An American, a Jet, and a Culture of Corruption That Kept Them Apart
Q: What happens when a good ole Alabama boy named Bobby Wood finds himself pitted against both the Colombian and the United States government?
A: One thing’s for certain—it’s not likely to be
“business as usual.”
In early 1980, noted NHRA drag racing and national record holder Bobby Wood, had only recently opened an FBO aviation business in South Florida. As luck or bad luck would have it, he unknowingly finds himself on the edge of one of the most extensively investigated federal crimes in American history. The result of his months traveling to and from Colombia provides a soul-searching, brutally honest, and often times humorous account of the trials and tribulations of an American businessman thrust into a world of early 1980’s shady intent, corruption and criminal enterprise.
-A true story of intrigue, deception, drug smuggling, and government abuse. -The largest criminal investigation since the death of John F. Kennedy. -The 1979 assassination of a sitting US federal judge.
-A saga of perseverance and tenacity and the good old-fashioned belief “NEVER GIVE UP"
The main character of this remarkable and compelling tale is actually the Learjet 464 Juliet, a Jet Ambulance on a medical mission of mercy. Juliet had been sent to retrieve an American named Bruce Douglas Allen, who had been horribly injured in a plane crash. As Allen lay dying with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body, Colombian officials and agencies, with the possible blessings of their United States counterparts, detained 464 Juliet on trumped-up charges of violation of airspace, and then, days later, neatly confiscated her by planting only fifty grams of cocaine onboard to ensure she would never leave Columbia. Neither would Allen, who was left to die unattended a few days after 464 Juliet was confiscated.
In Bobby Wood’s personal struggle to free 464 Juliet, he will uncover facts along the way that suggest collusion between United States and Colombian officials, including entrapment, coercion, corruption , and the complete disregard for human life. Wood’s experience will remind us that in the wrong hands the pursuit of power based on political expedience, revenge, and, more often than not, just plain and simple money, is perhaps the greatest threat to America’s position in the world and the greatest challenge to our culture of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Will Bobby Wood beat the odds and get Learjet 464 Juliet safely out of Colombia without inflicting collateral damage? The best politicians, brightest lawyers and businessmen from multiple countries tried and failed. Can Bobby Wood learn how to survive in a psychological jungle, accepting that he will have to play by new, different, and ever-changing rules to become adept at the "mind games" waged against him in an arena filled with cynicism and corruption? Facing impossible odds, will God give him the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and perseverance to complete his journey to free 464 Juliet?
