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The Laundry Man
The Laundry Man by Ken Rijock - Memoirs of a multi-million money launderer - Mr Nice meets Catch Me If You Can
'Extraordinary' Mail on Sunday 'A remarkable story of an ordinary man caught up in an extraordinary life' Underground Book Club Meet Ken Rijock. Twice decorated Vietnam veteran. High flying lawyer. And one of the world's biggest money launderers. In 1980s Miami Ken Rijock was the middle man between the Columbians and the Mafia flooding America's streets with cocaine and marijuana. Every Friday, carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in a tattered suitcase, he would fly by private jet to a tax haven in the Caribbean. Rijock's operation was responsible for 'cleaning' over $200 million of dirty cash. And all the time he was in love with a cop. It finally came crashing down when a client testified against him. He agreed go undercover for the FBI, and he now works with banks and governments to track the new generation of money launderers. Set in the evocative world of Miami Vice , The Laundry Man is a classic true crime story. Kenneth Rijock is a financial crime consultant based in Miami. He has more than 25 year's experience in the field of money laundering, as a practising laundryman, financial compliance consultant, and trainer/lecturer to law and intelligence agencies including the FBI. He has testified three times before US Congress committees. Rijock is a veteran of the conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia, and holds the Combat Infantryman's Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
'Extraordinary' Mail on Sunday 'A remarkable story of an ordinary man caught up in an extraordinary life' Underground Book Club Meet Ken Rijock. Twice decorated Vietnam veteran. High flying lawyer. And one of the world's biggest money launderers. In 1980s Miami Ken Rijock was the middle man between the Columbians and the Mafia flooding America's streets with cocaine and marijuana. Every Friday, carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in a tattered suitcase, he would fly by private jet to a tax haven in the Caribbean. Rijock's operation was responsible for 'cleaning' over $200 million of dirty cash. And all the time he was in love with a cop. It finally came crashing down when a client testified against him. He agreed go undercover for the FBI, and he now works with banks and governments to track the new generation of money launderers. Set in the evocative world of Miami Vice , The Laundry Man is a classic true crime story. Kenneth Rijock is a financial crime consultant based in Miami. He has more than 25 year's experience in the field of money laundering, as a practising laundryman, financial compliance consultant, and trainer/lecturer to law and intelligence agencies including the FBI. He has testified three times before US Congress committees. Rijock is a veteran of the conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia, and holds the Combat Infantryman's Badge and Bronze Star Medal.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 19, 2012
Made me want to be a criminal. Until he got caught
October 16, 2022
Synopsis:
Ken Rijock is a Vietnam Vet turned lawyer in Miami in the 1980s. As a casual drug taker, Ken’s crew realise that being a lawyer can help them launder money for drug traffickers. Every week, Ken would fly to a tax haven in the Caribbean carrying hundred of thousands of dollars.
Ken ended up being responsible for cleaning over 200 million dollars of dirty cash. He was the middleman between the Colombians and the Mafia by helping them bring in cocaine and marijuana to the USA.
Eventually, one of Ken’s clients testified against him which saw him incarcerated. Ken agreed to go undercover for the FBI and he now works with the government and banks to help them track down new money launderers.
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My thoughts:
A very interesting read written in a very easy to read style. Like after reading this book, I thought I could be a criminal (honestly I would probably be rubbish at it), as he just made it sound so easy. One of the more alarming parts of the story is that he accepted the money laundering gig without any moral dilemmas. I would have been interested in learning more behind his motivations on why he thought this was such a good idea.
One of the things I found difficult about this story is that you hear a lot of names of Ken’s associates which can sometimes be hard to keep up with. Ken doesn’t really go into details of his associates so there isn’t any real depth to them so it can be hard to link which one is which. Especially at the end of the story where he does a bit of a wrap up on what happened to everyone.
Moral of the story (other than don’t be a criminal), you can’t trust anyone. Loyalty only goes so far; especially in the criminal underworld.
Ken Rijock is a Vietnam Vet turned lawyer in Miami in the 1980s. As a casual drug taker, Ken’s crew realise that being a lawyer can help them launder money for drug traffickers. Every week, Ken would fly to a tax haven in the Caribbean carrying hundred of thousands of dollars.
Ken ended up being responsible for cleaning over 200 million dollars of dirty cash. He was the middleman between the Colombians and the Mafia by helping them bring in cocaine and marijuana to the USA.
Eventually, one of Ken’s clients testified against him which saw him incarcerated. Ken agreed to go undercover for the FBI and he now works with the government and banks to help them track down new money launderers.
