, so one wonders why they are reading this or any book in the first place!Do you like true crime books about colorful neighborhoods or syndicates? Buy this book. Are you a Kentuckian who wants to learn more about one of the most interesting criminal episodes of modern history? Buy this book. It reads like a true crime version of "Justified."