EP 11 - My breakfast with TJ

Summary

EP 11 - My Breakfast with TJ
Released on August 13, 2025

In Episode 11 of Cocaine Air, titled "My Breakfast with TJ," host Jonathan Walton engages in a revealing and heartfelt conversation with TJ Dominguez. This episode delves deep into TJ's tumultuous past, his family's incredible journey, his experiences with the law, and his endeavors to rebuild his life post-incarceration. Through candid discussions and personal anecdotes, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of TJ's transformation and resilience.

---

1. Unveiling Hidden Fortunes ([01:46] - [02:37])

The episode kicks off with an unexpected revelation from TJ about a hidden stash of wealth.

• TJ Dominguez: "I have $5 million in a house buried over there." ([01:46])

This disclosure sets the tone for a series of revelations about TJ's past dealings and the lengths he went to secure his assets.

---

2. Exploring Family Legacy ([02:37] - [07:36])

Jonathan Walton delves into the profound history of TJ's family, highlighting the significant influences that shaped TJ's character and life choices.

• TJ Dominguez discusses his mother’s artistic talents and her diverse skills:
  • TJ Dominguez: "My mom was a born artist... she did lacquer too." ([02:37] - [03:24])

He then shifts focus to his father, a Cuban immigrant whose life story epitomizes the classic rags-to-riches narrative.

• Jonathan Walton narrates:

  • "TJ's father grew up dirt poor in Cuba, chopping sugar cane from the age of 10, eventually becoming a titan in the sugar industry." ([04:06] - [05:04])

• TJ Dominguez: "Sugar was the petroleum of its time and Cuba was the oil field everyone wanted to tap." ([05:04])

---

3. Tragedy and Escape from Cuba ([07:36] - [08:20])

The conversation takes a somber turn as TJ recounts the dangers his family faced during Fidel Castro's revolution.

• TJ Dominguez shares a poignant story of his father's kindness saving the family:
  • TJ Dominguez: "He gave the beggar his suit and helped us leave the country, saving our lives." ([07:36] - [08:04])

This act of compassion inadvertently protected TJ's family from the brutal reprisals that Castro's regime would soon unleash.

---

4. Rebuilding Life and Crafting a Legacy ([09:16] - [11:00])

Post-incarceration, TJ discusses his efforts to establish a legitimate business and leave a positive legacy.

• TJ Dominguez emphasizes the importance of legitimacy:
  • TJ Dominguez: "It's my legacy... they can sit there and say, 'Yeah, but look what else he did. Donated for children, blah, blah, blah...'" ([10:26] - [10:52])

He reflects on his ambition to grow his new venture into a billion-dollar company, distancing himself from his past illicit activities.

---

5. Navigating Investor Relationships ([11:00] - [12:19])

The dialogue shifts to TJ's interactions with potential investors and his determination to maintain control over his burgeoning business.

• TJ Dominguez asserts control:
  • TJ Dominguez: "I'm not giving up control of the company. I've been down that road and I'm not going to work out really well for me." ([11:14])

He recounts turning down offers from investors seeking influence, showcasing his commitment to building a transparent and ethical enterprise.

---

6. Confronting Corruption: An Extortion Attempt ([22:08] - [24:35])

Returning to TJ's home, the conversation intensifies as TJ narrates an encounter with a corrupt Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) detective.

• TJ Dominguez describes the extortion attempt:
  • TJ Dominguez: "He said, 'If you give me a million dollars, all these papers go away.' And I told him, 'Get off my effing property.'" ([22:08] - [23:48])

TJ exposes the detective's lavish lifestyle, highlighting the rampant corruption within the local law enforcement.

• TJ Dominguez: "He's wearing a Submariner... how is it that you serve... you're living in a million-dollar house..." ([24:02] - [24:35])

This segment underscores the systemic challenges TJ faced, adding depth to his narrative of resilience.

---

7. The Art of Luxury Dealerships ([24:35] - [26:30])

The discussion shifts to TJ's unique approach to running his Lamborghini dealership, emphasizing exclusivity and the artistry of high-end automobiles.

• TJ Dominguez: "We don't allow anybody seeing cars... We don't do test drives. You want to drive one of our cars, buy it." ([25:15] - [25:27])

He compares high-end cars to art pieces, illustrating his passion for both craftsmanship and aesthetics.