—
My thoughts:
A very interesting read written in a very easy to read style. Like after reading this book, I thought I could be a criminal (honestly I would probably be rubbish at it), as he just made it sound so easy. One of the more alarming parts of the story is that he accepted the money laundering gig without any moral dilemmas. I would have been interested in learning more behind his motivations on why he thought this was such a good idea.
One of the things I found difficult about this story is that you hear a lot of names of Ken’s associates which can sometimes be hard to keep up with. Ken doesn’t really go into details of his associates so there isn’t any real depth to them so it can be hard to link which one is which. Especially at the end of the story where he does a bit of a wrap up on what happened to everyone.
Moral of the story (other than don’t be a criminal), you can’t trust anyone. Loyalty only goes so far; especially in the criminal underworld.
April 1, 2016
A very interesting story about the drug world and trafficking drug money. Easy to read. Moral to the story, in the end you cant trust anyone, everyone just thinks about themselves when push comes to shove. Very true. Good book, enjoyed reading it.
February 15, 2021
4.5/5
Szalenie interesująca historia o mafii narkotykowej. Interesująco opowiedziana historia i łatwa do przyswojenia.
Momentami bardzo składna i dlatego zastanawia mnie czy faktycznie jest w niej 100 % prawdy. Jednak mimo tych wątpliwości doskonale pokazuje resocjalizację i bardzo dobrze porusza temat zaufania.
Szalenie interesująca historia o mafii narkotykowej. Interesująco opowiedziana historia i łatwa do przyswojenia.
Momentami bardzo składna i dlatego zastanawia mnie czy faktycznie jest w niej 100 % prawdy. Jednak mimo tych wątpliwości doskonale pokazuje resocjalizację i bardzo dobrze porusza temat zaufania.
February 18, 2021
I started reading this book after I watched the whole series of Narcos. Kinda strange coincidence. I enjoyed every second of it, and highly recommend for anyone who is eager to dive into a thrilling story.
August 5, 2020
Leuk geschreven om iets te weten te kunnen komen over dit wereldje
June 28, 2022
An interesting book. Howe someone's life path can make multiple turns.
January 16, 2026
It's a biography, by it's more Thrilling than most thrillers. I think this book is a must-read if you have any interest in AML
May 28, 2013
The Story
Vietnam Vet returns home to a country that doesn't appreciate him, becomes a lawyer, goes through a bad divorce, and becomes a money launderer for drug traffickers. He gets caught, goes to jail, gets out, and redeems himself by helping law enforcement catch money launderers like he once was.
The Good
An interesting first-person account of how one man fell into a certain lifestyle. It's not inaccurate to say he 'fell' into it, since everything depended on being in a particular place at a particular time- specifically, Miami in the 70s. Rijock introduces us to an eccentric cast of characters on the Miami party circuit, all of whom were involved in the drug trade in some way, even if only as consumers. It's not long before someone realized that, as a lawyer, Rijock could be very useful in laundering money. Rijock seems to have accepted the suggestion with alacrity and no moral qualms whatsoever. He goes on to offer a summary of his methods- how he got suitcases full of money out of the country, how he set up shell companies to launder the money and introduce it back into the US- and then tells us how it all imploded.
The Bad
Although they are all real people (so I presume), most of Rijock's characters don't really come to life. People wander into his life and seemingly just as easily wander out again. Rijock rarely provides any psychological insight to help the reader understand motivations, other than to say that people were going through a bad divorce, custody battle, or whatever. He himself lived with a policewoman for years and, although by the end he makes it clear that she must have had her suspicions about his frequent trips to the Caribbean, we never understand what could have possessed her to turn a blind eye to activities which could easily have destroyed her career and probably her freedom if they came to light.
He is a bit more insightful about his own motivations, openly stating that a large part of what caused his later change of heart was a desire for revenge. I'm a bit skeptical about how useful his experiences during the seventies and eighties can be to law enforcement today considering how much has changed, but I'm no expert on the subject. By and large, this was a very readable one man's story of a very unusual situation.
