Charles Cosby’s inviting nature bears the classic sign of a salesman. He’s a skilled storyteller who speaks with a hint of hyperbole, which can occasionally trigger a “you’re being hustled” uneasiness. But Cosby’s salesman-like demeanor is understandable. It’s easy to seem outlandish when recounting the graphic tales of Griselda Blanco.

In the recently released documentary Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin’ With the Godmother [click to read], Cosby shares his experience as an associate of famed cocaine distributor Griselda Blanco, a former Colombian drug lord known more for her insatiable bloodlust than her potent product. Though the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys explored several facets of the rampant drug trade in Miami during the 1980s, it was Blanco’s reported viciousness that sparked word-of-mouth for the heavily-bootlegged film.

“When we started meeting celebrities like Janet Jackson or Pharrell, the only thing people could ever talk about was The Godmother,” says the film’s director/producer Billy Corben. “We knew right away that there was more of this story to tell.”

Blanco’s progression from child prostitute to cocaine wholesalers is an intriguing story. She entered the drug trade in Colombia, emigrated to the United States, and then developed a reputation as a woman more interesting in acquiring conflict than cash.

Corben discovered “the best way to tell that story” in Charles Cosby, Blanco’s former lover and business representative. A dark-skinned black male fond of tightly cropped hair and impeccably-pressed casual attire, Cosby grew up in a working class section of Oakland, California, embracing the role of neighborhood menace at an early age. His childhood mischief later turned into crack cooking and peddling as a teen. In his early twenties, he graduated to a completely different level of the drug trade once he met The Godmother, which gave him a wealth of inside information that few sources can match.

“I was basically appointed as the head of her organization,” Cosby says during a conference call with Corben. “I became the Head Honcho, if you will. She had operations in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles, and I became heavily involved in all them. A lot of the guys who had been with her longer resented that, but I didn’t care because they didn’t matter. I was the one with Griselda.”

Corben first learned of Cosby during production of Cocaine Cowboys. As he and other members of the Rakontur production team sifted through a mountain of case files at the Miami-Dade Police Department, they discovered a series of photos taken of Blanco and a then unknown young black male. The hair and clothing styles were dead giveaways that the photos were taken in the '90s, which meant the story behind these images fell outside of their wild '80s scope.

Months later, as Cosby conducted research for his memoirs, also titled Hustling With the Godmother, he stumbled across the Cocaine Cowboys DVD and saw his face flash on-screen. He soon contacted the film’s creators, who invited him to appear in the DVD bonus features. But Corben and company quickly recognized that the Oakland native had a story too compelling for a 15-minute featurette. Hustling With the Godmother had stumbled into its first stage of production.

“There’s really no better way to tell this story because Cosby gets involved with Griselda right at the moment [Cocaine Cowboys] ends,” Corben explains.

Cosby’s road to crime doc stardom began when he developed an infatuation with Blanco in 1991. After seeing a news report on her arrest, he became enamored by the seemingly demure woman accused of devilish acts.

“The media painted her as this homicidal maniac – a cocaine queen,” Cosby says of his first impression. “I wrote her a letter of admiration just stating how much I respected her power. She answered back and we became close that way.”

One letter turned into a long written correspondence, which eventually led to daily phone calls. Cosby even kept a video diary of his feelings to send to Blanco when he couldn’t be with her. The exchange lasted for nearly 10 months until Cosby’s probation ended, allowing him to visit Blanco in prison. Despite their 25-year age difference, the drug dealer and the cocaine czar began a sexual relationship almost immediately.

“[Our age difference] didn’t affect my decision to pursue a relationship with her at all,” Cosby says. Upon Corben’s suggestion that Blanco’s power may have been alluring, he adds, “You always see in the movies these mob figures running things, but this was a woman who had the other inmates and even the guards afraid of her. To see a female inmate wield as much power as Griselda Blanco did, it was intoxicating… Plus, I’m [adventurous], so this was my Fuji.”

Like Blanco’s previous relationships with men, business and pleasure were inseparably intertwined in her dealings with Cosby. She absorbed her lover, a relatively small-time dealer, into one of the largest drug operations in the world. But The Godmother made it clear to him that she remained the gatekeeper to his newly expanded world.

“Although I was a millionaire, I was a puppet under her control,” Cosby says. “She wields that kind of control over everyone in her life. It’s established that she’s the final word on anything. It’s the Griselda Blanco show and what she says goes.” Continued on page 2 »