3 out of 4 stars
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“Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive,” by Dan “Tito” Davis, co-authored by Peter Conti, is Davis’ memoirs as a fugitive from the United States. The story is set against a Latin American backdrop, during the rise of Columbian drug lord, Pablo Emilio Escobar, and the twenty-five-year reign of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President. Told from Tito’s point of view, this story of his flee from United States’ justice keeps readers entertained as the chase spirals into a world of schemes, drugs, brushes with death, and unusual behaviors. What I liked most about this book was Tito’s amazingly vivid imagery. While it’s Tito’s first book, his choice of Co-author, Peter Conti, was smart, because Conti’s writing shapes Tito’s life-on-the run with flawless prose. They bring to life, a thirteen-year saga extending around Mexico, Latin America, and parts of Indonesia and India. Their precise attention to detail gives the reader an exhilarating view of Tito’s life as a fugitive.
Tito’s run from justice was before 9/11, a time when international travel and American extradition rules were more relaxed, which aided in his long avoidance to capture. Tito, as a fugitive from justice, states his truths while on the run; …“I’m a fugitive from America, I’ve been staying in Medellin Columbia under the protection of the local cartel. I learned some Spanish in a third-grade class in Mexico, from my hit-woman tutor. I almost fell in love with a stripper, and oh yeah I don’t have AIDs, I have a receipt.”
Tito, the eldest of five, grew up living a pleasant farm life in South Dakota during the mid-1950s. At eighteen-years-old, while attending the University of Las Vegas Nevada, he was successful at selling drugs on campus. He found that he could sell white cross pills (a form of speed) faster than his suppliers could provide them. This success underpinned his choice to manufacture and distribute drugs. As the story unfolds, there’s a point during Tito’s first incarceration in an American prison when he shares a moment, and we gain a glimpse into his soul. It’s a touching moment with circumstances that cause the reader to sympathize more personally with Tito. He examines the fragility of his child during a family visit to the prison, “…[H]e was an easy child who seldom cried, …my favorite thing was when he held onto my pinky finger with his tiny hand.” Flair for detail like this enlivens reader's emotions as Tito recounts his incarceration, marriage, divorce, life behind bars, and as a fugitive. Tito even takes us behind co-ed prison bars.
Tito’s release from prison, and successful second marriage, (not his last) confirmed the appeal of a settled life. But fate, old friends, and authorities step in to disrupt his solitude. Tito gets caught in a D.E.A. drug sting, that lands him in jail again. This time he finds jail intolerable. Authorities, he says, were waiting to build a case against someone like him. After being arrested on trumped-up drug charges, his lawyer, Bob VanNorman, gets his bail down to fifteen-thousand dollars, cash, to walk; he decides to run. Tito begins his infamous run from the law, deciding never to see his wife, stepdaughter, mother, father or brother again. “The next day I vanished into Mexico and beyond, not breathing a word to my family or friends, he writes.” Tito’s vivid storytelling makes each episode flourish as he delivers his amazing events while on the run. Tito shows an uncanny ability to anchor details to historical facts, essential to the story.
During his stay in Medellin, Tito’s luck holds, and he comes under the protection of Julio, the underboss of the local drug cartel. After knowing Julio for only twenty-four-hours, Tito is accepted as a cartel family member. “I began to sweat, not from the heat but from the gravity of the situation… Julio was running a cartel in the cocaine capital of the world, and I was going to be his guest. What the HELL did that even mean, Tito thought.” Ultimately, Tito adopts one of Escobar’s sentiments, “I choose to die in Latin America rather than live in an American prison.”
Dan Tito Davis writes his memoirs using the successful technique of overlaying his story with fact-driven, reality, which adds credibility and brings his story to life from beginning to end. Readers with a zeal for adventure and drama will appreciate this story. It’s easy to visualize Tito’s highs, lows, sights, scents and emotions as they cling to his story's atmosphere.
The authors’ subject knowledge and laser-sharp focus to detail, combined with great writing, continually raise intrigue amid exotic locations, characters and situations. These elements make this a fascinating and interesting book. I rate this book a three out of four stars because the book’s narrator, Tom Hadding, says Dan Tito was on the run for fifteen years, while reviews across the internet say he was on the run for thirteen years. There was a bit of recording choppiness at the end, but it didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of Hadding’s narration.
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Gringo
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