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The Dragonhead: The Godfather of Chinese Crime--His Rise and Fall
Distinguished journalist John Sack spent twelve years fearlessly shadowing and befriending the most powerful crime lord in the Chinese Mafia. Now he tells the true, unfictionalized story of mob legend Johnny Kon–“the Dragonhead.”
The Chinese Mafia has always been a mystery to both law enforcement and the media–part of an unapproachable and unfathomable conglomeration of secret societies operating worldwide. To this day, though, police and prosecutors insist that Johnny Kon’s own secret organization–the Big Circle–is public enemy number one. Now, in a triumph of literary journalism, John Sack introduces us to this secret world and its top criminal mastermind, reporting from the homes, hotel rooms, crime scenes, and jail cells of Johnny and his gang, all reported with their full cooperation. It is a journalistic coup.
From Kon’s escape from poverty in China and his golden years as a smuggler during the Vietnam War, The Dragonhead traces Johnny’s rapid rise to power and chronicles the growth of his heroin cartel, as it smuggles a billion dollars worth of drugs into the United States. With astonishing savvy, Sack reveals the humanity behind the previously impenetrable wall of the Chinese and American underworlds, rife with shocking crimes, bound by unforgiving codes of honor. At once a loyal husband and father and a ruthless crime boss, Johnny Kon is by turns fascinating and repellent, but ultimately unforgettable.
The Chinese Mafia has always been a mystery to both law enforcement and the media–part of an unapproachable and unfathomable conglomeration of secret societies operating worldwide. To this day, though, police and prosecutors insist that Johnny Kon’s own secret organization–the Big Circle–is public enemy number one. Now, in a triumph of literary journalism, John Sack introduces us to this secret world and its top criminal mastermind, reporting from the homes, hotel rooms, crime scenes, and jail cells of Johnny and his gang, all reported with their full cooperation. It is a journalistic coup.
From Kon’s escape from poverty in China and his golden years as a smuggler during the Vietnam War, The Dragonhead traces Johnny’s rapid rise to power and chronicles the growth of his heroin cartel, as it smuggles a billion dollars worth of drugs into the United States. With astonishing savvy, Sack reveals the humanity behind the previously impenetrable wall of the Chinese and American underworlds, rife with shocking crimes, bound by unforgiving codes of honor. At once a loyal husband and father and a ruthless crime boss, Johnny Kon is by turns fascinating and repellent, but ultimately unforgettable.
- GenresTrue CrimeHistoryCrime
416 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
32 people want to read
About the author
John Sack
33 books5 followersJewish-American journalist, considered to be the founder of literary journalism.
He was a war correspondent in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Yugoslavia.
His book Eye for an eye about war crimes against the German population of the by Poland annexed part of East Germany has caused an uproar because Sack pointed out the crimes against humanity committed by jews.
Sack was accused of holocaust denial and anti-semitism by various fellow jews and jewish political organisations.
He was a war correspondent in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Yugoslavia.
His book Eye for an eye about war crimes against the German population of the by Poland annexed part of East Germany has caused an uproar because Sack pointed out the crimes against humanity committed by jews.
Sack was accused of holocaust denial and anti-semitism by various fellow jews and jewish political organisations.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 28, 2023
As others have mentioned, "The Dragonhead" is a great read taken as a novel but doesn't hold up as a work of investigative journalism.
The Dragonhead himself, Johnny Kon, crosses over into Hong Kong in the 60s as a refugee from Mao’s China. After working a few low-status jobs, he gets his break selling fake mink furs to GIs during the Vietnam War. He also supplies the American Army with heroin – but just as a favour you understand – he doesn’t make any money out of it. John Sack’s main source for the story was Johnny Kon and I get the idea that he fell for Kon’s charm.
After another hundred pages of wheeling and dealing, mainly in furs but also in counterfeit money and other stuff, Johnny and the leaders of the Big Circle – a gang made up of former Red Guards – decide to import heroin into the US. When Johnny joined the Gang of Tranquil Happiness, a more established Hong Kong Triad and an off-shoot of the Green Gang which ran Shanghai before the communists took over, he swore he wouldn’t sell heroin. Johnny must justify to the old-school leaders of Tranquil Happiness his plan to get into the drug trade. He does this by bringing up the Opium Wars – that great injustice of the West (Britain) forcing drugs on the Chinese. Selling opium to the West, then, is only doing to them what they did to us – but without the force of arms. This duplicitous justification gives a good idea of Johnny’s character. He also wants to take revenge on the US as he blames the country for the death of two of his kids who died running from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Once Johnny comes to the attention of the DEA, he travels the globe, never stopping too long, often wearing a wig and a fake moustache. He visits and invests in Panama City, Paris and Tokyo, to name a few - but my impression is there's no better place to be a gangster, both in terms of entertainment and opportunity, than Bangkok.
