WITHOUT A BADGE: Undercover in the World's Deadliest Criminal Organization

An original member of the DEA's legendary Group 93, which was founded in 1990 to target the drug cartels based in Cali, Colombia, Speziale has an amazing life story to tell, and in a breathless narrative, he (with freelance writer Seal) nails the high points of his 20-year-long career. From his troubled youth in New Jersey through his incarnation as the suave "Geraldo Bartone" to infiltrate the Cali gangs, to a final bout with career burnout, Speziale provides a detailed insider look at the tough life of undercover cops and the relentless pressure of a job in which the "only way to bust the cartel is to become part of it." As Speziale is schooled in the ways of a drug lord by a confidential informant—who later tries to double-cross him—the authors show just how easy and dangerous it is to go to Guatemala, build an airstrip, set up a business and begin to do large drug deals for the Cali cartel. Unfortunately, the book is written in a faux tough-guy style, reminiscent of old Miami Vice episodes. Speziale has lived an interesting life, but phrases like "I felt that roller-coaster ride ratcheting up another level" don't raise his tale beyond that of a B-movie. (May)