• TJ Dominguez: "How could I spend so much money on a car? How could somebody pay $150 million for a piece of canvas with oil on it? There's a lot more work that went into this car." ([26:09] - [26:22])

---

8. High-Speed Thrills and Near-Accidents ([26:30] - [28:37])

In a gripping anecdote, TJ recounts a perilous high-speed drive that nearly results in disaster.

• TJ Dominguez narrates:
  • "I was hitting right at 200 miles per hour... kaboom." ([27:27] - [28:37])

This story not only showcases TJ's daredevil spirit but also serves as a metaphor for the precarious balance he's maintained throughout his life.

---

Notable Quotes

• TJ Dominguez: "Sugar was the petroleum of its time and Cuba was the oil field everyone wanted to tap." ([05:04])

• TJ Dominguez: "Legalize the damn thing. Put guys like me out of business." ([17:34])

• TJ Dominguez: "It's my legacy... but look what else he did... donated for children, this, that and that." ([10:26])

---

Conclusion

EP 11 of Cocaine Air offers a profound exploration of TJ Dominguez's life, blending personal history with broader socio-political commentary. From his family's immigrant struggles and acts of kindness to his battles against corruption and pursuit of a legitimate legacy, TJ's story is one of complexity and redemption. This episode not only sheds light on the man behind the headlines but also challenges listeners to contemplate the intricate dynamics of legality, morality, and personal transformation.

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For more insights and untold stories from TJ Dominguez, stay tuned to Cocaine Air and follow along on cocaineair.com.

Transcript

[T Mobile Representative]

Summer fun goes great with family freedom from T Mobile. We'll pay off four phones up to $3200 and give you four free phones, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16 128GB8 2,999 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel contact T Mobile Phone.

[Jonathan Walton]

Whether you're into comedians roasting each other's life choices or turning yesterday's bad decisions into today's funny stories, Amazon Music's got the most ad free top podcasts included with Prime. Download the Amazon Music app and get in on the joke or go to Amazon.com adfreecomedy that's Amazon.com adfreecomediDy to catch up on the latest episodes with out the ads. Cocaine Air Episode 1 so I conned Him Back is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law. No, not available in all states. Most of this episode was recorded impromptu on my iPhone. This is not a sit down interview. I hadn't even planned on recording anything here, but TJ just started dropping bombs so I pulled out my phone and pressed record.

[TJ Dominguez]

I have $5 million in a house buried over there.

[Jonathan Walton]

You had 5 million, like buried in the ground?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, as a matter of fact it was in somebody's living room with tile over it. And it was for. For emergencies where I couldn't get the money in from Switzerland quick enough.

[Jonathan Walton]

Over here it was tiled, so under the tile that is some hiding underneath.

[TJ Dominguez]

A coffee table that was glass. So you can see the thing.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm Jonathan Walton and this is cocaine air. The TJ Dominguez Story Episode 11 My Breakfast with TJ.

[TJ Dominguez]

My mom was a born artist. I mean, she took painting classes and sculpturing and all that. At the early age of 10, 12, 13 years.

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm standing in TJ's living room now, in his modest Fort Lauderdale home, surrounded by dozens of meticulously framed paintings depicting sweeping landscapes and tranquil vistas. So your mom painted all of these? They look like they should be hanging in a gallery or museum or something. This is some talent your mom has. Is this oil on canvas?

[TJ Dominguez]

Oil on canvas?

[Jonathan Walton]

I'm blown away. This is some, like, professional, like, classic kind of style. I mean, I don't know a lot about art, but I can't do this. This is realistic oil on canvas.

[TJ Dominguez]

That's Chinese lacquer art.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, she does lacquer too?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah. Wow.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, wow, man.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, my mom was really talented.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's mom passed away in 1992 and his father died nearly two decades earlier.

[TJ Dominguez]

My dad's biography today is in Florida University in the library.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, wow. Because he was a senator in Cuba.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's dad lived a truly extraordinary life. He grew up dirt poor and uneducated in Cuba. He was actually in the fields cutting sugar cane at just 10 years old when most other kids were in school.

