American Pain
How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America's Deadliest Drug Epidemic
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Narrated by:
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Charlie Thurston
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By:
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John Temple
About this listen
The king of the Florida pill mills was American Pain, a megaclinic expressly created to serve addicts posing as patients. From a fortresslike former bank building, American Pain's doctors distributed massive quantities of oxycodone to hundreds of customers a day, mostly traffickers and addicts who came by the vanload. Inked muscleheads ran the clinic's security. Former strippers operated the pharmacy, counting out pills and stashing cash in garbage bags. Under their lab coats, the doctors carried guns, and it was all legal...sort of.
American Pain chronicles the rise and fall of this game-changing pill mill and how it helped tip the nation into its current opioid crisis. The narrative, which swings back and forth between Florida and Kentucky, is populated by a diverse cast of characters. This includes the incongruous band of wealthy bad boys, thugs, and esteemed physicians who built American Pain as well as the penniless Kentucky clans who transformed themselves into painkiller trafficking rings. It includes addicts whose lives were devastated by American Pain's drugs and the federal agents and grieving mothers who labored for years to bring the clinic's crew to justice.
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- A Crooked Cop, an Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship
- By: Jameel McGee, Andrew Collins, Mark Tabb
- Narrated by: Calvin Robinson, Adam Verner
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Racial tensions had long simmered in Benton Harbor, a small city on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, before the day a White narcotics officer - more focused on arrests than justice - set his sights on an innocent Black man. But when officer Andrew Collins framed Jameel McGee for possession of crack cocaine, the surprising result was not a race riot but a transformative journey for both men.
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Wonderful book
- By Michelle B Ouellette on 06-10-21
By: Jameel McGee, and others
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Gotti's Rules
- The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia
- By: George Anastasia
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The notorious Gotti family is the stuff of mob legend. The "Dapper Don", John Gotti Sr., and his son John A. "Junior" Gotti ran New York's powerful Gambino crime family and were well known for their flamboyant style and brutal ways, an image perpetuated in popular Mafia mythology. John Alite, a mob hit man, associate, and close friend of the Gottis, has a very different story to tell.
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Garbage read
- By Ray on 09-02-15
By: George Anastasia
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Perfect Poison
- A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In Northampton, Massachusetts, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kristen Gilbert was known as a hardworking, dedicated nurse - so why were her patients dying? So many emergencies and sudden deaths occurred while Kristen made her rounds on Ward C that her colleagues jokingly called her the "Angel of Death".
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Men are naive
- By Veruka on 09-15-12
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Lethal Guardian
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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A real-estate lawyer in Connecticut's moneyed seaside communities, Beth Ann Carpenter, 30, had beauty, brains, and success. But she wanted more - namely guardianship of her two-year-old niece, Rebecca, daughter of Beth's estranged sister, Kim.
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Lethal Guardian
- By Tamara on 10-19-10
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Cullotta
- By: Dennis N. Griffin, Frank Cullotta
- Narrated by: Michael Taylor
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it - and in graphic detail. This no-holds-barred biography chronicles the life of a career criminal who started out as a thug on the streets of Chicago and became a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro's gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. Cullotta's was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information - lots of it - about many of the FBI's most wanted.
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Great story, silly narrator
- By Tom Mainella II on 04-20-15
By: Dennis N. Griffin, and others
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Last Dance, Last Chance
- And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Book 8)
- By: Ann Rule
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Ann Rule presents her 8th collection of crime stories drawn from her private files - and featuring the riveting case of a fraudulent doctor whose lifelong deceptions had deadly consequences. Dr. Anthony Pignataro was a cosmetic surgeon and a famed medical researcher whose flashy red Lamborghini and flamboyant lifestyle in western New York State suggested a highly successful career. But no one was safe if they got in his way. With scalpel, drugs, and arsenic, he betrayed every oath a physician makes - until his own schemes backfired.
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Enjoyed the stories
- By Grace on 05-13-14
By: Ann Rule
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Bloodlines
- The True Story of a Drug Cartel, the FBI, and the Battle for a Horse-Racing Dynasty
- By: Melissa del Bosque
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In Bloodlines, Emmy and National Magazine award-winning journalist Melissa del Bosque follows Lawson and Perez's harrowing attempt to dismantle a cartel leader's American racing dynasty built on extortion and blood money. With extensive access to investigative evidence and in-depth interviews with key players, del Bosque turns more than three years of research and her decades of reporting on Mexico and the border into a gripping narrative about greed and corruption.
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Why the fake accents?
- By DM on 11-18-17
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Hell's Angel
- The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club
- By: Sonny Barger
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Narrated by the visionary founding member, Hell's Angel provides a fascinating all-access pass to the secret world of the notorious Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Sonny Barger recounts the birth of the original Oakland Hell's Angels and the four turbulent decades that followed. Hell's Angel also chronicles the way the HAMC revolutionized the look of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle and built what has become a worldwide bike-riding fraternity, a beacon for freedom-seekers the world over.
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A must for any true biker
- By Chris B on 06-20-15
By: Sonny Barger
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U.S. Marshals
- Inside America's Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency
- By: Mike Earp, David Fisher
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Blending history and memoir, retired U.S. Marshal Mike Earp - a descendant of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp - offers an exclusive and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the most storied law enforcement agency in America, illuminating its vital role in the nation's development for more than two hundred years. Setting his own experiences within the long history of the U.S. Marshals service, Earp offers a moving and illuminating tribute to the brave marshals who have dedicated their lives to keeping the nation safe.
