70 year old bottle of wine

T he black Cadillac pulls into the diner’s parking lot in Queens. Built in the 1950s, the building looks like it only exists on a rainy day, the rock-lined exterior out of another time. I step out of the Uber and look up at the restaurant where, in 1983, my father was arrested after escaping federal prison. He had spent two years on the lam, and was brought down by the U.S. Marshals after eating breakfast with his longtime mistress. He had just come from organizing a new shipment from Colombia. I imagine the day was also rainy. Almost 40 years later, I am there to meet with the Drug Enforcement Agency officer who tracked him for nearly a decade, trying to bring down one of the biggest mari juana kingpins of the 1970s, the man I once called “Daddy,” and one of the architects of the modern drug trade: Dan McGuiness. When the Cadillac arrived at my hotel, I had to laugh. The last time I saw my father, he, too, was driving a black Cadillac. He had just arrived in Los Angeles … [Read more...] about Learjets, Mistresses, and Bales of Weed: My Dad’s Life as a Drug Kingpin

It was the first hour of November 3rd, 1980, as the Learjet left behind Miami’s city lights and headed west over the dark of the Everglades. Aboard were two principals, each flanked by their respective henchmen . Until this hour, they had never met. The one who had leased the plane was a thirty-six-year-old drug-smuggling kingpin named Dan McGuiness. He had a penchant for ordering up Learjets on short notice. Once, after striking up a conversa­tion with a young woman in a Boston bar, he went, on impulse, ​​ over to a pay phone and called up a Learjet from Miami to take the two of them to Jamaica for the weekend. McGuiness had pulled off enough successful smuggling deals to be able to afford little luxuries like that. The other man, forty-two-years old, was well known in smuggling circles as Theo Poulos, a specialist in providing highly specialized off-loading services to “mother ships” coming up from Co l ombia laden with marijuana . The aircraft was now headed for a … [Read more...] about Inside Operation Grouper: the DEA’s War on Marijuana Smuggling

TMZ/Getty Britney Spears and Sam Asghari went on the attack after Kevin Federline , the father of her 2 children, did an interview saying the 2 teens are avoiding their mom. Sam went on social media, saying ... "There is not validity to his statement regarding the kids distancing themselves and it is irresponsible to make that statement publicly. The boys are very smart and will be 18 soon to make their own decisions and may eventually realize the ‘tough’ part was having a father who hasn’t worked much in over 15 years as a role model." Getty Britney doubled down ... "It saddens me to hear that my ex husband has decided to discuss the relationship between me and my children … as we all know, raising teenage boys is never easy for anyone … it concerns me the fact that the reason is based on my Instagram … it was LONG before Instagram … I gave them every thing … Only one word: HURTFUL … I’ll say it … My mother told me ‘You should GIVE … [Read more...] about Sam Asghari, Britney Spears Attack Kevin Federline For Saying Sons Avoid Her

Getty 'Hello,' Mindy Kaling ... your looks over the years are seemingly 'fresh.' Here is a 26-year-old version of the comedian and actress showcasing her fresh, curly look and intriguing smize at the premiere of "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" in Hollywood back in 2005 ( left ). This was the year she debuted her Kelly Kapoor character on the hit show "The Office." And, 17 years later ... the gorgeous momma bear stepped out for a "Late Night" and rocked her ageless smile at the premiere of "Vengeance" at the Ace Hotel in L.A. ( right ). The question is ... Mindy Kaling ... Something Went Wrong … [Read more...] about Mindy Kaling — Good Genes Or Good Docs?!

In February 2020, Sarah Thankam Mathews was struggling to write a novel; freelancing wasn’t going so great, either. So, she took a writing break, looked at the burgeoning threat of Covid-19, and immersed herself in the needs she predicted were on the horizon as the pandemic altered everyone’s reality. “What grew out of that anxiety-spiral-meets-moment-of-clarity was I built this online Slack network that was sort of a neighborhood-based mutual-aid network,” she says. It started with a few flyers — which called on her Bed-Stuy neighbors to “stay together and keep each other safe and be connected as a community,” and also included a join link to her Bed-Stuy Strong Slack — and snowballed into an organic form of mutual-aid organizing, where people worked together to provide for one another within Bed-Stuy. By the end of 2020, she says, “We had supported 23,000 people during those first seven months with a week’s worth of groceries. And by the end of our Covid-specific … [Read more...] about How the Pandemic Allowed One Author to Affect Change in Her Community and Reinvent Her Debut Novel

There was a time when one could often find Mandela Barnes on MSNBC. His hits peaked in late summer 2020, when Wisconsin ’s 33-year-old lieutenant governor took to the liberal airwaves to register his outrage over a police shooting in Kenosha. Those appearances left a strong impression, as Barnes — young, Black, equal measures charismatic and unapologetic — condemned law enforcement’s accounts of how one of their own shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man. ”We’re being told not to believe our eyes,” he said on the network. “If we have the accountability we deserve … we wouldn’t be in the place that we are with this racial reckoning.” It was an era when Democratic Senate candidates were fixtures on MSNBC, preaching soundbites to the liberal choir and hoovering up millions of dollars’ worth of donations, a reward for taking on a reviled Trump toady. Fast-forward two years, and Barnes is now a Democratic Senate candidate himself. But he’s appeared on the liberal cable network … [Read more...] about The Hot New Strategy for Unseating Trump Republicans: Don’t Make It About Trump

Getty Roger E. Mosley -- famous from 'Magnum P.I.,' among other shows -- has died. The veteran actor passed away peacefully early Sunday morning at his home surrounded by family and loved ones ... this according to his daughter, Ch-a , who posted a tribute to her dad while announcing the sad news. Getty She writes, "We could never mourn such an amazing man. He would HATE any crying done in his name. It is time to celebrate the legacy he left for us all. I love you daddy. You loved me too. My heart is heavy but I am strong. I will care for mommy, your love of almost 60 years. You raised me well and she is in good hands. Rest easy." Mosley will perhaps best be remembered as Theodore 'TC' Calvin in the OG 'Magnum' series of the '80s, opposite Tom Selleck . His character ran a helicopter biz in the show, and was often helping the lead man get out of a jam by transporting all over the Hawaiian island. He actually portrayed two other … [Read more...] about ‘Magnum P.I.’ Star Roger E. Mosley Dead at 83