[TJ Dominguez]

He was 10 years old. He was out there chopping cane. Because my. My grandfather was an immigrant from Spain. Poor, he went to Cuba.

[Jonathan Walton]

But TJ's father turns out to be kind of a boy genius because he learns the sugar business from the ground up. First in the field chopping sugar cane as a child, and then as a teenager. He starts making some serious cash repairing all the machinery involved in harvesting sugar cane. And he quickly becomes a highly skilled and highly sought after sugar mill mechanic along with his brother. And they make a fortune, enough to eventually buy their own sugar mill. And they both start making a lot of money because sugar is in high demand all over the world. And in the 1930s and 40s, Cuba is exporting millions of tons of it every year.

[TJ Dominguez]

Sugar was the petroleum of its time and Cuba was the oil field everyone wanted to tap.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's father's life is a true rags to riches story, from a penniless kid in the fields chopping sugar cane to becoming a titan of the sugar industry in Cuba.

[TJ Dominguez]

So much later on he decides after he's very wealthy, he decides what I want to do is go to school. So he became basically a permanent type of student. Had seven degrees from University of Havana. Never practiced at one because didn't need to practice.

[Jonathan Walton]

He just liked learning.

[TJ Dominguez]

He just liked learning?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. TJ's dad earned degrees in agriculture, chemistry, law and political science. And eventually he becomes a senator. And then one day, as he's walking out of the capitol building in Havana, a lowly beggar approaches him. I imagine when TJ's dad looked at this poor penniless guy, he saw a version of his younger self because the kindness and compassion he demonstrates in that moment is just awe inspiring.

[TJ Dominguez]

So, so he's coming out of Congress, right? And this story is told to me by my mom coming out of Congress wearing a drill one which is back in those days it was cotton cloth, you know, tailor made white suit. Really, really beautiful. Matter of fact, later on I had one here and some beggar type guy was staring at my dad and my dad made a comment like, can I help you? And the guy goes, oh, I was just admiring how beautiful you look. You know that the beautiful coat and a suit that you're wearing. My dad looks at the guy, yeah, you're about the same size. So he tried his coat on. So he tries it on. It fits you. He goes, come with me. He goes into the limo, takes his pants off and gives everything to the guy to take me home. So he gives the guy his suit.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, wow. That poor beggar never forgets the kindness TJ's dad shows him that day. Because years later, after the revolution and after Fidel Castro wrests control of Cuba from the Batista government and starts going after all the wealthy people like TJ's dad, taking their money and taking their property and taking their lives.

[TJ Dominguez]

Castro and his bearded troops were joyously acclaimed following his incredible victory over Batista. But through the months that followed, the leftist course of his social reforms roused new opposition.

[Jonathan Walton]

Castro appoints hundreds and hundreds of the uneducated poor to high positions in his government. And lo and behold, that beggar becomes.

[TJ Dominguez]

The chief of security minister. He calls up my mom and dad and he says, I have your papers here, the order for rest. I can't stop it, but I can take it from the top and put it on the bottom. You need to leave the country now.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh my God. So he gave him like a heads.

[TJ Dominguez]

Up, left the country.

[Jonathan Walton]

Were it not for that early warning to run, TJ's dad would have been arrested and killed my uncle and them.

[TJ Dominguez]

They didn't, couldn't leave in time. Grabbed them, put them in front of a wall and they shot him.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh my God.

[TJ Dominguez]

Capitalistic worms, that's what they were.

[Jonathan Walton]

So this was the brother of your father? My brother of my mom, the brother of your mother. They only never got a heads up.

[TJ Dominguez]

Never got a heads up. If my dad, that whole incident had.

[Jonathan Walton]

Not happened, you wouldn't be here?

[TJ Dominguez]

No, yeah, I'd be in Cuba. Who knows what would have happened then? Yeah, man, it's just amazing how different.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. So he was just kind to this beggar guy on the street.

[TJ Dominguez]

And he got him the suit. And then the guy never forgot. For they, for that guy. Sure. I'm sure. My dad was just another sim, you know, the guy. And then, you know, years later, the guy still remembered that. And then he says, I can't stop it, but I can move from the top to the bottom and buy you some time. You need to leave the country right away. I have you in for your arrest.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ is telling me all this as we're standing in his living room looking at his mom's paintings. It wasn't a planned interview at all. And now TJ wants to take me to his favorite breakfast spot on the beach.

