The U.S. Attorney who tried the Lehder case did his homework. The trial took months. George’s testimony lasted days and filled hundreds of pages of transcript. In the end, Carlos was convicted and sentenced to life with no possibility of parole plus 135 years. The judge was trying to send a message to other cocaine traffickers.

In exchange for his testimony, George walked away from his sentence. He delivered fish for awhile on the Cape, but it wasn’t long before he was back in the smuggling business. Caught again, with no more deals to make, he is still serving time in the Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He won’t get out until 2014 when he’s 72 years old.

Ever the deal-maker, Carlos testified against Panamanian General (and former President) Manuel Noriega. Despite the protests of officials like Robert Merkle, the U.S. Attorney who had tried Lehder, the "powers that be" granted Lehder some kind of consideration. To this day, his whereabouts are secret.

What happened to Pablo Escobar was no secret, however. Hunted by both Colombians and Americans (in a covert U.S. military operation), the drug lord eluded capture for more than a year. Initially turning himself in, he "did time" in a place that looked more like a home than a prison. When he grew tired of it, he simply walked away. It took 15 months to track him down.