That was a mistake.ĪND WHAT WAS HIS MOTIVE FOR NOT USING THOSE DEFENSES?Īnd as far as the site goes, he truly did believe. He could also have taken the defense that, ‘Hey, I’m just a dumb kid who built this thing, and it drastically spun out of control, and I didn’t know how to stop it.’ But he didn’t. The outcome might have been different even with all the drugs and guns and everything-he was offered a plea deal that he decided not to take. DO YOU THINK IF HE HAD LIMITED THE CONTRABAND ON SILK ROAD JUST TO DRUGS-EVEN HARD DRUGS-THAT PERHAPS THE OUTCOME WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT? ULBRICHT IS EXCITED, BUT HIS GIRLFRIEND IS UNCOMFORTABLE, AND SHE BEGINS TO HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM. IN THE BOOK, YOU RECOUNT THE MOMENT WHEN A GUN SHOWS UP FOR SALE ON THE SITE FOR THE FIRST TIME. I think his feeling was, ‘I haven’t been caught yet I’m never going to get caught.’ What he didn’t realize, of course, was that he had left a trail of things that he had done before the site was even started. Also, Ulbricht started building it in 2010 and launched it in early 2011, and he didn’t get caught in the first month or the first six months or the first year. FOR ULBRICHT, THE CONSEQUENCES OF DEALING DRUGS OR ORDERING MURDERS BECAME AN ABSTRACTION? The writing is akin to the best of mystery noir.I just think that the technology separates you from human beings and actual physical contact, and it makes the idea of being able to change or end someone’s life with the push of a button something that you don’t necessarily have empathy for. The cat and mouse game that is ever present is pulse-pounding. The many characters who are highlighted are illuminating, and some are criminally flawed. Ross is paranoid, but is he paranoid enough to stay one step ahead of his pursuers?Īmerican Kingpin weaves a multi-person narrative encompassing the pursuers and the pursued. The discovery of a pink pill in the mail snowballs into a widespread multi-agency effort to track down the elusive runner of the Silk Road site. Ross would run his empire with the help of anonymous minions, cautious but occasionally dropping a nugget or two of information about his existence. The currency dealt was virtual, as Bitcoin was a blossoming method of payment. This business would develop into a wholesale business where Ross oversaw a blooming dealer-to-user operation. In 2011, Ross developed the Silk Road website to market psychedelic mushrooms. He had met the love of his life, who was shocked by his meager living. Floundering through his early 20s, he was brilliant but unfulfilled. The ones who people never assume anything about always hold shock value. The criminal kingpins who run roughshod over our world with impunity come in many variations.

Silk road american kingpin