American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road - PDFDrive.com

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom--and almost got away with it In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine Web site hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything--drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons--free of the government's watchful eye. It wasn't long before the media got wind of the new Web site where anyone--not just teenagers and weed dealers but terrorists and black hat hackers--could buy and sell contraband detection-free. Spurred by a public outcry, the federal government launched an epic two-year manhunt for the site's elusive proprietor, with no leads, no witnesses, and no clear jurisdiction. All the investigators knew was that whoever was running the site called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts. The Silk Road quickly ballooned into $1.2 billion enterprise, and Ross embraced his new role as kingpin. He enlisted a loyal crew of allies in high and low places, all as addicted to the danger and thrill of running an illegal marketplace as their customers were to the heroin they sold. Through his network he got wind of the target on his back and took drastic steps to protect himself--including ordering a hit on a former employee. As Ross made plans to disappear forever, the Feds raced against the clock to catch a man they weren't sure even existed, searching for a needle in the haystack of the global Internet. Drawing on exclusive access to key players and two billion digital words and images Ross left behind, Vanity Fair correspondent and New York Times bestselling author Nick Bilton offers a tale filled with twists and turns, lucky breaks and unbelievable close calls. It's a story of the boy next door's ambition gone criminal, spurred on by the clash between the new world of libertarian-leaning, anonymous, decentralized Web advocates and the old world of government control, order, and the rule of law. Filled with unforgettable characters and capped by an astonishing climax, American Kingpin might be dismissed as too outrageous for fiction. But it's all too real. From New York Times -bestselling author Nick Bilton comes a true-life thriller about the rise and fall of Ross Ulbricht, aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, the founder of the online black market Silk Road. In Hatching Twitter , Nick Bilton gave readers an astonishingly reported, riveting, and impeccably crafted story of the politics and power struggles behind the founding of Twitter. Now Bilton turns his investigative journalism to the story of Ross Ulbricht, the notorious and enigmatic founder of a drug empire called Silk Road. In 2011, Ulbricht, a 26-year-old libertarian idealist and former Boy Scout, launched "a website where people could buy anything anonymously, with no trail whatsoever that could lead back to them." He called it Silk Road, opened for business on the Dark Web, and christened himself the Dread Pirate Roberts (after the Princess Bride character). The site grew at a tremendous pace, quickly becoming a $1.2 billion enterprise where... Title Page 2 Copyright 3 Dedication 4 Epigraph 5 Contents 6 Author’s Note 9 Cast of Characters 10 PART I 11 1: The Pink Pill 12 2: Ross Ulbricht 19 3: Julia Vie 23 4: The Debate 27 5: Jared’s Khat 30 6: The Bonfire 34 7: The Silk Road 39 8: Ross the Farmer 43 9: Opening Day of the Silk Road 48 10: What Goes Up Must Come Down 52 11: The GAWKER Article 55 12: A Bull’s-eye on My Back 59 13: Julia Tells Erica 63 14: What Have You Done?! 67 15: Jared and the Fifty-Ton FLAMINGO 70 16: From Austin to Australia 74 PART II 77 17: Carl Force’s Tomorrow 78 18: Variety Jones and the Serpent 81 19: Jared Goes Shopping 86 20: The Dread Pirate Roberts 89 21: Carl Force Is Born Again 93 22: “O Captain, My Captain” 95 23: Ross, Hanged or Home 98 24: Carl, Eladio, and Nob 102 25: Jared’S Chicago Versus Carl’s Baltimore 105 26: The Mutiny 109 27: A Billion Dollars?! 114 28: The Aspiring Billionaire in Costa Rica 116 29: Variety Jones Goes to Scotland 120 30: The Armory Opens 124 31: Ross Silences Julia 127 PART III 130 32: Chris Tarbell, FBI 131 33: Ross Arrives in San Francisco 135 34: Chris in the Pit 140 35: Batten Down the Hatches! 143 36: Jared’s Dead Ends 147 37: A Pirate in Dominica 150 38: Carl Likes DPR 156 39: Kidney for Sale! 161 40: The White House in Utah 166 41: Curtis Is Tortured 171 42: The First Murder 175 43: The FBI Joins the Hunt 179 44: Camping and The Ball 182 PART IV 188 45: Gary Alford, IRS 189 46: Life and Death on the Road 193 47: Gary’s Big Change 197 48: Ross Goes Underground 201 49: Carl Switches Teams 206 50: A Parking Ticket on the Internet 210 51: Tarbell Finds a Mistake 213 52: The Fake IDS, Part One 217 53: The Deconfliction Meeting 223 54: Jared Becomes Cirrus 229 55: Julia Is Saved! Hallelujah! 