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Sally Denton
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The Bluegrass Conspiracy: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs and Murder Kindle Edition

by Sally Denton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177 ratings
Customers reported quality issues in this eBook. This eBook has: Typos, Broken Navigation.
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When Kentucky Blueblood Drew Thornton parachuted to his death in September 1985 carrying thousands of dollars in cash and 150 pounds of cocaine, the gruesome end of his startling life blew open a scandal that reached to the most secret circles of the U.S. government. This story of Thornton and The Company he served, and the lone heroic fight of State Policeman Ralph Ross against an international web of corruption is one of the most portentous tales of the 20th century.
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  1. Print length
    407 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 3, 2016
  5. File size
    2216 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Denton, a former investigator for Jack Anderson, relates a sordid tale of corruption in Lexington, Kentucky. Among the major players were Governor John Y. Brown; his top political aides; former policeman and blueblood Andrew Thornton, the leader of an organization known as the "Company"; and other bluebloods, rich from money originally earned in horse-breeding and racing. Ralph Ross, a Kentucky state policeman who began a crusade to catch Thornton and his associates, was eventually forced out by being framed in an illegal wiretapping charge. Yet ultimately press coverage exposed the conspiracy. A labyrinthian tale, made complex by its mix of "good guys" and "bad guys," this will be of interest to libraries with large true crime sections. Recommended.
-Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Engrossing true-crime drama."

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"A larger-than-real-life thriller."

-- "Wall Street Journal"

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CKHIJDU
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2216 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 407 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,177 ratings

About the author

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Sally Denton

Sally Denton

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I am an investigative reporter, author, and historian who writes about the subjects others ignore--from a drug conspiracy in Kentucky to organized crime in Las Vegas; from corruption within the Mormon Church to murdered women in New Mexico; from one of America's bitterest political campaigns to the powerful forces arrayed against Franklin D. Roosevelt. While the subjects of my books at first glance seem disparate, they are actually unified by a central theme of the exploration of subjects in American history that have been neglected or marginalized, and characters whom I return to their rightful places in history. I am a Guggenheim fellow, a Woodrow Wilson public scholar, a Black Mountain/Kluge fellow, and the recipient of the Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award and two Western Heritage Awards. My book "The Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World" won Best Investigative Book of 2016 from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). I have been inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, and am a decades-long resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I am the mother of three sons and am married to journalist and author John L. Smith www.sallydenton.com @sallydenton

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,177 global ratings
Highly Interesting Book/Story, Except For Typos
4 Stars
Highly Interesting Book/Story, Except For Typos
I’ve already read the book before and was very happy with it. I find it extremely interesting that all of this happened in the area that I’m from and have always lived in. I highly recommend reading this book, especially if you’re from Lexington or the surrounding areas. I bought this copy as a gift for someone else because I’ve been trying to get them to read it. The book arrived in good condition and it looks like it was made with good quality. My problem with it is all of the typos in the first five or so paragraphs (on pages five and six). I haven’t looked any further than those first pages to see if the errors continue on. It’s obviously not a deal breaker for me and I’m not going to send it back because of this but I wanted to make sure that someone (like the seller, at least) knows about so it can be corrected for future orders.
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer SLVHCS
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
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Interesting read crossing the affairs of politics gambling and smuggling. Cash is king and freedom is everything attitudes abound. Money and connections = freedom as these cases clearly show.
Right and wrong blurry blurry blurry as lines are criss crossed and moved constantly in order to get what one wants.
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Jack
5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, entertaining work
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2019
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Denton did her research for "The Bluegrass Conspiracy," and her expertly written work is captivating. I always looked forward to reading it these past five weeks, because one really gets to know the characters due to Denton's meticulous attention to detail. What is this story about? It's about how corrupt institutions and "leaders" are if you care to look. Especially in 1970s and 1980s Kentucky. Drug smuggling, arms smuggling, flying a Cessna 404 into a Colombian jungle at night, crooked cops, bought-off-Dixie-mafia-like grifter politicians, murder, murder-for-hire, sex, greed, gambling, 1980s sartorial sensibilities (blue blazers and penny-loafers of course!), jumping out of the Cessna and landing in someone's driveway with 15 million bucks worth of cocaine on your broken person, elitist yet so garish Lexington, KY, and then the DEA, CIA, FBI, State Police, who is working for whom? Some good, some bad, what's going on?

