Final Flight Queen of Air is the story of a three-year manhunt for the most unlikely of drug traffickers – a 60-year-old mother from Oklahoma. Join Jesus Romero, a veteran and retired military officer and Steve Tochterman, a retired FAA Special Agent who recount the twists and turns that led the Federal Government to a successful prosecution of Debra Mercer Erwin. She registered more than 1000 aircraft and was found guilty of charges related to running an international drug trafficking operation and a $240 million dollar Ponzi scheme in the exclusive world of private aviation.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jesús Romero is a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander and was a Civil Service Army Intelligence Operations Specialist assigned to Guatemala at the time of the investigation.
Steve Tochterman is a retired Special Agent with 36 years of service with the Federal Aviation Administration and supported the investigation.
AS SEEN ON
TESTIMONIALS
If you want to know about the complexities, corruption and long tentacles of the drug cartels, money laundering and governmental cooperation, plus the lack of intestinal fortitude from our leaders, then read this book. It has it all, but not in a way that you may have heard before. This book gives you the inside scoop from those that saw it every day. I couldn't put it down.
We are fortunate that Steve Tochterman and Jesús Romero continue to serve in retirement as consultants for aviation intelligence and enforcement. We need them, as I couldn’t agree more with this excerpt from their book: “And this is a message to our government. If we are going to stop narcotraffickers, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations, let the people who know how to do this, do their job. Reduce bureaucracy and increase access to funding for the teams in the field.”
“Final Flight Queen of Air” is a fascinating multifaceted true story of how a group of government patriots turned the non-enforcement and unregulated narcotraffickers exploiting United States loopholes in the private aircraft industry with little to no vetting. This story exposes the magnitude of failures with the lack of accountability involving foreign public corruption and money laundering.
This book represents a massive success on the backs of two hard-working government investigators which had to use an immeasurably broken system. Both men are patriots and have made our country a safer place thanks to their dedication to duty a herculean effort. Interagency cooperation, which was supposed to be easier after 9/11 with the creation of Department of Homeland Security in 2003. The protection of the “rice bowl” by agencies only became worse, these two men coming together and getting this job done was no easy task.
Having piloted both military and commercial aircraft in these regions for over forty years, I am amazed at the extreme effort and risks taken to land drug-laden business jets on unimproved dirt runways carved out of tropical rainforest jungles. The siren song of temptation for these pilots was (and is) significant sums of money for their willful disregard for life. On both sides of our border, corrupt and inept politicians stand in the way of those serving to protect and defend our nation.
We are fortunate that Steve and Jesús Romero continue to serve in retirement as consultants for aviation intelligence and enforcement. We need them, as I couldn’t agree more with this excerpt from their book: “And this is a message to our government.
Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. It was captivating and engaging. It made me feel that I was part of this high-adrenaline operation narrated by author Jesus Romero, a retired senior US Navy Intelligence officer, and his contributor, Steve Tochterman, a retired Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Special Agent, who was assigned to the case at the time of the investigation.
I thoroughly enjoyed the attention to detail by the authors. I definitely liked how the authors took a bunch of seemingly unassociated aircraft and wove their connections together to expose Aircraft Guaranty and Debra Mercer Erwin and all of their illegal activities. "The only thing necessary for triumph is evil is for good men to do nothing." - John Stuart said at the 1867 Inaugural Address at the University of St. Andrews was quoted several times by the authors, and it absolutely resonated with me personally because of my own decades of experiences fighting the war on drugs.
Final Flight: Queen of Air peels back the layers on the relentless march to justice by a determined cadre of US law enforcement officials amidst the murky relationship of cartels, corruption, foreign governments, and the devastating toll of their drugs on American lives. Despite facing daunting odds and limited resources, the authors tell how their small team navigated the treacherous landscape where the bad guys wield immense power, infiltrate societies, and subvert governments. Yet, in this instance, the underdog heroes of this true-life adventure ultimately triumph over these formidable foes—at least for an instant.
“Final Flight: Queen of Air is a factual account of how the criminal enterprise uses loopholes in FAA registration processes to operate United States-registered aircraft for nefarious purposes. Although it is only one example depicting the tireless efforts of Jesus Romero, Steve Tochterman, and the entire team, it represents the dangers faced, numerous hours spent, and sleepless nights away from home our foreign and domestic law enforcement partners spend protecting citizens. I highly recommend this book and appreciate the authors sharing their experiences.
This superb book delves into the complex world of criminal enterprises that deliver illicit drugs and other illegal activities from international sources into the United States. It highlights the involvement of our citizens in these crimes and is written from the perspective of those working to combat this scourge. The authors reveal names, give opinions, and explain events and methods to intercept and stop the flow of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other narcotics.
“A very intriguing read. As someone who has worked on weapons smuggling cases involving Mexican drug cartels for several years, I was duly impressed with the level of research and detail that went into this book. It was a deep dive into how narco-traffickers weave their webs across national borders through clever and often reckless use of aviation assets. When one thinks of narco-trafficking, we often rush to the thoughts of Mexican or Colombian drug cartels, but the networks are far more vast and far stealthier than they are often given credit for. I highly recommend this book.”
“Final Flight: Queen of Air is a MUST READ for anyone dedicated to the safety and security of our nation—including current and former intelligence, law enforcement, military personnel, media professionals, elected officials, civic and religious leaders, and all Americans concerned with the ravages of drug trafficking. This compelling true crime story narrative demonstrates the power of collaboration in our ongoing battle to halt the flow of narcotics. We CAN make a difference!”
“Cartels, Cocaine and Conspiracy. ‘Final Flight: Queen of Air’ is an electrifying dive into the high-stakes world of aviation crime, where a 60-year-old mother outsmarts everyone in providing airplanes to El Chapo Guzmán’s Drug Cartel – until two relentless gringos— a former FAA U.S. Special Agent and a former US NAVY senior intelligence officer bring her to justice."
