rich bar “One time we planned to hit an apartment in Queens that had $12 million in drug money,” Bobby recalled. “NYPD detectives, some of whom worked undercover for a long time, had collected enough evidence to get a warrant, and we were ready to go in and make the arrests. Cops who go undercover are in extremely dangerous situations. I’ve always believed they are the unsung heroes of law enforcement.

“After we make entry, we arrest them and seize everything inside that is considered illegal or that we need for our investigation, including cocaine, heroin, computers, phones, money, and guns. But they are still innocent until proven guilty, and we have to return their personal property unless we can prove it was purchased with drug money and a jury finds them guilty in court. Whether it’s an apartment, a storefront, or a house, when you go in, you get overwhelmed at what you see. It looks like the whole world is awash in guns, drugs, and dirty money.”

A Sneak Peek of Chapter Seven — Bobby Johnson







rich

Bobby Johnson broke a record when he took the civil service test to become a New York City police officer a few months after his sixteenth birthday. The department responded by telling him to keep his nose clean and come back later. Johnson has spent the better part of his twenty-two-year career trying to stop the flow of drugs into New York City. He has confiscated every kind of narcotic imaginable from around the world. The dollar value of the drugs he has seized is up in the hundreds of millions. Bobby meets with confidential informants and follows money through pickups, drop-offs and on to dummy corporations. “Money laundering,” he says, “is the most complex and dangerous part of the operation.” Johnson has seen the deadly changes in the drug trade, especially in Mexico, where the cartels are beheading police officers and assassinating anyone else who gets in their way.