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Boring, history of the bureaucracy
- By Lake Like A Local on 03-15-21
By: Mike Earp, and others
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Almost Paradise
- The East Hampton Murder of Ted Ammon
- By: Kieran Crowley
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 22, 2001, handsome multimillionaire financier Ted Ammon was found bludgeoned to death in the magnificent East Hampton mansion he'd built with his beautiful - and volatile - wife, Generosa. She stood to make millions, but it wasn't the money that made Ted's friends suspicious: Generosa Ammon had a history of violent outbursts and bizarre obsessions.
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Wow! This was a fascinating story!
- By Lolly on 01-04-18
By: Kieran Crowley
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The Black Hand
- The Bloody Rise and Redemption of "Boxer" Enriquez, a Mexican Mob Killer
- By: Chris Blatchford
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Rene "Boxer" Enriquez grew up on the violent streets of East L.A., where gang fights, robberies, and drive-by shootings were fueled by rage, drugs, and alcohol. When he finally landed in prison - at the age of 19 - Enriquez found an organization that brought him the respect he always wanted: the near-mythic and widely feared Mexican Mafia, La Eme. What the organization saw in Enriquez was a young man who knew no fear and would kill anyone - justifiably or not - in the blink of an eye.
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Intense, brutal, and informative
- By E on 07-08-15
By: Chris Blatchford
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What listeners say about American Pain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- crazybatcow
- 09-19-16
Worst part is that it was almost legal
The first thing I will note is that I found the characters a little difficult to keep straight - they all seemed very similar to each other in attitude and behaviour so when they referred to each other, it would take me a second to figure out which was the head guy and which the 'muscle', etc.
The second thing of note is that the 'vignette' stories chosen to demonstrate just how bad this Oxy issue is were a bit scattered, or perhaps the better word is thin... the author spent 80% of the book looking at the main characters and their drug marketing process but the 20% which looked at (real) people's issues with the drug, or the company, seemed randomly inserted. Sure, they were interesting, but the flow was not really logical - we read 4 chapters about the business, then a vignette chapter about an addict dying from a drug overdose, then 2 chapters of business, then a chapter with another set of characters drug addiction, etc. There didn't seem to be a pattern, unless it was meant to be a time-scale thing, but that was not clear.
I did, however, Google this organization when I finished the book and it seems the story was based on real characters, and real addicts, so perhaps the weird addition of certain addicts' details was because those were the ones whose information was public due to lawsuits, or whatever... and the rest of the addicts' story were just a conglomeration of stories blended together.
Anyway, all that being said, I couldn't put the book down. I don't understand how they were allowed to run this business this way, and/or why they had to go so far with it that they got arrested... because until some (unclear) tipping point, what they were doing was legal (which is sad in and of itself). Though I suppose once you start making so much money each day that you have to put it into garbage cans, you might realize you probably crossed a line somewhere.
The narration is fine. There is no graphic content but, of course, the material discusses drugs and drug addiction.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Edward Bisch
- 01-23-21
Eye opening book
Professor Temple shows how lax Florida laws were so outrageous that the criminals who ran the pill mills could not even believe they were allowed to do it until their greed and overwhelming evidence caught up to them. Compared to the millions of pills they put on
the streets all involved got off light especially the so called doctors.
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1 person found this helpful
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- ChargingDC
- 02-02-17
Outstanding
If you could sum up American Pain in three words, what would they be?
A great story
What did you like best about this story?
The author paced the story perfectly; providing just enough detail and clarity, without ever getting bogged down in one part of the story. He drew all of it together seamlessly. This book was very well written. The author knows how to tell a story and did so effectively here.
What about Charlie Thurston’s performance did you like?
He inconsistently used accents for some of the characters involved in the story, and it was unintentionally hilarious. Yet, at the same time, I think it may have added to the story. He did a solid job overall. I enjoyed his performance.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It was a tragic story that never should have happened. All of the participants in the pain clinics clearly have some culpability. But the real villian in this story is the State of Florida who inexplicably allowed clinics like this to exist in the first place.
Any additional comments?
The author did a fantastic job telling the story.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-14-16
Amazing!
I have a family member who was sucked into the ease of obtaining prescription narcotics in the early 2000's. It gives me a strange sense of comfort that others were affected just as much or even more so.
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- Rachel Kirkland
- 02-27-18
This story made me angry.
Well written, researched, and performed. Highly recommended. Trigger warning for anyone whose life has been turned upside down due to someone's opioid abuse.
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- Blair K. Hartman
- 08-12-16
Inspirational
I go through a lot of business books, and it is rare that I find one as inspiring as American Pain. It reminds you that you don't need to be born into wealth to start a successful business. At the same time, many successful companies can find themselves in trouble when they grow too quickly. Read this book. Learn from the mistakes of these entrepreneurs.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Brett Barker
- 09-24-16
I had no idea this happened.
I must have lived in a cave during this time period, because this was a topic I knew nothing about. What a fascinating story. The author does a great job presenting the information. It reads like a novel - I was so engrossed in the story I had trouble putting it down. I thought the narrator did a great job with the voices.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-20-16
Couldn't stop listening
Very good story and very well written!! You won't want to stop listening!! Buy it!!
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- Anonymous User
- 02-16-21
American Pain enabled callous greed
American Pain is a well written and well-documented example of how the legal system was not prepared for the onslaught of pain medications entering the market. Pharma, doctors, pain clinics, and greedy bad actors were allowed to make money off of loose regulations. Addicts were easy targets for exploitative practices.
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- Consumer 14
- 06-11-20
Great book no weak points
Yeah it’s just simply brilliant. I’ve listened twice. I’ll probably
listen again. Sadly enough, a true snapshot of American History. I despise the entrepreneurs. What worthless slime. Assembled in the tragic hell of Florida. Jesus God. It’s so ugly. Be glad, those whom were never even close to this evil. F these guys. And sad pity upon their prey. Yeah, don your polyester wide collars, Mercedes, meaningless futile predatory existence and worthless presence. F You. F You. Just die.
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