Dekel 'Flying High' with book release

With what started as a way to make money and turned more to the excitement as Billy Dekel flew numerous trips to Columbia and beyond bringing large cargos of marijuana back to the United States. His drug smuggling career ended on Sept. 27, 1990 in the parking lot of Bennigan's Restaurant in Pensacola when Ed Hudson arrested him on federal warrants that eventually led to Dekel being sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole and eight 30-year sentences. He spent his time in federal prison writing. Thanks to the Clemency Act signed by President Obama in 2014, Dekel was released from prison and plans to release the first of his three books this Saturday at Rabo's Sweets and Trading Post in Flomaton. Dekel and his wife will be there to sign books from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. The book is entitled 'Flying High with Gringo Billy – a smuggler and his wife'. Written by Dekel and his wife Beth, its a story about his marijuana-smuggling career.

Hudson, who arrested Dekel for the last time, published the book 'As a Crow Flies – The Redemption of an International Drug Smuggler' following the drug-smuggling career of Century resident Freddie Crow. Hudson's book references Dekel in the international smuggling operation. Ironically Dekel first met Crow in federal prison and once released they became partners in crime.

Dekel grew up in Gainesville, Fla., and met his wife Beth at Lake City Junior College.

"That's the only good thing I got out of college," Dekel said of meeting Beth.

The two were married on Feb. 20, 1971.

Dekel was running an airport in Lake City and served as a flight instructor and flew people all over the United States. He also flew some gamblers to the Bahamas. Like Crow, Dekel loved to fly.

Dekel said while working at the airport in Lake City around 1976 or 1977 he was approached by FBI, DEA and U.S. Custom agents wanting him to set up a guy suspected of smuggling marijuana.

The suspect had crashed a plane in Columbia and Dekel said the agents wanted him to offer the guy a plane to make the marijuana run.

"I told them no," Dekel said. "I knew the guy and told them I was not going to try to set him up."

Dekel said a few years later he was broke and he remembered a conversation he had with Tom Stinson of Geneva, Ala., about the opportunities available to him to smuggle marijuana.

He said he called Stinson and said "I'm ready, I want to make some money".

His wife said Dekel came to her about his plan and took her out to dinner.

"This was not the Billy I married, he was against marijuana," Beth said.

Beth said she threatened to divorce him if he got into the smuggling business.

She said Billy told her he was going to do it one time and could make $100,000 and then go into a legitimate business. She reluctantly agreed and Billy Dekel got into the smuggling business.

"The first two trips failed," he said.

But he made it to Columbia and back with a plane full of marijuana in 1978.

Dekel said he brought back about 800 pounds of marijuana.

"They had a guy down there with a machete who cut bales to various sizes and I had marijuana sitting on the dash, in the co-pilot's seat and in every nook and cranny in the plane."

Dekel said he brought the shipment back to a farm in Swanee County just below Live Oak and that was the beginning. However, he said didn't make the $100,000 but was paid $9,000.

"It started about the money," Beth said. "But then it was the excitement."

"It was fun," Billy said. "I liked every aspect of it and it was full time."

He said he probably brought back a hundred loads but was busted in in 1979 in Jamaica where he lost his plane, and a thousand pounds of marijuana. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $8,400.

He said he first met Crow in federal prison in Tallahassee. He said when he got to the federal prison, Crow was already there.

Dekel said he was placed in a dorm and saw a guy sitting on a bunk reading a trader airplane magazine. That guy turned out to be Crow.

"I walked up to him and we became friends," Dekel said. "We spent a lot of time together in the yard. He was getting out about the same time I was and when I got out I called him."

Dekel was back in business and he and Crow made a trip to Columbia and brought back 1,200 pounds of marijuana and landed back at the farm in Swanee County and unloaded the marijuana into a truck. Someone called the police, they guy in the truck crashed, but Billy and Freddie got away.

He said he ran into Crow again at the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola.

"We were the Dukes of Hazard of smuggling," Dekel said. "There was no General Lee but we had an airplane."

Dekel said he began writing about his adventures while in federal prison and sent it home for his mother to read.

"She was a teacher and would make corrections," Dekel said.

It turned into a 400 page manuscript of his adventures.

"He always kept me separated from what was going on," Beth said. "When he'd leave I didn't know when he was coming back."

After he got out of prison he sent the manuscript to an editor but the editor wanted Beth to add her side of the story to make it more personal and give the story two sides. He said the first book was actually the second book written and he plans to release the other two books later.

"It's full of good stories," Dekel said.