George Jung 101

George Jung is SSL

George Jung is one of the most well known drug smugglers all all time. Not to be confused with George Young the actor or George Young the rock and roll star, George Jung aka Boston George and El Americano got his start smuggling weed in the late 1960s. By the early 80s he had become part of the Medellín Cartel, along with Pablo Escobar. These guys were responsible for up to 89 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States at the time. That’s a lot of coke, man. You probably already know that the 2001 film Blow, starring Johnny Depp, was based on George Jung and his life story, right? Well smart guy, here are a few things you didn’t know about Boston George Jung…

Boston George Beginnings

Before Boston George began specializing in smuggling Colombian cocaine on a large scale he was born in Boston, Massachusetts. However he was raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts and according to Wikipedia although George Jung didn’t excel academically he was described by his classmates as “a natural leader”. He graduated from Weymouth High School in 1961 and went on to study advertising at the University of Southern Mississippi where he started smoking weed. Like a lot of enterprising young stoners he would sell a portion of the weed he bought to break even. However his penchant for selling pot led to then end of his studies and the beginning of a astronomically lucrative career smuggling marijuana.

Young George Jung

In 1967 a young George Jung met with a childhood friend and realized that he could make a ton of cash by smuggling cannabis from California back to his home town of New England. He initially had his stewardess girlfriend transport the weed in her suitcases on flights. He quickly moved on to bigger risks and rewards by flying Mexican marijuana from Puerto Vallarta using airplanes stolen from private airports on Cape Cod. He also began using professional pilots at the time and paid them very well. At the peak of business George Jung and his associates were reportedly making $250,000 a month.

George Jung arrest

In 1974 George Yung was arrested in Chicago for smuggling 660 pounds of marijuana. Prior to a pick up Jung’s weed at the Playboy Club his connection was busted for smuggling heroin. He then went on to rat out Jung to get a reduced sentence. After arguing with the judge about the purpose of sending a man to prison “for crossing an imaginary line with a bunch of plants,” Jung was sent to the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution.

George Jung and Pablo Escobar

During his marijuana trafficking sentence George Jung offered his cellmate, Carlos Lehder Rivas, smuggling lessons in exchange for an introduction to the dominant and powerful Medellín Cartel. Soon they united and went into business together flying hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Pablo Escobar’s Colombian ranch to the U.S. Once the coke arrived stateside George Jung’s California connection would take it from there.

George Jung arrested again

In 1987, Jung was arrested at his mansion on Nauset Beach near Eastham, Massachusetts. With his family in tow, he skipped bail but quickly became involved in another deal in which an acquaintance betrayed him.

George Jung net worth then

At his peak Jung was pulling in $15 million per drug run. He came up with the idea to steal single-engine airplanes for his transportation and charge $10,000 per kilogram and had five planes going from Colombia to California each carrying 300 kilograms per plane at the top of his game. Again that’s $15 million per run for Jung. In the 1970’s Jung was earning 3 to $5 million per day. To avoid 60 percent surcharges, as well as a need to launder his earnings, he kept his money in the national bank of Panama.

George Jung net worth now

However what’s George Jung net worth now? Not so much. Back in March TMZ ran a story titled, George Jung My Life After Jail Blows … So I’m Doing Reality TV. In the post they stated that “George Jung had gone from filthy rich drug smuggler to dirt poor unemployment … but that’s finally paying off for him with a reality TV gig about poverty.” So far that reality show called, Poverty Sucks, hasn’t yet emerged so who really knows the amount of the George Jung net worth nowadays. But we’re betting it’s not anything like it used to be. Anyhow if that show does happen it’ll definitely add to the guy’s worth, however. According to the IMDB “the reality TV series saw the former comrade of Pablo Escobar attempting to return a normal life by opening a checking account, shopping for groceries and not controlling one of the largest drug empires in global history. As well as this, the series follows Jung as he attempts to heal his relationship with his estranged daughter.” Sounds like a cool show, right? We’d smoke a joint and watch it.

George Jung release date

Jung later testified in the trial of his former accomplice Lehder in exchange for a reduction in sentence. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Website, Jung (Inmate #19225-004) was most recently serving time in the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, New Jersey, with a scheduled halfway house release date of June 2, 2014. Completing his halfway house George Jung released from custody fully on November 27, 2014.

George Jung daughter

Who is the famous George Jung daughter? Her name is Kristina Sunshine Jung and sine his release she and George Jung have reconnected. After his release he was transported to to a halfway house in San Francisco so he could adjust to free living. TMZ first reported about the Kristina Sunshine Jung and her dad’s reconciliation. The blog George Jung says that Kristina was probably born around 1986 and was only a year old when he was arrested by the DEA. It’s rumored that she lives in California together with her husband and children now. It’s also rumored that she didn’t visit her father in prison until the spring of 2002.

Kristina Sunshine Jung

On a Facebook page identified as belonging to Kristina Sunshine Jung, she calls herself as a “Writer and Poetess.” Her page, which she admittedly does not check often, has been inundated with comments from people discussing the release of her father. Aside from a very occasional update. She has remained out of the public eye since her father’s imprisonment.

George Jung wife

Mirtha Jung is the former wife of George Jung and the mother of their daughter Kristina Sunshine Jung. Despite rumors of Mirtha Jung’s death, she is still alive and well, in her early 60s in 2016.

George and Mirtha first met in the late ’70s when she was 24 and George was about ten years older in the fall of 1978—according to George Jung’s autobiography “Grazing in the Grass Until the Snow Came.”) George Jung and wife Mirtha had a daughter, kristina sunshine jung and were married for seven years, from 1977 to 1984. Mirtha became his wife during his time as a Medellin cartel smuggler.

There isn’t much information on where Mirtha Jung is currently living however many say she is still here in the US. Her last public contact was 2001—an interview to a Texas newspaper around the time when the biography Blow hit the screens.

Is George Jung still alive

is george jung still living? Yes George Jung is still alive and kicking. He turned 74 in 2016 and apparently suffers from dementia. Where is george jung now? He is living somewhere in California. And he is still shopping around his reality TV show, called “Poverty Sųcks”. We’d definitely watch it.

George Jung quotes

Check out some of Jung’s quotes below via Dominic Streatfeild and PBS

“Well, smoking marijuana–or most everybody who smokes marijuana deals it in small amounts to their friends, innocently enough. Then I begin to see the money aspect of it. That was the driving force. I suddenly began to realize that to become an entrepreneur in the marijuana business would make me fairly well off. And I also liked the lifestyle, my own working hours.”

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“There were movie stars and rock stars. I became a pot star. I glorified in that. And of course as time wore on the business began to expand and grow. It went from more or less a college fun thing to a serious business. As the money grew, the power grew.”