King-Mag Article: The Cocaine Cowboy
He might share a surname with your favorite TV dad, but Charles Cosby’s life story is no sitcom.
At 23, Charles Cosby was just another LA drug dealer slinging rock during the inner city crack epidemic of the 1980s. By the time he was 24, Cosby was at the helm of an international cocaine cartel with millions of dollars and thousands of soldiers at his disposal. As the right-hand man and lover of Colombian drug kingpin Griselda “The Godmother” Blanco, Cosby was living his own personal version of Scarface—only his chick was Tony Montana and he was Michelle Pfeffier. His meteoric rise and inevitable fall are the subject of Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin’ with the Godmother, the sequel to the 2002 cult favorite.
When did Griselda Blanco first come to your attention?
Griselda was arrested in February of 1985 on an old indictment charge in New York City. I happened to be at home watching the news that day and they made her out to be an alleged billionaire who controlled 1500 subordinates. They said that at every sunset her wealth grew by a million dollars. It was amazing to see some shit like that. I never knew such kingpins existed, much less a woman, you know?
After that you immediately became a Stan. Your first contact with Griselda was a fan letter you sent to her prison cell, right?
I hear the term “fan letter” often, but it wasn’t a fan letter. I reached out to Griselda just to show my respect. I actually received a phone call from the Godmother about three days later. She just wanted to know what my motive was. I explained to her that I just wanted to rub elbows with a legend. So we basically hit it off almost immediately.
Did you start off as a soldier in her cartel or were you immediately a top dog?
The very first time I met Griselda face to face she agreed to give me 50 kilograms of cocaine as a sign of her sincerity. Of course, the family didn’t like it or agree with it, but she was a person of last resort. Whatever she said went, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. I would say after the first meeting I was not only in but I was at the very top of the food chain. I became her right-hand man so to speak.
Sounds like American Idol has a tougher audition process. Were you surprised by how quickly you were invited into the inner circle?
I was more surprised that she was allowing a black man to penetrate her circle, because Colombians, generally, don’t care for black people. It’s not just me saying that—it’s a proven fact.
So the members of Griselda’s cartel disliked you immediately?
The family members were jealous because there were people with her for 15, 20 years and when I came in I became their boss. They had to go through me to get to the Godmother. So they were constantly vilifying me and castigating me, saying things like, “Why would the Godmother lay in bed with a nigger? Why is the godmother fraternizing with a ghetto guy?” But Griselda told them that she’s free to do whatever she wants to do. If she wants to love a black men there’s nothing nobody can do about it. This is her life to live.
You went from being a local crack dealer to practically running a billionaire dollar drug business overnight. Did you have that Scarface moment where you realized you were on top of the world?
I realized I had made it in when I was driving up Highway 5, which is the connector from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. I’m 24 years old driving a Ferrari 512 that belonged to me. At that point I realized I was there. I made it. Every wish and dream I had came true.
When did the other Scarface moment occur where you realize you’re in too deep?
It hit me when I would be sleeping in my bed at four or five in the morning and I would receive a call from the Godmother saying, “Charlie I need you in New York at four this afternoon.” So I went from having fun, making money and enjoying what I was doing to detesting the lifestyle. It was like I was almost controlled. My life belonged to Griselda Blanco. There was a lot of money coming in, but I wasn’t happy man.
Are you saying the worst part of drug dealing is the long hours?
You gotta understand, I had the Ferraris, I had the money—20 million dollars in cash money that I could reach out and touch, but I wasn’t happy. It came to a point where I no longer wanted to be a part of that lifestyle once I realized the crimes that I was committing against the community that I grew up in. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t. I would go a different route. I would be a lawyer. That was my dream as a kid.
You’re one of the few people who was able to escape the drug world. Why didn’t you become another statistic?
I was smart, but I was lucky as well. When I got with Griselda Blanco she had a system already in place. It wasn’t like I had to build this massive drug operation from the ground up. I came into a multimillionaire situation right from the gate. So, basically, all I had to do was catch a flight, shake a hand and make a million dollars. The hardest part of my job was the plane flight.
Griselda’s whereabouts are unknown. Was she able to escape the life, too?
Griselda is actually in Bogota, Colombia. She’s a Born Again Christian, believe it or not. She’s still a billionaire, a cash money billionaire, but the difference is she cant enjoy her money like she once was able to because there are so many people looking to do harm to her.
A billionaire drug kingpin living free? Sounds like another war America is losing.
The war on drugs is a miserable failure. They can never stop drugs no more then they can stop prostitution. It’s here to stay.
Tags: charles cosby, cocaine cowboys 2, interview