Bizarro: The Surreal Saga of America's Secret War on Synthetic Drugs and the Florida Kingpins It CapturedInside a drug war so screwy that people don’t know what’s illegal—until it’s too late. Bizarro is a page-turning tale of the unprecedented prosecution of Burton Ritchie and Ben Galecki, the Florida-based founders of a sprawling “spice” (synthetic cannabinoid) operation. With this book, journalist and former New York City narcotics prosecutor Jordan S. Rubin exposes a Reagan-era law called the Analogue Act, which targets dealers selling drugs that are “substantially similar” to controlled substances—an unwieldy law that produces erratic results in court. Rubin brings readers deep inside the synthetic war, exploring how Ritchie and Galecki landed in its crosshairs and why one of the DEA’s own chemists may have been their best chance at freedom, until he was arrested too. This stranger-than-fiction narrative is backed by thousands of pages of court records and exclusive interviews with defendants, lawyers, law enforcement, celebrities, and more. Bizarro reveals the world of underground chemists making drugs faster than the government can ban them, dealers making millions in a gray market, and a justice system run amok. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 4 | |
| 9 | |
| 12 | |
4 Creating a Monster | 19 |
5 Controlling the Spice | 27 |
6 Team Player | 34 |
7 Ryan Goes West | 41 |
17 A Case about Drug Dealers | 110 |
18 Dynamite | 121 |
19 Worse Than Crack | 127 |
20 The Defense Calls Arthur Berrier | 138 |
21 Their Kind of Person | 147 |
22 Bizarre Relationships | 151 |
23 Tooth and Nail | 160 |
24 Synthetic Kings Crowned | 164 |
8 Summer Jam Leaving Las Vegas | 47 |
9 Come on in Cosey | 53 |
10 Florida Sunshine | 62 |
11 Information Asymmetry | 73 |
12 Being Civilat First | 78 |
13 The Right to an Attorney | 85 |
14 Clarence Thomas on Bath Salts | 92 |
15 Curious Animal | 101 |
16 Egalitarian Principles | 105 |
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Common terms and phrases
agent Alexander Shulgin Analogue Act appeals court Arthur Berrier Attorney Author interview Bath Salts Berrier Bizarro Boos Burton and Ben Burton and Ben's called charges Claude Cosey Comparin controlled substance analogue convicted Cosey criminal DEA chemist defendants DiBerardino dissent District of Virginia Diversion Control Eastern District Fedida fentanyl File Florida Forbes Forensic Sciences Fourth Circuit Gas Pipe government's head shops hearing Ibid illegal indictment issue Jason Judge Jackson July July 26 June jury Justice Department law enforcement marijuana McFadden McGee MDEA MDPV Motion Nevada Ninth Circuit opinion Pensacola Pensacon PiHKAL Press Release prosecution Psychedelic Shack replied Ritchie and Galecki Ryan Eaton Samm Levine scheduled selling sentence Sept Shulgin Smoke Snook sold spice substantial-similarity substantially similar Supreme Court synthetic cannabinoids Synthetic Drug testified testimony things Third Trial told Transcript Trott United Vegas wanted witness wrote Zencense