Chasing the Squirrel, Ron Peterson, Jr.
Chasing the Squirrel, Ron Peterson, Jr.
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Chasing the Squirrel
The Pursuit of Notorious Drug Smuggler Wally Thrasher

Author: Ron Peterson, Jr.

Narrator: Kyle Tait

Unabridged: 10 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/28/2021


Synopsis

Nicknamed "The Squirrel" for his elusiveness, Thrasher was a daredevil pilot who made millions flying marijuana and cocaine from South America into the US in the 70s and 80s. With his beautiful Portuguese-born wife, Olga, he lived in a mountain estate near Virginia's New River Valley. He owned oceanfront homes and yachts in Florida, spent weekends in the Caribbean, and laundered money in Las Vegas, where he partied with Frank Sinatra's entourage.

The Feds were hot on his tail in 1984 when word came that he had died in a plane crash in Belize, his body burnt to ashes. But investigators soon learned the crash was staged and the death certificate fake. Meanwhile, Olga became a federal informant assisting the DEA in an audacious undercover sting to infiltrate the highest levels of his smuggling ring. Thirteen international traffickers were indicted, including Bolivian drug lord Roberto Suarez-Gomez, known as the world's "King of Cocaine."

But Wally Thrasher was never caught. Authorities believe he has spent the past four decades living in some faraway tropical land. He was recently profiled on America's Most Wanted as US Marshals chased leads around the globe in his pursuit.

About Ron Peterson, Jr.

Ron Peterson, Jr., is a bestselling author who has also been published in newspapers throughout Virginia and corporate publications throughout the country. His career includes work at the Virginian Pilot and Cox Media, where he was awarded the organization's "Outstanding Performance" award. Peterson's background also includes managing television advertising campaigns that have appeared on TV networks CNN, Discovery, Fox News, and ESPN. He is a board member of the Hampton Roads Sports Media Hall of Fame. Peterson first wrote about the Gina Hall case as a Radford University senior in 1987, majoring in Journalism/Communications and working as an editor for the student newspaper. In his research for Under the Trestle, he interviewed over 100 sources. A dynamic public speaker, Peterson has served as a guest lecturer at Radford University and given numerous presentations to audiences at Fortune 500 companies.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ethan on July 19, 2024

Ron Peterson, Jr. does it again with this wonderful tale of a big-time drug smuggler out of the backwoods of Southwest Virginia. Following the charismatic Wally Thrasher ("Squirrel"), Peterson takes the reader through the inner workings of the drug trade from drug deals to busts by law enforcement.......more

Goodreads review by Zander on February 10, 2022

The first half is awesome then the 3rd quarter seems a bit big time name dropping and cool stories that are vaguely simular or related. Wrapped up nicely. Would prob give it 4 stars but hoping 5 will give it the reboot it deserves into a podcast like s town or seriel or even one of those Netflix doc......more

Goodreads review by Troy on November 10, 2020

A must read After reading Under the Trestle I wanted to see what else the author had written and was not disappointed. This story grabbed my attention and kept me coming back for more.......more

Goodreads review by Jason on October 11, 2021

Loved this book about Wally Thrasher. He was a true legend. Crazy stories about how he went about doing his drug smuggling and often times I would find myself rooting for his good fortune. Even when he died, I still sat there hoping that he would come back to his family. Who knows!......more

Goodreads review by Deborah on February 24, 2022

I really enjoyed this book since a lot of the action takes place in Southwest Virginia, where I live. Wally Thrasher was very charming, handsome and charismatic. He was an ace pilot and made millions smuggling drugs into Southwest Virginia. Was he really killed in Belize? Who knows?......more