EP 12 How Are You Still Alive? Part 2

In Part 1 of "How Are You Still Alive?" you met pilot Billy Dekle of Florida, a flyer who cheated death more than once as he brought in tons of Colombian marijuana, not in large cargo planes, but in smaller singles and twins.

In Part 2, his story continues with a tragic accident that cost a man his life, and with a flight that ended with a long glide back to a shore in Mexico after an engine failure. And then Billy Dekle's final arrest and the harsh mandatory sentences of the time that put him in prison for life.

Along the way you meet his wife Kay who against great odds, keep their family together for the many years he was in prison, and the Florida lawman who arrested him, ending his years on the run. And you'll hear from his brother Bob who was serving as a prosecutor, including at the trial of America's most famous serial killer. And he was doing so while his younger brother was flying loads of pot into Florida.

You''ll hear how the support of advocacy organizations and a presidential act of mercy returned his freedom.

For a detailed history of those years, read Billy & Kay Dekle's book "Flying High With Gringo Billy, available on Amazon.

 

Thanks to Billy & Kay Dekle, Bob Dekle and Ed Hudson for sharing their stories in this episode. Retired police officer Ed Hudson has also written a book about his arrest of Billy's partner, the late Freddie Crow, and how he later befriended Crow after Crow was released from prison. You'll find Ed Hudson's book "As The Crow Flies: The Redemption of an International Drug Smuggler" available on Amazon.