[TJ Dominguez]

The other day I turned down a couple of green dog.

[Jonathan Walton]

So as we get into his car and start driving, I keep recording it all on my phone.

[TJ Dominguez]

I now I'm gonna be having a meeting with some people from New York that are flying down next week. And I'm looking between 3 and 5 million dollars.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's doing really well. He started a new cosmetics adjacent business and his products are now in stores all over the country. I mean, I'm just stunned. You're in prison. You're kind of starting from scratch again. And bam, here you are.

[TJ Dominguez]

They started below scratch.

[Jonathan Walton]

Below scratch with marks against you.

[TJ Dominguez]

Marks against me.

[Jonathan Walton]

You had to like work to get to scratch.

[TJ Dominguez]

That's right, exactly.

[Jonathan Walton]

But here you are, you got this. We'll just say cosmetic adjacent product. It's in all these stores now.

[TJ Dominguez]

So I haven't turned a corner yet to sit there and say I'm standing strong.

[Jonathan Walton]

I feel like you have turned a corner though, dude.

[TJ Dominguez]

No, man, I gotta turn this thing into a billion dollar company. Oh, at that point.

[Jonathan Walton]

But dude, you.

[TJ Dominguez]

Wow. I want to know this stuff because I know.

[Jonathan Walton]

But your stuff's in California. Like how stuff being sold.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, I'm in Virginia. I'm in North Carolina. South Carolina.

[Jonathan Walton]

I mean, that's amazing. And just in the past few years, even building that up, a year and.

[TJ Dominguez]

A half, I haven't even been in the store yet.

[Jonathan Walton]

But at this point in TJ's life, building a new business is about more than just making a lot of money.

[TJ Dominguez]

And it's my legacy. Cuz later on after I'm dead and gone, you know, my kids say, oh yeah, that was a smuggler. And they can sit there and say, yeah, but look what else he did.

[Jonathan Walton]

What else he did, you know, he.

[TJ Dominguez]

Donated for children, this, that and that, blah, blah, blah. And he turned it into a billion dollar company. Hard work.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

With nothing illegal.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

You know?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. I imagine that's weighing on you, and that's kind of what you want to prove to the world, that you can do it legit to yourself.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

And now that TJ's company is growing, there are a lot of investors coming forward who want in. Some of them will dangle a million dollars at them, thinking it'll buy them a certain level of influence over what he does.

[TJ Dominguez]

I'm not giving up control of the company. I've been down that road and I'm not going to work out really well for me. So I said, so whatever we do, I'm not giving up control of the company. And a million dollars doesn't do anything for me. I said, I've got that right now sitting in a warehouse. And I turned it down. I told the guy, he says, listen, with or without your money, this is getting done. I said, if I'm on my knees and scratching the dirt, doesn't matter. I'm already on first base. All I got to do is round the corners and I'm going to hit home plate. Yeah, don't bet against me. It's getting done. And then one other guy goes, I would never bet against you.

[Jonathan Walton]

Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips. Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips.

[TJ Dominguez]

But I did switch to T Mobile with their new family Freedom offer.

[Jonathan Walton]

That's not the itinerary we're following.

[TJ Dominguez]

Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones. On the house. Bon voyage.

[T Mobile Representative]

Introducing Family Freedom. Our lowest cost will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com FamilyFreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone16128GB $829.99 Eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits End and balance due if you pay off early or Cancel Contact T mo.

[Jonathan Walton]

From all I have learned about TJ Dominguez over the past 3 years since we first started recording more than a dozen hours of interviews for Cocaine Air. He's the kind of guy you can drop in the middle of a jungle with nothing and he'll quickly find a way to survive and thrive. He's a builder of empires. He did it with cocaine and Lamborghinis and cell phones and airplanes and now he's doing it with this new business. But a question that keeps coming up again and again from people who hear the podcast is what happened to all your money, all those gazillions of dollars?

[TJ Dominguez]

I forfeited everything to the Fed.

[Jonathan Walton]

You had to turn it over?

