Don’t Hit Me, I’m With The DEA

I came across a powerful read last month & this no holds barred book is still resonating with me. I came across a news story in the Great Falls Tribune several months back & immediately wanted to get the book. The book is "Bobby Convict-School of Hard Knocks" & the affable author is the infamous Bobby Wilhelm. Wilhelm grew up in the Idaho area with stops in about every cross bar hotel in the country. The book starts off when Bobby runs over a DEA agent out by the Spokane airport & gets more far out & crazier as it goes along. This guy was a one man crime wave! He spent some 16 years in Federal & state lock ups around the country. In fact, what the guy probably needed was a good travel agent! Much of the book takes place in Eastern Montana & North Dakota during the 1st oil boom back in the 70's. Rather than tell you what he DID do, it would probably be a much shorter blog if I told you what he DIDN'T do. I can't think of anything off hand. It's all here...the Spokane Serial Killer who "took out" one of Bobby's female roommates, a "chance meeting" in the hallway in Littleton, Colorado with the Oklahoma City Bomber, some cocaine connections with Columbian & Cuban cartels, & 3 "made" mafioso. Oh yeah, the Tylenol killer & a gangster Grandfather to boot! And these were the nicer fellows in the book. I'll be honest with you...as I was reading the book, I kept thinking, "this guy has to making this stuff up". BUT, the book reproduces actual newspaper clippings & stories of Bobby's adventures, so it has to be true. I didn't really like the Bobby in the beginning of the book...he reminded me of the guy who sits in the bar & spins yarns about his life & hi-jinks, & you figure he is just a typical bag of hot air. It IS all true & as the book goes along, there is an amazing story here of personal  redemption. Talk about an individual turning his life around 180 degrees & you're talking about this former North Idaho drug kingpin who the Idaho drug agents called "a real challenge"...among other things. These agents said Bobby was tough & they enjoyed the hunt. And now, today, Wilhelm is doing very, very well & working for one of the largest car dealerships in the world out in Idaho. I'll be interviewing Bobby Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 on the Puffman Show & this Friday, a day after Valentine's Day (of all days!), this sweetheart of a guy will be giving his book away FREE on Kindle for 24 hours all day Friday only! Those of us living here in north central Montana will be more than familiar as Bobby talks about his Montana, Idaho, & North Dakota antics. Strong profanity, sex, drugs, violence, & death...it's all here in this riveting page turner. I guarantee you that you won't be able to put the book down. I only wish the guy would write another one. Oh, & to answer your question...NO, he didn't kill that DEA drug agent out by the Spokane airport when he ran over him. This was probably one Bobby's "mildest" adventures in the book & his life. His roller coaster ride only starts here. I realize that the late 60's & early 70's had some growing pains for many of us...but THIS guy! Check out Bobby Convict-A School of Hard Knocks". It hits you like a knuckle sandwich & a 90 car freight train coming down on you at 100 miles per hour.There's a lot of humor in the book & in all seriousness, there are some very real life lessons to be learned. Wilhelm is to be more than commended for changing his life. Speaking of "life", he was given basically a life term in the big house & it was only through Bobby's incredible change that he WAS granted parole. And no, he wasn't faking to get a break from the judge & the authorities. Even his former nemesis's invited him to their retirement party! I've read the book & talked to Bobby & he truly is "the real deal".  Looking forward to having Bobby share his story Tuesday on the Puffman Show.