234 56: The Fake IDS, Part Two 237 57: Onward to Federal Plaza 241 58: Julia Comes to San Francisco 246 59: I Am God 250 60: The Phone Call 254 61: The Good-bye Party 261 PART V 264 62: The Pink Sunset 265 63: Carla Sophia 269 64: FeLiNa 272 65: Arrested 280 66: The Laptop 283 67: Ross Locked Up 286 68: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. ROSS WILLIAM ULBRICHT 290 69: To Catch a Pirate 294 70: Sentencing 297 71: The Plural of Mongoose 300 72: The Museum 303 73: The Others 306 Photographs 312 Notes on Reporting 331 Acknowledgments 333 Bibliography 335 About the Author 336 "In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine Web site hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything -- drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons -- free of the government's watchful eye. It wasn't long before the media got wind of the new Web site where anyone -- not just teenagers and weed dealers but terrorists and black hat hackers -- could buy and sell contraband detection-free. Spurred by a public outcry, the federal government launched an epic two-year manhunt for the site's elusive proprietor, with no leads, no witnesses, and no clear jurisdiction. All the investigators knew was that whoever was running the site called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts. The Silk Road quickly ballooned into $1.2 billion enterprise, and Ross embraced his new role as kingpin. He enlisted a loyal crew of allies in high and low places, all as addicted to the danger and thrill of running an illegal marketplace as their customers were to the heroin they sold. Through his network he got wind of the target on his back and took drastic steps to protect himself -- including ordering a hit on a former employee. As Ross made plans to disappear forever, the Feds raced against the clock to catch a man they weren't sure even existed, searching for a needle in the haystack of the global Internet. Drawing on exclusive access to key players and two billion digital words and images Ross left behind, Vanity Fair correspondent and author Nick Bilton offers a tale filled with twists and turns, lucky breaks and unbelievable close calls. It's a story of the boy next door's ambition gone criminal, spurred on by the clash between the new world of libertarian-leaning, anonymous, decentralized Web advocates and the old world of government control, order, and the rule of law."--Jaquette "In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine Web site hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything -- drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons -- free of the government's watchful eye. It wasn't long before the media got wind of the new Web site where anyone -- not just teenagers and weed dealers but terrorists and black hat hackers -- could buy and sell contraband detection-free. Spurred by a public outcry, the federal government launched an epic two-year manhunt for the site's elusive proprietor, with no leads, no witnesses, and no clear jurisdiction. All the investigators knew was that whoever was running the site called himself the Dread Pirate Roberts. The Silk Road quickly ballooned into $1.2 billion enterprise, and Ross embraced his new role as kingpin. He enlisted a loyal crew of allies in high and low places, all as addicted to the danger and thrill of running an illegal marketplace as their customers were to the heroin they sold. Through his network he got wind of the target on his back and took drastic steps to protect himself -- including ordering a hit on a former employee. As Ross made plans to disappear forever, the Feds raced against the clock to catch a man they weren't sure even existed, searching for a needle in the haystack of the global Internet. Drawing on exclusive access to key players and two billion digital words and images Ross left behind, Vanity Fair correspondent and author Nick Bilton offers a tale filled with twists and turns, lucky breaks and unbelievable close calls. It's a story of the boy next door's ambition gone criminal, spurred on by the clash between the new world of libertarian-leaning, anonymous, decentralized Web advocates and the old world of government control, order, and the rule of law."--Jacket The pink pill Ross Ulbricht Julia Vie The debate Jared's khat The bonfire The Silk Road Ross the farmer Opening day of the Silk Road What goes up must come down The Gawker article A bull's-eye on my back Julia tells Erica What have you done?! Jared and the fifty-ton Flamingo From Austin to Australia Carl Force's tomorrow Variety Jones and the serpent Jared goes shopping The dread pirate Roberts Carl Force is born again "O Captain, my captain" Ross, hanged or home Carl, Eladio, and Nob Jared's Chicago versus Carl's Baltimore The mutiny A billion dollars?! The aspiring billionaire in Costa Rica Variety Jones goes to Scotland The armory opens Ross silences Julia Chris Tarbell, FBI Ross arrives in San Francisco Chris is the pit Batten down the hatches! Jared's dead ends A pirate in Dominica Carl likes DPR Kidney for sale! The White House in Utah Curtis is tortured The first murder The FBI joins the hunt Camping and the ball Gary Alford, IRS Life and death on the road Gary's big change Ross goes underground Carl switches teams A parking ticket on the internet Tarbell finds a mistake The fake IDs, part one The deconfliction meeting Jared becomes Cirrus Julia is saved! Hallelujah! The fake IDs, part two Onward to Federal Plaza Julia comes to San Francisco I am God The phone call The good-bye party The pink sunset Carla Sophia FeLiNa Arrested The laptop Ross locked up United States of America v. Ross William Ulbricht To catch a pirate Sentencing The plural of mongoose The museum The others.