I like how Sack writes about Chinese gangsters, the way he describes their smoking and eating habits, clothes and various eccentricities. Two of my favourites are Ronny the Ghost, a Eurasian drug courier who wears a white suit with an I Love NY T-shirt underneath, and the Professor, a demented follower of Chairman Mao wearing glasses just to look brainy. Sack is also good at explaining the various deals, double-crossings and gang affiliations. His weaknesses are the odd untidy sentence and a tendency to over-describe hotel rooms and the shoes Kon is wearing. He recreates Johnny’s imperfect English (without coming across as condescending) and advises us if conversations are in Cantonese or Shanghainese, but wisely does not use Chinese words in the text. The one time he does, he gets it wrong:
“‘Gong xi,’ Johnny says in Cantonese.”
Gong xi is Mandarin for congratulations, ‘kung hei,’ is the Cantonese.
IMBD has a list of the thirty greatest triad movies, and while the list is in no way definitive, it’s interesting to note that “The Year of the Dragon” is the only Holywood movie on the list, the others are Hong Kong made. I thought Johnny Kon might have been the model for the main gangster in The Year of the Dragon – but Sack tells us the character of Joey Tai, played by John Lone, was based on a New York Chinatown tong boss – who, like in the movie, once worked as a Royal Police officer in Hong Kong and runs a funeral parlour business. The Year of the Dragon, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Mickey Rourke pre-plastic surgery, is an OK movie. I tried to read the book by Robert Daley but it was an awful bundle of clichés.
There is no eBook of The Dragonhead, so I had to order a physical copy. It would've been good to read this before writing my own book because I learnt about how to write distinctive characters from Sack. This was much more entertaining than "The Snakehead" by Patrick Radden Keefe, the last triad saga I read. Keefe's book, however, is a thoroughly professional work of journalism.
F.E. Beyer is the author of Buenos Aires Triad Buenos Aires Triad
The Dragonhead himself, Johnny Kon, crosses over into Hong Kong in the 60s as a refugee from Mao’s China. After working a few low-status jobs, he gets his break selling fake mink furs to GIs during the Vietnam War. He also supplies the American Army with heroin – but just as a favour you understand – he doesn’t make any money out of it. John Sack’s main source for the story was Johnny Kon and I get the idea that he fell for Kon’s charm.
After another hundred pages of wheeling and dealing, mainly in furs but also in counterfeit money and other stuff, Johnny and the leaders of the Big Circle – a gang made up of former Red Guards – decide to import heroin into the US. When Johnny joined the Gang of Tranquil Happiness, a more established Hong Kong Triad and an off-shoot of the Green Gang which ran Shanghai before the communists took over, he swore he wouldn’t sell heroin. Johnny must justify to the old-school leaders of Tranquil Happiness his plan to get into the drug trade. He does this by bringing up the Opium Wars – that great injustice of the West (Britain) forcing drugs on the Chinese. Selling opium to the West, then, is only doing to them what they did to us – but without the force of arms. This duplicitous justification gives a good idea of Johnny’s character. He also wants to take revenge on the US as he blames the country for the death of two of his kids who died running from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Once Johnny comes to the attention of the DEA, he travels the globe, never stopping too long, often wearing a wig and a fake moustache. He visits and invests in Panama City, Paris and Tokyo, to name a few - but my impression is there's no better place to be a gangster, both in terms of entertainment and opportunity, than Bangkok.
I like how Sack writes about Chinese gangsters, the way he describes their smoking and eating habits, clothes and various eccentricities. Two of my favourites are Ronny the Ghost, a Eurasian drug courier who wears a white suit with an I Love NY T-shirt underneath, and the Professor, a demented follower of Chairman Mao wearing glasses just to look brainy. Sack is also good at explaining the various deals, double-crossings and gang affiliations. His weaknesses are the odd untidy sentence and a tendency to over-describe hotel rooms and the shoes Kon is wearing. He recreates Johnny’s imperfect English (without coming across as condescending) and advises us if conversations are in Cantonese or Shanghainese, but wisely does not use Chinese words in the text. The one time he does, he gets it wrong:
“‘Gong xi,’ Johnny says in Cantonese.”
Gong xi is Mandarin for congratulations, ‘kung hei,’ is the Cantonese.
IMBD has a list of the thirty greatest triad movies, and while the list is in no way definitive, it’s interesting to note that “The Year of the Dragon” is the only Holywood movie on the list, the others are Hong Kong made. I thought Johnny Kon might have been the model for the main gangster in The Year of the Dragon – but Sack tells us the character of Joey Tai, played by John Lone, was based on a New York Chinatown tong boss – who, like in the movie, once worked as a Royal Police officer in Hong Kong and runs a funeral parlour business. The Year of the Dragon, directed by Michael Cimino and starring Mickey Rourke pre-plastic surgery, is an OK movie. I tried to read the book by Robert Daley but it was an awful bundle of clichés.
