My latest guest is independent scholar David Tuch, author of The Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade (Icon Books, 2025).
The book tells the story of Harold Derber, the man who pioneered the “mothership” smuggling technique that dominated U.S. drug trafficking during the 1970s. It’s a remarkable tale of true crime that takes us from the Battle of the Atlantic through the Arab-Israeli War and the Cuban Revolution. There are connections with Fidel Castro, John F. Kennedy, the Gambino crime family, and even Francis Ford Coppola. Derber lived a truly extraordinary life before he was assassinated in the late 1970s. He was also David’s cousin. We discuss all of it in this fascinating conversation.
As always the podcast is available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocketcasts, and the Substack app.
Episode Outline
0:00-3:11: Introduction.
3:11-16:11: Intro to Harold Derber, the origins of the research, David’s background, adding color to a historical narrative.
16:11-32:42: Derber’s background, WWII, the Arab-Israeli War, smuggling arms to the Dominican Republic, Derber’s motivations.
32:42-53:43: Sarah Cohen and her diaries, Derber’s mob ties, Francis Ford Coppola, James Donovan, the Bay of Pigs prisoners, Victor Piña Cardosa, shuttling Cubans to Miami, Castro, Derber deported.
53:43-1:06:11: Stealing boats in Latin America, drug trafficking and the invention of the “mothership,” cutting a deal with Cuban intelligence, Derber as a potential CIA asset?
1:06:11-1:14:36: His assassination as he was about to testify in the First Jersey Securities case, the Gambino crime family, the murder of his lookalike, who was it that killed Derber?
1:14:36-1:18:25: How David researched all of this.
1:18:25-end: Outro.
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