Show Archive
Tuesday 4th June 2024.
June 4, 2024
Our guest this morning in the second hour is Jaime Martin. Jaime is an author and is with us to talk about his book “The Panama Banker”. To give you some back ground.
Jack narrates the story of a native from New Orleans, who while in college in New York, falls in love with Michelle. The daughter of Larry The Panama Banker, a former crony of the country’s strong man Manuel Antonio Noriega in the 1980’s. Their love story takes them to live in Panama during President Ricardo Martinelli’s administration in 2009, a period in the country’s history similar to Noriega’s time in power; filled with scandals of corruption and deceit. Their relationship is complicated by Larry and his family’s delinquent behavior, which ends up getting Jack involved in corruption scandals with the Martinelli administration. Never in his wildest dreams did Jack imagine he would be involved in an international organized crime investigation.
Larry’s escapades take him from living it up as one of Noriega’s main men in Panama, to running from the law after the US invasion in 1989, to trying to begin his life again in Colombia and Venezuela, and later living the life of the rich and famous in Miami Beach. His journey leaves a trail of money laundering, furious ex-wives and fragile young children he never cared for; while this psycho lives it up with his recently acquired riches in a life of promiscuity, drugs, and exuberance.
Panama paper companies help Larry launder stolen government funds, allowing him to live amongst the rest of society, flaunting his ill earned riches in front of the tax payers the funds were originally stolen from. The Panama Banker weaves a web of international finance networks used to launder the money of the corrupt governments of Latin America.
Jack goes through an existential crisis of what to do with his life, he has to choose between good and evil, keeping his family together or giving in to addiction and depression. His life is put upside down and the love of his children and wife keep him from making hasty choices. His relationship with Larry gets critical and the alternatives on how to deal with it are very limited.
Larry’s outlandish lifestyle gives premises to situations that are stranger than fiction; super cars, mega yachts and exotic locations are the norm for this wealthy thug. However, the corruption scandals are no longer endurable, the stress from being chased by the law is unbearable and the karma is catching up to him.
The difference between the scandals in the Noriega days and the ones now, is their international aspect. Corruption scandals in Latin America like the Brazilian company Odebrecht were impossible to hide, since they are covered by news outlets worldwide. Panama’s corrupt justice system now had the world’s attention; gone were the days when you could buy a judge with a suitcase full of cash, what will the Panama Banker do?
Yazmin takes a look at who was born on this day in the world of music and for today we have : 1944 – Michelle Gilliam Phillips From American folk rock vocal group The Mamas & the Papas who had the 1965 hit ‘California Dreamin”, the 1966 US No.1 single ‘Monday Monday’ and the 1967 hit ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’.