I was entertained the whole time, and think Denton deserves an enormous amount of credit for bringing us the full account. I doubt if anyone else would have. She cared to investigate, she took the time to study all of this corruption and criminality, even when her own life was at risk. This one will make you very skeptical of all institutions, and realize that nothing is how it appears to be. Funny how the "conspiracy theorists" are the ones always trying to bring us documented actions carried out by rapacious men. If I were they, I would make sure all of us were drugged up on sports and social media too.

I read this on planes, in a hotel room, and at my residence. It was a wonderful reading experience and I highly recommend it. Each time I see the Kentucky Derby on TV now I will enjoy a nice chuckle, thanks to Denton!
17 people found this helpful
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Tyson Kamuf
4.0 out of 5 stars Good content. Terrible binding.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023
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Well written. Good story, especially for a Kentuckian. Binding is horrible. Pages fell out before I even opened it.
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TJ Davis
5.0 out of 5 stars The News that this book speaks of... I Remember
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2024
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I enjoyed this book as it goes back to my youth and being in and around some of the people written about. Experience shines the light of truth on the going on of this, the night hid most all of it from those supporting it.
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Stephanie Collier
5.0 out of 5 stars Omg! Love it!
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2023
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I have finally been able to reread this great book! I read it back when it 1st came out, and considering that u couldn't find a copy of it anywhere in KY, (I'm a Lexingtonian), I'm so happy that I was able to read this on Kindle. Sally Denton nailed it when describing the inside and outside of Lexington and it's unwritten social ladder, how the police operate, and shows how much the "good 'ol boy" network runs, to this day. If u ever have questions about how things really are in Lexington, read this book, it'll open ur eyes wide to things u never thought could happen. I've always said that ppl who aren't from here, should be made to read this book as soon as they move here, that way there's no surprise when figuring out how everything gets hushed up, covered up, or blamed on one of the "lower, and regular" citizens that always seem to be the ones who take the fall for the upper class citizens. Thanx Ms. Denton, would love to see an extended book, with all of the people listed in this book, and where they are now.
4 people found this helpful
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John Berry
3.0 out of 5 stars Greed Drives Most People
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2015
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THE BLUEGRASS CONSPIRACY: An Inside Story of Power, Greed, Drugs and Murder by Sally Denton (1990 STATED FIRST EDITION Hardcover in dust jacket 334 Pages including Index. Doubleday Publishers)

I found this book to be quite entertaining and a very interesting read. My only issues would be how the author skipped around from characters and, for me, some of them were not clearly introduced. Most of this book is from the view of a former State Police investigator and because he was found quilty of eavesdropping while tapping a phone line, one wonders if he has an ax to grind. The ending also left the reader up in the air as the author posed several questions that clearly needed to be answered. As a personal note, I would have liked to have understood how The Company was started and a little more history from being local cops to becoming world renowned Drug Kingpins. The leap the author took lead me to believe it was over a period of years, but I am not clear how it happened.

However, please don't be dismayed as I did read the entire book and I was fascinated by the number of celebrities who came in contact with the people involved in the massive smuggling operations. A little research after reading the book seem to illustrate that many of the main characters, although somewhat tarnished went on to live a fairly normal and in some cases, contributory life. So I was left wondering if the so called Blue Bloods and Lexington police have that much power or perhaps they were "all" not as guilty as the author might have portrayed.

Either way, this book is fascinating even though I was left wondering what the real story may have been back in the 80's. Worth the read.
17 people found this helpful
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Ellen Crum Gray
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Kentucky, USA history
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
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Excellent book about Kentucky history of the Cocaine Epidemic and how it affects all walks of life including the rich, poor, old and young people. No family was excluded. It looks at addiction and how it destroyed the lives of not only the people who used Cocaine but also their families and friends. A page turner for sure. Very well written.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle-Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Real life Miami Vice
Reviewed in Germany on October 13, 2023
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I read this book on the recommendation of Bob Allan, who learned to fly in Kentucky around the time this book describes.
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Kindle Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok read but meanders a lot.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 6, 2021
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I was expecting more from this book. There is a lot of information but it does not really grab your attention. At times it is hard to remember all different characters. It probably would have been better with a narrower focus as it ends with a lot of unknowns.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It
Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2019
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Great Novel
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Nick Gilligan
3.0 out of 5 stars Stranger than fiction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2014
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I knew the story line already - but found the book a bit disjointed. It is a complicated storyline but I don't know if I could have followed the writing of this without knowing the background. Some stories are stranger than fiction and this is one
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