[TJ Dominguez]

Everything.

[Jonathan Walton]

Even Switzerland?

[TJ Dominguez]

Everything. Because listen, If I have $5 million in a house buried over there. Yeah, right. Do you? Do you? No, I have. Okay, I did that out.

[Jonathan Walton]

You had 5 million like buried in the ground?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, as a matter of fact, it was in somebody's living room and it was for, for emergencies where I couldn't get the money from Switzerland quick enough.

[Jonathan Walton]

Over here it was tiled. So under the tile that is some.

[TJ Dominguez]

Hiding underneath a coffee table that was glass. So you can see the thing. The tiles were not laid in there with grout. Grout was just in the corner.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, you can stick it up so.

[TJ Dominguez]

I can dig them up. Yeah, but the idea was not digging that up. I didn't have to go into that safe. I didn't have to. I didn't need to go into that safe. That was just for an emergency case that something drastic happened. I needed to get my hands on a couple of million dollars. I had to forfeit everything because the deal that the Feds cut with me was very simple. We find you lying on one item or holding back on something, you get life.

[Jonathan Walton]

So that 5 million that was buried.

[TJ Dominguez]

In the living room had to go to the Feds.

[Jonathan Walton]

No one would have ever known. Nobody, nobody dug it up and gave it to him out of fear. If one day it comes out, you're life in prison. Yeah, yeah, I didn't know that. So all the Swiss bank accounts and.

[TJ Dominguez]

Stuff had to be. Everything had to go over. And even if I had a, whatever it was a Corvette laying over there. Oh, by the way, I got a Corvette that I forgot in a shop. But I was afraid of my own shadow at that point.

[Jonathan Walton]

Cuz you don't want life.

[TJ Dominguez]

Everybody had left already. And then my other fear was the Feds know pretty much everything. My own brother in law, who is my best friend who used to package the money, told them about the Swiss account, told he's the one that had the 5 million in his house. Yeah, so.

[Jonathan Walton]

So you were worried that if you're not completely honest and somebody comes out, life in prison for you.

[TJ Dominguez]

And somebody else was already talking. Everybody. So how much did they talk? I don't know. I'm in solitary.

[Jonathan Walton]

And for all his critics who say that the cocaine he smuggled was this evil and harmful thing that destroyed countless and that Pablo Escobar was the devil behind it all, I would definitely be.

[TJ Dominguez]

More afraid of our drug companies and of all the Pablo Escobar is put together.

[Jonathan Walton]

No, I agree.

[TJ Dominguez]

Oxycodone, Remember that? Yeah, that shit was hooking people left and right.

[Jonathan Walton]

Drugs like oxycodone and fentanyl fueled the opioid epidemic which has killed nearly 700,000 people since it began in the 1990s. Those powerful drugs were created by drug company Purdue Pharma and misleadingly mass marketed to doctors and patients as being non addictive and safe. When they knew the opposite was true and they covered it up.

[TJ Dominguez]

How does a company put out a drug without fully knowing and letting people know how addictive it is? They were criminally misbranding the drugs.

[Jonathan Walton]

The reps were giving out bad data.

[TJ Dominguez]

And the reps were heavily incentivized by humans. Huge bonuses. The more milligrams a doctor ended up prescribing, the bigger the bonus the rep would get.

[Jonathan Walton]

The company was eventually charged criminally and convicted and then sued for billions and billions of dollars. And the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma were able to walk away with more than $10 billion in cash that they spent secretly withdrew from the company when all its legal trouble started mounting.

[TJ Dominguez]

Did anybody go to jail?

[Jonathan Walton]

No.

[TJ Dominguez]

Was anybody shot?

[Jonathan Walton]

Exactly.

[TJ Dominguez]

No.

[Jonathan Walton]

You're right. You're right. Then dude, I agree 1,000%. I mean, if you compare what's more harmful? Cocaine or this opioid epidemic that they created?

[TJ Dominguez]

They created.

[Jonathan Walton]

They had their drug dealers go around to every doctor's office in the country.

[TJ Dominguez]

Incentivizing them, everybody buying into it.

[Jonathan Walton]

And they lied in the research. They knew it was addictive and they said it wasn't.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

Ah, that's the real crime. And that's a good point. Did anyone go to jail and then.