There is no eBook of The Dragonhead, so I had to order a physical copy. It would've been good to read this before writing my own book because I learnt about how to write distinctive characters from Sack. This was much more entertaining than "The Snakehead" by Patrick Radden Keefe, the last triad saga I read. Keefe's book, however, is a thoroughly professional work of journalism.
F.E. Beyer is the author of Buenos Aires Triad Buenos Aires Triad
September 20, 2020
An entertaining book. However, there is little in the way of references making this book a cross between a novel and a documentary.
Rereading it years later, I appreciate the novel aspects of the book. The story moves quicker. Sack's primary source was Johnny Kon. While it is difficult to verify the fact Sack presents, it is clear that Kon willingly testified before congressional committees about his activities. Some of the names and events Sack relates are also in those committee hearings.
At the end of the book, Sack devotes a small chapter about his sources. He says his information came from a variety of gangsters around the world. This is possible, although it poses significant threats to the gangsters to be so open. Maybe they are. Joan Grillo writes fabulous stories about Latin American gangsters who appears to be unusually open with him. Maybe Asian gangsters are the same way. It is hard to imagine criminals being so open with journalists. Sack does state a strong belief in Kon's stories. At the same time he strongly opposes the testimony of other, non-gangster characters, especially the prosecutor known as the Dragon Lady.
Kon's story is one of a meteoric rise in the underworld. Within the space of a few pages he goes from associate to leader between different criminal organizations. Readers should assume there is some missing information. Johnny Kon testifies considerably about his actions as a boss, not as much about his run up to becoming a boss. As a ranking member in one Triad society, he suddenly becomes the leader of a loosely-connected group of street criminals called the Big Circle Boys. The transition is difficult to follow.
Overall, it is a fascinating read and is one of the few direct stories / testimonies from an Asian gangster describing Asian / Chinese organized crime. It is easy to read even if gratuitously self-serving Johnny.
Rereading it years later, I appreciate the novel aspects of the book. The story moves quicker. Sack's primary source was Johnny Kon. While it is difficult to verify the fact Sack presents, it is clear that Kon willingly testified before congressional committees about his activities. Some of the names and events Sack relates are also in those committee hearings.
At the end of the book, Sack devotes a small chapter about his sources. He says his information came from a variety of gangsters around the world. This is possible, although it poses significant threats to the gangsters to be so open. Maybe they are. Joan Grillo writes fabulous stories about Latin American gangsters who appears to be unusually open with him. Maybe Asian gangsters are the same way. It is hard to imagine criminals being so open with journalists. Sack does state a strong belief in Kon's stories. At the same time he strongly opposes the testimony of other, non-gangster characters, especially the prosecutor known as the Dragon Lady.
Kon's story is one of a meteoric rise in the underworld. Within the space of a few pages he goes from associate to leader between different criminal organizations. Readers should assume there is some missing information. Johnny Kon testifies considerably about his actions as a boss, not as much about his run up to becoming a boss. As a ranking member in one Triad society, he suddenly becomes the leader of a loosely-connected group of street criminals called the Big Circle Boys. The transition is difficult to follow.
Overall, it is a fascinating read and is one of the few direct stories / testimonies from an Asian gangster describing Asian / Chinese organized crime. It is easy to read even if gratuitously self-serving Johnny.
October 12, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. The story was very vivid and you could tell that John Sack really worked hard to get his information for this biography. As I was reading the Sources section in the back he even went as far as to watch a watch store robbery that he was invited to by the Chinese gangsters he looked to for information! The book is very detailed and captivating. It is suspenseful almost to the point as if you think you're the crime boss and you have to watch out for the cops and rival gangs! The story also hits you emotionally when a close member of the gang dies, I felt as if I was the Dragonhead! The only flaw I found with this book is its extremely long metaphors and similes. Near the end of the book a long dialogue was taking place and it was cut off midway by a huge paragraph about the tea they were drinking! It broke the suspense and immersion I had in the book. Other than that this book is a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in crime related non-fiction.
May 31, 2015
This book was written by a man who spent ten years with the gangsters he writes about. It is a tale of a Chinese man who disobeys his father and ends up very, very rich. Alas, he does it by doing the very illegal things his father made him promise he'd never do. It's very illuminating about how dirty and evil drugs lords really are, even if Johnny Kon is a somewhat likable person. If you like true crime and love to find out how the underworld does things, then read this book and take warning.
June 9, 2015
interesting book, but I think the writing style made it difficult to follow. At times it was more like reading a biography while others it was narrative. Would have been nice to have seen the book broken down into different stages of his life to make it easier to follow.
November 2, 2015
I found this a fascinating read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews