My latest book, LETHAL DOSES: The Story Behind the Godfather of Fentanyl was released Tuesday, August 27, 2024. It's the true story of the man DEA called "the best and most dangerous clandestine chemist" the agency ever encountered. George Erik "Squeak" Marquardt, a high school dropout and self-taught "chemistry genius," became a professional criminal at age twelve and, in the sixty years after that, had "no occupation other than being a drug … [Read more...]
LETHAL DOSES takes readers inside the twisted world of the man who brought Fentanyl to America
On a cold afternoon in February 1991, a frightening new drug hit the streets of New York City, a synthetic narcotic marketed in packets labeled "Tango & Cash." As police scrambled to warn heroin users of the danger, the overdose victims began piling up in hospital emergency rooms and county morgues across three states. As a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said at the time, "We don't know yet who's putting this stuff out there, but … [Read more...]
GOING UNDER and THE TUSKEGEE STRANGER are Finalists for the 17th Annual Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award!
We are thrilled to announce that two WildBlue Press titles are finalists for Killer Falchion Award! John Madinger's award-winning collection of short stories, GOING UNDER and Linda Lou Long's gripping true crime, THE TUSKEGEE STRANGLER are among the finalists in the Best Nonfiction category for 2023 are. Both authors have created compelling narratives offering unique perspectives on crime. GOING UNDER: Kidnapping, Murder, and A Life Undercover by … [Read more...]
GOING UNDER is John Madinger’s Unflinching Look at America’s Undercover World, Audiobook Narrated by Tom Force Out Now
We are thrilled to announce that the audiobook for GOING UNDER: Kidnapping, Murder, and a Life Undercover by former undercover agent John Madinger is now available! If you're a fan of true crime and police procedural stories, this gripping memoir will take you into the world of American crime. Madinger offers a unique perspective on the often upside-down-and-backward world of the undercover agent. You'll follow Madinger as he runs with the pack … [Read more...]
WildBlue Press 2022 Year in Review: Part 1 of 2
22 New Books Released 14 Nonfiction Titles 8 Fiction Titles That's right; 22 new books in 2022! Each year we put out gripping, celebrated true crime titles and this year was no different. Two authors asked readers to make up their own minds about potential governmental coverups. Suzanne Buchanan started us off in March with THE CURSE OF THE TURTLE: The True Story Of Thailand's "Backpacker Murders"-bringing to light the brutal … [Read more...]
Author John Madinger On 3 Ways Hollywood Gets It Wrong About Undercover Agents
It's not surprising that undercover work is frequently misunderstood, often romanticized, usually unappreciated, and occasionally maligned. Blame Hollywood. People watch TV shows like Miami Vice or Graceland, or movies like The Departed, Fast and Furious, Training Day, or Donnie Brasco and figure that's what undercover looks like. Don't get me wrong, I think Donnie Brasco and especially The Departed are great films and very compelling. This'll … [Read more...]
GOING UNDER
Going Under by John Madinger is a Unique and Often Humorous Look at A Life Undercover I just want to make sure I've got this right. You hanged all three of them?" That's how it began, a case where the cops are crooks and the crooks are cops, a kidnapping where the victim is the bad guy, and the good guys must cross some lines to get him back. Welcome to the upside-down and backward world of the undercover agent, where nothing is as it seems, … [Read more...]
John Madinger
WildBlue Press Author I joined the drug war in 1974 as a sheriff's deputy, then served as a narcotics agent, supervisor, and administrator and a special agent/criminal investigator with the U.S. Department of the Treasury before hitting mandatory retirement age in 2010. I spent fifteen years of that time in undercover assignments from Florida to Honolulu and worked major fraud and money laundering cases, becoming one of the country's leading … [Read more...]