[TJ Dominguez]

I'm the bad guy. But they're okay?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. And, but listen, some people are just have a belief, you know, like you're cocaine, you're bad.

[TJ Dominguez]

Legalize the damn thing. Put guys like me out of business.

[Jonathan Walton]

Exactly. This is not a crazy idea at all. In Portugal in the 1990s, heroin use and drug overdose deaths were at an all time high. So was the spread of HIV through dirty heroin needles. So in 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. Heroin, cocaine, marijuana and everything in between. And they put all the money they would have spent on policing illicit drugs and prosecuting and jailing drug offenders into drug treatment programs. And heroin use went down by 75%. Drug overdose deaths went down by by 80%. And drug related HIV infections went down by 90%.

[TJ Dominguez]

By the way, you see this here?

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

There's real monkeys.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's driving me past a park now. We're a mile or so away from the ocean at this point.

[TJ Dominguez]

Real native monkeys.

[Jonathan Walton]

Monkeys.

[TJ Dominguez]

A hundred years ago they turned loose and they've adapted.

[Jonathan Walton]

Where are we?

[TJ Dominguez]

We're in Dania now.

[Jonathan Walton]

We're in Dania. Okay. Are we heading to the beach? Going to the beach?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah. That's what you do.

[Jonathan Walton]

Can't believe I'm in TJ Dominguez's car. Driving to the beach. We get to the beach and start driving around looking for a parking spot.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, I was going to park here.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, this is nice.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, it's beautiful.

[TJ Dominguez]

I grew up on this beach.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, Dania. This is Dania Beach.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah. Daniel.

[Jonathan Walton]

God, Florida is just beautiful.

[TJ Dominguez]

This is a really cool beach. As a matter of fact, when you come down with your partner down here, you need to. You need to come here because I've showed you some really cool stuff here.

[Jonathan Walton]

Are you going to pay?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

God, you're really with it, man. So you know how to get the app and pay for the parking on your phone?

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, yeah, of course.

[Jonathan Walton]

And you're 73.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

You're almost as old as my mom. My mom would have no idea how to do what you were doing right now. Like a kid. Really scan the thing, pull out the app, enter the parking. I mean, that's, you know, bam, paid. Nice. I'm impressed.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ takes me to this breakfast spot that he comes to all the time. It's a cafe on the boardwalk that looks like the Bahamas.

[TJ Dominguez]

Little tiki thing right there. They'll have bands there. They have, man right here in the corner. They set up and they do calypsos.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, it's definitely like a vacation vibe.

[TJ Dominguez]

It's a nice place.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah, it's nice. We sit down in order and I will have the breakfast tacos.

[TJ Dominguez]

Cool. And for you? I'm gonna do the egg dynamics. Absolutely perfect. Thank you. My name is Shantay.

[Jonathan Walton]

Let me know if you need anything. This is the first time I've ever shared a meal with TJ and I'm posting a picture of us@cocaine air.com. also going to post it on my Instagram at Queen of the Con. Cuz it's kind of a milestone for the both of us. It's good. Oh, thank you.

[TJ Dominguez]

Sour cream? Anything like that?

[Jonathan Walton]

Oh, no, I'm good. Sitting by the ocean, eating breakfast tacos. Nothing beats it.

[TJ Dominguez]

Foreign.

[T Mobile Representative]

Let's explore the events that shaped the Middle Ages.

[Jonathan Walton]

Honestly, Claire, I didn't finish the research, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.

[T Mobile Representative]

That's not how we tell the story.

[Jonathan Walton]

Well, I'm writing a new chapter. By leaving AT&T and creating a turning point with T Mobile, they paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house. History in the making.

[T Mobile Representative]

Introducing Family freedom. Our lowest cost. Will switch our biggest family savings all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom. Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card. Typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement, eg Apple iPhone 16, 128 gigabyte 8, 2999 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off earlier. Cancel contact T Mobile.

[Jonathan Walton]

We eventually head back to TJ's place where I set up my professional recording equipment. All right, say your Alphabet.

[TJ Dominguez]

A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Okay, that's good.

