Search results for ""Author Mike Papantonio""

MIKE PAPANTONIO PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON AMERICA'S DEADLY OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN THIS SPELLBINDING THRILLER ABOUT GREED, CORRUPTION AND THE POWER OF PERSONAL CONVICTION. One week before his law school graduation, Jake Rutledge is shattered. His fraternal twin, Blake, has died of a drug overdose. When Jake returns to his hometown of Oakley, West Virginia, he discovers that his brother was not the only person hooked on opioid painkillers. The entire region has been ravaged by an epidemic insidiously planned and carried out by one of America’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. Still wet behind the ears, Jake is determined to seek justice for all the victims of Big Pharma’s greed. He soon learns that the drug companies’ tentacles reach far and deep. His only hope is to get Nicholas “Deke” Deketomis to help. A partner at one of the country’s most powerful law firms, Deke’s “as tough as a two-dollar steak” and well-known for his winning tactics against corporate wrongdoers. With just enough persistence, Jake coaxes Deke to see Oakley’s devastation firsthand. Overwhelmed, Deke agrees to join forces with Jake. And that’s when the real heat begins. Death threats, bribes, unlawful property seizure schemes – all are connected to the massive distribution of both legal and illegal drugs. Everyone is impacted, from the highest levels of corporate America to corrupt local officials to their lackeys and hapless victims. The complexity of the schemes is overwhelming. Working tirelessly, the lawyers begin to uncover the truth. Along the way, Jake falls in love with Anna Fowler, a former homecoming queen who has succumbed to the power of opioids. With his support, she weans herself off the drugs. Hope begins to bloom — when suddenly, Jake disappears. As Deke undertakes a desperate search to find him, questions swirl. Has Jake abandoned Anna and his crusade? Can the case against the evildoers move forward without him? Will Oakley and its residents survive? Law and Addiction is real-life drama at its finest — a book that clears away the darkness page by page, spotlighting a profound truth about our society through expert storytelling.

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Idealistic. Combative. Tenacious. The Bergman-Deketomis Law Firm is back on the case! Mike Papantonio introduced Nick “Deke” Deketomis and his associates in Law and Disorder, the powerful first installment of his legal saga. His new book, Law and Vengeance, has them pitted against an even deadlier foe. In Law and Vengeance, we find that several characters from the previous novel continue to fight the good fight: Nick “Deke” Deketomis is a world-class trial lawyer with the firm that bears his name. For decades, he battled some of the world’s most reckless and corrupt corporations; but now he is confronted with a new level of corporate criminality. Gina Romano is a beautiful and determined woman who built her career as a criminal trial lawyerby believing she could play by the rules and still achieve justice. She is about to learn that the law of vengeance works with a different set of rules. Angus Moore is a gentle giant of a man, but a relentless pit bull of an attorney. He has no idea of the mortal danger his life is in after he takes the lead on the case against the world’s largest arms dealer, Arbalest Corporation. In Law and Vengeance, the Bergman-Deketomis firm sets its sights on an unscrupulous weapons manufacturer and a corrupt Chicago police union. The law firm is accustomed to going to war with opponents who value big profits more than a human life, but this is uncharted territory even for them. Once again, Mike Papantonio interweaves the intricacies of his trade in trial law with highly developed character studies to deliver action that jumps off of the page. Law and Vengeance will leave you catching your breath as the story accelerates to its explosive conclusion.

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A fast-paced thriller in the tradition of John Grisham, Joseph Finder, and John Lescroart For Nick “Deke” Deketomis, going where angels fear to tread in waging legal battles has long been a way of life. As managing partner for one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, Deke has gone toe to toe with some of the largest corporations in the world. His firm specializes in the tough, even quixotic, cases that few lawyers would dare to take on. Like human trafficking. Deke’s target this time is Welcome Mat Hospitality, a firm known for its truck stops and lodging throughout the United States. What Welcome Mat doesn’t advertise is the human trafficking—for sex work and slave labor—going on at many of its properties. For the sake of better profits, Welcome Mat’s ownership has turned a blind eye to this lucrative enterprise. As invested as Deke is in the case, though, it takes on even greater urgency when the past comes calling with word that his fifteen-year-old goddaughter, Lily Reyes, is missing. When Deke learns that Lily has fallen prey to a notorious trafficker, his personal and professional worlds converge. For his goddaughter to survive, Deke must prevail not only in the legal arena but outside of it.

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