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George Jung Birthday Celebration And Screening Of "Blow"

Source: Greg Doherty / Getty

The man who hustled up and down the West Coast, did business with Pablo Escobar, and later saw Johnny Depp bring his unbelievable life story to the big screen has died.

George Jung, commonly called “Boston George” within his crime circle and fans of the film Blow, died Wednesday (May 5) at his home in the Boston area. He was 78.

On Jung’s Twitter, a short message, words also spoken by Johnny Depp in the 2001 movie, read: “May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face, and the winds of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars. 1942-2021.”

Jung began as a petty street dealer but soon became a major figure in the United States cocaine trade of the 1970s and early 80s. Sometimes called El Americana, George Jung worked with the Medellín Cartel, and at one point it was said he was responsible for more than half of all the cocaine entering America.

In the 1970s, Jung’s dealings netted him an estimated $3 to $5 million per day. But by the late 80s he was on the run, and in 1994, he was sentenced to prison.

Jung was released on June 2, 2014, after serving nearly 20 years for drug smuggling.

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Boston George, Drug Runner Whose Life Inspired Movie ‘Blow,’ Dies At 78  was originally published on zhiphopcleveland.com