[Jonathan Walton]

And T.J. begins to tell me the most insane story about a dirty Broward sheriff's detective who tried to extort him. You see, before the Fed started investigating TJ for cocaine smuggling, the local Broward Sheriff's office was investigating him first. That's actually what led up to the federal case. And a BSO detective on that local case had the chutzpah to confront TJ and let the cat out of the bag about the investigation and then offered to help TJ get out of it for a price.

[TJ Dominguez]

Well, it just so happens, without naming any names, I knew somebody from childhood, let's say that was with bso. He came to my dealership and he said to me, with my hand on a Bible, I could tell you. He said to me, if you give me a million dollars, all these papers go away. And I said, what papers? And he says, the investigation we got on you, we know everything about you. And I said to him, I don't know what you're talking about. And he said, give me a million dollars, and the investigation goes away. And then I said, give it the best shot. You gotta get off my effing property. Don't threaten me. And then he said, you know, I think he said something about giving me 24 hours to think about it, something ridiculous like that, some like that or something stupid like that.

[Jonathan Walton]

And then do you wonder if at the, in that moment, if you'd have given him the million dollars, you think he would have killed the investigation?

[TJ Dominguez]

No, I think he would have taken the money, spend it and come back a month or two later and ask me for more. And so I enjoyed throwing him off my property the first time.

[Jonathan Walton]

And TJ actually knew this BSO guy from his high school days in North Miami. But ever since he started working for the Broward Sheriff's Office, his lifestyle always seemed leaps and bounds above his salary.

[TJ Dominguez]

He's wearing a Submariner. Back in those days, I think the submariner was twenty something thousand dollars gold rolling Submariner. How is it that you serve? You're a God darn cop making 20, $30,000 a year. Your wife's got this little beauty salon that's the size of cracker box and you're living in a million dollar house and wearing a gold Rolex. When in school you didn't even have a car. You had a bicycle. You rode a bicycle as a senior I gave you a ride home a couple of times. I bowled with you on the Thursday. I knew the son of a gun from all through school.

[Jonathan Walton]

Eventually though, the long arm of the law caught up with this dirty cop and he was arrested.

[TJ Dominguez]

He got indicted, but he beat the indictment. He went to trial and he beat the indictment. He got indicted for like some sort of money laundering or things like that. But the guy was crooked as a day as long.

[Jonathan Walton]

And other than trying to shake TJ down, the other mistake this BSO guy made was trying to do it at TJ's Lamborghini dealership. It was truly a sacred space for TJ, like a church or a museum. And TJ's dealership was unlike any other car dealership in existence.

[TJ Dominguez]

I never allowed anybody seeing cars. We don't even allow you to open doors. We don't do test drives. You want to drive one of our cars, buy it. We don't do joyrides because these are.

[Jonathan Walton]

Like what are they selling? What are you selling these cars for the time, what's a Lamborghini or a Ferrari go?

[TJ Dominguez]

Well, let me put it to you this. With my white Lamborghini, I turned down 800,000. The guy went up to a million. It could be anyways, they used to go for about a buck and a half. But a buck and a half times five or six, you're looking at six, seven, eight, Hundred.

[Jonathan Walton]

Right. In today's money. Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

You know, but then. But then I have to do some.

[Jonathan Walton]

Do some burring. Right.

[TJ Dominguez]

That belong to Clark gable. Went for $5 million. I just saw it on the Hemings magazine a little while back for $18 million.

[Jonathan Walton]

No test drives.

[TJ Dominguez]

This is better than stocks if you really know the how to play exotics.

[Jonathan Walton]

Because it's art, essentially.

[TJ Dominguez]

It is.

[Jonathan Walton]

It's art. You're dealing art.

[TJ Dominguez]

You see. You see Ferraris for 42 million. You know, it's art.

[Jonathan Walton]

It's art.

[TJ Dominguez]

And it's a collectible.

[Jonathan Walton]

They're beautiful.

[TJ Dominguez]

Yeah. You know, somebody said to me, how could you spend so much money in a car? I said, how could I spend so much money in a car? How could somebody pay $150 million for a piece of canvas with oil on it? There's a lot more work that went into this car.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah.

[TJ Dominguez]

And it is art. It's art.

