The Cornbread Mafia (Bardstown, Lebanon, Harlan: crime, homes, living in) - Kentucky (KY) - City-Data Forum

JohnCurtisEstes · 09-03-2016, 08:04 AM

I'm from Colorado and am currently reading an excellent book about the "Cornbread Mafia".

Anyone on here know any of the members (Johnny Boone, others etc...)

Interesting story to say the least!

http://www.lyonspress.com/book/9780762788439

eok · 09-03-2016, 08:37 AM

Most of it happened before 1990. A lot of people today might not know anything about it. It was basically a very big marijuana gang, selling very large amounts of marijuana, back when marijuana was very illegal everywhere.

Mr. In-Between · 09-03-2016, 09:10 AM

The problem is, who would admit it?

Put it this way - there are a lot of people in Kentucky who know some of those guys, but most of them are never aware of it. Most people who are aware of it are not the kind of people who would talk about it, because if they were, they probably never would have found out they knew them. Keep in mind, there were hundreds of people involved in that operation at various levels over the years. They're scattered all over Kentucky. The ones who didn't get arrested tend to be the smarter ones, the ones who know how to keep their mouths shut about who they are. People here are extremely good at keeping their mouths shut; it's a carryover from the moonshine culture.

And even people who know Johnny Boone don't know Johnny Boone anymore, or at least nobody living in Kentucky. I think he lives somewhere way south of here now, and doesn't have much occasion to speak English anymore.

It's a great book, though - really tells you an awful lot about an important but little-known side of Kentucky culture. I live in the area where most of that happened, and the author absolutely nailed it. One thing I can tell you is that even though the book had an ending, many of the stories in that book didn't. The ones who didn't get arrested didn't exactly see the light and take a vow never to do anything like that again as long as they lived. It's what they do, it's what they're good at, and the only thing they learned is how to be more careful.

There are a lot of parts of Kentucky with a lot of extremely nice homes in the middle of nowhere, with lots of really expensive toys in the yard. They didn't make that money growing 20 acres of tobacco on the side of a mountain. It's not hard to put 2 and 2 together, but whatever you figure out is best kept to yourself. You know the line in that Steve Earle song - "He never come back from Copperhead Road"? That song tells the whole story.

There's another book you should look at when you're done with that - "The Bluegrass Conspiracy." Although neither book really mentions it (to the best of my recollection) they're kind of almost the same story, if you dig deep enough. People in those groups weren't really organized into rigid hierarchies, and there was a lot of overlap. A lot of those guys just did business with whoever they happened to do business with, and they weren't exactly competitors. There was a lot of overlap, especially in the years after the stories ended, as the groups fell apart and the people went their separate ways and formed new associations. Surviving members of both groups tended to have money, connections, a certain skill set, and common interests. They learned how to be better at what they were already good at, and moved forward from there.

Marijuana is by far the largest cash crop in Kentucky. The feds make it a lot tougher than it was 20 or 30 years ago, but there are still a lot more mountains than there are helicopters. People who live in the rural areas tend to live their own lives they way they see fit, and they don't particularly give a damn if anyone else approves. They do, however, tend to give a pretty big damn about people who talk about their business. It's a very interesting subject, but unfortunately, you really don't want to know very much about it. You really don't. If something happens to someone, you really don't want to be someone who knew something about them that you shouldn't have known. It's really better to just stick to the books and leave it at that. I think most people who have direct personal knowledge of the subject are probably going to feel pretty much the same way, unfortunately.

JohnCurtisEstes · 09-03-2016, 09:24 AM

Appreciate this information- I am about 3/4 thru the book and love it.

They were really "ahead of their time" w/ cultivation techniques that are pretty common now (cross breeding, cloning the best strains etc..).

The FX show "Justified" really was a great show too and had similar stories and plots. Elmore Leonard (sp?) must have read the book too.

I miss the show!

Mr. In-Between · 09-03-2016, 09:37 AM

If I recall correctly, Johnny Boone won awards at the state fair as a teenager for his prowess at growing tobacco.

A lot of people tend to underestimate rural Kentuckians, but the fact is, when it comes to what they do to feed their families, they are nothing short of brilliant. They may not all be very worldly, but the farmers damned well know how to farm, and that's something that goes back centuries. If they didn't, their kids starved to death.

And, what is marijuana growing? Farming. To a lot of them, just a more profitable way of feeding their families.

I should watch some of those shows sometimes. It'd be interesting to see. I know that some show did an episode or two on Johnny Boone and the cornbread mafia a few years back, but i never saw it. I should try to find it on Netflix.

It's really a fascinating culture here, and the people in those books are the best people you'll ever meet in your life - if they like you. It's a whole different world than most people are used to living in (and not one I could ever live in) but it's really interesting to see it from arm's length.

Oldhag1 · 09-03-2016, 12:28 PM

I was still in Kentucky, teaching in a nearby county, when they discovered the last farm and he took off. It was all over the news. Lebanon is still has a bunch of renegades. Not long ago a Bardstown cop got ambushed, of course there was speculation Boone was involved.

Crazee Cat Lady · 09-06-2016, 10:06 AM

I will have to check those books out, they sound interesting. Non-fiction crime is one of my favorite Genre's.

I miss Justified too! That was one of the best TV shows ever!

JohnCurtisEstes · 09-07-2016, 10:59 AM

As others have said the Kentucky "way" is to keep secrets to yourself and do not rat-out anyone who may have done something wrong.

I love that attitude and have great respect for your State because of it!

I think Johnny Boone is the older guy you see on the beach in Mexico (or Belize?) who has a young girl on his arm, a smile on his face, and a large umbrella drink in his hand.

Probably checks in with his accountant daily to check his investments since he has a few million in the bank!

Crazee Cat Lady · 09-12-2016, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnCurtisEstes

Appreciate this information- I am about 3/4 thru the book and love it.

They were really "ahead of their time" w/ cultivation techniques that are pretty common now (cross breeding, cloning the best strains etc..).

The FX show "Justified" really was a great show too and had similar stories and plots. Elmore Leonard (sp?) must have read the book too.

I miss the show!

Here is a video from a drone of Harlan (Justified only had a few scenes actually shot in Kentucky, most were shot in California or Pennsylvania...if I am remembering correctly. Pennsylvania and Kentucky may resemble each other a bit (at least in the Appalachian Mts. that they share...but California...two totally different types of scenery, lol.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI1d81vgq-Q