It’s pretty clear that depending on your level of skill, crime
really can pay. A lot. Drug trafficking, murder-for-hire, car jacking,
check fraud, and identity theft are all booming industries right now.
Many criminals have failed to complete a formal education, another
thing that’s been debunked as necessary for success. Intelligent
deviants who choose a life of crime often profit — and sometimes, they
go legit and become incredibly successful in business. Here are five
criminals who became entrepreneurs.
Judge Mathis
Although not nearly as entertaining as Judge Judy, Judge Mathis
is a popular and well paid daytime television judge. Instead of
enforcing the law, Mathis routinely broke it as a teenager. In his high
school years, he joined an infamous Detroit street gang called the
Erroll Flynns. At age 17, Mathis was arrested and sentenced to prison
time after the judge saw his heap of past arrests. Mathis had had
enough of crime.
Upon his release, Mathis attended college and became a campus
activist. After graduating, he went on to become a court judge for
Michigan’s 36th district and never looked back. His show has now been
running for ten seasons (since 1999), taping over 2000 episodes.
Mathis’ laid back, jovial attitude has gained fans who love his sense
of humor. Not only does he allow long, angry diatribes by the disputing
parties, but he often lets aspiring rappers and singers showcase their
talents for a few seconds during the show. What a guy.
Tim Allen
Yes, really. Before becoming famous for the quirky show Home
Improvement, Tim Allen Dick (his real name) was an avid lover of
cocaine. That’s not to say he gave up the stuff once on the show — just
that he stopped getting caught. In 1978, Allen was caught trying to board a plane
with over a pound of cocaine. Instead of taking the mandatory life
sentence, Allen Dick ratted out 21 accomplices and got off with only
five years prison time.
As most people would, Allen dropped the ‘Dick’ from the end of his
name and began doing standup on a dare. When the crowd loved his
‘lovable loser with tools’ persona, he developed it into what would
eventually become Home Improvement.
Although he became very successful, Allen didn’t leave his Dickish
ways behind him. In 1997, Allen drunkenly crashed his car into a
72-year-old man… and then sued the guy for “damaging his well-known and
well-respected name.” Allen dropped the lawsuit after learning the man
had brain cancer. He actually went on to call this a humanitarian
gesture.
Ironically, Allen’s dad was killed by a drunk driver. This didn’t
stop Allen from getting arrested again on a DUI in 1999 for literally
falling over during a sobriety test. So maybe he turned around — and
then turned back around.
Jay Z
Jay Z started out as a drug dealer in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects who
shot his own brother over stealing his jewelry. Today, he’s one of the
richest guys on earth and really knows how to run a business. Jay Z has
released multiple rap albums, many of which are considered ‘landmarks’
of the rap music genre. He’s had four number one songs on the Billboard
Hot 100. Jay Z owns clubs in multiple cities, will be partial owner of
the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets, has a stake in Roca Wear, is a partial
owner of the NJ Nets, and owns an investment company which has equity
in a number of odd but profitable ventures. Combined with wife Beyonce,
the couple has a value of around $150 million dollars.
Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo could win a Grammy with zero acting skills whatsoever. All
he has to do is stand around and stare at stuff to look pensive,
terrifying, badass, and/or angry. He used his intimidating appearance
to rob convenience stores
and was in trouble so much that his own mother “stopped being
surprised” when the cops would show up at their house. After his drug
habits and life of crime landed him in prison for 15 years, Trejo
decided to do something better with himself.
Trejo learned how to box and took a 12-step program to get clean and
stay that way. One of his friends in the program happened to be a film
production assistant, and asked Trejo if he could ‘look like a convict’
for a role in Runaway Train. Of course he could. Trejo has been in 124
movies since then, always playing the same character but never becoming
uninteresting or trite.
Georgia Durante
You may not have heard of Georgia Durante, but her story is the most
badass one in this list. A model by 12 and nationally known as the
model for Kodak by age 17, Durante was legit from the beginning. She
turned to a life of crime after marrying mob man Joe Lamendola, who
convinced her to become the getaway driver for many of the mob’s crimes. Durante learned tricks, stunts, and all-around crazy driving moves to elude the police.
It came to an end when Durante decided she had finally had enough of
her husband’s abusive ways. During her divorce, she testified against
many of the criminals she used to work for and with. Consequently,
Durante started her own performance driving school and wrote a book
about her life experiences. Her company has been used for the stunts in
over 100 films, and Durante has personally been the body double for
Cindy Crawford and Priscilla Presley.
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