[Jonathan Walton]

No, absolutely.

[TJ Dominguez]

And it's art that talks to me and it takes me places. Very, very fast.

[Jonathan Walton]

Yeah. And speaking of very, very fast, there was one time back in 1987 or thereabouts, where TJ is driving a red Lamborghini on Interstate 95 at 3 o' clock in the morning. And he's got a business associate with him in the passenger seat, a guy named Jose. And Jose is curious.

[TJ Dominguez]

He says to me, you know, T, I've never really gone super, super fast. How fast does his Lamborghini go? Well, I guess it's the wrong thing to ask me. I said, let's find out. So I get on this thing. It was zero mile, brand new car, and there's no cars in the road. Pretty much. Right. And I nail this thing. I'm on it.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ Presses down on the gas pedal, and immediately he's going 100 miles an hour, then 110, then 120, then 130. And the red needle on that odometer just keeps moving.

[TJ Dominguez]

So now I'm. I'm hitting right at 200 miles per hour.

[Jonathan Walton]

200 miles an hour.

[TJ Dominguez]

Right at that? Yeah, right at that. And you get tunnel vision when you're driving really, really fast and you memorize everything and you. You can't look just right there. You gotta look at the horizon. So now what happened also is this. The wing on the car that I had with Chilambeau had a fixed wing. So what happens when you have a wing like this and then a lot of air hits it and. And you don't adjust for the angle if it. If you get too much downdraft on the back wing and I push too hard here, what happens? The nose goes up.

[Jonathan Walton]

The nose goes up.

[TJ Dominguez]

So when the nose goes up and a Lamborghini basically almost sealed from the bottom, now you're riding a curtain of air.

[Jonathan Walton]

TJ's Lamborghini is now airborne and he's about to lose control.

[TJ Dominguez]

So I tell Jose, I say, shit, we got a problem. He goes, what are you talking about? He said, I don't feel the wheel. And he goes, what do you mean you don't feel the wheel? The next thing I know is kaboom.

[Jonathan Walton]

Find out how TJ gets out of this one. On the next episode of Cocaine Air.

[TJ Dominguez]

And the guy screaming to another guy, no, it's not an airplane, it's a car.

[Jonathan Walton]

To see some incredible photographs documenting TJ's life, go to cocainair.com and if you're enjoying Cocaine Air, please hit that share button and text it to your friends and family right now. And if you feel comfortable, leave us. A 5 star review reviews really help other listeners find us. Cocaine Air was created, written and executive produced by me, Jonathan Walton for Jonathan Walton Media. Executive producers Evan Goldstein and the inimitable TJ Dominguez. Audio engineering by me, Jonathan Walton. Sound design and editing for this episode was done by Mike Smith, and the Cocaine Air cover art is by Bobby Animation. We've got a lot of fascinating untold stories like Cocaine Air coming down the pike at Jonathan Walton Media, so subscribe and keep an ear out. How crazy is it that TJ Dominguez only becomes a drug smuggler because he got scammed by not one, but two duplicitous con artists in his life? It would be wise to figure out who the con artist is in your life before they scam you. So pick up a copy of my book, Anatomy of a con artist. The 14 red flags to spot scammers, grifters and thieves. Con artists are everywhere. There's probably one in your social circle right now, but you won't know who until they trick you out of money. The woman who scammed me out of nearly $100,000 was my best friend for four years. Years? You've been scamming us out of money this whole time? You have. And during that entire time, she was scamming everyone around. Me too. But no one had a clue until she got their money. Protect yourself or protect your elderly parents or your young, naive kids or your friends and neighbors. Learn how to identify the con artist in your life or in the lives of your loved ones who before they trick any money from them. I will show you what the 14 red flags are of every con artist working today so you can spot these soulless demons a mile away. My book is available everywhere. Books are sold in hardcover and on Kindle and Audible as well. Just Google Anatomy of a Con Artist.

[T Mobile Representative]

Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret.

[Jonathan Walton]

It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great.

[TJ Dominguez]

You love the host.

[Jonathan Walton]

You seek it out and download it.

[T Mobile Representative]

You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion.

[Jonathan Walton]

And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention?

[T Mobile Representative]

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[Jonathan Walton]

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