Bizarro: The Surreal Saga of America's Secret War on Synthetic Drugs and the Florida Kingpins It Captured

Jordan S. Rubin

Aug 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Stephen Bowlby

About this audiobook

Inside a drug war so screwy that people don't know what's illegal-until it's too late. Bizarro is a must-listen 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 listeners 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.

About the author

Jordan S. Rubin is a journalist and a former prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, where he was assigned to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

Stephen Bowlby, a lifelong performer and filmmaker, loves bringing ideas to life in ways that entertain, inviting both action and reflection. With a career in writing, directing, and film editing, he infuses his narration with a strong sense of story.