November 8, 2014
الكاتب كين ريجك محام سابق استشاره البعض من تجار المخدرات وأمثالهم عن ماذا يفعل بالمال الوسخ! وبحسن نية وبدون تخطيط مسبق سأل هنا وهناك ووجد الطريقة البسيطة لغسيل الأموال وهنا بدأ كل شيء يتغير
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أحترم الكاتب الذي استطاع كتابة هذه الحقائق الخطيرة عن عمل خطير، وهو محام مر بظروف اجتماعية صعبة ثم وجد نفسه في مجتمع مدينة ميامي الأمريكية في جو من الحفلات الصاخبة والمخدرات. لم يكن مدمناً ولكنه يعرف الوسط وله صداقات
عجباً كم كان شجاعاً أو ربما غير مبالٍ، وفي أي حال كانت مغامرة مثيرة ولم تخلو من العواقب! جاءت الأحداث متسارعة. وهكذا الحياة بألوانها
كتابة مثل هذا الكتاب لهو إنجاز في حد ذاته. قد يقول قائل أنه بمعايير الكتابة الأدبية المشوقة لم يصل للدرجة المطلوبة ولكني أقول أن الأحداث نفسها وهي حقيقية تجعلك لا تترك الكتاب حتى تتمه. أضف إلى ذلك أنني قبل هذا الكتاب أجد غسيل الأموال شيئاً غامضاً جداً، أم الآن فعرفت كيف تنشأ هذه الأموال الوسخة وكيف هم بحاجة لغسلها وكيف تغسل، وكل ذلك من صاحب "المغسلة" نفسه وبلسانه
قرأته في فترة قياسية بالنسبة لي، سيرة ذاتية مثيرة وحقيقية ولكنها كأنها فيلم سينمائي وأكثر عجباً
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أحترم الكاتب الذي استطاع كتابة هذه الحقائق الخطيرة عن عمل خطير، وهو محام مر بظروف اجتماعية صعبة ثم وجد نفسه في مجتمع مدينة ميامي الأمريكية في جو من الحفلات الصاخبة والمخدرات. لم يكن مدمناً ولكنه يعرف الوسط وله صداقات
عجباً كم كان شجاعاً أو ربما غير مبالٍ، وفي أي حال كانت مغامرة مثيرة ولم تخلو من العواقب! جاءت الأحداث متسارعة. وهكذا الحياة بألوانها
كتابة مثل هذا الكتاب لهو إنجاز في حد ذاته. قد يقول قائل أنه بمعايير الكتابة الأدبية المشوقة لم يصل للدرجة المطلوبة ولكني أقول أن الأحداث نفسها وهي حقيقية تجعلك لا تترك الكتاب حتى تتمه. أضف إلى ذلك أنني قبل هذا الكتاب أجد غسيل الأموال شيئاً غامضاً جداً، أم الآن فعرفت كيف تنشأ هذه الأموال الوسخة وكيف هم بحاجة لغسلها وكيف تغسل، وكل ذلك من صاحب "المغسلة" نفسه وبلسانه
قرأته في فترة قياسية بالنسبة لي، سيرة ذاتية مثيرة وحقيقية ولكنها كأنها فيلم سينمائي وأكثر عجباً
August 23, 2013
A very poorly read book, by a arrogant and stupid ex-lawyer. Does Rijock not realise there are grey areas in life? His stupid pea-brain can only see that you are either a bad guy or a good guy. He goes from being a smug egotistical crooked lawyer, to a smug egotistical asshole product of institutionalised thinking. His moral compass is pathetic. The way he left his ex-wife and her kid in the middle of the night twice is shameful, and something he never learnt from. He can't even see the error of his ways, and doesn't even apologise for his monumental fuck-ups. This is a person who can't learn from his own behaviour and mistakes, everything is either good or bad. He is most definitely an emotional retard. If he was a cop he would be the most hated kind.
The book is a kind of pulp disposable nonfiction that can be read very quickly and then thrown away. Nothing worth reading here, unless you like being turned off by humanity.
The book is a kind of pulp disposable nonfiction that can be read very quickly and then thrown away. Nothing worth reading here, unless you like being turned off by humanity.
February 17, 2014
The title is great, the cover design suitable, but the content is dreary. Only an accountant could possibly find this book exciting. Despite Mr Rijock's best efforts to put some excitement into his narrative, the people he meets are thinly drawn cutouts, his thoughts on events are banal and unilluminating and nothing much happens. This is the sort of airport book that you end up abandoning on the plane - whether fully read or unfinished.
October 25, 2016
Just an average book - neither great nor poor. The memoir is of Ken Rijock's involvement in money laundering and later return to the "good side". But I didn't believe his essential goodness had been re-established. It was more like he'd run out of places to hide and that he had no alternatives. This is not really a book about redemption, but if you're interested in how Ken laundered millions, then this books is for you. A quick, easy read.
May 7, 2013
Quite the pageturner although I don't really buy the 'good guy who did bad things' act. Also, running out on his long term girlfriend twice without even saying a word or leaving a note seems a bit strange. It does however povide some insight about Miami's crazy cocaine years in the 70s and 80s.
February 25, 2014
This book is a book that answer my curiosity about money laundry world. In one of the pages, it mentioned Pablo Escobar and weirdly enough that I picked up the book about him few weeks back. Other than that, this book is a pageturner.
September 14, 2013
I quite enjoyed this book, a good read and page turner.
March 2, 2016
Książka ciekawa nawet trzyma w napięciu. Warta przeczytania
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews